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
Madden NFL 16 launch trailer is an insane action movie spoof that forever raises the bar
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of the bar for video game launch trailers being raised. And that sound can only be vocalized as “Hoo-Ah!”
The launch trailer in question belongs to Madden NFL 16, which has been refashioned by EA Sports into a Summer blockbuster known as Madden: The Movie. Taking more than a few cues from the Fast and the Furious franchise, Madden: The Movie features Dave Franco as Blade Johnson, a star of the underground Madden circuit. His girlfriend has been kidnapped and its up to him and his gang of “Playmakers” to bring her back. Thankfully, said Playmakers include Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Janet, Rob Gronkowski as Half Top, Julio Jones as Trick Montelban, Antonio Brown as Sticky Bun, Coach Rex Ryan as Lil Pepper, and Colin Kaepernick as Al Pacino from Scent of a Woman. In addition to its star-studded cast, Madden: The Movie has plenty of deception, intrigue, rampaging dinosaurs, and even a Bollywood-style dance number.
Madden NFL 16 will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One tomorrow. Which means you have enough time between now and then to watch Madden: The Movie more than 100 times. You didn’t have anything better to do today, did you?
Super Mario Maker’s coolest player-created courses include a wild roller coaster, a shooter, a puzzle platformer, and more
Super Mario Maker‘s release is about three weeks away, but many press outlets have already gotten their hands on it and created a variety of amazing levels. Polygon collected their five favorites, and if this is just the start of the community’s creativity, I think we’ll all be playing Super Mario Maker for a very long time.
Out of these five, I think my personal favorite is “Super Shmup Bros.,” which transforms Mario’s traditional platforming antics into an auto-scrolling shooter. Apparently, all you need is a Koopa Clown Car for flight, a Fire Flower for ammunition, and a neverending stream of Flying Spinies. It actually reminded me quite a bit of the shooting sections of Super Mario Land, and I love that someone brought the idea back to the Mario series.
Other courses that made the list include “Enjoy Mr. Blue Bones’ Wild Ride,” a wild roller coaster that requires players to stand absolutely still; “The Riddler: Prologue,” a fiendish puzzle platformer take on Mario; “Vertical Bowling,” a level that asks players to kick an enemy into ten other enemies to score points; and “Winners Don’t Do Shrooms,” a course that requires players to stay small.
Super Mario Maker will be available exclusively for the Wii U on September 11.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Nintendo plans to reissue rare Amiibo figures (Little Mac, Villager, Marth, more) this Fall
It looks like several previously rare Amiibo figures will be reissued this Fall, including Little Mac, Villager, Marth, and many others. A re-release for these figures was confirmed after they were included in a list of “Certificates of Compliance” that Nintendo recently filed in accordance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
The full list of certificates available on Nintendo’s website also includes a number of figures announced as part of the company’s next wave of Amiibo figures. So it’s safe to assume that the restocked rarities will also appear on store shelves sometime in the next two months.
So which figures should Amiibo hunters be on the lookout for in the coming days? Here’s the complete list:
- Bowser (Super Mario series)
- Captain Falcon (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Charizard (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Inkling Boy (Splatoon series)
- Inkling Girl (Splatoon series)
- Ike (Super Smash Bros. series)
- King Dedede (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Little Mac (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Luigi (Super Mario series)
- Marth (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Pac-Man (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Peach (Super Mario series)
- Pikachu (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Splatoon 3-Pack (Splatoon series)
- Toad (Super Mario series)
- Villager (Super Smash Bros. series)
- Wario (Super Smash Bros. series)
Hopefully, these re-releases will satisfy the demand of Amiibo fans everywhere as a huge number of figures have become impossible to find on store shelves since Nintendo introduced Amiibo figures in 2014. Personally, I’m just thrilled that my own white whale, Little Mac, is on the list. But even with renewed stock, I still might have to dance like a fly and bite like a mosquito to get one.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Party 10, Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Weekly Warp-Up: Knocking on Autumn’s Door 2015 Edition
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…
This year’s Fall gaming rush is almost here, but first we’ve got to get the last few weeks of Summer out of the way first. For example, did you know Nintendo held a Splatoon Global Testfire this weekend? It’s still going on and today’s your last chance to get in on a free weekend for one of this Summer’s best games. And speaking of good games that were released this Summer, we recently posted a review of Lego Jurassic World. If you like Lego games, it’s very likely worth your time.
But it’s hard to think about the Fall without looking even further afield to this Winter, when Sony plans to host the second annual PlayStation Experience. The two-day expo moves to San Francisco this year and will likely be just as jam-packed full of demos and announcements as the 2014 edition.
More news from the week that was is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Madden NFL 16, Disney Infinity Star Wars, Until Dawn, More
Do you feel that nip in the air? And surely you’ve noticed that kids are gearing up for “back to school” time. And that can mean only one thing… the Fall gaming rush is upon us! While these tell-tale signs of the Fall are out there, the Summer’s not over quite yet. It’s still pretty warm in most of the United States and a majority of kids get to enjoy a few more weeks of Summer vacation.
And even though it’s still August, I think the Fall gaming rush has officially begun…
Everything begins, as it always does this time of year, with the release of Madden NFL 16 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One). The latest entry in EA’s long-running football simulation series features Odell Beckham on the cover and improved passing/receiver controls.
One of this Fall’s biggest “all ages” titles, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, will also be available this week. As the title says, Star Wars characters have been absorbed into the Disney Infinity universe for the first time. If you’ve already got a shelf of Disney’s popular figures, prepare to build a second one. And if you haven’t caught the Disney Infinity bug yet, you’re probably going to need a sturdy shelf to hold all your Star Wars figures.
On the complete opposite end of the age appropriateness spectrum is Sony’s Until Dawn. Available exclusively for the PS4, Until Dawn is one of the first games that attempts to recreate the horror (and excitement) of watching a slasher flick. Until Dawn’s star, Hayden Panettiere, even has plenty of experience running from crazed killers on screens both big (Scream 4) and small (Heroes).
Finally this week, a pair of remasters will give a new generation of players the chance to check out (or revisit) two PS3/Xbox 360 era classics. Dishonored: Definitive Edition brings its stealthy steampunk aesthetic to the PS4 and Xbox One, while Gears of War: Ultimate Edition upgrades the popular Xbox 360 shooter for the Xbox One. Microsoft will also release an Xbox One 500GB + Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle if you haven’t picked up an Xbox One yet.
A complete list of all of this week’s new releases (which also includes the PS3/Vita debut of the SteinsGate visual novel) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dishonored, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Gears of War, Madden NFL 16, SteinsGate, Until Dawn
Xbox Store Today: Clash, Bridge Constructor, Adventures of Pip, Pure Hold ‘Em
Four new Xbox One games are now available through the Xbox Games Store…
- Clash is a four-player “fantasy arena fighter” that forces players to dash at each other for the big kill, or hide behind a magical shield. Also… there’s adjustable gravity!
- Bridge Constructor is exactly what it says on the box… a game where players become “an appraised bridge engineer and architect.”
- Adventures of Pip is a puzzle platformer that asks players to grow by absorbing pixels.
- Pure Hold ‘Em is… wait for it… yet another video game adaptation of poker.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Pokken Tournament is coming to the Wii U in Spring 2016… anybody surprised?
About a year ago, Bandai Namco announced Pokken Tournament, a Tekken-styled fighting game that starred characters from the Pokemon franchise. At the time, the publisher said the game would only be available as an arcade machine, but we all knew that was a half-truth at best.
Today, the other Pokeball opened as The Pokemon Company announced that Pokken Tournament will receive a worldwide release on the Wii U in Spring 2016.
You can check out the announcement trailer above to get your fill of Pokemon-on-Pokemon violence, and be sure to stick around for the whole thing. The closing seconds of the trailer give us our first glimpse at “Pikachu Libre,” a never-before-seen evolution of Pikachu dressed in Lucha Libre garb. Pikachu Libre will make his debut in the Wii U version of Pokken Touranment.
Nintendo has been very quiet on the subject of Pokken Tournament ever since it was announced, but presumably they’ll have some part to play in publishing the game.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Pokken Tournament
Square Enix is bringing playable demos of Just Cause 3, Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest Heroes, more to PAX Prime 2015
Square Enix has big plans for PAX Prime 2015 including half a dozen panels and playable demos of seven games.
A playable demo of Just Cause 3 will make its North American debut at the Square Enix booth (#3646), where it will share floor space with demos for Final Fantasy XV (Episode Duscae 2.0), Final Fantasy Explorers, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Dragon Qest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, Lara Croft Go, and Life Is Strange.
The publisher also plans to set up a “pop-up barber shop” in their booth to give fans of the Hitman franchise the chance to share Agent 47’s signature look. For every head they shave, Square Enix will donate $47 to the GameChanger Charity, which supports children with cancer. The shavee will even receive a Steam code for Hitman: Absolution. Though anyone who wants to donate their own money (and keep their hair) can do so at 47vsCancer.org.
Finally, Square Enix’s series of panels will fly in developers from all over the world to talk about Hitman, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Just Cause 3, and more. The publisher even plans to host a “Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report Live” panel with Director Hajime Tabata.
The PAX Prime expo will be held from August 28-31 in Seattle, Washington. More details about all of Square Enix’s panels and playable demos can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Hitman: Absolution, PAX Prime 2015