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
Blizzard’s Titan MMO delayed until at least 2016 as it undergoes huge design changes
It looks like World of Warcraft players will have to stick with Blizzard’s first MMO for the forseeable future. The company’s next generation MMO, known internally as Titan, has been delayed.
According to a report on GamesBeat, the release of Titan has been pushed back to 2016 “at the earliest” as development on the game has been completely scrapped. Blizzard plans to completely start over on Titan with a slimmed down team.
In an official statement, Blizzard’s Shon Damron said: “We’ve always had a highly iterative development process, and the unannounced MMO is no exception. We’ve come to a point where we need to make some large design and technology changes to the game. We’re using this opportunity to shift some of our resources to assist with other projects while the core team adapts our technology and tools to accommodate these new changes. Note that we haven’t announced any dates for the MMO.”
Whatever happens with Titan, Blizzard will soon have plenty of competition for MMO players as Bethesda plans to launch The Elder Scrolls Online this year.
Sony releases “Two Silhouettes,” a new trailer for Rain
Rain, a title in development at Sony Japan Studio and Acquire, might trigger a few memories of Ico thanks to its newest trailer, “Two Silhouettes.” A pair of invisible children are only seen when it rains and they must work together to escape the towering city they’re stuck in. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also this:
As the boy chases after the girl, he enters the mysterious world of rain and learns that he has also become invisible. In the pouring rain, he is lost and frightened as he is hunted by ghostly creatures. But, his determination to save the girl only grows stronger and he presses on.
Rain will be released for the PS3 this Fall, but first it’ll make an appearance at this year’s E3 Expo.
XBLA Today: CastleStorm
Zen Studios, the team behind Pinball FX 2 (and its many offshoots, including the recent Star Wars Pinball), has released their next game on the Xbox Live Arcade: CastleStorm. For 800 Microsoft Points ($10) you can jump into the eternal war between vikings and knights (just go with it) in this 2D physics-based battler:
It’s Knights vs. Vikings in CastleStorm, where medieval warfare meets 2D physics-based destruction! Controlling the battle in real time, players will harness the power of medieval artillery, manage a fearsome ground attack, and cast powerful spells! CastleStorm features a story-driven solo campaign, a custom castle editor, online multiplayer, co-op modes, and more. Building castles and knocking them down has never been so much fun!
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged CastleStorm
Here’s a list of Best Buy stores that will host E3 demos from Nintendo
Nintendo and Best Buy are bringing E3 2013 to the people. Or rather, to the people that live within driving distance of select Best Buy stores across the US and Canada.
Nintendo will bring some of the same Wii U demos they’re showing at this year’s E3 Expo to 110 Best Buy stores this June. The Wii U demos will be playable at select Best Buy stores on Wednesday, June 12 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM and on Saturday, June 15 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Nintendo has yet to announce which titles will be playable at their Best Buy showcase, but the publisher has confirmed that Mario Kart Wii U, the first 3D Super Mario game for the Wii U, and Sonic: Lost World will all appear at this year’s E3 Expo.
The complete list of US Best Buy locations that will host Nintendo’s E3 demos can be found after the break. Canadian demo locations will be announced at a later date. (more…)
Ubisoft plans to announce multiple next-gen games at E3 2013
Ubisoft’s Fall 2013 lineup will be well represented at this year’s E3 Expo as the publisher plans to display five titles at the gaming showcase, as well as multiple unannounced next-generation games:
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Rayman Legends
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist
- Watch Dogs
Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference will take place on Monday, June 10 at 6:00 PM (Eastern Time). The company will post a livestream of the presentation on YouTube for everyone who can’t attend the E3 Expo. Updates from the show floor will also be posted on Ubisoft’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, and official blog during E3 week.
“This is a pivotal moment for the video game industry, and E3 is the opportunity for us to share our vision for the future,” said Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft’s CEO. “We have many incredible games in development, and we’re especially excited to share more on our next-gen titles, which will deliver more connected, immersive and interactive experiences to our fans.”
So, any guesses on what Ubisoft’s unannounced next-gen games will be?
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, E3 2013, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Watch Dogs
Relax, the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor CAN be turned off
After viewing Microsoft’s “Next Xbox Reveal,” you’d be forgiven if you thought the Xbox One could only be controlled through voice commands. Thankfully, a Microsoft spokesman has spoken to Kotaku and confirmed that the system does indeed have a power switch.
“It is not always watching or always listening. Yes, you can turn the system completely off. This would use no power and turn everything off. We’ll share more details about how it all works later.”
The fact that this needed to be clarified is pretty scary. Microsoft has been backtracking thanks to a bevy of miscommunicated official statements ever since the Xbox One was first revealed. In fact, questions about the console’s used game policy started making the online rounds before the presentation was even over.
So it’s not surprising that Microsoft also had to tell Kotaku that the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor will include customizable privacy settings in case you don’t want a 1984-styled two-way camera monitoring you:
“We are designing the new Kinect with simple, easy methods to customize privacy settings, provide clear notifications and meaningful privacy choices for how data will be used, stored and shared.”
So you can put away your tin foil hat… for now.
Fuse, Grid 2, Wolfenstein 3D, more added to PS Store
Two retail games make their PSN debut the same day along with a pair of classics (and a random fifth game) in this week’s PlayStation Store update.
Insomniac’s co-op shooter, Fuse, and Codemasters’ racing sequel, Grid 2, are now available to scratch your new release itch. They’re joined by the PSN re-release of id Software’s seminal first person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D, and Rockstar’s PS2 resurrection of that classic of 70s cinema, The Warriors.
Also available this week is Mountain Crime: Requital, a crime-solving adventure game.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break and a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
What Did I Just See?: 5 Surprising Moments From Classic Video Games
In 2013, video games have a graphical fidelity that was unthinkable during my childhood. But games were still able to shock us. Often, their seemingly simple worlds allowed these surprises to sneak up on us, changing the way we thought about everything that came before and, sometimes, even the entire world around us.
So take a trip back with me as I explore 5 Surprising Moments From Classic Video Games… (more…)