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
Fatal Frame 5 will be released in the US this year
Wii U owners looking for a scare will be happy to know that Fatal Frame 5 will be released by Nintendo in North America later this year. Jointly developed by Nintendo and Koei Tecmo, Fatal Frame 5 will include three playable characters, who are each exploring Mount Hikami, a “cursed tourist destination.”
Available in Japan (where it’s known as Fatal Frame: Oracle of the Sodden Raven) since September, Fatal Frame 5 will be the first game in the series released in the US since 2005’s Fatal Frame III: The Tormented.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Fatal Frame 5
Mario Maker to launch in September as part of Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary celebration
After missing its original early 2015 release date, Nintendo has announced that Mario Maker will be released exclusively for the Wii U in September.
Mario Maker will allow players to create their own side-scrolling courses using a design template from four different Mario games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. Best of all, switching between each style is simply a button press away.
Mario Maker’s release will be part of Nintendo’s celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the release of the original Super Mario Bros. To help get players in the mood, the publisher has launched a special 30th Anniversary website and plans to roll out various other celebratory activities throughout the year.
And if you’re interested in taking another look at Mario Maker, be sure to view the new footage from the game available at the replay of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains will be released for 3DS in May
Nintendo has announced that Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains will be released for the 3DS this May. Published by Atlus and developed bu Spike Chunsoft, the game will allow players to take command of multiple characters from the manga and anime including Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackermann. Humanity in Chains will offer local or online co-op multiplayer for up to four players, as well as enhanced camera controls on the New 3DS XL.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Attack on Titan anime, Nintendo has added a free download of the first two episodes to the 3DS eShop. You can check out more footage of Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains in the replay of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains
Nintendo adds 200cc Class, more Amiibo Racing Suits to Mario Kart 8
After a relatively low-key April Fool’s Day, Nintendo has capped the day with a huge new Nintendo Direct, detailing part of the publisher’s plan for 2015. But before they dig into some of the new stuff, Nintendo announced continued support for Mario Kart 8, including a new 200cc Class and support for more Amiibo figures.
The much more difficult 200cc Class will be available as a free download beginning April 23. The 200cc Class offers even more speed and trickier drivers for all tracks. Think you can handle it, Nintendo says braking will be more important than ever. In addition to a new kart class, Nintendo has also added support for nine more Amiibo figures to Mario Kart 8. Starting today, players will be able to outfit their Mii in racing suits featuring the following characters:
- Bowser
- Mega Man
- Olimar and the Pikmin
- Pac-Man
- Rosalina
- Sonic
- Toad
- Villager
- Wario
You can get a look at the Amiibo-enhanced duds in a new trailer available after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8
Xbox Store Today: RBI Baseball 15, Neverwinter, Pool Nation FX
Microsoft isn’t kidding around and plans to add three new games to the Xbox Games Store today. All three are available for the Xbox One and they are…
- RBI Baseball 15 is the second retro-inspired re-do by MLB Advanced Media. This year’s edition offers more options than before and every Major League Baseball player.
- Neverwinter is the Xbox One’s first free-to-play MMO. Based on the “Forgotten Realms” Dungeons & Dragons campaign, players will be able to “explore the vast city of Neverwinter” and “battle its many enemies.”
- Pool Nation FX is a billiards simulator from Cherry Pop Games.
More information on all three games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged RBI Baseball 2015
Sunset Overdrive gets Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines add-on and a price drop today
Microsoft and Insomniac Games released Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines, the second downloadable expansion for Sunset Overdrive, today. Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines is included as a free download as part of the Sunset Overdrive Season Pass. It can also be purchased separately for $9.99.
According to the Xbox Wire, Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines will depict the final round of a fight that’s been raging for “billions of years,” Man vs Machine:
Enter Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines – the savage battle that’s been raging on for billions of years enters its latest bout. A rescue mission to save Sam’s old mentors from the Fizzco Robotics Factory quickly turns into an all-out assault to counter-hack and dismantle Fizzco defenses. Don’t worry. For you, hacking equates to pulling triggers and laying waste to a bevy of upgraded Fizzco bots. Everyone has their strengths! So, face off against the avaricious Fizzco. One. Last. Time. Well, maybe. It depends on sales and market research, etc. You know the drill.
In addition to new Story Missions, the expansion will also add a new 200-point Achievement: “Worst Job in the Kingdom.” To complete the Achievement, players will have to complete the “Floating Garbage” mission within par time (15 minutes). Other additions to the game include two weapons, two Amps, and two traps, as well as a new Night Defense Base, a new boss, and more Vanity Items, Quests, Challenges, and Chaos Squad Missions.
Finally, if you haven’t picked up Sunset Overdrive yet, it’s also getting a permanent price drop on the Xbox Games Store today. Instead of $59.99, prospective players will only have to pay $39.99 from now on to tangle with the game’s wide array of mutants and monsters.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Sunset Overdrive
4/1: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth IS coming to New 3DS, Wii U, Xbox One
I hate April Fool’s Day… I have no idea if this is real or just a joke. Nicalis sent out an absolutely deranged “press release” this morning, that quite honestly, scares me a little. According to the handwritten note (which is overly concerned with clenched anuses), the developer will bring The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth to the New 3DS XL (not the original 3DS or the 2DS), Wii U, and Xbox One in May. but I suppose that doesn’t mean it can’t be real.
For a while now, it was assumed that Nintendo’s content restrictions would prevent The Binding of Isaac from ever launching on the 3DS or Wii U. However, a post on the official Binding of Isaac blog from creator Edmund McMillen lists a number of increasingly absurd required to make it acceptable to Nintendo’s Standards and Practices department.
Is that part of the announcement a joke and the game really is coming to the New 3DS XL, Wii U, and Xbox One in May? Or is the whole thing just a big gag? I don’t know? Do you?
I repeat, I hate April Fool’s Day.
UPDATE: It’s no joke! Creator Edmund McMillen has confirmed (via Twitter) that The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is indeed coming to the New 3DS XL, Wii U, and Xbox One “soonish.” A spokesman from Nicalis added (also via Twitter) that the game will be uncensored on all platforms, contrary to the claims made in McMillen’s April Fool’s Day post.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
4/1: Sony is NOT creating a “PlayStation Flow” underwater VR device
With all the crazy virtual reality rigs that actually exist (such as the Birdly flight simulator), it’s possible that someone is working on an underwater VR experience. However, that someone is definitely not Sony (as reported by the PlayStation Blog Europe).
But if they were to create it, the PlayStation Flow is probably exactly what it would look like. When players reach a swimming section in any game (say, The Last of Us Remastered, for example), Sony wants them to sync their PlayStation Flow with their PS4 and head for the nearest pool. After putting on the Flow goggles and several body sensors, you dive in and dive right back into the game with your swimming movements translated to in-game actions. Even knowing that this is an April Fool’s prank, I’m still pretty convinced that someone is actually working on it. However, the PlayStation Flow Body Dryer, which uses “ionizing technology to dry you within seconds” is more than a little absurd.
As goofy as the PlayStation Flow is, I loved the tiny little details hidden within the video, including the name of the presenter. Ariel Ingannare, is supposedly the Wearable Tech Manager at PlayStation Wearable Entertainment Technology (P-WET), which is amusing enough on its own. But then you take apart her name. “Ariel” is, of course, the Little Mermaid, and “Ingannare” is Italian for “fool.”
Well played, Sony.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged The Last of Us