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
Persona 4 available on PSN as a PS2 Classic next week
This one was already spoiled by the ESRB yesterday, but Atlus has announced that Persona 4 will be available to download through the PlayStation Network on April 8. The game will be part of the PS2 Classics store for the PS3 and, according to the publisher, there’s even a bit of importance to this particular release date:
Astute fans will recognize the date is three days before the main character transfers to Yasogami High School, so if you’re the type of super-dedicated player that wants to play the game exactly to the calendar date, there’s still time!
Persona 4’s price is currently unknown but PS2 Classics are typically sell for $10.
Nintendo Download: Batman Blackgate, Metroid Fusion, Advance Wars, more
Everyone’s favorite handheld, the Game Boy Advance, returns in a big way this week courtesy of the Nintendo Download. Metroid Fusion (the last Metroid side-scroller), Advance Wars (one of the greatest strategy games of all time), and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (a pretty great RPG) are now purchasable through the Wii U eShop… and more 3DS games are on the way all month. Wii U owners will also have a chance to download Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition, a high definition re-release of the Arkham Origins spinoff, and Evofish, an evolutionary fish sim.
Over on the 3DS, Nintendo has added their Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball, their free-to-play baseball-themed minigame collection, to the eShop along with a pair of Mystery Case Files hidden object games.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
EA hires former Uncharted dev Amy Hennig to lead Visceral’s Star Wars project
Amy Hennig stepped down from her position as the Creative Director on Uncharted 4 at Naughty Dog a few weeks ago. Today, we learned where she’ll land. In a post on EA’s “The Beat” blog, the megapublisher has revealed she has been hired by Visceral Games to become Creative Director of their in-development Star Wars project. Steve Papoutsis, Visceral’s General Manager, is very pleased with the hiring of Hennig:
Amy has long been recognized as one of our industry’s top visionaries, and is coming off an amazing run as the Writer and Creative Director of the Uncharted franchise. But her contributions go beyond the games she helped create at Naughty Dog and at Crystal Dynamics, where we worked together many years ago. As both a colleague and friend, I’ve always admired her approach to creative development – focusing on nailing down the soul of a game first, and then making sure the writing, the gameplay, the design and the art comes together to form a unified, interactive experience for the player. This fits in perfectly with what we’re trying to do here at Visceral and Amy’s going to help us continue in our pursuit to make the most thrilling, immersive games in the world.
The details of Visceral’s Star Wars project are still very much under wraps. It’s expected to be an open-world game, but it may be a long time before we find out what Hennig will bring to the title.
Posted in News
Tagged Star Wars: Visceral
New Mario Kart 8 trailer showcases the beautiful return of Rainbow Road 64
Mario Kart 64‘s version of Rainbow Road is one of my all-time favorite tracks from any Mario Kart game. And it’s making a return in next month’s Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U as one of the game’s “remixed” tracks. In addition to Rainbow Road 64, Nintendo announced that Toad’s Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 will also be added to the sequel, alongside Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart.
Mario Kart 8 will be more than just old courses with a new coat of paint, as Nintendo also revealed two new items, three new characters, and the brand new “Spin Boost” special move. According to Nintendo, the Spin Boost gives players an advantage when racing upside down or on walls: “Players can bump into other racers or certain track obstacles to get a speed boost, fundamentally redefining the way that players compete.”
As they put the “Spin Boost” to work, players will also be able to use two new items. The Piranha Plant “attaches to the front of the player’s kart and chomps at other characters, banana peels on the track or even shells thrown by other characters.” And the Boomerang Flower “allows players to strike multiple opponents with a single toss” of the Boomerang. In another, totally unrelated, first for the series, Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers on some courses.
Finally, Nintendo has confirmed that three more racers will join the fray: Metal Mario, Latiku (who’s going to wave the checkered flag when he’s racing?), and Shy Guy.
Mario Kart 8 will be available exclusively for the Wii U on May 30.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8
Over 100 games will be included in the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2014
Over the years, the Indie Megabooth has become one of the busiest spots at PAX East and PAX Prime and the 2014 East show is no exception. Organizers behind the Indie Megabooth have announced that 76 games will be permanently installed in the booth with another 28 titles rotating in-and-out of a special “Minibooth” within the Indie Megabooth over the course of the convention’s three days. For the first time, tabletop games will get a chance to shine in the Indie Megabooth. Sponsored by Cards Against Humanity, this selection of tabletop games includes bluffing game These French Fries Are Terrible Hot Dogs, party game Funemployed, and six others.
Other highlights in this year’s Megabooth include Duet, a hypnotic mobile puzzler; Delver’s Drop, everyone’s favorite indie answer to the Zelda franchise; Hyper Light Drifter, everyone’s other favorite indie answer to the Zelda franchise; Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Answer, a sequel to the ultraviolent overhead shooter; and Secret Ponchos, an arena shooter that was one of our favorite games from PAX East 2013. Of course, with 104 total titles, this list of highlights is just scratching the surface of what’s available within the Indie Megabooth.
A complete list of titles that will be playable within the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2014 can be found after the break. And more information about all of them is available at the organization’s official website. (more…)
XBL Store Today: Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition
The Bat is back as WB Games has added Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition to the Xbox Live Arcade today. The previously handheld-only title makes the leap to home consoles complete with a high definition makeover and other deluxe features such as “new maps, enemy encounters, difficulty levels, and batsuits.”
The Deluxe Edition of Arkham Origins Blackgate has been priced at $19.99:
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition ($19.99)
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition amplifies the 2.5D game with new maps, enemy encounters, difficulty levels, batsuits, and enhanced visuals. A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past. Featuring stealth gameplay, free-flow combat, and Batman’s famed arsenal of gadgets, the genuine Arkham experience is reproduced in a deep, action packed side-scrolling adventure.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
April 1st tweets tease Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2
Even though yesterday was the scoundrel’s holiday known as April Fool’s Day, some game publishers will occasionally make real announcements about real games. Such was the case last year, when Ubisoft revealed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, a downloadable spinoff to Far Cry 3 that was heavily inspired by the 1980s “VHS Era” of direct-to-video schlock. And they might have done it again.
Yesterday, horror director Jason Eisener posted a photo to Instagram of his brand new Blood Dragon soundtrack album. In the background of the picture was a television monitor, and upon this television monitor was an image that included a logo for something known as “Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2.”
Is it all a prank? Or is it another elaborate low-rent marketing stunt? Later in the day, Dean Evans, the Creative Director behind Blood Dragon, posted a similar image to Twitter and included the hashtag “#vietnamwar2”:
This would be a killer game/movie/comic/revolution. Solid work from @AndyBelanger #vietnamwar2 pic.twitter.com/558pfSqGgt
— Dean Evans (@SpleenZilla) April 1, 2014
Talk of a Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon sequel began almost as soon as the first game was released when Michael Biehn, the voice of Rex Power Colt, discussed the possibility of a sequel less than a week after the game’s release. And Ubisoft has been touting a surprise game reveal for next week’s PAX East convention, so perhaps the only fool is the one who doesn’t believe that Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2 is real.
Posted in News
Tagged Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
PS Store Today: MLB 14: The Show, Mercenary Kings, Batman Blackgate, more
It’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as Sony has added almost ten games to their digital storefront.
PlayStation 4 owners will want to check out Mercenary Kings. The 2D shooter has been described as Borderlands meets Metal Slug and it has been inducted into the Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you’re not a Plus subscriber, Mercenary Kings will set you back $19.99.
Over on the PS3, WB Games has re-released the formerly Vita-exclusive Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate as a “Deluxe Edition” on the PS3. The Batman side-scroller will be joined by another game that makes use of the 2D plane, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, the latest fighter from Arc System Works. And just in time for Opening Day, PS3 owners will also be able to download MLB 14: The Show today. MLB 14 is also available for the Vita, but it isn’t a Cross-Buy title. Speaking of the Vita, action RPG Ragnarok Odyssey Ace was added to the PS Store by XSEED. Like MLB 14, a PS3 version is also available.
Rounding out this week’s new releases is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs The Soulless Army, a PS2 Classic from Atlus’ long-running RPG series, and Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With An Engine, a kart racer starring NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.
More details on all of these titles 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…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, MLB 14: The Show, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace