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
Xbox Store Today: SteamWorld Dig, The Swapper
Two side-scrollers that have been pinballing from platform-to-platform for years will make their way to the Xbox One via the Xbox Games Store today.
SteamWorld Dig was originally released for the 3DS in August 2013 before appearing on the PC (December 2013), PS4/Vita (March 2014), and Wii U (August 2014). The game is a “Metroidvania” that follows a steampunk robot on his trek into the center of an alien planet in search of jewels and gems. But there’s more than just pretty rocks underneath the dirt…
The Swapper stretches even further back, originally appearing on the PC in May 2013 before jumping to all three PlayStation platforms in August 2014 and the Wii U in November 2014. The puzzle platformer follows a mysterious character who uses an experimental cloning device to explore “the furthest reaches of space.”
More information about both games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged SteamWorld Dig, The Swapper
Lucas will be available to download in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS on June 14
Nintendo has updated the official Smash Bros. site with the news that Lucas will be available to download on June 14. Players can gain access to the Mother 3/Earthbound 2 star on both the 3DS and Wii U for $4.99. However, obtaining the character on just one platform will only set you back $3.99.
Nintendo will also release their Splatoon-inspired Smash Bros. costumes on June 14. The “Inkling Outfit” costume for Mii Fighters of the Gunner type will be able to be purchased for use on both platforms for $1.15. A single-platform option is also available for 75 cents. An “Inkling Squid Hat” for all Mii Fighter types will be available for $1.15 (both platforms)/$0.75 (single platform) as well.
Don’t forget, Nintendo wants to add a ton of downloadable characters to Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U. The publisher even opened an online poll to collect character suggestions from fans.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Limbo developer Playdead delays Inside, their Xbox One-exclusive platformer
Playdead, the developer behind the highly acclaimed Limbo, has begun informing media outlets their next title, Inside, has been delayed. Originally set for an early 2015 launch exclusively on the Xbox One, Inside has been pushed back to “get it right”:
“After 5 years in development, we, more than anyone, are looking forward to the release. We are so close, but getting it right has taken a little more time than we anticipated. When we know more about the release timing, we will let you know.”
Development on Inside, a moody side-scrolling platformer, began just after Limbo was released for the Xbox 360 in July 2010. It made its public debut at last year’s E3 Expo as part of Microsoft’s presentation, but this is the first time we’ve heard about it since. With this year’s E3 Expo rapidly approaching, perhaps we’ll get our next look at the game in a little more than a week.
[Source: Polygon]
Spike Lee will write and direct MyCareer mode in NBA 2K16
A few months ago, the rumor mill said that famed filmmaker Spike Lee would take the reins of NBA 2K16‘s MyCareer mode. Yesterday, 2K Games confirmed that Lee will indeed be writing and directing the game’s story. Lee spoke to USA Today about his first video game project and explained what he hopes to bring to MyCareer:
“We follow a kid through the trials and tribulations of being a top high school player and the decisions he has to make,” Lee tells USA Today. He says that although he managed to master the intricacies of a 12-day motion-capture shoot at 2K Games’ Bay Area studios, his video game skills leave a lot to be desired.
2K’s Ryan Peters told the newspaper that Lee shot about 90 minutes of “cinematic narrative,” which will be incorporated into the 12-hour MyCareer mode. Peters said, “We just told Spike, ‘You transform the narrative, and we’ll change that into digital polygons.’ And he did that, bringing a protagonist and antagonist to the story.”
2K Games also revealed that NBA 2K16 will have three separate covers when it hits store shelves this Fall. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans will all be the face of NBA 2K16. However, only Curry is playing in the NBA Finals, and with the Warriors up 1-0, he could claim his first NBA Championship ring by the end of next week.
If so, that’ll look mighty nice on his NBA 2K16 cover, which will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on September 29. Though players who pre-order will receive it four days earlier, on September 25, so they can take part in 2K’s “Tip-Off Weekend.”
Mighty No. 9 gets Cross-Buy on PS4; Retro Hero Mode, Collector’s Edition, on all platforms
Mighty No. 9 is just three months away, and new publisher Deep Silver is gearing up to offer gamers plenty of extras if they buy in near the September 15 launch date.
First up, the Collector’s Edition will come packaged with a 6.5 inch, individually-numbered statue of Beck. The $59.99 box (available only for the PS4 and Xbox One) will also include the Retro Hero DLC Pack and special foil packaging featuring a facsimile signature of creator Keiji Inafune. The Retro Hero DLC, a special difficulty mode that offers one-hit death and a retro-inspired look for Beck, will also be part of the Launch Edition, which will be available digitally and on store shelves.
Mighty No. 9 will be available on a wide variety of platforms this September including the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. However, if you purchase the game on the PS4, you’ll also receive a downloadable copy of the game for the PS3 and Vita through Sony’s Cross-Buy program. Mighty No. 9’s Vita launch will take place sometime after the PC/console release. The game is also in development for the 3DS.
Finally, Deep Silver and Comcept have released a brand new trailer for Mighty No. 9 featuring the game’s many bosses.
Valve will launch Steam Machines in November or pre-order to get one in October
The time has come, Valve has announced a release date and pricing for its Steam Machines line of living room PCs. According to Valve, Steam Machines from Alienware and Syber are currently available to pre-order, with “limited quantities” scheduled to ship out to customers on October 16. Steam Machines hardware will be available on store shelves beginning on November 10.
The Steam Controller and the Steam Link streaming set-top box will also be released on November 10, with “limited quantities” available on October 16. The Steam Machines hardware line starts at $449 with the Controller and the Link box both retailing for $49.
Valve’s Steam Machines will be powered by SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system that uses “Big Picture Mode,” Steam’s television-friendly display mode. SteamOS is compatible with “over a thousand” games on the Steam storefront, though more than 4,000 games (at least) are currently listed for sale through Steam, meaning less than 25% of all available games are currently compatible with Steam Machines. That said, any Steam game can be streamed to any Steam Machines-connected television.
More information on the Steam Machines pre-order campaign can be found on the Steam website.
Battleborn is coming to E3 2015… here’s a new trailer
Honestly, I’m not sure I could explain the differences between Overwatch, BattleCry, and Bloodborn if I had a gun to my head. Overwatch is Blizzard and BattleCry is Bethesda, but they’re both hero-based arena shooters that’ll be available late this year or early next year. As is Gearbox’s Battleborn, which is the game depicted in the trailer above.
Battleborn asks players to step into the stores of 25 “vastly different” heroes and stop a megalomaniac from destroying “the last star” in a story campaign that can be played solo or with up to five players (or two if you’re playing splitscreen):
The universe teeters on the brink of extinction and only the most powerful Battleborn can stop it. This band of badasses will slice swords through enemies, fire massive machine guns, sling powerful spells and much more! Rendain and his evil army must not be allowed to destroy the last star. Do you and your friends have what it takes to save it?
Besides the main storyline, Battleborn also includes a 5v5 competitive multiplayer mode with three different game types: “Incursion,” “Devastation,” and “Meltdown.” I have no idea what any of those are.
Perhaps we’ll all find out together in a few weeks as Gearbox plans to bring Battleborn to the 2015 E3 Expo. Hopefully, we’ll learn a little more about the PC, PS4, and Xbox One game ahead of its Winter release, which is a vague placeholder that could stand in for late 2015 or early 2016.
Nintendo Download: Adventures of Pip, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, Pac-Attack, more
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another Nintendo Download. Here’s a look at some of the titles you can find on the Nintendo eShop beginning today:
- Adventures of Pip is a side-scrolling platformer for the Wii U that pumps pixels into its main character to help him overcome challenges.
- Pac-Attack is a “fun and quirky” for the Wii U’s Virtual Console that originally appeared on the Super NES.
- Cube Life: Island Survival is a game that looks ridiculously similar to Minecraft and its available now for the Wii U.
- Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is a Japanese RPG for the 3DS that bases its attack system on bowling over your opponents.
More information on all of these games (and a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Cube Life: Island Survival