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
Another Earth Defense Force 2025 gameplay video to get you through the weekend
Spring is in the air. I know this because I awoke to find an absolutely massive spider on my kitchen table this morning. Of course, it was just a little thing compared to the arachnids in Earth Defense Force 2025. D3 Publisher’s Japanese office has released another gameplay trailer for the game and if you need a little mindless bug stomping this Sunday evening, it’s certainly worth a look.
Earth Defense Force 2025 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime this year.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Earth Defense Force 2025
More The Evil Within details revealed by Bethesda Japan
With less than 24 hours to go before IGN publishes their “exclusive” preview of The Evil Within, Bethesda Japan has revealed a few additional details about the game, which will be known in Japan as Psychobreak. Siliconera was able to translate all the details:
The two arrive at a gruesome crime scene and out there is a mysterious and powerful force lurking in the shadows. One by one, other police officers are killed right before Sebastian’s eyes. Suddenly, something attacks Sebastian and he’s knocked unconscious. When he comes to he awakens in horrifying world with monsters wandering around. Your goal in The Evil Within is to first survive and second solve the mystery behind this maleficent force.
Besides the monstrous beings, the world of The Evil Within will be populated with a variety of traps and “[background] elements like walls, hallways, doors, and rooms” will morph and change in real time. Finally, the game will be powered by id Software’s latest engine, id Tech 5, when its released next year for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and “next-generation consoles.”
Creator of EarthBound 2 fan translation has offered it to Nintendo for free
With the news that Nintendo is finally bringing EarthBound to their Virtual Console service, fans have once again begun asking the inevitable followup question, “What about Mother 3/EarthBound 2?”
As is typical of Nintendo, they haven’t discussed the prospect of a North American release of Mother 3 since the EarthBound announcement. But the team behind the Mother 3 Fan Translation wants to get a dialogue going. And their first shot is a big one: they’ve offered to let Nintendo use their translation of the game, for free, in an American release of Mother 3. And, if need be, they plan to go even further than that to secure an official release of the RPG:
I realize that localizing a game this size can cost a lot, so if it’ll help in even the slightest, I’ll gladly offer to let Nintendo use my text translation files for any use at all, completely for free. I’ll even edit the files to fit whatever new standards are necessary (content, formatting, memory size, etc.), completely for free. I’ll even retranslate everything from scratch if need be. Just whatever it takes to get an official release out.
While it’s unlikely that Nintendo would use a fan translation to bring the game to the US, the translators have pointed out that it has happened before. Most recently, XSEED used a fan translation as a starting point for the Ys: The Oath in Felghana localization.
The other major hurdle to a North American release of Mother 3 is the fact that the game was originally released on the Game Boy Advance, a system that is “dead” for all intents and purposes. Of course, there’s always the Virtual Console on the 3DS…
Weekly Warp-Up: All About Nintendo… Again
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…
When it comes to video game news, this week was all about Nintendo… again. We started things off with a look at the Wii U’s launch and it’s similarities to the Wii launch and the GameCube launch in The Wii U: It’s All Just A Little Bit of History Repeating. Then Nintendo themselves picked up the ball and ran off an impressive string of announcements during their latest Nintendo Direct presentation including EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2 for the 3DS, and release dates for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Pikmin 3, and Game & Wario.
In non-Nintendo news, we sat down for an Interview with Switchblade Monkeys and posted a Hands-On Preview of their first game, Secret Ponchos.
More news from the week that was can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Lego City Undercover 3DS, Dead Island: Riptide, Star Trek, More
April is almost over and there’s plenty of new games scheduled to be released this week, including…
Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, a 3DS prequel to Lego City Undercover that’s available in stores and the 3DS eShop today.
Available Tuesday is Deep Silver’s latest tale of zombies in paradise, Dead Island: Riptide (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Also available is Star Trek (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), Namco Bandai’s video game prequel to next month’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3, Xbox 360), Capcom’s standalone expansion to last year’s Dragon’s Dogma.
Finally, this week sees the release of Puzzler World 2013, a 3DS puzzle game collection; Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, a PC side-scroller; and StarDrive, a new 4X strategy game for the PC.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dead Island: Riptide, Dragon's Dogma, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, Star Trek
Rumor: Until Dawn adds DualShock controller support
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead reboot isn’t the only “cabin in the woods” a group of unlucky teens will be exploring this year as the PS3-exclusive Until Dawn is still on track for a 2013 release. After the game was announced last year, developer Supermassive revealed that the game was designed for use with the PlayStation Move controller and that the motion control peripheral was required for Until Dawn. PS3 owners requested DualShock supprt, but a PlayStation Blog post from October reconfirmed that the Move was the only planned input option for the game.
