Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
BioWare bringing Rebellion multiplayer pack to Mass Effect 3 next week
It’s not the extended ending (yet), but BioWare will push out another free downloadable content pack to Mass Effect 3 players next week.
The “Rebellion Pack” will be available to download for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on May 29. Like the “Resurgence Pack” before it, this pack will include a ton of new content for Mass Effect’s multiplayer mode:
Two New Action-Packed Maps – Land on Firebase Jade, located in a Salarian STG base on Sur’Kesh and fight to control Firebase Goddess on the Asari homeworld of Thessia.
Six Powerful New Unlockable Characters – Level and promote six new unlockable characters, including the ex-Cerberus Adept and Vanguard, the Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel or the Male Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator.
New In-Mission Objective – Randomly occurring during waves 3, 6 and 10, this new objective will demand that teams retrieve a high priority package and securely escort it to a designated extraction zone on each map.
New Gear Slot – A new slot will be available on the equipment screen, offering players a persistent gameplay bonus that will not expire after the end of a match. These new items will vary from weapon upgrades to character enhancements and will be available through reinforcement packs.
Lethal New Weapons – Eliminate the enemy with deadly new weapons, including the Cerberus Harrier, Krysae Sniper Rifle, and Reegar Carbine.
A trio of “Rebellion Pack” screenshots can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Nintendo Download: Mighty Switch Force! update, Game & Watch Gallery 2, Snakenoid Deluxe
This week’s Nintendo Download includes an update for Mighty Switch Force!, the popular puzzle platformer from WayForward. This free update includes “five new bonus levels, enhanced stereoscopic effect to all previous levels, and a retry button for dedicated speed runners.”
Also available this week is…
Game & Watch Gallery 2 (3DS eShop) – Enjoy five different games in both their original and revised versions. Classic versions take you back to the ’80s, while modern versions offer improved play control, color and sound effects.
Snakenoid Deluxe (DSiWare) – Enjoy a unique blend of classic game concepts. Use the stylus to control a snake on the lower screen and bounce the ball to destroy boulders on the upper screen.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News
Tagged Mighty Switch Force!
See Tim Tebow “Tebowing” in Madden NFL 13
Posted without comment… EA Sports has released a screenshot from Madden NFL 13 of Tim Tebow dropping to one knee in the end zone celebration commonly known as “Tebowing.”
Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Box Set will hadoken your wallet
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Street Fighter series and Capcom plans to celebrate in style. And if you’ve got $149.99 lying around, you can celebrate too, because that’s the cost of entry to obtain the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Set. Naturally, you have your choice of platform: PS3 or Xbox 360.
Set for release on September 18, the Anniversary Set will be packed in a stylish box which includes all four Street Fighter games released this generation: Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Street Fighter X Tekken, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition.
Whichever format you choose, the box will also include a massive collection of bonus materials:
- Exclusive Video – The two-disc Blu-Ray set includes a documentary that highlights the profound influence the franchise has had on fans – and vice versa – throughout the years. The collection of videos also includes Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV anime movies as well as all episodes of the “Street Fighter” animated series and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
- Light-up Ryu Statue – A specially commissioned and highly-detailed collectable Ryu statue stands prominently at 8” tall and features the iconic character in mid-Shoryuken, with flames lit from below.
- 11-Disc Soundtrack – Street Fighter game music spanning the past 25 years, in addition to remixes and fan-created music inspired by past Street Fighter games.
- 64-page Hardcover Art Book – A tribute to Street Fighter game fans from all over the world, the art book includes fan pieces submitted by professional and aspiring artists alike.
- Ryu’s Belt – Created to regulation specs, the full-size martial arts black belt is a replica of the one Ryu wears and even includes his classic “Fūrinkazan” in kanji!
- Certificate of Authenticity – Each Collector’s Set comes individually numbered complete with a certificate of authenticity.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken
XBLA Today: Joy Ride Turbo, Monster World Collection, Alex Kidd & Co.
Microsoft has added a trio of new games to the Xbox Live Arcade today, or depending on how you look at it, seven new games.
This week’s featured released is the Kinect-less Joy Ride Turbo. This racer for the whole family can now be played with a controller and can be downloaded for 800 Microsoft Points ($10):
From the Kinect Joy Ride creators comes Joy Ride Turbo, a controller-based arcade racer delivering precision handling and crazy stunts with more thrills, speed, & mayhem! In the new Stunt Park, you’re free to show off! There’s no limit to the whacky tour de force you achieve with friends. It’s a vibrant playground for your car – jump off cliffs, shoot from a cannon, & more. Plus, explore and find collectibles that unlock cars – giving you an edge for faster races and death-defying tricks. Race new tracks, old favorites and 3 modes of play: Battle Race, Pro Race & Time Trial. Challenge family & friends to local 4-player split-screen or race up to 8 on Xbox Live. With Joy Ride Turbo, everyone’s in the driver’s seat in this madcap kart racer.
Also available this week, for 800 Microsoft Points apiece ($10), are a pair of classic game collections from Sega.
The Monster World Collection includes Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and for the first time outside of Japan, Monster World IV. Then there’s the less-thematically similar Alex Kidd & Co. Collection, which includes Alex Kidd in Wonder Land, Super Hang-On, and The Revenge of Shinobi.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Alex Kidd & Co. Collection, Monster World Collection
Diablo III scores biggest PC launch ever
Blizzard has announced that more than 3.5 million copies of Diablo III were sold in its first 24 hours of availability, setting a single-day sales record for PC games in the process. An additional 1.2 million copies of the game were given to World of Warcraft players who signed up for the Annual Pass promotion.
In the week since its launch, more than 6.3 million people have purchased a copy of Diablo III or received one as part of the Annual Pass offer. And that’s not all. The title has taken the South Korea’s Internet game rooms by storm, with a record 39% of all users joining the fight for Sanctuary.
“We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support.”
I guess you could say that Diablo III has made a lot of “scratch” since it launched.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
Take Two hints at early 2013 release for Grand Theft Auto V… maybe
Take Two Interactive held their quarterly financial call today, but first they laid out their release calendar for the rest of 2012 and into 2013.
The calendar includes plenty of dates we already know… Spec Ops: The Line in June, Borderlands 2 in September 18, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown in October. We also got confirmation that NBA 2K13 will be shipping to stores this October, but that’s not exactly a surprise.
It also wasn’t a surprise that Grand Theft Auto V was included on the list with a “TBA” release date. What was surprising was that the game’s spot on the list was nestled between the February 26, 2013 release of BioShock Infinite and the “2014 Fiscal Year” (4/1/2013-3/31/2014) release of XCOM.
So it’s a stretch, but there’s a real possibility the listing was a subtle hint to an early 2013 release for the fifth GTA. This actually lines up nicely with Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick’s earlier statement that the publisher will have a very profitable fiscal year.
You can see Take Two’s complete 2012-2013 release calendar after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K13
XCOM FPS delayed into 2013
After announcing an October release date for XCOM: Enemy Unknown this morning, Take Two Interactive confirmed that the XCOM first person shooter won’t be released this year. In fact, the game has been delayed into the publisher’s 2014 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. So yeah, we won’t be playing an XCOM shooter anytime soon.
XCOM is in development at 2K Marin for a PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 release. No reason was given for the delay, but presumably it’s so that the two games don’t compete against each other for shelf space this Fall.