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
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Review: The Natural Evolution of Retro Evolved 2
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions had a lot to live up to. The last game in the series, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, dethroned Smash TV as the standard bearer of the twin-stick shooter genre. And the first game in the franchise, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, was considered by many to be the Xbox 360’s killer app for the first year. But Lucid Games proved to be more than up to the task with an excellent new entry in the series. After the closure of Bizarre Creations (the creator of Retro Evolved and Retro Evolved 2), Lucid became the new home for multiple members of the Geometry Wars development team. So we probably shouldn’t have been worried at all. (more…)
Insert Quarter: Broken Games Are Still Broken
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Yes, we’re still talking about games that were shipped to stores broken and still haven’t been fixed after nearly half-a-dozen patches apiece. In light of all the problems that Assassin’s Creed: Unity and Halo: The Master Chief Collection has caused for Ubisoft and Microsoft, respectively, Joystiq’s Richard Mitchell looked at what companies are trying to do to prevent this from happening in the future. And the answer seems to be… “not much.”
Sony will gladly take your $60 to pre-purchase Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End through the PlayStation Store, and that’s because they’ve added a disclaimer stating they don’t have to refund your money if it gets canceled. But on the other hand, CD Projekt delayed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt when it became obvious that they wouldn’t be able to ship the game in February as originally planned. Even though the average gamer now expects the games they purchase to be patched many times over:
What’s really alarming, however, is that this process is standard practice now. Not only do we expect games to have problems at launch, but we tolerate it. We shrug our shoulders, saying “that’s just the way it is,” while developers and publishers take advantage of one of the most passionate audiences in existence.
That’s unacceptable.
The full article is available for your perusal at Joystiq.
New trailer offers a sneak peek at Halo 5: Guardians beta
The Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta will begin on December 29 (and run until January 18). To get gamers ready for the three-week test, Microsoft has released a brand new trailer featuring some “hot Red on Blue action.” If you pay close attention to the trailer, here’s what you might see:
To prepare fans for the start of the highly-anticipated Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta on December 29, this new trailer provides a sneak peek at the new maps, modes, weapons and Spartan Abilities featured in the intense 4v4 multiplayer arena gameplay of the three-week beta. Each week we will feature new content including seven new maps, two new weapons, new modes, and a new Competitive Skill Rating (CSR) system. Or sit back and enjoy watching multiplayer matches in the all-new Spectator Mode.
The Halo 5: Guardians beta is open to everyone who owns a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. So if you’re waiting on Santa to place yours under the tree, don’t worry, you’ll still have time to enter the beta.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Halo 5: Guardians
Telltale teams up with Mojang for Minecraft: Story Mode
After teasing some kind of “super secret surprise announcement” yesterday, Telltale Games has announced that they’re teaming up with Mojang to produce an episodic game series based on Minecraft. They were right, that is surprising!
The first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode will premiere sometime in 2015 and “introduce new characters” to the world of Minecraft whole exploring “familiar themes.” To that end, Telltale has also confirmed that they plan to enlist prominent members of the Minecraft community to help them craft the game’s story.
“People really like the idea of stories about Minecraft, but forcing a narrative into our core game experience would restrict players’ freedom to view the world in their own unique ways. Instead, letting them explore an alternate interpretation via Minecraft: Story Mode, driven by the proven might of Telltale, seems like a no-brainer,” said Owen Hill, the Chief Word Officer at Mojang. “We’re big fans of Telltale Games at Mojang, and we can’t wait to reveal more details on Story Mode soon.”
Minecraft: Story Mode is currently in development for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC platforms (Windows and Mac), and mobile platforms (iOS and Android).
Nintendo Download: Mega Man Zero, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, more
Nintendo is saving the majority of their eShop surprises for Christmas Day, but there are a few interesting odds and ends making their way to the company’s digital storefront today.
For example, Wii U owners can now tackle Mega Man Zero through the Virtual Console. Mega Man Zero was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and is considered by fans to be one of the hardest games in the entire series. Retro gaming fans who own a Wii U might also want to check out Natsume Championship Wrestling, a Super NES game that was also added to the Virtual Console service today.