Fast forward to today and the reveal of the game’s official boxart on Amazon. The banner along the top states that the game is “PlayStation Move Compatible” instead of “PlayStation Move Required,” implying that DualShock support will ultimately be included in the game.
So we should all celebrate, right? Not so fast. Until Dawn’s profile page on PlayStation.com shows a “PlayStation Move Required” banner along the top, but it also features a tiny picture of the new boxart that includes the “PlayStation Move Compatible” wording. We’ve contacted Sony and will update this story with the official word once we hear it.
At this point, those of us who want to play Until Dawn with a DualShock controller are still in limbo. Much like the limbo that trapped Bruce Campbell within the woods in Evil Dead II. And that turned out OK, he got a chainsaw hand out of the deal…
Of course, he had to cut off his possessed hand at the wrist first.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Until Dawn
Gears of War: Judgment – Call to Arms Pack will be available on April 23
Microsoft, Epic Games, and People Can Fly are gearing up to release the first paid expansion to Gears of War: Judgment next week.
If you’re the proud owner of a VIP Season Pass, you’ll be able to download the Call to Arms Map Pack on Tuesday, April 23. If you haven’t taken the Season Pass plunge, all players will be able to download the DLC a week later on April 30 for 1000 Microsoft Points ($12.50). The pack will include three new multiplayer maps, a brand-new mode called “Master At Arms,” six armor and gun skins, and 10 new Achievements worth 250 Gamerscore. Here’s a quick rundown of all three new maps:
“Terminal” – The speed and ferocity of the Locust invasion took Halvo Bay completely by surprise. Residents scrambled to evacuate by every means possible, and COG forces were called in to maintain order as martial law was enforced. However, the Locust showed no mercy, and gave no quarter; they swept through train terminals like this one to take advantage of the close quarters and sheer number of defenseless humans trapped within its walls. Sometimes, COG forces could hold the line long enough for a final evacuation, but too many lost their lives in defense of the people and the land they loved.
“Blood Drive” – As casualties started to mount, the staff at Halvo Memorial quickly began what would become the largest triage effort in the history of Sera. Their “Give Blood Today” campaign inspired a global blood drive in support of COG forces and wounded civilians. Sadly, Halvo fell quickly, and the hospital became a battlefront instead of a sanctuary. The seed of hope was planted, however, and government-run Memorial hospitals across the country mobilized to keep the effort alive until Jacinto Memorial was the last standing bastion of hope for the people of Sera.
“Boneyard” – The concept of traditional memorial services had to be suspended due to the constant stream and alarming volume of casualties as Sera fell victim to the Locust Horde. Memorial grounds quickly became boneyards. Unmarked holes became grave sites and mausoleums were filled with the nameless remains of the fallen, their skeletons piled into heaps. Tread lightly, you never know what, or who, you’re walking on, and one day you’re bound to join them.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Gears of War: Judgment
XBLA Today: God Mode
Are you ready for a third-person shooter where you attempt to challenge the gods themselves? Actually, you’ve probably played one recently as several games use that jumping off point. But Microsoft has another one for you today as God Mode has been added to the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Developer by Old School Games and published by Atlus, God Mode promises a “full-priced boxed title” experience on the XBLA:
Do you like running? How about gunning? What if special abilities are thrown into the mix? Upgradable weapons? Let’s say there’re dozens of on-screen enemies to unleash this firepower on, and as your reward for dispatching them you get experience and gold to collect that can be used for character customization and new equipment–all the while playing alongside friends in 4-player cooperative play! If you like the sound of all this, then you’ll love God Mode.
Retro shooter action and RPG elements are combined in this new downloadable third-person shooter. God Mode combines non-linear gameplay, fast and frantic shooting, hordes of on-screen enemies, a fully functional online coop mode, and features visuals and gameplay that rival that of a full-priced boxed title. Matches rarely–if ever–play out the same, as dozens of in-game modifiers can significantly alter the gameplay on the fly. Characters are fully customizable, both in appearance and equipment, which continually evolve. Gold and experience are constantly accrued and used to unlock new and satisfying weaponry and unique powerful abilities, both of which can be further upgraded.