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
Weekly Warp-Up: Last Minute Shopping 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…
Did you know that Kohl’s (and Toys R Us) will not close for the next 90 hours? Who would go to Kohl’s at like four in the morning to shop for clothes? That’s madness! But that is apparently the reality we live in now.
So how about a little unreality to go along with it? Like the unreal notion that the Contra-inpsired crazines of Bullet Bros did not reach its Kickstarter goal? We sat down with developer Jason Stokes and got “Deep in the [Stuff]” discussing the game, moustache rides, and November rain.
Our UK Correspondent, Andrew Rainnie, also checked in with the state of the Wii U again and he has tried to make the case that it’s The Little Engine That Could (and Should). If you love your Wii U, you should check it out.
If you haven’t already left the house to go to Kohl’s, hit the jump for more news from the week that was. (more…)
Posted in News
Call of Duty: Ghosts getting four map packs and a season pass… surprised?
Activision has just announced that Call of Duty: Ghosts will receive four post-launch map packs (Onslaught, Devastation, Invasion, and Nemesis). Each pack will be priced at $14.99 apiece, with a $49.99 Season Pass also available. None of this should really be news. The last three or four CoD games got the same treatment.
Each map pack will include a new set of multiplayer maps, bonus weapons, and an “Extinction” scenario. Each “Extinction” scenario will build on the one before it to create what Activision is calling “an episodic Extinction experience.”
If you decide to spring for the Season Pass, you’ll receive access to the “Free Fall” multiplayer map as well as unique “Team Leader” in-game content: MP Character Head, Weapon Camo, Reticle, Player Patch, Player Card, and a Player Background.
The first map pack, Onslaught, will be released sometime in 2014 with the rest to follow.
XBL Store Today: Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
I think Microsoft has given the boot to “Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays” when it comes to digital releases on the Xbox One. Today, a Friday, the consolemaker added developer Press Play’s Max: The Curse of Brotherhood to the Xbox One Game Store. Here’s what you can expect from the puzzle platformer (which has been priced at $14.99):
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a classic action-adventure. At its core it is a platformer filled with puzzles. Max must start on a quest to save his brother who is kidnapped to a hostile world. His only chance to succeed is to stay courageous and use the powers of his marker to manipulate the environment. Unleash the many powers of the Marker and beat the evil kidnapper!
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is also in development for the Xbox 360 and will be released in 2014.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
Capcom leaves coal in our stockings and delays Dead Rising 3: Operation Broken Eagle
I guess this clinches it. Xbox One owners, collectively, have been very very naughty. At least, Santa Justice is the only explanation I can come up with for Capcom’s decision to delay the first downloadable expansion for Dead Rising 3, “Operation Broken Eagle,” from December 24 to January 21.
Or, you can read the official statement the publisher issued to Joystiq for the real explanation:
“Adding new content to the massive open world of Los Perdidos is a major undertaking, and to ensure we provide the best possible experience for players, we are putting a few additional weeks of polish and testing into the episode before it’s released. Stay tuned for additional updates.”
Bah, humbug!
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Rising 3
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be released on March 25
Blizzard has announced that the first expansion for Diablo III, Reaper of Souls, will be released for the PC and Mac on March 25. The expansion will include a battle against Death himself as well as an increased Level Cap and the Crusader, an all-new character class.
Reaper of Souls will be released in three different packages, a $39.99 standard edition and two special editions. The $59.99 Digital Deluxe Edition will include the game and a variety of in-game bonus items:
- Exclusive Helm and Weapon-Transmogrification Recipes: Players can distinguish their characters among the champions of Sanctuary.
- Spectral Hound Minion: Players can summon Spectral Hound to keep their adventurers company on their epic journey
- World of Warcraft In-Game Companion Pet: The Treasure Goblin, ready to compete in Pet Battles
- Three Additional Character Slots
- StarCraft II Crusader-Themed Battle.net Portraits and Malthael-Themed Decals
Finally, the retail-exclusive Collector’s Edition will include the game, all of the in-game items from the Digital Deluxe Edition and a “gorgeous full-color hardcover art book, a behind-the-scenes Blu-ray/DVD two-disc set, and a mouse pad bearing the impenetrable visage of Malthael, the Angel of Death.” The Collector’s Edition has been priced at $79.99.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is also in development for the PS4 as part of the Ultimate Evil Edition bundle. It will be released later in 2014 and Blizzard has promised they will release more details soon.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
Nintendo Download: Knytt Underground, 3D Streets of Rage, Castlevania, more
Nintendo delighted everyone with the surprise releases of NES Remix and Wii Sports Club: Golf on the Wii U eShop yesterday. And while today’s regular update isn’t quite that astounding, it is pretty good…
The last two “Sega 3D Classics” (for now) have been added to the 3DS eShop. 3D Streets of Rage and 3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master will ensure that plenty of punks will be punched in a side-scrolling setting this weekend. More punks can be pounded in the NES-era River City Ransom spinoff Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge, which is also now available through the 3DS eShop. Wii U owners will get a chance to smack some side-scrolling baddies too as Konami has added Castlevania to the Wii U Virtual Console.
In original games this week, there’s Knytt Underground for the Wii U and Banana Bliss: Jungle Puzzles for the 3DS. Knytt Underground is a stylish and moody platformer that previously found a home on the PC, PS3, and Vita. Meanwhile, Banana Bliss is a puzzle game that takes place in the jungle.
More information about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
I got a fever and the prescription is Dr. Luigi on Wii U eShop
The Year of Luigi is going to end in a big way as Nintendo has announced that Dr. Luigi will be added to the Wii U eShop on December 31.
Dr. Luigi changes up the traditional Dr. Mario formula with “Operation L,” a new game mode that uses L-shaped pills. But don’t worry, a standard Dr. Mario mode (which still stars Luigi) will also be included. Online and local multiplayer will also be featured in Dr. Luigi as well as a stylus-controlled “Virus Buster” mode.
Dr. Luigi will be priced at $14.99.
Mario Kart 8 adds “Baby” characters and Rosalina
Nintendo released a new trailer for Mario Kart 8 this morning, giving us our first look at a quartet of new racers: Rosalina (from Super Mario Galaxy), Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, and Baby Daisy.
The two-minute trailer also showcases a few of the new tracks that’ll be featured in the game including an airport, a desert (complete with ruins), and “high in the clouds.”
Mario Kart 8 will be released for the Wii U next Spring.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8