Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Author: John Scalzo
Xenoblade Chronicles Review Revisited
It’s April 6 and Xenoblade Chronicles has finally (FINALLY!) made its way onto store shelves in America. Correction, make that one store’s shelves. Xenoblade Chronicles is exclusive to GameStop. If you’re looking for a review to reassure you that buying one of the last big Wii games is a good idea, you’re in luck, we’ve had one lying around since the game’s European release:
Director Tetsuya Takahashi and writers Yuichiro Takeda and Yurie Hattori have managed to craft a world both unusual and yet familiar, allowing us to accompany Shulk and his band of heroes as they travel across two worlds, dealing with Gods and monsters alike. We share in their accomplishments and wallow in their grief. Xenoblade Chronicles is not just a game; it is an experience you will miss when it is finally over. It manages to raise questions about our own beliefs and spirituality as well as about the role of machines in our lives, and all while, offering up one of the greatest game playing experiences of this generation.
Posted in News, Wii
Tagged Xenoblade Chronicles
WayForward bringing Double Dragon: Neon to PSN, XBLA
Publisher Majesco and developer WayForward (who were the team behind the excellent Contra 4 and the less excellent BloodRayne: Betrayal) have announced their latest retro revival: Double Dragon: Neon!
Double Dragon: Neon will be available for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade this Summer and will make its public debut at this year’s PAX East expo (which starts in just under an hour!). Gamers are encouraged to take the battle to the Black Dragon Clan (and their new leader, Skullmageddon) at the Reverb Booth (#808).
“Double Dragon: Neon is far from a standard retro remake,” said Sean Velasco, Director, WayForward. “It’s WayForward’s love letter to the decade that spawned the franchise – the music, the style, and culture of the 80’s pulse through the nucleus of Double Dragon: Neon. But don’t think this is a simple graphical facelift; with our innovative ‘mix tape’ level up system and power-up high-fives, we pushed it to the limit!”
If you can’t make it to PAX East, be sure to check out Double Dragon: Neon’s first screenshots and concept art on the game’s Facebook page.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Double Dragon: Neon, PAX East 2012
BioWare plans to expand Mass Effect 3 ending this Summer with free “Extended Cut” DLC
The fan reaction to the Mass Effect 3 ending is quickly becoming the video game news event of the Spring. While many were happy (or, at least, satisfied) with how BioWare brought their sci-fi epic to a close, many others were not. And made their displeasure heard for weeks after the game’s launch. BioWare said they were listening to all that fan feedback, and today, they’ve announced a free DLC pack that just might appease the masses.
Known as the “Extended Cut,” the DLC will be made available to download this Summer at no charge for all PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 players. But BioWare went to great lengths to point out that the Extended Cut won’t change the current ending to Mass Effect 3. Instead, the DLC will expand it by inserting “additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes” into the game. BioWare promises that these new scenes will “provide deeper insights into how [your] personal journey concludes.”
Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, reiterated this point by saying, “We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.”
If you have more questions, BioWare has posted an Extended Cut FAQ on their website… or you can ask personally bring your questions to the team at this weekend’s PAX East expo.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Nintendo Download: Colors, Racers, and Penguins
It’s another mish-mash of titles in this week’s Nintendo Download. Want the scoop? Here’s what’s available…
TNT Racers (WiiWare) – TNT Racers is a fun multiplayer game that combines fast-as-lightning racing action with new features. TNT stands for Tracks N Tricks – cool tracks and snappy gadgets lead to one powerful adrenaline kick.
Colors! 3D (3DS eShop) – Colors! 3D is a simple yet robust painting application that combines ease of use and powerful painting tools. Tailored for touch-screen devices, it caters to everyone from serious artists to aimless doodlers.
Penguin Patrol (DSiWare) – Waddle We Do?! Baby penguins have been stranded on thin ice by the evil (but oddly stylish) Walrus, and it’s up to the Penguin Patrol to rescue them!
This is reason #20XX why Capcom should make a Mega Man movie
Fans have been clamoring for Capcom to officially sanction a Mega Man movie for years. In that time, we’ve seen a bevy of fan films and even one Hong Kong action film that unofficially took its inspiration from the Blue Bomber. Olan Rogers’ new mini-movie, “Mega Man X,” blows away everything in the former list and its effects even look better than the latter.
