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
Here’s the most pirated PC, Wii, Xbox 360 games of 2011
TorrentFreak has posted a list of the five most pirated games on the PC, Wii, and Xbox 360 (apparently, PS3 games aren’t pirated enough to be counted). Congratulations Crysis 2! You’re the most popular game that no one wanted to pay for (but still wanted to play) in 2011!
In addition to Crysis 2’s “victory” over the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as the most pirated game of 2011, we also learned that Super Mario Galaxy 2, Gears of War 3, and Xenoblade Chronicles were popular with pirates. Arr matey! Nintendo should have announced a North American release date for Xenoblade a tad earlier.
Notably absent from the list is GOTY stalwarts Skyrim and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
But here’s the full list:
Top 5 Pirated PC Games
1. Crysis 2 (3,920,000 downloads)
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (3,650,000 downloads)
3. Battlefield 3 (3,510,000 downloads)
4. FIFA 12 (3,390,000 downloads)
5. Portal 2 (3,240,000 downloads)
Top 5 Pirated Wii Games
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,280,000 downloads)
2. Mario Sports Mix (1,090,000 downloads)
3. Xenoblade Chronicles (950,000 downloads)
4. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (870,000 downloads)
5. FIFA 12 (860,000 downloads)
Top 5 Pirated Xbox 360 Games
1. Gears of War 3 (890,000 downloads)
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (830,000 downloads)
3. Battlefield 3 (760,000 downloads)
4. Forza Motorsport 4 (720,000 downloads)
5. Kinect Sports: Season Two (690,000 downloads)
New Releases: PSP Dual Packs, NFL Blitz
Welcome to 2012! We’re starting things off a bit slowly in the first week of the new year with just three new releases. Well, actually, it’s six games being re-released as part of Sony’s PSP Dual Pack program.
New in stores this week you’ll find…
PSP Dual Pack: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge + Twisted Metal: Head-On
PSP Dual Pack: Patapon + LocoRoco
PSP Dual Pack: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee and Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
And that’s it. Though PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade fans will also be able to download the rebooted NFL Blitz this week, but more on that later.
Sega reveals Tails, Metal Sonic to return in Sonic 4 Episode 2
Ken Balough, Sega’s Digital Brand Manager, recently sat down with GameSpot to reveal that the publisher is still hard at work on Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II. What’s been taking so long? Apparently Sega is listening to the fan complaints and creating all-new graphics and physics engines for the game.
Oh, and they’re also inserting Miles “Tails” Prower as your sidekick and they’ve resurrected Metal Sonic to be the villain. Hit the break to view the entire interview.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II will be coming to the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and mobile platforms like iOS, Windows Phone, and Android in 2012 (sorry Wii owners). (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
First printing of Twisted Metal will include code for Twisted Metal Black
Outspoken game developer David Jaffe has unveiled the final box art for Eat Sleep Play’s reboot of Twisted Metal. As expected, a demonic looking Sweet Tooth is front and certain, but off to the side, you’ll see a little tag stating “Free Downloadable Game With Purchase.” According to Jaffe, the first printing of Twisted Metal will include a voucher to obtain a downloadable version of PS2 favorite Twisted Metal Black. It’s unknown how long the “first printing” will last, so if your copy of Twisted Metal Black is gone, you may want to pre-order the new Twisted Metal.
Twisted Metal will be available exclusively for the PS3 on February 14.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Twisted Metal
VVVVVV, Bionic Commando added to 3DS eShop
Indie darling VVVVVV and the Game Boy rendition of Bionic Commando lead this week’s 3DS eShop update. Also available this week is Cake Ninja (DSiWare), Slingo Supreme (DSiWare), and Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Big Ben Burglary (WiiWare).
More information on all of these games can be found right here:
VVVVVV (3DS eShop) – There’s something terribly wrong in an alternate dimension. Help Captain Viridian flip to find five crew members, locate 20 hard-to-reach Trinkets and save a dimension on the brink of destruction.
Bionic Commando (3DS eShop) – When the Federation’s greatest soldier is captured while infiltrating the enemy Doraize Army and investigating the development of a powerful super-weapon, elite commando Rad Spencer is sent in to save his missing comrade.
Cake Ninja (DSiWare) – This casual game invites you to slide the stylus across the screen to slice cakes into small pieces like a true ninja warrior. The more cakes you slice, the longer you stay around.
Slingo Supreme (DSiWare) – Slingo Supreme is the sequel to Slingo Deluxe, packed with even more Slingtastic fun. It features a new Supreme mode that lets you build more than 16,000 different Slingo games. It also offers an infinite supply of Daily Challenges, new Powerups (including Reel Nudge and Instant Slingos) and the long-awaited introduction of Devil Mini Games.
Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Big Ben Burglary (WiiWare) – Carmen Sandiego is back and only you can foil her V.I.L.E plans. Travel the globe, solve brain-twisting math puzzles, and catch the villain behind the Big Ben Burglary.
Justin Verlander’s Major League Baseball 2K12 box art revealed
This wintry Wednesday can definitely be classified as a slow news day. Thankfully, 2K Sports has added some Spring to our steps with the reveal of Justin Verlander’s Major League Baseball 2K12 cover. The Detroit Tigers pitcher went 24-8 with 250 strikeouts in 2011 en route to winning the AL Cy Young and AL MVP award. He also threw his second career no-hitter and took two other potential no-hitters into the 8th inning before surrendering a hit.
That’s quite a resume for a guy who’s only 28.
Major League Baseball 2K12 will be released on the DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012.
XBLA Today: All Zombies Must Die!
The final addition to the Xbox Live Arcade this year is All Zombies Must Die!, a twin-stick shooter from Square Enix and Doublesix that looks remarkably similar to the genre classic Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
For 800 Microsoft Points ($10), you can find out how similar they are for yourself. Square Enix is practically daring you:
Go on! Do it! Spend those points! Hurry up!: time is of the essence. Someone has to take care of all those zombies and who better to do that than a gifted gamer like yourself! Think – in a short while – you could be blasting your way through ranks of brain-hungry monsters, making bizarre weapons and completing crazy quests. All that could be yours if you just buy the game! Remember, All Zombies Must Die! We need you!
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged All Zombies Must Die!
Controller company’s customer service invokes the ire of the Internet
The following story is true. The names have not been changed to protect the guilty because it’s funnier that way.
To your left is The Avenger, a controller adapter created by N-Control that can bring more precise control to your PS3 and Xbox 360 controller. It also opens up the frantic world of first person shooters to players with disabilities that may otherwise prevent them from using an unmodded controller. Score one for the good guys, right?
Sadly, the people that N-Control hired to run the customer service end of their business are a bunch of bad guys.
That company is Ocean Marketing and, thanks to the boneheaded responses by Ocean PR rep Paul Christoforo, their days of working game-related PR/customer service likely just came to an end. Christoforo was contacted by Dave, an N-Control Avenger customer who wanted to check on the status of his order. After being given the run-around by Christoforo (and being insulted for good measure), Dave took his case to the game media.
As usual in a situation like this, Penny Arcade came to the rescue. They published Dave’s exchange with Christoforo and tried to make peace between the two parties. Christoforo then insulted PAX, insulted Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and, more or less, made an ass of himself.
In case you missed the link above, here it is again. Read the entire email exchange and watch as a man flushes his entire career down the toilet.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
UPDATE: N-Control has told Kotaku that Christoforo and Ocean Marketing no longer represent the Avenger Controller in any capacity. In other words, he’s been terminated!