Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets 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
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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
Rumor: Nintendo will bring Legend of Zelda to mobile devices later this year
The hierarchy of Nintendo franchises is very clear… Mario is on top, then there’s The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon comes after that. With Super Mario Run and Pokemon Go already available to download for mobile devices, it’s only a matter of time until Nintendo introduces Link to their mobile initiative. But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, it might be happening sooner than we think.
Speaking to “people familiar with the matter,” The Journal’s Takashi Mochizuki believes that a Legend of Zelda Mobile game will be released later this year, sometime after the launch of Animal Crossing Mobile. Mochizuki also stressed that it’s possible Animal Crossing might be delayed (for the third time), which would force Nintendo to release Zelda Mobile first. However, aside from its existence, no other details about the game were revealed.
Naturally, Nintendo declined to comment on this rumor, but it seems rather obvious the company would want to ride the Breath of the Wild hype with more adventures starring Link. A new entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise will eventually appear on mobile devices, and now is as good a time as any.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Animal Crossing Mobile
New Retail Releases: Injustice 2, Fire Emblem Echoes, The Surge, More
The DC Universe will descend into civil war once more with this week’s release of Injustice 2 for the PS4 and Xbox One. But in addition to a new antagonist (Brainiac), the latest one-on-one fighting game from NetherRealm Studios will introduce a special Gear System that allows players to customize their favorite character in interesting new ways.
Speaking of war, Nintendo will also launch Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for the 3DS this week. Widely expected to be the final Fire Emblem game released for the 3DS, Echoes is an enhanced remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was originally released in 1992, and only in Japan.
A wholly different type of RPG will be available from Focus Home and Deck 13, as they’ll release The Surge for the PS4 and Xbox One. An action RPG set in a science fiction setting, The Surge requires players to augment their character with technological enhancements and scavenge additional powerups from dismembered enemies.
Finally this week, the sugary and sweet Cooking Mama franchise returns to the 3DS with Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop. Seems like a rather appropriate choice for Mother’s Day.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Injustice 2, The Surge
Tom Brady gets a “GOAT Edition” as the cover athlete of Madden NFL 18
Ever since he helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowl LI in February, the sports world has been debating whether or not Tom Brady is the “Greatest Of All Time” (the “GOAT”). Yesterday, EA Sports delivered their opinion on the matter by announcing that Brady would grace the cover of Madden NFL 18, as well as a special “GOAT Edition” of the game.
“The Madden NFL 18 cover is a great honor for me,” said Brady. “Especially since I have been playing the game since growing up next to EA headquarters in the Bay Area. I’m not one to believe in curses, so I’m ready to take the challenge head on like always! It doesn’t stand a chance!!!”
Madden NFL 18 is once again in development at EA Tiburon and will use EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine for the first time. According to the publisher, the Frostbite engine will provide “a significant visual leap” for the franchise.
EA Sports also unveiled the first teaser trailer for Madden NFL 18, but fans will have to wait until this year’s E3 Expo for a more in-depth look at the game. As part of this presentation, EA Sports will reveal a brand new story mode for Madden NFL 18 patterned after FIFA 17‘s The Journey.
Fans who pre-order Madden NFL 18 will receive a pair of Ultimate Team bonuses including an Elite player from their favorite NFL team and five Squad Packs. Those who opt for the GOAT Edition will also receive the “GOAT Player” of their choice for the popular mode. And in addition to these bonuses, the GOAT Edition will also feature a three-day early access period.
Madden NFL 18 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on August 25.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2017, Madden NFL 18
Xbox Store Today: Demon’s Crystals, Narcosis, Human Fall Flat, Elliot Quest
The Xbox Games Store is taking us into the weekend with a quartet of new additions to its virtual shelves.
First up is Demon’s Crystals, a twin-stick shooter for the Xbox One with a fantasy vibe. Players will take control of anime-styled Urican demons, who use magic and heavy artillery to battle back an invading army.
Also available to download for the Xbox One today is Narcosis, a survival horror game that takes place on the bottom of the ocean.
