Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon
- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Research Library
- Inside the ‘Dragon Age’ Debacle That Gutted EA’s BioWare Studio – Bloomberg (2025)
- Fight Club, The Game David Fincher Didn’t Want You To Play – Time Extension (2025)
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
Warp Zoned Archives
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Here’s your first look at Obduction, Cyan’s spiritual successor to Myst
Myst changed everything when it was released in 1993. The puzzle game popularized the first-person exploration genre, kickstarted the adoption of CD-ROM technology, and became the best-selling PC game of all time (a record it held for almost a decade). After creating a handful of sequels and an online-only spinoff, developer Cyan is working on a spiritual successor to Myst that’ll be available this June.
Obduction will take place on an alien world that is also home to a farmhouse from Kansas and other locales that properly belong on Earth. Somehow, these buildings have merged with this alien world, but by piecing together a series of clues, players might be able to return home.
The first teaser trailer for Obduction has been embedded above, but be warned, Cyan said it may include potential spoilers.
Paper Mario: Color Splash will be released for the Wii U in 2016
It looks like the rumors were true and Nintendo is planning to release a brand new Paper Mario game for the Wii U this year. In Paper Mario: Color Splash, players will travel to Prism Island, and attempt to restore the color that’s slowly draining from the world:
Prism Island is being drained of its color and it’s up to Paper Mario to stop it! Use Paper Mario’s paint hammer to splash paint on anything it hits and bring the color back to the island in this new action-adventure game.
Paper Mario: Color Splash will be released sometime in 2016, probably closer to the end of the year.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Paper Mario: Color Splash
Kirby battles aliens with power armor in Kirby: Planet Robobot
Not a hoax! Not a dream! Kirby, Nintendo’s adorable pink puffball, is going to battle aliens and pilot a walking mech in his next game. Set to be released for the 3DS on June 10, Kirby: Planet Robobot is all too real:
Invaders have mechanized Dream Land. To restore his home to its original form, Kirby must use their technology against them with the new Robobot Armor. The Robobot Armor can even destroy a variety of obstacles in his way.
Kirby: Planet Robobot will support a wide variety of Amiibo figures, each of which will grant Kirby new copy abilities. A brand new Kirby series of Amiibo figures (featuring Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee) will also be available. Finally, the game will include a four-player co-op mode known as “Team Kirby Clash.” Players will be able to select one of roles and battle it out with a series of bosses.
Power armor in a Kirby game… The only way this dream could be more beautiful is if Kirby: Planet Robobot is just a prelude to “Super Mario Warriors.”
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Kirby: Planet Robobot
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem will be released in US as Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE on June 24
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, which was released in Japan this past December as Genei Ibun Roku FE, finally has a North American release date… and a new name. Now known as Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE, the Atlus-developed RPG will be released for the Wii U on June 24.
Taking place in modern-day Japan, Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE combines the “deep RPG gameplay from an Atlus game and the adrenaline-fueled fun of a pop idol concert.” But there’s also monsters to slay and a world to save:
Slay monsters—and slay like a pop star—all at the same time, in this brand-new RPG from acclaimed developer Atlus. A sinister force from another dimension has invaded modern-day Tokyo, resulting in a fantastical barrage of style, fashion, music and, of course, danger. So play to your strengths in high-energy turn-based battles, then fuse items to craft powerful weapons and crush your foes. Around every corner you’ll find fan-service—including Fire Emblem references—original songs by Japanese entertainment giant Avex, dungeons themed after the entertainment industry and eye-catching music performances.
Nintendo and Atlus have decided to make exclusive use of Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE’s Japanese language track, and include English subtitles, for its North American release to stay true to the setting.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
Tusk crushes his enemies in the latest Killer Instinct Season 3 trailer
Iron Galaxy has returned with another new trailer for Killer Instinct Season 3, this time focusing on the immortal barbarian Tusk. Last seen in 1996’s Killer Instinct 2, Tusk is still an homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan at his core, but the character’s voice actor also seems to be channeling Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Tusk will be part of the initial quartet of characters in Killer Instinct Season 3, which will be released for the PC and Xbox One on March 29. If you want a closer look at Tusk, developers from Iron Galaxy recently uploaded a 90-minute steam starring the character.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Killer Instinct
Weekly Warp-Up: Two More Publishers Drop Out of E3 2016…
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
Activision has decided to follow EA’s lead and drop out of this year’s E3 Expo. However, the megapublisher also announced a partnership with Sony and confirmed that Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 2016 will make its public debut during the consolemaker’s E3 Press Conference.
Disney Interactive will also join Activision and EA on the sidelines because Disney Infinity 4.0 won’t be ready to go this Summer. Instead, the House of Mouse has announced plans to continue supporting Disney Infinity: Star Wars.
Elsewhere around Warp Zoned this week, we published a review of Tharsis, Choice Provisions’s survival board game. The staff also got together to talk about What We Played in February 2016 and The Games of March 2016.
More news from the past seven days can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Hitman, WWE 2K16 for PC
Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week, and one of them is just a Season Pass to a year-long episodic adventure.
Leading off the week is Tom Clancy’s The Division, which will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will join up with the titular peacekeeping organization as they team up with other players from around the world to investigate a terrorist attack in New York City on Black Friday.
Also available this week is Hitman, IO Interactive’s latest entry in the long-running series. Agent 47 is back, but we won’t get to experience all of his new missions right away. Instead, IO and Square Enix will release the game episodically, but players can buy in to the whole series now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, 2K Games and the WWE will slam their way onto Steam with WWE 2K16‘s PC debut.
Xbox Store Today: Action Henk, Ironcast, McDroid
Three new Xbox One games have been added to the Xbox Games Store today…
- Action Henk is a racing game where action figures dive, dash, and butt-slide their way through more than 70 tracks. Yes, you read that right, the racers in Action Henk butt-slide for top speed.
- Ironcast is a turn-based strategy game where players power up their steampunk mech by playing a tile-linking puzzle game.
- McDroid is a tower defense title with a cute little robot as its protagonist.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)