Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Author: John Scalzo
New Releases: Criminal Girls: Invite Only, Cities XXL, SpongeBob HeroPants
2015 marches on and after a particularly slow January we’re moving into a February that is, well, pretty equally unspeedy. A trio of games make up this week’s batch of new retail releases…
- Criminal Girls: Invite Only (Vita), a turn-based RPG that asks players to save a set of naughty schoolgirls from the depths of Hell, sometimes by “punishing” them. In case you were wondering… yes, it’s from Japan.
- Cities XXL (PC), the latest city-builder from Focus Home Interactive offers even more architectural options than ever before.
- SpongeBob HeroPants (3DS, Vita, Xbox 360), a new SpongeBob platformer, released to coincide with the theatrical debut of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
And that’s it! Though the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop will all be home to several new games this week as well.
Sega will release Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax on PS3, Vita this year
Sega has done a lot to bring a variety of distinctly Japanese games across the Pacific in the last few years. And if any game can qualify as “distinctly Japanese,” it’s a game like Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax. Set for a Summer release on the PS3 and Vita, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a 2D fighting game that features characters from a wide swatch of anime franchises. I’ll let Stephen Akana, an Associate Marketing Manager from Sega, handle the heavy lifting of describing Dengeki Bunko:
Developed by Ecole and French Bread in cooperation with ASCII Media Works, this 2D fighting game celebrates the 20th anniversary of Dengeki Bunko with an all-star cast of their popular characters set against Sega-themed worlds. With playable characters such as Asuna from Sword Art Online or Kuroyukihime from Accel World, and support characters like Touma Kamijou from A Certain Magical Index or Izaya Orihara from Durarara!!, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax makes the most unlikely of character matchups a reality.
Fighting Climax features a fighting system that is both easily understood and complex, thus catering to veterans and newcomers alike. Using weak, medium and strong attacks, each of the playable characters have move sets that are similar in execution, yet differ in attack range, power and speed.
More details (and a bunch of screenshots) for Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax can be found in an announcement post at the PlayStation Blog.
Xbox Store Today: Life Is Strange: Episode 1, IDARB, Unmechanical: Extended
Three very different games have found their way onto the Xbox Games Store today…
- Life Is Strange: Episode 1 (Xbox One, Xbox 360) is the first part of an episodic adventure game that follows Max, a teenager who can rewind time. Unfortunately, Max’s shenanigans are exposing “the darker side” of her hometown, which manifests itself as some kind of dark cloud of doom.
- IDARB (Xbox One) is a “chaotic” multiplayer “jumping future arena ball game.” I don’t know what that means, but if you like retro-style sports games, IDARB might be for you. IDARB was originally expected to launch in February, but it’s available a few days early and its a free download as part of Microsoft’s Games With Gold program.
- Unmechanical: Extended (Xbox One) is an overhead puzzle-platformer starring an adorable little robot.
More information about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged IDARB, Life Is Strange
Sega to institute layoffs, early retirement program as company continues to struggle
Sega (which officially does business under the Sega Sammy Holdings name) has been dealing with financial difficulties for some time, but it looks like their latest round of problems will result in some big changes for the company.
Sega’s Board of Directors met this morning and hammered out a restructuring plan that they believe will help the company’s financial position in the future. Unfortunately, a key part of that plan will involve an unspecified number of layoffs and a voluntary early requirement program that the company will offer to 300 employees. Some of the layoffs will come from Sega of America, which will be moving from its current headquarters in San Francisco to a smaller facility somewhere in Southern California.
The restructuring, which is expected to be completed by the Summer, will also lead to a new focus on downloadable titles developed for smartphones and the PC. Sega is also heavily involved in big budget and mid-tier on consoles and the PC, but it’s currently unknown how this plan will affect the company’s internal development teams.
Life Is Strange launches tomorrow… so here’s the launch trailer
Dontnod’s Life Is Strange will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One tomorrow, so the developer wants to get everyone ready by releasing a launch trailer for the game.
Life Is Strange is an adventure game that follows Max, a teenager who can rewind time, and Chloe, her best friend who always seems to be in danger. The game forces Max to make choices about when and where to use her powers to save Chloe, and sometimes this creates disastrous results. However, those results also include a quirky story that fans of indie movies will probably love.
Dontnod plans to tell Life Is Strange’s story across five episodes, so if you like what you see, get ready for a lot more of the game.
Ermac force punches his way into Mortal Kombat X
NetherRealm Studios streamed the latest “Kombat Kast” through Twitch this afternoon (archived at YouTube) and it revealed yet another Mortal Kombat X character… Ermac. Gone is Ermac’s palette-swapped red ninja garb and in its place is a hooded outfit that is likely meant to resemble a monk’s robe. But I think it’s safe to say that Ermac definitely did not take a vow of non-violence.
Like Reptile before him, Ermac reuses many of his special moves from 2011’s Mortal Kombat in Mortal Kombat X. His telekinetic powers return, as does his flying ability and his Force Ball. These special moves are well represented in Ermac’s three style variations: “Spectral”
(Gains ability to fly and unique attacks from the air), “Mystic” (Gains the telekinetic abilities Tele-Lift and Tele-Push), and “Master of Souls” (Gains Soul Ball and the ability to Vanish to avoid damage).
Be sure to watch the “Kombat Kast” linked above for even more Mortal Kombat X action and don’t forget that the game will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on April 14.
Nintendo Download: Metroid Prime Trilogy, Gunman Clive 2, Shadow of the Ninja, more
With its incredibly tiny print run, Metroid Prime Trilogy is rightfully considered the Holy Grail of Wii games. GameStop even commissioned a second printing and sells used copies of the game for upwards of $50.
Prepare to say goodbye to all that nonsense.
Nintendo added Metroid Prime Trilogy to the Wii U eShop today and they’ve tagged the game with the much more wallet-friendly price of $19.99. However, if you purchase it before February 5, you’ll only have to pay $9.99, which is an absolutely unbelievable deal.
Shadow of the Ninja, a great platformer from the NES days, has also made its way to the Wii U eShop today. It might remind you a bit of Ninja Gaiden, but I remember really liking it back in the day. 3DS owners will also get the chance to download Shadow of the Ninja today. Speaking of the 3DS, the stylish shooter Gunman Clive 2 is now available to download as well as a Code Name: STEAM demo.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Mythbusters will tackle a few myths from Doom on January 31
The Mythbusters will meet their Doom this weekend. On Saturday, January 31, the popular Discovery Channel show will devote an hour to several myths based on video games, or more specifically, questions related to Doom 3: 3 BFG Edition. Hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage will receive an assist from id Software’s Tim Willits as they attempt to discover if it’s really possible for the Doomguy to carry all those “health packs, guns, and even a chainsaw.” I’m sure a few longtime Doom players already see a problem with this scenario (Hint: Doomguy never carries health packs).
The preview trailer above needs a bit more first-person action, but I’m thinking this will be a pretty fun hour of television. Here’s hoping we get to see a Gelatin Man Imp made out of ballistic gel.