Finally today, Xbox One owners will be able to download two new puzzle platformers. Human: Fall Flat is a surreal adventure that takes place in “floating dreamscapes,” and Elliot Quest is a dungeon-crawling platformer where players attempt to break a curse on the main character.
More information on all four of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
The Video Game Canon – Contra
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon by calling up the two commandos from Contra to examine the history of gaming’s most famous cheat code. Here’s a teaser…
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start.
The rhythm of the words made them sound less like a controller input and more like a prayer. By “speaking” the correct phrase with their controller as the Contra title screen rolled into view, players were able to invoke the spirit of the developers and begin the game with 27 additional lives. In a way, the Konami Code was quite literally a gift from the gods behind the game’s creation, and not so dissimilar from the God Mode cheat that was included in early first-person shooters like Doom.
The Konami Code was originally programmed into 1986’s Gradius by Kazuhisa Hashimoto as a way to unlock a huge weapons cache in the notoriously difficult shooter. He has even joked that the button sequence was left in the game by accident. The Code quickly became an accepted part of the of the publisher’s identity, and its inclusion in Contra (along with Super Mario Bros.‘s Warp Zones and Metroid‘s password system) changed the way people progressed through a game’s levels. These features meant that players were no longer forced to follow the same trail through a game. Now, they could veer off in new directions, and discover what secrets a game held on their own.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon
Tagged Contra
The Sims Mobile will bring the life simulation to mobile devices soon
EA has attempted to bring a Sims-like experience to mobile devices before (most recently with The Sims Freeplay), but it looks like smartphone and tablet users will soon get to experience something much closer to the real thing. That’s because the publisher recently unveiled the debut trailer for The Sims Mobile.
In addition to shrinking down the lifestyle simulation the franchise is best known for, The Sims Mobile wants to tell stories over multiple generations, and players will be able to collect Heirlooms that commemorate a growing family tree:
The Sims Mobile Features
- Shape Your Sims Legacy: Shape your Sims’ families over multiple generations. When your Sims accomplish their career goals and retire, you’ll be rewarded with Heirlooms that unlock hobbies and careers for future generations, allowing new Sims to tell deeper stories.
- Create Unique Sims: Customize your Sims with distinct appearances, hairstyles, outfits, and accessories. Choose different personality traits and life goals!
- Build A Home: Personalize your Sims home layouts and designs, and decorate with a variety of furniture, appliances, decorations, and more.
- Play Together: Host and attend parties with other Sims to socialize, show off your amazing house, earn rewards, and develop new relationships.
The Sims Mobile will be available “soon,” and fans can sign up at the official website to be notified when it’s ready to launch.
Nintendo Download: Minecraft Switch Edition, Garou Mark of the Wolves, Elliot Quest
Three new games are now available to download through the Nintendo eShop, but we start with the biggest game on the planet right now… Minecraft.
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition brings the popular open world game to Nintendo’s newest console, and players will be able to join up with three other friends for local multiplayer, while up to eight can venture forth together online. The Nintendo Switch Edition of Minecraft also includes the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, so everyone can transform the game’s blocky terrain into a mirror of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Beginning today, Switch owners will also get the chance to download SNK’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Originally released for the NeoGeo in 1999, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is a one-on-one fighting game, and the last game to date in the Fatal Fury series.
Finally this week, Elliot Quest was added to the 3DS side of the eShop. Developer PlayEveryWare created an 8-bit adventure that was inspired by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Mega Man II, and players will battle through five dungeons to cure Elliot of his curse.
You can learn more about all of these games after the break. (more…)
Here’s the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles
Activision and Treyarch unveiled the Zombies Chronicles expansion for Call of Duty: Black Ops III earlier this week, and now they’re back with a brand new gameplay trailer.
The Zombies Chronicles expansion goes back to the beginning of the popular co-op mode with eight rebuilt and remastered maps including “Nacht der Untoten,” “Verruckt,” “Shi No Numa,” “Kino Der Toten,” “Ascension,” “Shangri-La,” “Moon,” and “Origins.” It’ll be available to download for the PS4 on May 16, before coming to the PC and Xbox One later this Spring.
And in case you were wondering… yes, the trailer is soundtracked by a cover of Flock of Seagulls’s “I Ran (So Far Away).”
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III