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
Tearaway release date tears away into November
Media Molecule has announced that Tearaway, their Vita-exclusive platformer, won’t be available on October 22. The game, set in a world created in a papercraft sty;e, will now be released on November 22.
According to Rex Crowle, Media Molecule’s Creative Lead (via the PlayStation Blog), the Tearaway team just needs a little more time to polish the game up and to “tie all of the mechanics, story and amazing visuals together into the adventure that we want you to play.”
But Crowle is confirdent that they can do it and also said: “Here at Media Molecule we love to make new things on new platforms. To us, making games is a real labor of love. Our very blood, sweat and tears are poured into every pixel, every line of code, every note in every song, and every little post it note we use to plan our lives.”
We’ll find out for sure on November 22.
Nintendo files new trademark for downloadable Eternal Darkness game
Precursor’s Kickstarter campaign to fund Shadow of the Eternals, a spiritual sequel to Eternal Darkess: Sanity’s Requiem, is now entering its second week. Backers have pledged $164,517 to the project, almost 22% of Precursor’s goal. They just might make it. But Nintendo may beat them to the punch with an official sequel.
The publisher filed a new trademark application for “Eternal Darkness” with the US Patent and Trademark Office on July 23. But wait a minute, you might ask, doesn’t Nintendo already own the trademark to Eternal Darkness? It’s true, Nintendo already owns the trademark to Eternal Darkness, but this new application specifically adds “downloadable electronic game programs” and “downloadable electronic game software” to the list of products the trademark would apply to.
Before we all jump to conclusions, this application could be something as uneventful as Nintendo covering their bases in case they someday wanted to create a downloadable Eternal Darkness expansion. But it could also mean that their plan to add GameCube games to the Wii U eShop is finally coming together. Or, yes, it could be that Eternal Darkness sequel we always wanted.
I guess we’ll just have to sit back and wait.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Fan petition wants Reggie Fils-Aime as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. 4
Here’s something fun for your Sunday afternoon. A group of petitioners on Change.org want Nintendo to add Reggie Fils-Aime to Super Smash Bros. 4 as a playable character. Fils-Aime is Nintendo of America’s hulking President and is affectionately referred to as “The Regginator” by fans.
The petition was created for the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, who has stated that several new characters will find their way into the upcoming Wii U and 3DS game. So far, Sakurai has confirmed that a villager from Animal Crossing, a Wii Fit trainer, and Mega Man will be added to the fighting franchise’s roster. I’ve got to admit, including Reggie in a Smash Bros. game sounds pretty perfect. After all, the man introduced himself to the gaming press at E3 2004 with one of the greatest lines ever: “My name is Reggie. I’m about kickin’ ass, I’m about takin’ names, and we’re about makin’ games.”
The petition is currently sitting at 4,232 supporters. It may not be enough to convince Nintendo to include Fils-Aime as a playable character in a Smash Bros. game, but maybe he can be included in some other way.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Weekly Warp-Up: Business Decisions 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…
This week is all about major business moves, so get set to hear a bunch of executivespeak.
Activision can now be considered an “independent” company because CEO Bobby Kotick and other investors have bought the company from Vivendi for $8 billion. And speaking of the indie movement, Microsoft has decided to allow independent developers to follow Sony and Nintendo’s lead. Reversing a previous policy decision, Big Redmond has announced that indie developers will be able to self-publish their games on the Xbox One.
Finally, Precursor Games is taking another crack at funding Shadow of the Eternals, their spiritual sequel to Eternal Darkness, through Kickstarter. Those crazy kids have been through a lot, but they just might do it this time.
That’s all the business news we’ve got, but you can find even more of this week’s new news after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Terraria: Collector’s Edition
It ain’t The Smurfs 2, but we’re in for another week with only one new retail release.
This week, gamers can look forward to Terraria: Collector’s Edition, an “action-packed sandbox adventure,” for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Originally added to the PlayStation Store and XBLA in March, the Collector’s Edition of Terraria comes complete with a game download code (which requires an Internet connection) a 2GB USB Stick shaped like a pick-axe, an exclusive “Items Crafting Poster,” and a set of Velum Character Stickers.
We’re definitely in for some more variety next week.
NBA 2K14 soundtrack handpicked by Lebron James… listen to it now!
In a first, cover athlete Lebron James has been tapped by 2K Sports to select the songs that will appear on NBA 2K14‘s soundtrack. The soundtrack to last year’s game, NBA 2K13, was handpicked by Jay-Z, that title’s honorary “Executive Producer.” The world’s most famous sports agent also raps occasionally, and James has included Jay-Z’s “The Ruler’s Back” amongst this year’s selections.
“2K is letting me take control of some important elements in NBA 2K14, including this year’s soundtrack,” James said. “I love that I’m the first NBA 2K cover athlete to choose the soundtrack.”
So what other songs did King James choose? You can listen for yourself at Spotify or you can check out the complete soundtrack listing after the break. Actually, feel free to do both. (more…)
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is now available in Japan
It was a sad, sad day when Nintendo announced that Mario Kart 8, the first game in the series scheduled for release on the Wii U, wouldn’t be available until Spring 2014. But, did you know that Nintendo had another Mario Kart game in development?
Say hello to Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the latest arcade edition of the franchise from Namco Bandai.
Available exclusively in Japan, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX adds an interesting twist to the Mario Kart formula: two players can team up and form a tank that shoots Green Shells. The gliders from Mario Kart 7 have also been incorporated into GP DX. It’s unknown if the game will receive an official American release (I’m pretty sure it’s unlikely) and it’s definitely not coming to the Wii U anytime soon.
Which is a travesty, because Mario Kart Arcade GP DX looks awesome. Did I mention that two players can team up and transform into a tank that shoots Green Shells? Because you can totally do that!
Posted in News
XBLA Today: Zeno Clash II, Mars: War Logs
Microsoft skipped their usual Xbox Live Arcade update on Wednesday this week. But they’ve decided to make up for it with two new additions in a special Friday update. First up is Zeno Clash II, a first person brawler from Atlus and ACE Team:
Ghat’s story is far from over: Zeno Clash II picks up where the deliciously brazen first game left off. After 4 years of waiting, the sequel to ACE Team’s surreal first-person brawler brings more variety in combat and levels, stunning upgraded visuals, and even more bizarre storytelling into the beguiling stonepunk world of Zenozoik.
Zeno Clash II welcomes new players to the Zeno Clash universe with a new game that will introduce them to the world and fill them in on the backstory. Returning players will delight in the connections between the Ghat’s and Rimat’s new quest and their past adventures. All players will thoroughly enjoy playing a first-person brawler that provides a rarity in modern gaming: a truly unique experience.
And then there’s Mars: War Logs, a “cyberpunk action RPG” developed by Spiders:
An intense cyberpunk RPG on the red planet! Mars War Logs takes you to Mars, nearly a century after the cataclysm that threw the planet and its colonists into chaos. Water has become the most precious resource on the arid red planet, with a few companies fighting a perpetual war for its control. In the middle of this struggle, play as Roy, a renegade with multiple talents who finds himself dragged in an epic story where every choice counts.
Develop your character and your combat style by choosing among many skills and perks: melee, ranged combat, stealth, or the devastating Technomants powers. Craft armors and weapons, recruit companions to help you in your quest, and plunge in a thrilling adventure offering a huge variety of quests. In dynamic, real-time combat, face formidable opponents and the most fearsome creatures of Mars. The fate of all colonies of Mars now lies in your hands…
Both games have been priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Zeno Clash II