Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Author: John Scalzo
Weekly Warp-Up: Pre-Gamescom 2014 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…
Europe’s biggest gaming convention, Gamescom, begins next week and publishers the world over are preparing for the show. 2K Games confirmed that Evolve will be at the show… and then promptly delayed its release to February. Sony is teasing something that will probably end being the return of Until Dawn. BioWare released another one of their “You’ve Been Chosen” teasers. And Activision is bringing back the Sierra publishing label. Sure, why not?
But if you’d prefer to look back at one of 2013’s most interesting games, we’ve got a review of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag for you as well.
More news from the week that was can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Akiba’s Trip, Risen 3, Disgaea 4 Vita, More
If you haven’t been keeping up with its development, you might not be aware of how absolutely insane Akiba’s Trip: Undressed and Undead. XSEED will release the PS3 and Vita game this week and, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to quote from its official description: “The player’s goal is to identify vampires called ‘Synthesizers’ with the help of an in-game smartphone app, then engage them in battle to strip their clothes off so their bodies are fully exposed to sunlight.” Just… what? And by the way, this insanity all takes place in Akihabara, Tokyo’s “Electric Town” where all the otaku congregate.
Three other games will be released this week including…
- Risen 3: Titan Lords (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), which has dropped the pirate theme of Part 2 and returned to the medieval setting of the first Risen game.
- Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited, a Vita re-release of NIS America’s popular strategy RPG.
- A retail version of World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition, the online-only tank simulator.
Seriously though, Akiba’s Trip sounds BONKERS.
Get your first glimpse at Kevin Durant in NBA 2K15
Are you a basketball fanatic that followed all the Lebron James hullabaloo this Summer like it was a Presidential election? If so, then you might like to know that 2K Games has released about a dozen seconds of footage from NBA 2K15 featuring coverboy Kevin Durant.
NBA 2K15 will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 7. Everyone who pre-orders the game will receive the Kevin Durant MVP Bonus Pack, which includes “5,000 in Virtual Currency, Kevin Durant Throwback MyTeam Card, Two MyTeam Card Packs, and MyPlayer Leg Sleeves Inspired by Kevin Durant.”
Activision is bringing back the Sierra label at Gamescom 2014
The Sierra Entertainment publishing label has laid dormant for the last six years, when the label’s parent company, Vivendi, merged with Activision. But it looks the name will get another chance in the sun as Activision has relaunched Sierra.com and released a teaser trailer promoting the label’s return at next week’s Gamescom convention.
Sierra was best known for a string of adventure games released throughout the 80s and 90s, but it’s still a mystery how the label will fit in with Activision’s focus on massive franchises like Call of Duty, Skylanders, and Destiny.
I guess we’ll find out next week.
Posted in News
Tagged Gamescom 2014
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition definitely coming on October 14
After finding success with Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition earlier this year, Square Enix has announced that Sleeping Dogs will also get the next-gen treatment this Fall. The re-release will be developed by the original team behind Sleeping Dogs, United Front Games. It will include all 24 pieces of downloadable content originally released for the game as well as all three single-player expansions (“Nightmare in North Point,” “The Zodiac Tournament,” and “Year of the Snake”).
“It was an exciting opportunity for the original development team to be able revisit a game we’re so passionate about”, said Dan Sochan, Senior Producer at United Front Games. “We’re giving old and new fans a lot reasons to pick up the game, as we’ve gone beyond just increasing resolution and running at 1080p. We listened to the fans: we tuned gameplay, we added to the ambience of Hong Kong, increased audio fidelity and pushed the visuals further than we could on the previous generation of consoles.”
Square Enix has quite a bit of faith in their open-world game of undercover cops and gangsters. In addition to this re-release, Sleeping Dogs was previously available as a free download through PlayStation Plus and Microsoft’s Games With Gold. If you haven’t played it before (and you really have no excuse), now’s your chance.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition will be available for the PC (through Steam), PS4, and Xbox One on October 14.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Sleeping Dogs
Titles selected for EA Access Vault will be “permanently” available to play
If you read the fine print behind Electronic Arts’ new EA Access subscription service, you’d come away with the idea that it operates in a similar manner to Sony’s PlayStation Plus plan. Just as Sony rotates out the games that are part of its “Instant Game Collection,” EA gave every indication that games in “The Vault” would change with the seasons.
According to Peter Moore, EA’s Chief Operating Officer, the publisher actually plans to make every game in The Vault a permanent part of EA Access.
Speaking to CVG, Moore said, “I think one of the key things is that once a game goes into the Vault it stays there, it’s not going to be taken out, that’s a commitment we’ve made.” This commitment will go a long way towards helping EA Access reach its potential as a “Netflix for games,” a comparison that many have made since the service was announced. Moore also stated that the number of AAA titles that will be offered through EA Access will be “substantial,” though he said there’s no timetable on when (or even if) EA’s future releases will become part of The Vault.
EA will begin offering EA Access subscriptions on the Xbox One for $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year later this Summer. Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, and Peggle 2 will make up the first wave of titles available to download through The Vault.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2
Second Gamescom 2014 teaser from Sony brings down the ax
Sony has unveiled a second Gamescom 2014 teaser and this time we’re treated to a bloody ax smashing into a stump followed by the same cracking ice from the first teaser. By focusing on one of Jason Voorhees’ favorite implements of destruction, it appears more and more likely that Sony is teasing the reintroduction of Until Dawn, a horror movie-themed adventure game first announced in 2012.
At the time, Until Dawn was expected to be released as a Move-exclusive PS3 title, but if Sony is teasing its return, are they also planning to shift it to the PS4? We won’t know for sure until Sony’s Gamescom presentation on August 11, but all signs point to yes.
Finally, you might also want to check out Sony’s psychedelic Gamescom trailer. It doesn’t tease any new surprises, but it’s fun to watch.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Gamescom 2014
Nintendo Download: Super Mario Kart, Mega Man V, Cybernator, more
This week’s Nintendo Download is a great day for fans of the Virtual Console as four classic titles have been added to the eShop.
The biggest name in today’s batch is clearly Super Mario Kart. The Super NES game is considered the forefather of all kart racing games and is still beloved by gamers the world over. So celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its release by downloading it to your Wii U. Joining Super Mario Kart on the Wii U eShop today is Mega Man V, one of the last Mega Man games to be released for the NES, and Cybernator, a shooter originally released for the Super NES.
One Virtual Console title was added to the 3DS eShop as well today, and it’s The Mysterious Murasame Castle, an NES game that was previously only available in Japan. You might recognize it as the basis for Nintendo Land‘s “Takamaru’s Ninja Castle.”
And if you’re looking for more Virtual Console blasts from the past, Nintendo has confirmed that Double Dragon II: The Revenge will be added to the Wii U eShop on August 14 with Life Force following the week after on August 21.
More details on all of these games (as well as two more) can be found after the break. (more…)