Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Author: John Scalzo
EarthBound is FINALLY coming to Wii U Virtual Console this year
EarthBound, the Super NES RPG known in Japan as Mother 2, has become the stuff of legend among Nintendo fans. And in no small part due to the way Nintendo has jerked the series around over the years. First, the game’s sequel, EarthBound 2/Mother 3, never left Japan. And then, the publisher refused to add the Super NES game to the Wii’s Virtual Console despite repeated requests from fans.
But good things come to those who wait. As part of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, the Big N has announced that EarthBound will be available on the Wii U Virtual Console this year.
All is not forgiven, Nintendo, but this is a start.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged EarthBound
Injustice: Gods Among Us will add Lobo as its first DLC character
NetherRealm Studios boss Ed Boon hinted at it last month, and now, it looks like Lobo has been all but confirmed as the first downloadable addition to Injustice: Gods Among Us. The concept art you see to your right featuring the alien bounty hunter and the game’s logo leaked online recently.
Lobo is a larger-than-life personality and will likely add some comic relief to Injustice as a DLC character. NetherRealm is planning to add four characters to the game over the next few months, each of which has bee priced at $5 apiece. You can also get all four at a discount if you pre-purchase the Injustice Season Pass, which is available on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace for $15.
Injustice: Gods Among Us was released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U yesterday.
UPDATE: NetherRealm has confirmed Lobo will be Injustice’s first DLC character.
Posted in News, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Injustice: Gods Among Us
XBLA: Sacred Citadel, Capcom Arcade Cabinet: 1984 Pack
Sacred Citadel, a cartoony beat ’em up that will serve as a prequel to Sacred 3, is this week’s headlining new addition to the Xbox Live Arcade. It’s available to download for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) and more details about the game can be found right here:
The once peaceful land of Ancaria is in grave danger. The evil Ashen empire has enslaved its population and is using the orc-like Grimmoc to wipe out the Seraphim, who swore to protect it. In order to defeat the empire you will have to prove yourself as a warrior by riding terrifying mounts, acquiring earth shattering skills and looting powerful weapons and valuable treasures. Grab your friends and join the resistance!
Also available this week is the final entry in the Capcom Arcade Cabinet, the “1984 Pack,” which contains 1942, SonSon, and Pirate Ship Higemaru. It can be purchased for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Capcom Arcade Cabinet, Sacred Citadel
Injustice: Gods Among Us iOS Review: Pow! Tap! Swipe!
NetherRealm’s DC Comics fighter, Injustice: Gods Among Us, is now available in stores for the PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360. But did you know that NetherRealm also released an iOS version of their superhero smash up a few weeks ago? Instead of trying to graft the complex mechanics of a modern-day fighter onto a mobile device, the team decided to turn it into a card-based fighter with experience points and upgradeable attacks…
…And microtransactions, of course. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged Injustice: Gods Among Us
Criterion’s next project won’t be a racing game
Aside from 2006’s Black, Criterion Games has stuck to the racing genre ever since their Burnout breakthrough back in 2001. But, according to Creator Director Alex Ward, the development team is stepping away from the racetrack for their next project:
After over a decade of making racing games it’s time to make something new. It is early days thus I have nothing to “announce” or talk about
— Alex Ward (@AlexanderJWard) April 15, 2013
After this initial bombshell, Ward continued to drop hints about what Criterion WASN’T working on, including a new Burnout game, a Need For Speed: Underground remake, Black 2, or a game based on Back to the Future.
However, Ward assured fans that the developer will return to the Burnout series someday, tweeting, “When it feels right we will make another one.”
Posted in News
Tagged Criterion's Vehicle Game
Sega announces Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse reboot
It’s a good time to be a fan of Disney side-scrollers from the late 80s/early 90s. Just a few weeks after Capcom announced DuckTales Remastered, Sega has confirmed that Castle of Illusion will be remade for the PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade this Summer.
“The original Castle of Illusion was tremendously entertaining and has a well-deserved reputation as a Sega classic. Castle of Illusion Featuring Mickey Mouse brings this great game to a new generation,” said Chris Olson, Vice President of Digital Business at Sega of America. “Mickey is back and he looks fantastic.”
If there’s any justice in the world, an Aladdin HD remake will be announced next…
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Castle of Illusion
NHL 14 crashes into stores on September 10
It’s time to pay the taxman, but EA Sports has a better idea on how to spend your April 15. The publisher has unveiled the first trailer for NHL 14, so you should give it a watch above (after you’ve paid Uncle Sam, of course). The game will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 10.
Hit the jump for a look at some of the new features we can expect to see in EA’s 23rd hockey simulation. (more…)
Weekly Warp-Up: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is Real? 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…
Ubisoft’s neon-drenched Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It doesn’t require the original Far Cry 3 to play and doesn’t include any callbacks to its parent game beyond using the same engine. So why does it include the Far Cry 3 name? The world may never know, but the wave of 80s cliches has already turned this into a must-have game in May.
This week we also chatted with TJ Lutz of Pwnee Studios about Cloudberry Kingdom and how development is going (specifically on the Wii U) as well as his feelings on how hard a platformer should be. Finally this week, we took a look at Supergiant’s Transistor in our continuing coverage of PAX East 2013.
For more new news, hit the jump. (more…)
Posted in News