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
Weekly Warp-Up: Pokemon Go is a Go
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 in that rather blissful post-E3/pre-Gamescom rift where nothing much of note happens in the video game industry. Thankfully, Pokemon Go is here to make the Summer a little more exciting. But remember to steer clear of dead bodies when you’re trying to catch ’em all.
Another favorite Summer pastime is the recently-ended Summer Games Done Quick charity stream. But you can still go back and relive all of this year’s great runs, and don’t forget to watch the event’s “3-Legged Race” kickoff by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Finally this week, the Warp Zoned staff got together to discuss What We Played in June (Doom! Mighty No. 9!) and The Games of July (Um…).
More news from the rest of the week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Retail Releases: Ghostbusters, Song of the Deep, Monster Hunter Generations, More
I ain’t afraid of no monsters! And it’s a good thing too, because Capcom will launch the latest game in the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Generations, for the 3DS this week. Players will be able to go on hundreds of quests as they hunt a new crop of monstrous bosses by themselves or in a group with up to three friends in co-op multiplayer mode.
Monsters of the ocean haunt Insomniac’s side-scrolling Song of the Deep, a new “MetroidVania” available this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. As the first game published by GameStop’s GameTrust label, Song of the Deep will introduce players to Merryn, a young girl who goes under the sea to rescue her missing father.
Ghosts and zombies are monsters too, and I’m not afraid of them either… Activision will release Ghostbusters, a tie-in to the upcoming movie starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Capcom will re-release Resident Evil 5 for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Finally this week, Sega will launch 7th Dragon III: Code VFD, the first game in the RPG franchise to be released outside of Japan, for the 3DS.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Ghostbusters (2016), Monster Hunter Generations, Resident Evil 5, Song of the Deep
Carmageddon: Max Damage, Dex added to Xbox Store; Red Dead Redemption joins Xbox One Backwards Compatibility List
Two new Xbox One games are now available to download through the Xbox Games Store, but it’s the addition of a much-requested Xbox 360 game to the Backwards Compatibility list that’ll get everyone talking this week.
But let’s start with the new releases, including Carmageddon: Max Damage for the Xbox One, the first new entry in the franchise in almost two decades. But in all that time, the vehicular violence is still the same as players will be asked to wreck their opponents in a destruction derby, chase down pedestrians, and cause maximum chaos. Also available for the Xbox One this week is Dex, a futuristic RPG that pays homage to the genre’s 1990s heyday.
While those titles will surely be interesting to many gamers out there, Red Dead Redemption‘s addition to the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility list is the big story this week. Rockstar’s epic western was an award-winning juggernaut back in 2010, and it’s just as well-loved today. To celebrate the game’s Xbox One debut, Rockstar has also decided to give away most of the game’s DLC expansions (including the Legends and Killers Pack, Liars and Cheats Pack, Myths and Mavericks Pack, Hunting and Trading Pack, and Outlaws to the End) for free. And while the Undead Nightmare expansion isn’t free, it’s price has been slashed to $9.99. Yee-haw!
More information on today’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Red Dead Redemption
Pikmin 4 is “hard to fit” into Nintendo’s list of priorities, but they haven’t forgotten about it
Pikmin 4 has been a tricky game to pin down. First announced in 2014 as part of a Shareholder Q&A, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto would go on to tell the media that it was “very close to completion” in September 2015. So what happened to it? In the ten months since, we’ve heard nothing about the next entry in the Pikmin franchise.
Thankfully, Game Rant tracked down Mr. Miyamoto at this year’s E3 Expo to ask him about Pikmin 4. Being his usual candid self, the famed developer confirmed the game is still in development, however, he also admitted that Nintendo has been having trouble fitting into their schedule:
“Yes, you are right, and we’re working on [Pikmin 4]. So, you know, when we’re in development we have to create a list of priorities and it has been hard to kind of fit that into that list, but we’re hopefully starting to see that on the list now.”
Pikmin 4 was originally announced for the Wii U, but with Nintendo’s NX console scheduled to launch in March 2017, it’s possible that Pikmin 4’s placement on the priority list could be a sign the game is moving to the new console. Nintendo has promised to reveal a bit more about the NX this Fall, but a one-two punch of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pikmin 4 would certainly help the new platform make a name for itself.
Resident Evil 4 will shamble onto the PS4 and Xbox One on August 30
Previously scheduled to launch this Fall, Capcom has revealed that their Resident Evil 4 re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One will be available to download much earlier than expected. According to the Capcom-Unity blog, the zombie shooter will be added to the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store later this Summer, on August 30.
