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
Crystal Dynamics to announce “New Game” (cough Tomb Raider 2 cough) at E3 2014
GameTrailers has published the complete schedule for their “All Access” E3 2014 coverage and it looks like we’ll be getting our first look at Tomb Raider 2 next week. Or should that be Tomb Raider 10? What is the correct numbering scheme to use for an unannounced sequel to the reboot of a long-running franchise?
Anyway, the reveal will occur during GameTrailers’ “All Access” coverage at 2:00 PM (Eastern) on Monday, June 9. According to the show’s description, Crystal Dynamics will make a “new game announcement” during the telecast, carefully evading the use of the words “Tomb” and “Raider.” However, Phil Rogers, the CEO of Square Enix Europe, confirmed that the game was in the works last year, so what else could it be?
Unless Crystal Dynamics is resurrecting the Legacy of Kain series. Hmm, as much as I loved 2013’s Tomb Raider, can I change my answer to that?
Posted in News
Tagged E3 2014, Rise of the Tomb Raider
Shovel Knight will be released on June 26
I’ve been digging things up all Spring to prepare myself, and now, Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight has passed certification and is finally ready for release. Their retro-styled platformer will be released as a digital download for the PC (via Steam), Wii U, and 3DS on June 26.
In anticipation of Shovel Knight’s pending release, Yacht Club has revealed the game’s official box art and given everyone a sneak peek at the NES-inspired instruction manual via their official website. In the coming weeks, some of the game’s Kickstarter backers will receive physical copies of both.
And if you’re attending next week’s E3 Expo, you might run into members of the Yacht Club team on the show floor. And if you ask nicely, they’ll hand you a 3DS with Shovel Knight on it.
Final Wii Sports Club titles will be available on June 26; Boxed collection coming in July
The remaining two games from the Wii Sports Club collection, Wii Sports Club: Baseball and Wii Sports Club: Boxing, will finally be available to download from the Wii U eShop on June 26.
However, if you’d prefer to purchase every Wii Sports Club title at the same time, Nintendo plans to release a disc-based compilation on July 25. Priced at $39.99, the retail disc will include all five sports (Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Baseball, and Boxing), though it probably won’t include any additional bonus features. But every Wii Sports Club title did receive a high definition graphical makeover and includes online multiplayer modes that weren’t present in the Wii originals.
The full press release is posted after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Wii Sports Club, Wii Sports Club: Baseball, Wii Sports Club: Boxing
Nintendo Download: Tomodachi Life, 1001 Spikes, Zelda: Minish Cap, more
Welcome to this week’s Nintendo Download, which brings with it the news that the company’s Mii-filled life simulator, Tomodachi Life, will be available to download from the 3DS eShop beginning tomorrow.
Starting today, Nintendo’s handheld will be home to 1001 Spikes, a demanding side-scroller that gives players 1001 lives to complete its many treacherous levels. For those who would prefer to play it on a big screen, 1001 Spikes was also released for the Wii U as well. If you’d prefer to load up a classic 2D game on your Wii U, Nintendo has also added The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap to the eShop.
More information on all of these games (as well as a few other titles launching this week) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged 1001 Spikes, Tomodachi Life
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will begin stalking store shelves on February 24
CD Projekt RED has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 24 in two different editions.
The standard edition will include the game, a soundtrack CD, a softcover book exploring the game’s lore (“Witcher Universe – The Compendium”), a sticker pack, and a map of the game world. Meanwhile, the Collector’s Edition includes everything from the standard edition as well as a giant statue of Geralt battling a Griffin, a collector’s medallion, a 200-page artbook, and a SteelBook case. A price tag for the Collector’s Edition wasn’t announced.
If you need more witchery this afternoon, CD Projekt RED has also unveiled the game’s E3 2014 trailer, which is entitled “The Sword of Destiny.” Be sure to check out the trailer above and you can get a closer look at the standard edition and the Collector’s Edition after the break. (more…)
Tetris Ultimate set for a Summer release on PS4, Xbox One; PC version to follow in Fall
Are you ready to play the ultimate version of Tetris? I hope so, because Ubisoft plans to release Tetris Ultimate as a digital download for the PS4 and Xbox One this Summer. The game will also be available through PC download services in the Fall.
Tetris Ultimate will include six modes (Marathon, Endless, Ultra, Sprint, Battle, and Power-Up Battle) and multiplayer play for up to four people. We’ll get an extended look at the game next week during the E3 Expo and members of the public who make it down to Ubisoft’s Uplay Lounge at The Standard hotel will be able to try it out for themselves.
I have just one question, how has a Tetris game never used “Ultimate” as a subtitle before this?
XBL Store Today: Murdered: Soul Suspect, Worms: Battleground
Two new games were added to the Xbox Live Game Store today and they should sound familiar to anyone that took notice of yesterday’s PlayStation Store update. First, there’s the supernatural detective story Murdered: Soul Suspect, which is (available on the Xbox One and the Xbox 360. It’s joined by the Xbox One debut of the Worms franchise, Worms: Battleground.
More information about both games can be found right here:
Worms: Battleground ($24.99)
Available on the Xbox One
Worms: Battlegrounds brings friends and families together in the noble pursuit of self‐improvement, world domination and exploding sheep. Worms™ Battlegrounds is the biggest and best Worms game to date – more worms, larger landscapes, more dynamic water, more weapons and more customisation items than ever before. It features beautiful high definition 3D visuals (but still retains the classic 2D gameplay) with new lighting effects, new features to help users interact socially, exciting additions to improve the single player experience, and more of everything a Worms fan could want.Murdered: Soul Suspect ($59.99)
Available on the Xbox One and Xbox 360
A dark, detective thriller with a supernatural twist: solving your own murder from the afterlife. Play as Ronan O’Connor, a Salem police detective with a chequered past, whose life is brought to an untimely end by a brutal killer. Trapped in a limbo world called Dusk, he is unable to find peace until he can bring his killer to justice. As Ronan, use powerful supernatural abilities to freely explore the shadowy afterlife. Unable to communicate with the detectives on his case, Ronan must read the minds of the living, influencing their thoughts and actions, and interrogate Salem’s dead to piece together the truth. The afterlife is not a safe place however, and his investigations are threatened by demonic spirits wanting to devour his soul.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Murdered: Soul Suspect, Worms: Battlegrounds
Mario Kart 8 now the fastest-selling Wii U game after 1.2 million copies sold over first weekend
In the kart race that is the 8th Generation Console War, Nintendo picked up a Blue Shell over the weekend in the form of Mario Kart 8. The latest addition to Nintendo’s popular racing franchise bowled over the competition and sold 1.2 million copies in its first three days of availability across North America, Europe, and Japan. That makes it the fastest-selling Wii U game ever and the seventh Nintendo-published title to sell more than a million copies.
“The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “This year’s E3 is just days away, and it will be all about the future games for Nintendo platforms. This milestone is a great place to start!”
So I guess that ultra-creepy live-action commercial actually increased sales of Mario Kart 8. Mean Mario means business!
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8