Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets 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
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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
Nintendo Download: Shovel Knight, Castlevania III, Wii Sports Club, more
The time to dispense shovel justice is upon us. Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight is now available to download through the Nintendo eShop for the Wii U and 3DS. The ridiculously retro side-scroller has been available to Kickstarter backers since yesterday, but now everyone will get the chance to slam a shovel down upon the group of evildoers known as The Order of No Quarter.
While Yacht Club strived to make Shovel Knight as authentically 8-bit as possible, an actual 8-bit game is available to download this week via the Virtual Console. 3DS and Wii U owners are now able to purchase Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, one of the franchise’s best games.
If you’re looking for something a little newer, Nintendo also released the final two games in the Wii Sports Club collection: Baseball and Boxing. All five games can be downloaded individually from the eShop, or you can wait until July 25 to purchase the retail compilation.
More information on all of these titles (as well as many more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight, Wii Sports Club: Baseball, Wii Sports Club: Boxing
Hyrule Warriors: Tecmo Koei Japan has released new trailers for Zelda and Impa too
Does anybody else remember when Impa was a frail old woman who collapsed after sending Link on his way to rescue the Princess in the original Legend of Zelda? Yeah… that’s not the Impa we’re going to get in Hyrule Warriors. Like the Link trailer they released last week, Tecmo Koei Japan has given us a glimpse of this Impa in a brand new trailer for the game. Between using a sword that’s taller than she is and the jagged scar across her face, this Impa is wicked intimidating.
The publisher has also released a new trailer featuring Zelda herself. The Princess uses magical light abilities to vanquish the monsters threatening Hyrule including a phantom bow and a portal that rains down meteors. She is no damsel in distress.
Hyrule Warriors will be released in Japan on August 14. We in America will get a chance to hack and slash our way through Hyrule on September 26. Both trailers can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Hyrule Warriors
XBL Store Today: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Grid: Autosport, more
Microsoft has added nine games to the Xbox Live Games Store today and it looks like there’s (mostly) something for everyone.
As with yesterday’s PlayStation Store update, the big addition to the XBL Store today is Activision’s Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. The title merges the Transformers movieverse with High Moon’s popular War For/Fall of Cybertron games, though Edge of Reality is the developer on this installment. Rise of the Dark Spark is available to download for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from gigantic robots bashing each other is Ubisoft’s Valiant Hearts: The Great War. This puzzle platformer, which is also available for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, is set during World War I and features a unique hand-drawn art style.
Other new releases available this week include…
- Grid: Autosport (Xbox 360), the latest installment in Codemasters’ popular racing series.
- R.B.I. Baseball 14 (Xbox One), a next-gen version of MLB Advanced Media’s retro baseball sim.
- Zombie Driver: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One), a next-gen version of EXOR’s overhead driving game.
More information on all of these games (as well as a few others) can be found after the break.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Grid: Autosport, R.B.I. Baseball 14, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark
Transformers: Dark Spark, Valiant Hearts, Grid: Autosport, more added to PS Store
We’re getting an incredibly diverse selection of new games in this week’s PlayStation Store update.
The biggest new game is Activision’s latest Transformers adaptation, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. The title merges the Transformers movieverse with High Moon’s popular War For/Fall of Cybertron games, though Edge of Reality is the developer on this installment. Rise of the Dark Spark is available to download for the PS3 and PS4.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum from gigantic robots bashing each other is Ubisoft’s Valiant Hearts: The Great War. This puzzle platformer, which is also available for the PS3 and PS4, is set during World War I and features a unique hand-drawn art style.
Other new releases available this week include…
- Grid: Autosport (PS3), the latest installment in Codemasters’ popular racing series.
- BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, a Vita release of the one-on-one fighting game.
- XBlaze Code: Embryo (PS3, Vita), a visual novel prequel to the BlazBlue series.
- Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2 Classic), the cult RPG series is back with another classic entry.
More information on all of these games (as well as a few others) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Rumor: Crytek has canceled multiple projects amid financial woes
Yesterday, rumors began swirling that Crytek was in the midst of some financial troubles and hadn’t paid many of their employees in over a month. Today, Kotaku has published a report suggesting that the situation is much worse than we all thought.
Citing anonymous tips from Crytek employees, Kotaku has learned that the developer has canceled multiple projects over the last few weeks, including a sequel to Ryse: Son of Rome and several original prototypes. In addition to canceled titles, employees describe a toxic working environment within Crytek’s many international studios:
Current and former Crytek employees describe a tense, unstable environment, plagued by poor communication and a number of high-level staff departures at the company’s biggest studios in Germany and Britain. In extensive conversations over the past few weeks, developers have described a company in turmoil, where staff openly talk about leaving or looking for new jobs. One employee estimates that some 100 people have left over the past three months.
This turmoil has spilled over into Crytek’s currently announced projects as well. The company has seemingly shifted from high-gloss shooters like Crysis 3 to free-to-play games like Warface, Arena of Fate, and Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age. And yet, Homefront: The Revolution was just announced, leading to more confusion and worry within Crytek.
Crytek continues to deny the financial problems and will not discuss the missed paychecks claimed by many of the employees. In fact, those employees were told not to discuss the problem with each other, for fear that it would eventually be leaked to the media.
It looks like that’s happened and now the future of one of the biggest independent developers in the world is up in the air.
Posted in News
Metro Redux will be available on August 26
Deep Silver and 4A Games previously confirmed that Metro Redux, a next-generation makeover of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, would be released this Summer. Now we know that the compilation will be available on August 26.
In addition to the Metro Redux compilation, enhanced remakes of Metro 2033 and Last Light will be available to download separately for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Metro Redux
Dig into Shovel Knight’s launch trailer right here
Shovel Knight will be released for the 3DS, PC, and Wii U on June 26. Hey… that’s this Thursday!
In honor of this momentous occasion, Yacht Club Games has released a brand spanking new launch trailer for the game. The trailer gives us a good look at the game’s NES-style platforming action as well as a pretty great background track.
Once again, Shovel Knight will be available on June 26. My digging implement is ready.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight
Stop (In the Name of Love) for Richard Sherman’s Madden NFL 15 cover
Box art reveals are usually pretty boring. Take a nice piece of concept art… emblazon the logo along the top… slap an ESRB rating in the bottom left corner… and you’re done. They only become newsworthy when a publisher does something stupendously weird (such as the word salad on Batman: Arkham City‘s “Game of the Year” cover) or ridiculously neat (such as the minimalist Resistance 3 cover).
The official Madden NFL 15 cover falls in the former category.
I don’t know if cover athlete Richard Sherman is auditioning to become a traffic cop or if he really loves “Stop In the Name of Love,” but it’s definitely an odd choice for the Madden box. It’s possible he’s doing something football-related like reaching out for a high five or stiff-arming a wide receiver, but the whole thing just looks off somehow. A part of me thinks that whichever EA Sports employee it was that made the final cover choice has to be a fan of the Denver Broncos.
Madden NFL 15 will be available for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on August 26.