In addition to delivering a new release date, the Capcom-Unity blog also detailed some of the bonus features that’ll be included in Resident Evil 4 for the PS4 and Xbox One:
This current release of Resident Evil 4 on PS4 and Xbox One includes all the bonus content from the original game, as well as additional features that were added in later versions. The mysterious and elusive Ada Wong stars in her own side story, which fills in intriguing story gaps from Leon’s mission. Mercenaries Mode – the addicting evolution of RE3’s bonus mode – is awarded to players who complete the campaign, providing hours of replayability and lets fans play as Wesker, Hunk, and more iconic characters.
RE4 also boasts some of the most satisfying New Game Plus action ever, allowing players to bring their powerful arsenal, unlocked costumes, and other secret weapons into a fresh playthrough. Want to focus on yourself instead of protecting Ashley? Equip her with the knight armor costume and laugh as enemy’s attempt to attack her or carry her off with futility. Leon’s Chicago Typewriter – an insanely powerful Tommy Gun – also provides a fun power trip if you have enough cash to give the infamous Merchant.
A PS4/Xbox One retail release for Resident Evil 4 will be announced at a later date.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Resident Evil 4
Nintendo Download: Legend of Mystical Ninja, Baseball Simulator 1000, Flying Dragon, more
Nintendo is mining its past for this week’s Nintendo eShop update.
Wii U owners are now able to download a pair of titles from the NES era… Baseball Simulator 1000 and Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll. Baseball Simulator 1000 was one of the games to add a dash of wackiness to America’s pastime with “Ultra Plays” that changed the sport in interesting ways (Disappearing pitches! Exploding balls!). And Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll is a side-scrolling brawler where players will use “six different types of fighting techniques” to save the world.
Over on the 3DS eShop, the well-liked Legend of the Mystical Ninja is now available to download if you own a New 3DS handheld. Originally released for the Super NES in 1992, it was the first game in the Goemon series to receive a North American launch.
You can learn more about all three games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Pokemon Go is now available for mobile devices
Pokemon Go, the Pokemon Company’s augmented reality game that places Pokemon in real world locales, is now available to download for iOS and Android devices.
In Pokemon Go, players around the globe will explore their surroundings to find and catch wild Pokemon hiding in their midst. Some wild Pokemon appear in their native environments—for example, Water-type Pokemon may appear near lakes and oceans. Once players have encountered a Pokemon, they can catch it by using their smartphone’s touchscreen to throw a Poke Ball. Poke Balls and other special items can be found at PokeStops located at interesting places, such as public art installations, historical markers, and monuments.
If you’re still not quite sure how Pokemon Go works, a brand new Launch Trailer has been embedded above. And if you need even more information, Nintendo’s Treehouse team provided a very extensive demonstration of the game during this year’s E3 Expo, which is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
Turtle Rock announces “vigorous overhaul” for Evolve as it goes free-to-play on PC
Even though it sold several million copies, Evolve more or less disappeared from the public eye after its release in early 2015. A confusing (and pricey) DLC structure seems to have pushed away almost everyone that was enamored by the game after its 2014 debut at PAX East, or its subsequent pre-release showings at E3 or Gamescom.
But Turtle Rock wants to revitalize their 4v1 shooter, and they’re going to start by making Evolve a free-to-play game on the PC beginning tomorrow, July 7. In addition to rebalancing the Hunter classes and making improvements to the maps, Turtle Rock wrote on their Community Forum that they plan to use this “Beta” relaunch as a testing ground for weekly updates to Evolve:
Here’s how it’s going to work: We’re going to make Evolve free on PC as a Beta starting on July 7. This is going to allow us to hit our new server infrastructure really hard and we need your help testing. Stuff could break, and that’s our hope, because that will give us time to improve things as we go. We’ll parse out major Beta revisions, updates and features over a period of weeks and months — a plan we’re going to continually communicate here. This allows us to test new features and major changes to make our game more accessible and ever closer to the joy we saw when we first showed our baby to the world. Just as importantly, this Beta plan gives us the flexibility and time we need to keep fixing bugs and making Evolve more stable.
Players who purchased Evolve before it went free-to-play will be given “Founder” status and periodically receive “gifts, rewards, and special access” from Turtle Rock. And according to another post by Turtle Rock, the free-to-play “Beta” will start on the PC, but the goal is to bring to the PS4 and Xbox One as well.
Turtle Rock will host a huge livestream detailing the changes coming to Evolve on Twitch tomorrow at noon (Eastern Time).