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
Nintendo Download: Pokken Tournament, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, more
Are you ready to fight ’em all?
Nintendo and Bandai Namco have teamed up to finally release Pokken Tournament for the Wii U this week. The fighting game will feature dozens of different Pokemon characters and it’ll be available to download through the Wii U eShop on Friday, March 18.
Also coming soon is Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the latest Olympic-themed crossover clash for the two video game mascots. It’ll be available for the Wii U later this year, but 3DS owners can go for the Gold Medal this Friday.
Finally this week, Renegade Kid has launched Mutant Mudds Supper Challenge for the Wii U and 3DS. The “dimension-defying platformer” is available as a cross-buy purchase on both platforms, so you can take on the platforming challenges and boss battles at home or on the go.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, Pokken Tournament
Excelsior! WB Games reveals five Level Packs as part of Lego Avengers Season Pass
Lego Avengers will explore more of the Marvel universe later this month with the release of the game’s first Character & Level Packs.
WB Games announced plans to release five expansion packs as part of the game’s Season Pass, and on March 29, players will be able to wield the cosmic powers of Captain Marvel in the Classic Captain Marvel Character & Level Pack and re-create a classic Avengers battle with Baron Zemo in Classic Captain Marvel Character & Level Pack.
Later this Spring, three additional packs will be released including a Classic Black Panther Character & Level Pack that retells T’Challa’s origin (soon to be played by Chadwick Boseman on screen), an All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange Character & Level Pack that stars the Sorcerer Supreme (soon to be played by Benedict Cumberbatch on screen), and a Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Character & Level Pack.
The Lego Avengers Season Pass can be purchased for $9.99 on the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Individual Character & Level Packs will be available for $2.99 apiece. A complete breakdown of each pack is available after the break. (more…)
Shadow Complex Remastered will be available for PS4 in May
Shadow Complex Remastered is now available to download through the Xbox Games Store, and looks like it’ll also be released for the PS4 soon.
In a post on their official website, Epic Games confirmed that the modern-day “Metroidvania” will be released for the PS4 in May. The game will also be added to Steam in May, though PC players can purchase it now through ShadowComplex.com.
Shadow Complex Remastered was developed by Chair Entertainment and it was originally released as an Xbox 360-exclusive back in 2009.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged GDC 2016, Shadow Complex
PlayStation VR will launch in October and it’ll be priced at $399
In case you missed it earlier this week, Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation VR headset will be released this October. This launch window means it’ll be available several months after the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but it’s suggested retail price of $399 is well below that of competing headsets. For your money, you’ll receive a PlayStation VR headset, a pair of earbuds, a number of power and connection cables, and the required processing box.
According to the PlayStation Blog, more than 50 PlayStation VR-compatible games will be released by the end of the year, and more than 230 developers are currently working on PlayStation VR content. This includes Sony’s Japan Studio, which will launch Playroom VR, a free minigame collection, this October. The six activities available in Playroom VR will focus on interaction between multiple players, in an attempt to prove that VR doesn’t have to be a solitary experience.
A new trailer for Playroom VR has been embedded after the break. (more…)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is “Game of the Year” at 2016 GDC Awards
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt might be the last game in CD Projekt’s Witcher saga, but it’s first in the eyes of voters at the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards. The final adventure for Geralt of Rivia was awarded “Game of the Year” honors at the annual ceremony, as well as “Best Technology” for “its complex game engine that combines brilliant visuals with a huge game world.”
However, the big winner of the night was Sam Barlow’s Her Story. After cleaning up earlier in the day at the IGF Awards, Her Story also collected the “Innovation Award,” “Best Narrative,” and “Best Handheld/Mobile Game” at the 2016 GDC Awards.
The only other multi-award winner was Ori and the Blind Forest, which shone brightly as the winner of “Best Visual Art” and “Best Debut.”
As they do every year, the Game Developers Choice jury also distributed a trio of special awards at this year’s ceremony. The “Ambassador Award” was given to Tracy Fullerton, professor and Director of the University of Southern California Game Design program. Bethesda’s Todd Howard won a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his work with The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. And finally, Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft, was praised with the “Pioneer Award.”
