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 “looking for the right way” to do Jade Empire 2
BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk spoke at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo this weekend and the pair once again talked about their desire to expand the Jade Empire universe.
Executives at BioWare talk about a possible Jade Empire sequel once a year or so and this time it was Muzyka’s turn: “We’ve been talking a lot about [Jade Empire] on and off over the years. It’s an IP, it’s a setting that we’re really passionate about, and we still are. Both Greg and I were big believers in the IP. We’re just looking for the right way to deploy it.”
The BioWare CEO would go on to add, “We don’t have anything to announce on it right now, but it is a franchise that’s near and dear to us.”
Jade Empire was originally released on the Xbox back in 2005. With the Mass Effect trilogy concluding next year, perhaps BioWare will have more time to revisit some of their older franchises like Jade Empire.
[Source Eurogamer]
Posted in News
Weekly Warp-Up: Beta-Mania Edition
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…
Get Warp Zoned!
Warp Zoned gets literary this week with The Geek Genius Behind Ready Player One in An Interview With Ernest Cline. If you haven’t read the book that Senior Editor Nicole Kline calls “the greatest video game romance ever,” you really should. And you should also check out the movie he wrote, Fanboys. Yes, The Force is strong with this one.
Hit the jump for the rest of the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)
Posted in News
Conan shows off kinder, gentler Gears of War 3
Microsoft and Epic released the trilogy-capping Gears of War 3 earlier this week. But Conan O’Brien is here to let worried parents in on a big secret: it’s not as violent and vulgar as the first two titles in the series.
Watch as Delta Squad learns the true meaning of friendship as they get in touch with their feelings among the ruins of Sera. It’s beautiful man, just beautiful.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Xbox 360
Tagged Gears of War 3
New Releases: FIFA 12, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, X-Men Destiny, More
A soccer showdown highlights this week’s batch of new games as EA plans to release FIFA Soccer 12 on nearly every platform imaginable (3DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360) while Konami brings Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 to the PS3 and Xbox 360.
But the biggest new release this week has nothing to do with the beautiful game… well it is a collection of beautiful games, that’s for sure. I speak, of course, of The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection. Two of the greatest and most acclaimed games of all-time have been remastered in high definition and are now finally available on the PS3. Oh, and speaking of HD remakes, Ubisoft is bringing Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy to the PS3 as well.
Also available this week is Activision’s X-Men: Destiny (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) and the first Tetris game on the 3DS, Tetris: Axis.
Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged FIFA Soccer 12, The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, X-Men Destiny
Star Wars: The Old Republic jumps to stores on December 20
While it looks like Diablo III won’t be out until 2012, EA, LucasArts and BioWare have confirmed that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released by the end of the year. The massively multiplayer online game has been given an official release date of December 20 with “limited pre-order quantities.” Players who pre-order SWTOR will also receive an Early Game Access token to ensure they play the game before anyone else.
“In 1977, Lucasfilm created magic with the release of Star Wars. Our goal is to capture some of that magic when we go live with Star Wars: The Old Republic on December 20,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s Co-Founder. “This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated so much of their lives to building this extraordinary game.”
After the initial game purchase, players will be asked to spend $14.99 per month, $41.97 for 3 months ($13.99 per month), or $77.94 for six months ($12.99 per month) in subscription fees. What do they get for their money? Well…
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been lauded for breaking new ground in the genre by building on traditional MMO gameplay pillars of combat, exploration, character customization and progression, and adding a powerful fourth dimension to the experience — story with personal choice and consequence. The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, when the Star Wars galaxy is in the midst of a cold war.
Players will be asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters: Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Imperial Agent, Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior. Every player’s story will unfold based on meaningful choices made throughout the game, enabling them to become the hero of their own personal Star Wars saga.
Along their journey, players will encounter companion characters with whom they can build and break meaningful relationships as they fight by their side. Players will explore a vibrant galaxy, engage in heroic battles, and experience visceral Star Wars combat.
Sounds pretty epic, but can it topple the World of Warcraft juggernaut? As Yoda says, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Star Wars: The Old Republic
Forza 4 revs up a demo, DLC Season Pass
Microsoft and developer Turn 10 turned the key on a ton of big announcements for Forza Motorsport 4 yesterday.
The biggest news is the announcement of the Forza 4 Season Pass. Priced at 2400 Microsoft Points ($30), the Pass will be downloadable on the Xbox Live Marketplace or available from retailers on October 11 (the same day Forza 4 ships to stores). Players purchasing a Pass will gain access to six downloadable content packs (containing 60 cars) that’ll be released between November 2011 and April 2012. Purchased individually, the packs will cost 3600 Microsoft Points ($45), so the Pass works out to a 30% discount.
Pass purchasers will also receive a bonus car pack after the game launches. “The American Muscle Car Pack” will feature ten classic cars including the 1965 Pontiac GTO, 1968 Pontiac Firebird and the 1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock.
If you just can’t wait to take Forza Motorsport 4 for a test drive, Microsoft is planning to release a demo for Xbox Live Gold members on October 3. All other Xbox 360 owners will be able to download it on October 7.
Rounding the final turn, we’ve also learned that Turn 10 plans to offer a “Launch Pack” of five cars for gamers who purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition of Forza 4. The “Launch Pack” will include the 1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe, the 2011 Koenigsegg Agera, the 1997 Lexus SC300, the 2011 RUF RGT-8 and the 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport.
Finally, Turn 10 has confirmed that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home of the legendary Indianapolis 500) will be included in Forza 4.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Forza Motorsport 4
The Joker has the last laugh in the latest Batman: Arkham City trailer
Hugo Strange may be running Arkham City, but The Joker is still the biggest baddie of them all in the newest trailer for Batman: Arkham City. How serious is The Clown Prince of Crime? He actually considers killing Batman.
Batman: Arkham City will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 18 with the PC version arriving in November.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City
Blizzard will release Diablo III in early 2012
Were you hoping that Blizzard would release Diablo III this year? Well, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime just dashed your dreams by announcing the RPG now has an official release window of “early 2012.”
But it’s not so bad as the tongue-in-cheek press release that accompanied this announcement more than makes up for it:
Despite a sterling record of always hitting its release targets, Blizzard Entertainment today announced that the expected launch window for Diablo III, the next title in the company’s critically acclaimed series of action role-playing games, will be moving into early 2012.
Very amusing. Of course, Diablo III never actually had a late 2011 release date, so it didn’t move anywhere. But it’s nice to pretend. And pretend Mike Morhaime does.
“With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn’t put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready,” Morhaime said.
In response to the 2012 release date, Blizzard will extend the Diablo III beta, which began on September 20.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III