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
Google does a “Zerg Rush” on your search results
Those wacky Googlers are at it again.
First, they added the Konami Code to Google Reader. Then, they created a Google Doodle to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man and the thing turned out to be playable, which ended up costing the worldwide economy over $120 million in lost productivity. After that, they induced us all to “do a barrel roll,” even though most of the world had no idea what that meant (some thought it was a dig at Apple’s iOS, a competitor to Google’s Android platform). And just a few weeks ago they added a “Quest” filter to Google Maps that was clearly modeled after Dragon Warrior. But their latest trick tops all of these.
Go to the Google homepage, and search for “zerg rush.” And then watch as your search results are destroyed by an overwhelming swarm of red and yellow Os. Hovering over an O will bring up a targetting reticule to take the little buggers down, but the swarm will always win (and taunt you with a “GG” after it’s over).
Good show Google. Do something Mario-related next!
Pre-order Torchlight II, receive original Torchlight or access to Neverwinter beta
Torchlight II still doesn’t have an official release date. Developer Runic Games will only say that it’s coming in the Summer and that they’re shooting for June or July. But that hasn’t stopped Steam and Perfect World from offering plenty of pre-order loot to RPG-hungry gamers.
If you pre-order Torchlight II from Perfect World, you’ll receive access to the Neverwinter beta. However, Perfect World was quick to point out that the “exact date of access will vary.”
If you go the more conventional route and pre-order from Steam, you’ll receive a copy of Torchlight absolutely free. That’s right now! No waiting!
Both online shops have priced the game at $19.99, but if you buy a four-pack of copies from Steam (one copy for you and one copy for three of your friends), you’ll only pay $59.99, meaning that one copy was free. And you’ll also receive four copies of the original Torchlight on top of that.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Torchlight II
Wii U launch date, price won’t be announced at E3 2012
During their most recent quarterly financial briefing, Nintendo reconfirmed that the Wii U will appear in its “final form” at this year’s E3 Expo. The publisher also revealed that the system’s launch lineup will be announced at the big show.
Nintendo itself has yet to announce any launch titles for the Wii U, but third party publishers such as Sega (Aliens: Colonial Marines), Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed III), THQ (Darksiders II), Tecmo Koei (Ninja Gaiden 3), and WB Games (Batman: Arkham City) all have games lineup up for the system’s launch.
However, those attending E3 (and all of us watching at home) won’t hear anything about when the Wii U will launch or how much it’ll cost during the show. Nintendo is saving that information and will announce them sometime after E3 but before the system’s “year-end sales season” release.
3DS, Wii U retail games to be sold digitally… starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2
The 3DS eShop just got a whole lot cooler. Nintendo has announced that, beginning this August, the online store will offer downloadable versions of retail games. First on the list… New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Like current 3DS eShop downloads, downloadable retail games must be stored on an SD card and will only be playable on the handheld they were purchased on. If you’re one of those people who are still uneasy about using a credit card on the Internet, brick-and-mortar retailers will also sell download codes for 3DS digital downloads. Best of all, retailers can set the price for a download code just as they can for a cartridge game, so we might see some big sales for downloadable 3DS games.
Nintendo also announced that “Onitore,” the game more popularly known as Brain Age: Devil Training, will receive a US release and that it too will be available sometime this year as both a retail release and a digital download.
Finally, Nintendo confirmed that the same retail/digital download deal will apply to Wii U games when the system launch’s this Fall. So shoppers will be able to download any Nintendi-publisher Wii U title at the same time the game is released in stores.
Hey! Nintendo can finally say they’ve one-upped Sony and Microsoft in the online arena for something!
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Brain Age: Devil Training, New Super Mario Bros. 2
The Walking Dead shambles onto XBLA today
Telltale has announced that the first episode of their zombie-riffic adventure series, The Walking Dead, is now available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade. To celebrate, the company has released a new trailer, “Choice Matters,” to highlight that… well… choice matters in a world full of walking dead.
The first episode of The Walking Dead can be downloaded from the XBLA for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Walking Dead
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale officially announced… aren’t you shocked?
People throw around the phrase “worst kept secret in gaming” a lot. EA just used it when their Crysis 3 reveal was accidentally leaked a day early by their own Origin store. But if you’re looking for a true example of the “worst kept secret” phenomenon, then look no further than PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale for the PS3.
Officially announced last night, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale is a Smash Bros.-like mashup where characters from Sony’s long history in video games get together to fight. The game, which is being developed by SuperBot, will include Kratos, Sweet Tooth, PaRappa, Fat Princess, Colonel Radec, Sly Cooper, and many more. And like Nintendo did with later editions of Smash Bros., Sony is in talks with third party developers to bring their characters into the Battle Royale.
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will include a ton of different modes for your punching preference including an Arcade Mode, online multiplayer, local multiplayer, team battles, Practice Mode, Special Event Battles created by SuperBot, and a Combat Trials mode similar to Mortal Kombat‘s Challenge Tower.
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale currently doesn’t have a release date, but in the months to come I’m sure we’ll learn all about a number of characters that are virtual shoe-ins to appear in Battle Royale such as Nathan Drake, Cole McGrath, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, the Buzz! host (who makes a brief appearance in the trailer above), and Sackboy. I bet Ico and Wander just might make the final cut as well.
Who do you want to see in PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale?
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
Powers Boothe, Shannyn Sossamon added to Hitman: Absolution cast
Square Enix has announced that Powers Boothe (probably best known for his turn as Vice President Daniels in “24”) and Shannyn Sossamon (best known for naming her child Audio Science A Knight’s Tale) have agreed to lend their voices to Hitman: Absolution.
Boothe will play Benjamin Travis, a new handler for the International Contract Agency (ICA). His backstory is explored in the trailer above with imagery by comic artist Ben Oliver. Sossamon will voice a character named Jade that is currently a bit of a mystery, but it’s likely she’s a sassy brunette who doesn’t take any guff from anybody. That’s right, I said guff.
Hitman: Absolution will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 later this year.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Hitman: Absolution
Portal 2 level editor coming May 8
Valve has announced that the long-awaited Portal 2 level editor, cleverly titled the “Perpetual Testing Initiative,” will be available to PC players on May 8.
The DLC will be available as a free download and it allows players to “easily create, share, and play Portal 2 puzzles.” After creating a puzzle, players will be able to “directly publish maps to the Steam Workshop where users can browse, vote on, and select to play them.” Certain maps will be automatically downloaded for players to try.
It’s unlikely this level editor will ever come to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Portal 2, but we can always hope.