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged GDC 2016, Her Story, Life Is Strange, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rocket League, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Her Story wins Seumas McNally Grand Prize at 2016 IGF Awards
Sam Barlow’s Her Story won the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize” at the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards last night. The game, which resurrected full motion video storytelling to tease out its central mystery, was also the recipient of the “Excellence In Narrative” trophy.
It was a great night for independent gaming as several other games were also honored at this year’s IGF Awards. The spooky Oxenfree won “Excellence In Visual Art,” the ultra-tense Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes won “Excellence in Design,” and the hypnotic and soothing sounds of Mini Metro won “Excellence In Audio.” “The Nuovo Award,” which recognizes “abstract and unconventional games,” was awarded to Cibele for its look at online relationships. And the “Best Student Game” of the year was Jenny Jiao Hsia and Alec Thomson’s Beglitched.
Finally, the “ID@Xbox Rising Star Award” was given to Girls Make Games for The Hole Story and Undertale, developed by Toby Fox, won the “Audience Award.”
Congratulations to everyone who was a winner last night at the 2016 Independent Games Festival Awards. The complete list of winners, in handy list format, can be found after the break. And don’t forget, if you’re in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference, every nominee from this year’s contest is available to try out at the IGF Pavilion. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged GDC 2016, Her Story, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Mini Metro
Oculus Rift will launch with 30 games on March 28
The Oculus Rift will officially be available in roughly two weeks, so today at the Game Developers Conference, the hardware maker announced the absolutely massive launch lineup for their virtual reality headset. Beginning March 28, 30 games will be available through the Oculus Store:
- Adrift (Three One Zero)
- Adventure Time (Turbo Button)
- AirMech: Command (Carbon Games)
- Albino Lullaby (Ape Law)
- Audio Arena (Skydome Studios)
- Project CARS (Slightly Mad Studios)
- Chronos (Gunfire Games)
- Darknet (E McNeil)
- Dead Secret (Robot Invader)
- Defense Grid 2 (Hidden Path Entertainment)
- Dreadhalls (White Door Games)
- Elite Dangerous (Frontier Developments)
- Esper 2 (Coatsink)
- Eve Valkyrie (CCP Games)
- Fly to Kuma (COLOPL)
- Eve Gunjack (CCP Games)
- Herobound SC (Gunfire Games)
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
- Lucky’s Tale (Playful)
- Omega Agent (Fireproof Games)
- Radial G (Tammeka Games)
- Rooms (HandMade Game)
- Shufflepuck Cantina Deluxe VR (Agharta Studio)
- Smashing the Battle (One-Man Studios)
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (The Astronauts)
- Vektron Revenge (Ludovic Texier)
- VR Tennis Online (COLOPL)
- Pinball FX 2 VR (Zen Studios)
- BlazeRush (Targem Games)
- Windlands (Psytec Games)
If all that weren’t enough, Oculus also revealed the Oculus Home, a virtual living room that you’ll use to explore your library of VR content. More information about the Oculus Rift’s launch lineup and Oculus Home can be found at the Oculus Blog.
Xbox Store Today: EA Sports UFC 2, Shadow Complex Remastered, Dungeon of the Endless, more
It’s a big day for the Xbox Games Store as seven new Xbox One titles are now available to download.
Leading things off is EA’s EA Sports UFC 2. As you might expect from its numerical suffix, UFC 2 is EA’s second stab at a mixed martial arts simulation. The megapublisher has added hundreds of fighters to the game as well as improved the “Knockout Physics System” in an attempt to create the most authentic MMA adaptation ever.
Also available today is Shadow Complex Remastered, Chair’s modern-day take on the “Metroidvania” genre. Originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2009, the remastered edition of the game includes enhanced graphics, all-new dynamic melee take-downs, and additional Achievements and Master Challenges. A second side-scroller will get an Xbox One re-release today as Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is also now available to download. WayForward has promised that the third game in the Shantae series is the biggest yet, and the first to debut on the Xbox One.
Finally today, Amplitude will bring Dungeon of the Endless and its unique “Rogue-Like Dungeon-Defense” hybrid to the Xbox One.
More information on all of these games (and several other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged EA Sports UFC 2, Shadow Complex, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse