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
Carl Edwards crosses the finish line first at All-Star Race to become NASCAR Heat: Evolution’s cover athlete
For some drivers, there was more at stake than the checkered flag during yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. That’s because Dusenberry Martin Racing, the publisher behind the upcoming NASCAR Heat: Evolution, offered the coveted cover athlete position to the first Toyota driver to cross the finish line. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex Jr. competed for the prize for 113 laps, but it was Edwards who beat out the other four in the end.
Dusenberry Martin Racing sent out this image (note the “Not Final Cover Art” tag) after his fourth place finish:
#CarlEdwards is the official cover athlete of #NASCARHeat Evolution. pic.twitter.com/TwbzortfBL
— DMR NASCAR Heat (@dmrnascarheat) May 22, 2016
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 13. And congratulations are also in order for Joey Logano, the actual winner of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
Weekly Warp-Up: Rumors About Red Dead Redemption 2 and Quake 5 Abound…
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…
With the 2016 E3 Expo inching ever closer, more and more rumors have started to crop up about what the major publishers are working on next. Just look at Rockstar Games, the publishing label hasn’t produced an original game since 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, but this week we learned they’re working on “multiple projects,” and that one of them might be Red Dead Redemption 2.
I don’t doubt that something big is brewing within the walls of Rockstar, but it’s a little harder to believe that id Software is going to jump straight from Doom to Quake 5. However, I also can’t picture them trying something new just yet, so a return to one of gaming’s biggest franchises could be a very real possibility (albeit one we might not get to play until 2018).
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, we reviewed Renegade Kid’s Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, and if you’re a fan of retro-inspired platformers, you might want to give it a chance.
More news from this past week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Retail Releases: Overwatch, TMNT Mutants in Manhattan, More
Another week, another handful of new releases. However, one of the most-anticipated games of the last few years will be available on store shelves this week, so that’s certainly something to celebrate.
Blizzard began working on their secretive “Titan MMO” project more than ten years, and while the game was eventually scrapped, parts of it were incorporated into Overwatch, a unique “Hero Shooter” for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Rather than populate its game with generic character types, Blizzard chose to create dozens of unique “Heroes” for Overwatch, and they gave each one their own personality and fighting style. Overwatch is very similar to the recently-released Battleborn, and I’m sure the two games will be compared and contrasted for many years to come.
Also available this week is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, a Platinum Games-developed beat ’em up for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. Mutants in Manhattan isn’t a simple movie adaptation, and instead features a comics-inspired art style and an original storyline not tied to any previous incarnation of the Ninja Turtles.
Finally this week, a trio of lesser-known games will also be available on store shelves for the first time. The list includes Dungeons II (PS4), a tactical strategy game; Adam’s Venture: Origins (PS4), a narrative adventure game; and Tropico 5: Penultimate Edition (Xbox One), a repackaged re-release of the city builder with additional bonus material.
We’ll be back soon to look at the latest digital releases on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop throughout the rest of the week.
New video highlights the accessibility features of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
There has been a big push over the last few years to make more games accessible to people with disabilities. That can include everything from the creation of custom controllers, all the way down to specialized in-game options to give more players the opportunity to play a game.
In a new video posted yesterday, Naughty Dog has revealed some of the ways they tried to make Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End more accessible to everyone.
“What developers need to realize is that these games do more than just entertain the disabled,” said Josh Straub, a fan who pushed Naughty Dog to include more accessibility features in Uncharted 4. “First of all, they provide an escape from sort of the doldrums of being disabled. And second of all, they provide a social space where, instead of being judged for physical appearance, we’re judged by the actions that we do and things we produce in the game.”
Straub met with UI Designer Alexandra Neonakis, and he explained how important accessibility features can be for gamers who happen to be disabled. After their meeting, Neonakis presented this conversation to the rest of the development team, which lead to a number of new options within the game.
Andres Ortiz, a UI Scripter with the multiplayer team, also saw a need for better accessibility after earlier games in the series used red and green to denote the teams in multiplayer. But by switching the colors to red and blue, Ortiz made Uncharted 4 much more accessible for people who are color-blind.
You can watch the full video above, and congratulations to Naughty Dog for making Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End available to as many players as possible.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will be released on September 13
Dusenberry Martin Racing, which formerly operated under the DMi Games moniker, announced today that they will bring back the NASCAR Heat series this September with NASCAR Heat: Evolution. In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the racing simulation will be developed by Monster Games, the same team responsible for the original NASCAR Heat.
Ed Martin, the “Martin” (and President) of Dusenberry Martin Racing, believes this partnership will lead to a new era of NASCAR games: “To deliver an all-new NASCAR game experience, we assembled an all-star team of NASCAR game experts and started with a clean sheet of paper. What the DMR and Monster Games teams have come up with is going to amaze NASCAR fans.”
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will immerse fans in the door-to-door excitement of stock car racing and allow users to live the experience of taking the checkered flag. Whether a casual or hardcore gaming fan, NASCAR Heat Evolution will dynamically adapt to any skill level and deliver a true-to-life racing experience. The new game will feature all of the top drivers, teams, and incredibly detailed tracks and environments, giving fans the opportunity to feel what it is like to be a racing legend.
Dusenberry Martin Racing is also holding a contest to choose a cover athlete for NASCAR Heat: Evolution, but don’t expect the typical online vote. Instead, the publisher struck a sponsorship deal with Toyota, and the first Toyota driver (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, or Martin Truex Jr.) to cross the finish line during tomorrow’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway will also appear on the cover of NASCAR Heat: Evolution.
NASCAR Heat: Evolution is currently scheduled to be released on September 13.
Shovel Knight is getting a series of tie-in kids books this January
Shovel Knight lives by the Codes of Shovelry, and the teachings of this ancient art helped him topple the Order of No Quarter in Yacht Club’s excellent side-scrolling platformer of the same name. Capturing the hearts and minds of nostalgic gamers everywhere after his 2014 debut, Shovel Knight will take on his greatest challenge next year… the Children’s Literature section of your local bookstore.
Yacht Club Games has partnered with Grosset & Dunlap to publish a series of Shovel Knight-themed books targeted at kids 8-12 years old. The four books announced so far include:
- Shovel Knight Guidebook, a 176-page strategy guide that includes all of Shovel Knight’s secrets and tips to defeat the Order of No Quarter.
- Shovel Knight: Codes of Shovelry Handbook, which will teach readers more about the characters from the game, “as well as tips for enhanced gameplay.”
- Shovel Knight: Digger’s Diary, a journal filled with “fun activities, challenging mazes and puzzles, and writing prompts.”
- Shovel Knight Mad Libs, which promises 21 silly stories from the world of Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club expects to release Shovel Knight’s final two expansions by the end of the year, which nicely matches up with the January 10, 2017 release date for the game’s first four tie-in books.
Battleborn’s first DLC character, Alani, will be available very soon
Gearbox Software is getting ready to release Alani, the first of five free downloadable bonus characters for Battleborn. If you purchased Battleborn’s Digital Deluxe Edition or Season Pass, you’ll be able to play as Alani as early as Tuesday, May 24. Everyone else will be able to download the character a week later, on May 31.
Alani is a Warrior-Monk, who has the ability to heal while also charging into battle like a badass. You can get a look at the character on the game’s official website, and learn more about her backstory right here:
A member of the Eldrid faction who was raised as a healer, but forced to be a warrior, Alani is all that remains of her order after Rendain’s Jennerit Imperium stole the oceans from her world. As a warrior from a planet with vast seas, Alani’s attacks and abilities revolve around her power to control water to dish out pain, or heal her fellow Battleborn.
Gearbox is also introducing “Hero Keys” for Digital Deluxe and Season Pass owners later this month. With a Hero Key, players will be able to instantly unlock any hero in the game, even if they haven’t completed the necessary Challenge Objective or reached the requisite Command Rank. Everyone who participated in the Open Beta on the PS4 will also receive a Hero Key, and access to the first Story DLC Pack.
Finally, Gearbox will host a Double XP Event for Battleborn players all this weekend. The event kicked off a few hours ago and will come to an end on Wednesday, May 25, at 11:00 AM (Eastern Time).
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
Xbox Store Today: Cubikolor
Just one new addition to the Xbox Games Store today, and it’s Cubikolor, a cube-moving puzzler from developer Fractal Box. Available now for the Xbox One, Cubikolor looks like it would have been all the rage back in the puzzle-loving days of the late 80s and early 90s.
And here’s a bit more information about Cubikolor from its Xbox Games Store description page:
Xbox One Games
Cubikolor ($7.99)
Move your Kube by matching the kolors of the sides and the platform to complete each level. Armed only with your logic and your Kube, move through the 150 levels outwitting the traps in the System, an evil, scheming entity, to confront the machine and pass the test! Discover lots of special Kubes with some surprising effects, and advance through the different game backdrops in Classik or Hardkore mode. Keep an eye on the time and move limits! Outsmart the System and use its traps to your advantage: Booby-trapped Kubes, multikolored Kubes and many more await you in this next-gen puzzle game.