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
Scribblenauts: DC Superheroes rumored to be in development at 5th Cell
IGN is reporting that Sribblenauts Unlimited developer 5th Cell is hard at work on the next game in the series, a Scribblenauts game set in the DC Comics Universe!
According to their tipster, the game is currently being developed under the working title “Scribblenauts Unmasked” for the 3DS, PC, and Wii U. IGN’s source states that publisher WB Games wants to announce it at this year’s E3 Expo, but “the title, content, and main character may change before it is announced.” Of course, since no one knew Scribblenauts Unmasked even existed until a day or so ago, making changes to what is more or less a prototype shouldn’t raise any alarm bells (or Bat Signals).
The tipster described a few of the puzzles, which give off a Scribblenauts feel while still clearly taking place in the DC Universe:
One source describes a linear level beginning in the sewers beneath Wayne Manor where a hungry Killer Croc won’t let Max proceed. When a hamburger isn’t enough, a dynamite sandwich sends Croc into a rage leading to his arrest. Robin keeps the situation under control, allowing Max to make his way inside Wayne Manor (where Batman has been manipulated by The Joker) before discovering Batgirl’s capture in the Batcave.
In another situation, Max encounters two police officers, and must decipher which one is legit and which is actually Clayface. An X-ray exposes the villain, and when handcuffs fail to stop the sludge-monster, a freeze-gun does the trick.
If Scribblenauts Unmasked is for real, now we really can ask, “Where does he get all those wonderful toys?”
Weekly Warp-Up: Next-Gen Things Are Afoot 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 saw two big “announcements-of-announcements” that will likely have major implications on the next phase of the dreaded/loved console war. First, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox 720/Durango will be unveiled in a special May 21 event. After that, Nintendo announced that they will not host a tradional E3 Press Conference this year. Instead, the company plans to produce a series of Nintendo Direct presentations that will get the word out on their 2013 game lineup.
Neither announcement is big on its own, but they both have made the rest of the year a bit clearer.
What else happened this week? Well, we took a trip down to North Carolina for the East Coast Games Conference and another edition of Kickstart This! is available for your pledged dollars.
Hit the jump for more news from this week. (more…)
Posted in News
Watch 8 minutes of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon gameplay in this video
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is just a few days away and Creative Director Dean Evans has decided to give us all an extended look at the open world of the game in the walkthrough video posted above. It’s got it all… grenades, shotguns that shoot flaming bullets, a “flip the bird” button, and dragons with frickin’ laser beams on their heads.
Dean Evans is a brilliant, brilliant man. And not just because of his cheeky British accent.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
New Releases: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Soul Sacrifice, Deadly Premonition, More
The absolutely epic ridiculous epic Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is available this week as a PC download. And it’ll also be available to download from the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. Don’t worry, Sergeant Rex “Power” Colt, we’ll save the world together! 80s montage… go!
Also available this week is Keiji Inafune’s action RPR for the Vita, Soul Sacrifice. Inafune is the celebrated creator of Mega Man, Dead Rising, Lost Planet, and many other games. Following his post-Capcom career has become a bit of a challenge (he’s connected to a ton of different games), but Soul Sacrifice seems like a good place to start.
It’s been three years, but there’s still no consensus on whether 2010’s Deadly Premonition is the work of a mad genius or someone who’s just mad. But Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro didn’t let that stop him and he’s bringing Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut to the PS3 this week.
Finally, turn-based strategy game Leviathan: Warships is available this week from Paradox Interactive.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360
Tagged Deadly Premonition, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Soul Sacrifice
Sony provides a closer look at the DualShock 4 in new video
Sony gave us our first taste of the DualShock 4 during their PlayStation Meeting in February. Since then, some of the developers at Sony Worldwide Studios have put together this video giving us a closer look at the PlayStation 4 controller.
I’m still not sure what the touchpad will be used for, but it’s nice to know that Sony called on their extensive stable of internal development studios to design the controller.
Lobo trounces an unprepared Batman in this Injusice DLC trailer
NetherRealm previously announced that Lobo, “The Main Man,” would be making an appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us as the first downloadable character. Today, they’ve unveiled the first footage of the intergalactic bounty hunter in the game… and he’s putting a beatdown on Batman! Stick around for his finisher, it’s worth it.
Lobo runs Batman down with his hovercycle, blasts him in the face with exhaust, and then flips him a pixelated middle finger! You gotta love Lobo.
Lobo will be available to download on May 7.
Posted in News, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Injustice: Gods Among Us
Nintendo Download: Wii U Virtual Console
Virtual Console titles are now available to download from the Wii U eShop. After a few months of preview games, the “full” Wii U Virtual Console is ready to go with the following eight games:
- Balloon Fight ($4.99)
- Donkey Kong Jr. ($4.99)
- Excitebike ($4.99)
- F-Zero ($7.99)
- Ice Climber ($4.99)
- Kirby’s Adventure (SALE: $0.30, REGULAR PRICE: $4.99)
- Punch Out!! ($4.99)
- Super Mario World ($7.99)
If you’ve previously purchased any of the NES games on this list, Nintendo will upgrade them to the Wii U version (with Off-TV Play, Miiverse Support, and Customizable Controls) for $1.00 apiece. It’ll set you back $1.50 to upgrade a Super NES game.
PC, PS3 getting Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising DLC on May 16
As expected, the Call of Duty: Black Ops II “Uprising” pack will be available for the PC and PS3 on May 16, exactly one month after its release on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Activision didn’t announce a price for the PC and PS3 version, but I’m sure it’ll match the $15 price tag the pack carried on the XBLM.
In case you missed it the first time around, here’s a quick rundown of the four multiplayer maps the pack will contain, as well as the new “Mob of the Dead” mode:
- “Magma” is a modern Japanese village with volcanic eruptions carving multiple paths throughout the town.
- “Encore” takes place in the aftermath of a deserted London music festival and leaves numerous opportunities for run-and-gun, close quarters combat.
- “Vertigo” is a futuristic high rise in India housing a high-tech lab featuring dizzying vistas and multi-tiered pathways.
- “Studio” is a Hollywood movie back lot with a variety of cinematic themes that range from Sci-Fi to the Old West. It’s also a contemporary remake of “Firing Range,” a fan-favorite multiplayer map from Call of Duty: Black Ops.
- “Mob of the Dead” (Zombies Mode) – With plans to break out of Alcatraz foiled by the rise of the undead, the quartet of inmates will have to lean on their mob-derived skills with firearms, blunt instruments and improvised weaponry as they battle the zombies infesting and overrunning the island.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops II