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
Watch the Catherine announcement trailer
How’s your morning going? Good? Still a little tired? Well, after you watch Atlus’ North American announcement trailer for Catherine, you’ll never sleep again. If the rather disturbing imagery didn’t scare you away, you’ll be glad to know that Catherine is scheduled to ship sometime this Summer on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
As for me, I’ll be hiding from the sheepmen.
PixelJunk Shooter 2, Vagrant Story added to PlayStation Store
Q-Games’ manic shooting series returns to the PS3 in this week’s PlayStation Store update. PixelJunk Shooter 2 promises to be bigger than the first game with plenty of new weapons and new levels.
Also available this week, on the PSon Classics store, is the Square Enix RPG Vagrant Story. Like most JRPGs from the PSone era, Vagrant Story has been a nightmare to find on the used market, so its great to see its inclusion as a PSone Classic.
Finally, PlayStation Plus subscribers will be getting a quartet of free games this week including the first Sega Genesis Classic, Sonic the Hedgehog. Another classic game, this one a PSone Classic, going free this week is Spyro: Year of the Dragon.
Also available this week for Plus subscribers is a full-game sneak peek at two upcoming PSP Minis. There’s the retro-themed platformer Pix’n Love Rush from Sanuk Games and the puzzle game Enigmo from Beatshapers.
More information on this week’s new releases can be found after the break and details on all of this week’s game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation.Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged PixelJunk Shooter 2, Vagrant Story
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars Hands-On Preview: I Have a Familiar Feeling About This
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost five years since the release of Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. After LucasArts and developer TT Games retold both trilogies in Lego form, most gamers assumed that the Star Wars story was over. But after forays in Gotham City and Hogwarts, TT Games is back with a third Lego Star Wars game, this time based on “The Clone Wars” cartoon. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
USC is the top school for Video Game Design
For its April 2011 issue, GamePro teamed up with The Princeton Review to determine the best Video Game Design Study programs in North America. The University of Southern California (USC) took the top spot in both the undergraduate and graduate school rankings. The University of Utah, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Drexel University also appear on both lists.
The rankings were compiled through a survey that covered a wide range of topics, from academics and faculty credentials to graduates’ employment and career achievements. The quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure was also examined as well as scholarship, financial aid and career opportunities. In total, more than 150 schools offer some kind of Video Game Design coursework.
The complete top ten for both undergraduate and graduate programs can be found after the break. More information on the schools selected can be found at the GamePro article or at The Princeton Review report. (more…)
Catherine is coming to America
Atlus has confirmed that Catherine, their sexually-charged adventure game for the PS3 and Xbox 360, will be released in North America this Summer.
Right now all we have to go on is a teaser website for the game located at CatherineTheGame.com. The page includes the game’s boxart (which will be unique to each platform) as well as pre-order links to Amazon, GameStop and Video Games Plus. The Amazon link actually lists a more specific release date: July 26. But I’m sure we’ll find out the official release date very soon.
Serious Sam 3 goes boom this Summer
Croteam has been doing serious work on the third game in the Serious Sam series since 2009. Today, they unveiled the first screenshots of their labor and announced that Serious Sam 3: BFE would be released on consoles and the PC this Summer. There’s no word yet on what the BFE stands for.
Serious Sam 3 will actually be a prequel to the first game in the series and it’ll tell the tale of how Sam Stone first became “Serious” battling Mental’s forces back in 22nd century Egypt. While the game is powered by a brand new engine and sports a more realistic look, Serious Sam 3 is still all about the boom… or in the words of Croteam: “No cover systems, no camping – it’s just you and them. All of them.”
But that’s not to say there won’t be a few new tricks up Sam’s sleeveless shirt. This time around Sam will be able to perform melee attacks and take on the campaign mode with 15 of his closest friends. A variety of Versus Modes and new enemies round out Serious Sam 3’s big package.
When asked about the sales prospects of Serious Sam 3, the game’s publisher, Devolver Digital was very excited: “Holy crap, I am going to make a boatload of cash of this game,” said Fork Parker, chief financial officer at Devolver Digital, the Serious Sam 3: BFE publisher. “I mean that’s what this is all about, right? If this thing comes out in the summer my wife is totally getting the tit job she’s been asking for.”
Serious Sam was originally created to fill the void left by the continuing delays of Duke Nukem Forever, so it’ll be very interesting to see the two titans of the “gratuitous gunplay” genre go head-to-head in the marketplace this year.
Check out the first screenshots of Serious Sam 3: BFE after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged PC, PS3, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Xbox 360
Bit.Trip Flux added to Wii Shop
After six successful games, CommanderVideo’s reign atop the Wii Shop Channel is finally coming to an end. Today, Gaijin Games released Bit.Trip Flux, the final entry in the retro-tinged series.
According to Gaijin, Flux brings CommanderVideo full circle and players will be faced with “new challenges that will make even the most experienced Bit.Trippers weep.”
A trio of new DSiWare games are also available to download today. You can find out more about them after the break. (more…)
Tecmo to unmask Ninja Gaiden III at E3
Publisher Tecmo Koei and developer Team Ninja have unsheathed the first teaser for Ninja Gaiden III. The very short video is actually a POV shot from the eyes of a rival ninja that has just been skewered by series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa. As he thrusts again and again, more and more blood fills the screen causing Ryu to reach for his mask. The video then cuts to the words “Unmask E3 2011″… where Tecmo Koei no doubt plans to reveal more about Ryu’s next adventure.
Ninja Gaiden III will be the first game in the series not developed by Tomonobu Itagaki, who left Team Ninja in 2008.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged E3 2011, Ninja Gaiden 3