Elsewhere on the eShop, Konami has finally made Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D available to download. The 3DS port of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was originally released for the handheld in 2012.
More details on all of these games (as well as a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
Telltale Games teases a “super secret surprise announcement”
Telltale Games has had a very busy year. They completed development on The Walking Dead Season 2 and The Wolf Among Us over the Spring and Summer before moving on to the launch of Tales From the Borderlands and Game of Thrones this Fall. And both of those episodic titles will be completed in 2015 before the developer rolls right into The Walking Dead Season 3. But they’re not done yet.
According to the Job Stauffer, their Director of Public Relations, the company has plans to make a “super secret surprise announcement” as early as today:
Super secret surprise announcements before the holiday break? Maaaaaybe.
…hashtag #subtle!
— Job J Stauffer (@jobjstauffer) December 17, 2014
Not only that, but Stauffer later said that the announcement isn’t “directly related” with anything they’ve released this year:
I'll also clarify – it's not directly related to anything else we've made in 2014.
— Job J Stauffer (@jobjstauffer) December 17, 2014
So what does Telltale have up their sleeve? Hopefully we’ll find out soon…
The world rejoices… Mario Maker will let players share their levels online
When Nintendo unveiled Mario Maker during this year’s E3 Expo, everyone wondered if the slightly Internet-averse company would allow players to share their creations online. Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, recently sat down for an interview with iJustine (embedded above), and it looks like we finally have our answer. It looks like Nintendo has listened to our pleas and will allow online sharing of player-created levels:
Miyamoto: “You’ll be able to see what happens when other people play your course. Or when you play other people’s courses there will be some popularity rankings for the most popular courses. Things like that. There’s a lot on the community side you can do.”
In case we didn’t get it, Miyamoto later added: “Yes, we will have the Internet ability to exchange courses as well.”
Mario Maker will be released sometime in the first half of 2015 exclusively for the Wii U. It will be the first salvo in what will surely be a big year for the Italian plumber as the original Super Mario Bros. will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2015.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Turtle Rock unveils Evolve’s third Monster, Wraith, and beta test details
If the Monster you’re unveiling is an invisible she-beast that can kill you without being seen, can it really be called an unveiling? That’s the question we’ll have to grapple with as Turtle Rock Studios has released a trailer showcasing Evolve‘s third monster design, Wraith. Writing on the game’s official website, Turtle Rock laid out the four attacks that make Wraith more of a deadly assassin than an out-and-out brawler:
- Warp Blast allows Wraith to travel almost instantly to a target and create an explosion wherever she lands, dealing damage to everything around her.
- Her Decoy ability spawns a dangerous clone of herself that attacks targets while distracting the Hunters. With the Decoy deployed, Wraith becomes invisible and the Decoy can be used strategically to escape from combat or allow the player to re-position themselves for surprise attacks.
- Abduction steals hunters away from their teammates. During an abduction attack, Wraith travels large distances, grabs the target, and returns to her original location all within the blink of an eye.
- Supernova creates a large arena for Wraith to fight in. Inside the Supernova, Wraith becomes a frenzied melee beast of pure energy as her scythe-like blades cut down just about anything in their path. If Wraith leaves the Supernova area, she returns to her normal state.
For an even more in-depth look at Wraith, Turtle Rock has released an extended Interactive Trailer featuring a full battle between four Hunters and a Wraith. You can find it after the break.
In other Evolve news, the developer has announced that Xbox One owners will be able to take part in an open beta test on January 15. PC players will be able to jump into the test on January 16 with PS4 players following a day later on the 17th. However, neither of these platforms will have an open test. On the PS4, participants will be limited to those that played Evolve’s “Big Alpha.” “Big Alpha” players will also get in on the beta on the PC and they’ll be joined by owners of Left 4 Dead or BioShock Infinite, who will also receive invites. More details about each platform’s beta test can be found at Evolve’s official website.
Evolve will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 10. (more…)