The beginning part of the video is a message Dr.Light records over 100 years ago, his lab is now abandoned. As the camera moves into the capsule you see a still running testing parameter where Mega Man X fights a hologram or drone in the form of Proto Man.
The most amazing thing is that this fan film was made for only $700. That’s just unbelievable! Capcom will make a Mega Man movie someday, but if they were smart, they’d hire Olan Rogers to direct it.
Then there were 8: Gronk, Rodgers, Newton, others advance in Madden NFL 13 cover vote
The second round of voting for the Madden NFL 13 cover vote has been completed and we finally have a few upsets to talk about.
In the left bracket, Patrick Willis (#11) collected 58% of the vote to push past Maurice Jones-Drew (#3). And on the right side, Calvin Johnson (#6) stomped Arian Foster (#3), receiving a whopping 73% of the vote. In another right bracket upset, Ray Rice (#5) squeaked past Drew Brees (#3).
So that leaves both number ones still in the hunt as well as both number twos. Third round voting begins today and runs until April 11 at ESPN.com/maddenvote. Here’s how the third round matchups shake out:
Left Bracket
Cam Newton (#1) vs Larry Fitzgerald (#4)
Victor Cruz (#2) vs Patrick Willis (#11)
Right Bracket
Aaron Rodgers (#1) vs Ray Rice (#5)
Rob Gronkowski (#2) vs Calvin Johnson (#6)
Anonymous devs say Wii U isn’t as powerful as PS3/Xbox 360
Here’s a shocker… developers are unhappy with the processing power of the Wii U! Speaking anonymously to GamesIndustry International, several developers laid out their concerns about Nintendo’s next console:
“No, it’s not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360,” said one developer who’s been working with the Wii U. What does that mean? “The graphics are just not as powerful,” reiterated the source.
Another developer at a major company confirmed this point of view. “Yeah, that’s true. It doesn’t produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360,” said the source. “There aren’t as many shaders, it’s not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can’t quite keep up.”
If what they say is true, it could certainly hurt the Wii U’s standing among hardcore gamers. The PS3 and Xbox 360 will be six and seven years old, respectively, when the Wii U launches, so the public is expecting it to pack a decent processing punch. Nintendo has said they plan to publicly reveal the final form of the Wii U at this year’s E3 Expo. So we should learn just how powerful the “next-gen” system is then.
However, I think the real crime here is that neither complaint has the artistry of former Maxis developer Chris Hecker saying, “The way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and duct tape.”
If you’re going to slam Nintendo, you better be creative about it!
XBLA Today: Diabolical Pitch, Pinball Arcade
Today’s Xbox Live Arcade additions have a theme, can you figure it out?
First up is Diabolical Pitch, a Kinect-powered XBLA game that features a pitcher with a bionic arm trapped in an amusement park full of demons. No, really! It’s priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and sounds totally awesome:
An unusual, unique and wacky pitching action game is coming to Kinect and the name of the game is Diabolical Pitch. A former pitcher now outfitted with an incredibly powerful bionic arm finds himself in a run-down, dark, and twisted amusement park. The night gets strange and intense quickly as you must use your pitching skills to survive the game of your life. Charge up your diabolical pitch to wipe out all the enemies crowding towards you. Power-ups give your throwing arm insane abilities that will give you the edge against huge mobs of enemies or even the most fearsome boss. Kinect turns your room into a playing field and your Diabolical Pitch is the main attraction.
Also available this week is Pinball Arcade, which aims to be a platform for additional tables much like Pinball FX. The base game includes four tables and is priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10):
Real pinball for your Xbox 360! The all-time greatest pinball tables from Williams, Bally, Stern Pinball, and Gottlieb are now together in one game. Every flipper, bumper, sound effect, and display pixel has been painstakingly emulated in astonishing detail. The four table launch collection includes Tales of the Arabian Nights, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Theatre of Magic, and Black Hole.
Did you guess the theme? It’s flying metal balls.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged The Pinball Arcade