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
Universal Studios Japan unveils first look at Super Nintendo World amusement park
Universal Studios Japan has given fans their first look at “Super Nintendo World,” which will open in 2020. The first Nintendo-themed area for the amusement park chain will celebrate its grand opening just before the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and a brand new conceptual rendering has given us a glimpse at Peach’s Castle and Bowser’s Castle.
Universal has announced plans to spend nearly half a billion dollars to build the massive attraction:
Super Nintendo World will be comprised of expansive and multilevel environments filled with unprecedented, state-of-the-art rides, interactive areas, shops and restaurants, all featuring Nintendo’s most popular characters and games. Development cost at Universal Studios Japan is currently expected to exceed 50 billion Yen [$433,520,000]. Super Nintendo World will be developed mainly using the park’s current parking area and part of an area designated for future expansion.
In addition to the sights and sounds of the Mushroom Kingdom, Universal has promised that “Super Nintendo World” will stimulate “all five senses” for Nintendo fans. Perhaps Link’s recipe file from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will make its way onto the menu at “Super Nintendo World.”
Universal will also build Nintendo-themed areas at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. Details on those attractions will be announced at a later date.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier gets a Launch Trailer ahead of December 20 release
The Walking Dead‘s midseason finale airs tonight on AMC, and Telltale has decided to fill our Sunday with even more zombies by also unveiling the Launch Trailer for The Walking Dead: A New Frontier.
A New Frontier will kick off on December 20 with a special two-episode premiere. And to further drive home how connected these episodes are, Telltale has even titled them Ties That Bind Part I and Ties That Bind Part II.
Whether they’re exploring Clementine’s world for the first time, or importing choices from the previous seasons, Telltale wants to show players just how important the bonds of friendship can be in the Launch Trailer when Clementine introduces herself to newcomer Javier:
When family is all you have left… how far will you go to protect it? Years after society was ripped apart by undead hands, pockets of civilization emerge from the chaos. But at what cost? Can the living be trusted on this new frontier? As Javier, a young man determined to protect his family, you meet a young girl who has experienced her own unimaginable loss. Her name is Clementine, and your fates are bound together in a story where every choice you make could be your last.
In the full launch trailer for the two-part premiere, we further explore the dire situation that brings newcomer Javier and his family together with the young survivor Clementine. We also catch a glimpse of familiar faces from The Walking Dead universe such as Jesus, while also getting some clues on exactly what this “New Frontier” represents…
Ties That Bind Part I and Ties That Bind Part II will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on December 20.
Hidden message seemingly confirms Switch release for The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+
After strongly hinting at a Switch release for The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ last week, Nicalis CEO Tyrone Rodriguez has seemingly confirmed the port through Twitter.
In a series of tweets (embedded on the right), Rodriguez used the first word in each tweet to deliver a coded message to fans:
“The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ coming to Switch in Spring 2017”
It’s certainly possible that Rodriguez’s choice of words are a complete coincidence and The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ isn’t in development for the Switch. But I think it’s much more likely that the roguelike will appear on the Switch shortly after the console’s launch in March 2017.
Posted in News
Tagged Switch, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
See Tommy Jarvis in the latest Friday the 13th: The Game trailer
Jason Voorhees has been killed nearly a dozen times over the years, but only Tommy Jarvis can claim to have taken out the serial killer more than once.
Originally played by Corey Feldman in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Tommy managed to turn Jason’s own machete against him and put him in the morgue… at the time it was even supposed to be permanent. However, the slasher icon would return in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, after Tommy accidentally reanimates him with a bolt of lightning (Whoops!). This battle will play out again in Gun Media’s Friday the 13th: The Game, which will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in early 2017.
Actor Thom Matthews played Tommy in Jason Lives, and he’s all set to reprise his role for Friday the 13th: The Game. You can get your first glimpse at the character in the new trailer embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Friday the 13th
Weekly Warp-Up: Nintendo Will Fully Unveil the Switch in One Month…
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…
We’re just 32 days away from Nintendo’s big Switch presentation, and with the rest of the industry shutting down for the holidays, it’s a great time to talk about everything that’s been happening with the upcoming console.
The biggest news from this past week is that the consolemaker brought the Nintendo Switch (and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Run) to The Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon got to grope the coveted console for a few minutes, and it was our first “live” look at the machine operating in the wild.
But perhaps more interesting is all the rumors surrounding the Switch, including a fairly credible report that states From Software will release a Dark Souls Trilogy collection next year. Fans of classic gaming might also be interested in the rumored inclusion of GameCube games in the Switch’s Virtual Console.
Indie developers are wholeheartedly embracing the Switch and two new games were announced this week: a dreamy exploration game known as Seasons of Heaven, and an adventurous RPG known as The Sacred Hero.
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, the staff got together to discuss What We Played in November and The Games of December.
More news from the previous seven days can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Bandai Namco adds Kuma and Panda to Tekken 7
People often joke about the ridiculousness of some of the characters that Capcom and NetherRealm have trotted out for Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat over the years. But neither franchise can compete with Bandai Namco’s Tekken, especially since the developer recently confirmed that Kuma and Panda will be included in the upcoming Tekken 7.
In Tekken lore, Kuma is the super-intelligent ursine bodyguard of Heihachi Mishima, the franchise’s big bad. Meanwhile, Panda serves the same role for Ling Xiaoyu, Mishima’s adopted granddaughter.
Tekken 7 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in the first few months of 2017. You can get your first look at Kuma and Panda in the trailer embedded above.
Conan O’Brien and Terry Crews play Battlefield 1 while petting bunnies
Things I learned in this episode of Clueless Gamer… Conan O’Brien is a huge World War I nerd and Terry Crews suffers from excitement urination.
That last one was probably a joke, but Conan really does geek out over history and he was having a blast playing DICE’s Battlefield 1. The host was also overcome with emotion as the game highlighted the true horrors of war and eventually needed to calm his nerves by petting a bunny. That is not a euphemism, by the way.
Battlefield 1 is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1
Xbox Store Today: Gigantic, Westerado, Sky Force Anniversary, more
The Xbox Games Store is closing out the week with a “huge” new addition to the Xbox One Game Preview program.
Motiga has been hard at work on Gigantic for several years now, and the developer is finally ready to unleash an Open Beta on unsuspecting Xbox One owners. Part MOBA and part third-person shooter, Gigantic is a 5v5 battle between teams of unique heroes with “fantastical spells, weapons, and abilities.” It’s available now as a free download, but purchasing the Founder’s Pack ($39.99) will unlock all 16 characters.
Also available to download for the Xbox One today is Westerado: Double Barreled, a retro-styled open world western from Adult Swim Games. Players can become “an outlaw or a saint” as they attempt to avenge the murder of their family.
Finally today, Infinite Dreams will release Sky Force Anniversary, a remake of an overhead shooter that was originally released for mobile devices back in 2004. The Xbox One version retains all the shooting action of the original Sky Force, but adds “3D graphics, intuitive controls, and a powerful upgrade system.”
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gigantic, Westerado: Double Barreled