Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
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
Game over man… Sega cancels Aliens: Colonial Marines for Wii U
The final chapter of the sad story of Aliens: Colonial Marines has now been written as Sega has officially canceled the Wii U version of the game. The game was originally expected to be released as part of the Wii U’s launch window, but that deadline came and went last week without any word from Sega or developer Gearbox Software.
But that all changed today. Speaking to Joystiq, a Sega representative said: “Sega can confirm that the Wii U SKU of Aliens: Colonial Marines is no longer in development.”
I guess you could say Sega nuked it from orbit… since its mandatory I use that line in any Aliens: Colonial Marines story.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Aliens: Colonial Marines
XBLA Today: Double Dragon II
Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons is now available on the Xbox Live Arcade thanks to a special Friday update. But take notice, Xbox gamer! Double Dragon II isn’t a sequel to last year’s WayForward-developed Double Dragon: Neon. Instead, it’s a remake of the 1980s arcade classic from Korean developer Gravity.
If that hasn’t dissuaded you from reaching for the download button, you might also like to know that Double Dragon II has been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10). You can also learn more about the game by reading this wonderfully written game description that may or may not be English:
This is a remake “Double Dragon II” a 80s game. The story line takes same as original game story. However, the graphic, character, action, system etc. are change. Also we are including new stage and enemy in the game. The player will be addicted to new version of Double Dragon II. Also, characters are undressed from 80s style, and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
Take notice once again, Xbox gamer! “Undressed from 80s style” doesn’t mean the game is full of naked ninjas. That would be a… very different… type of game.
MS Creative Director shares his opinion of “always-online” consoles: “Deal with it”
Adam Orth is the Creative Director at Microsoft Studios. But he might have trouble introducing himself over the next few days as his foot has become firmly lodged in his mouth.
Yesterday, Orth took to Twitter and expounded on the rumors that the Xbox 720/Durango would require a constant Internet connection. Since his gaffe, Orth has switched his account to private, but thankfully, a Reddit user was able to capture the offending tweets (with BioWare’s Manveer Heir playing the part of the pissed-off public):
Orth: Sorry, I don’t get the drama around having an “always on” console. Every device now is “always on”. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit
Heir: Did you learn nothing from Diablo III or SimCity? You know some people’s internet goes out right? Deal with it is a shitty reason
Orth: Electricity goes out too.
Heir: You’ve lived in LA, SF, Seattle… very connected places. Try living in Janesville, WI or Blacksburg, VA
Orth: Why on earth would I live there?
While Orth was using his personal Twitter account to disseminate his personal opinion, this exchange brings new meaning to the words “tone deaf.” A lot of people do live in those places, Mr. Orth, and not all of them have a steady Internet connection (or any Internet connection at all, for that matter).
Microsoft has yet to make any official announcements about what features the Xbox 720/Durango will or will not include, but Orth’s comments have lent quite a bit of weight to the rumors that the console will require an Internet connection. The Wii U launched in November without any kind of “always-on” requirement and Sony has previously promised one won’t be used in the PS4. So this would put the Xbox 720/Durango in a very bad position.
Star Wars 1313 would have starred Boba Fett
Star Wars 1313‘s E3 2012 trailer included a placeholder main character that LucasArts planned to replace before the game was released. With this week’s closure of LucasArts, we may never see the game on store shelves, but Kotaku has learned that the main character of 1313 would have been… wait for it… Boba Fett. I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath as this is clearly a development that no one was expecting.
The reason for the placeholder character was due to the fact that Boba Fett wasn’t added to 1313 until just before last year’s E3 Expo. Until that point, the game officially didn’t have a main character and was basically a blank slate being used to tell stories in the Star Wars underworld.
While internal development has ceased at LucasArts, there’s still hope that 1313 (and Star Wars: First Assault) will be completed by a third party. According to Kotaku’s tipster, this scenario is unlikely:
“[LucasArts] ended up with movie tech that wouldn’t fit in a game, and game tech that wouldn’t fit in a movie. 1313 was always in danger of not being made.”
If Star Wars 1313 is truly dead, we should probably start thinking of it as a game frozen in carbonite, forever taunting us with the dream of a “mature” take on the Star Wars saga. Though I’m not sure a game starring a character with as much baggage as Boba Fett could have done it.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Star Wars 1313, Star Wars: First Assault
Killer Instinct trademark rejection rescinded after Microsoft, Fox reach deal
The Killer Instinct trademark is back in the hands of Microsoft after the company’s army of lawyers reached a deal with Fox Television Studios over their claim to the mark.
Microsoft’s agreement with Fox actually states that they’ll share the Killer Instinct trademark and that they “do not believe confusion is likely to result from concurrent use of their respective marks.” Because it’s very easy to confuse an iconic fighting game developed by Rare and starring a cyborg, an ice alien, and a giant eyeball with a short-lived TV show about serial killers that was canceled nine episodes into its first season.
The deal between Fox and Microsoft was required after the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected Microsoft’s renewal claim in December. But with an agreement between the two companies in place, Microsoft can move forward with… whatever it is they plan to do with the Killer Instinct trademark.
[Source: Polygon]
Activision officially announces April 16 release date for CoD: Black Ops II Uprising DLC
After weeks of rumors, Activision has officially announced the second downloadable expansion for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The Uprising Map Pack will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on April 16 for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). The pack is also included as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Season Pass. A PC and PS3 release will likely follow in May. Like the Revolution Pack before it, Uprising will add four new maps to the game’s multiplayer 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.
An expansive new Zombies mode, “Mob of the Dead,” will also be included in Uprising. Similar to Black Ops‘ “Call of the Dead,” “Mob of the Dead” will recruit four of Hollywood’s most famous wiseguys: Ray Liotta as Billy Handsome, Joe Pantoliano as Al “The Weasel” Arlington, Chazz Palmentiri as Salvatore “Sal” DeLuca, and Michael Madsen as Michael “Finn” O’Leary. At the start of “Mob of the Dead,” these four made men are residents of Alcatraz. But instead of hanging with the Birdman, they’ll have to take on a zombie horde:
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. In order to survive, players must work their way through the steel cells and aging concrete buildings while fighting off a multitude of zombified prisoners and guards trapped on the island with them.
I’ll just say it, welcome to The Rock!
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Injustice: Gods Among Us mobile game brings card-battling superhero smackdowns to iOS
Injustice: Gods Among Us is less than two weeks away from its PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U debut, but if you’re a mobile gamer, don’t worry, NetherRealm Studios hasn’t forgotten about you. The Mortal Kombat maker has announced that a slightly different version of Injustice is now available for download from the iOS App Store.
Playable on the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch, this version of Injustice is a free-to-play title that adds a unique collectible card mechanic to the gameplay. Players will engage in 3-on-3 battles and use a variety of support cards to control the outcome of the fight. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, Lex Luthor, and many others will appear in the iOS version of Injustice, which will also link up with its console counterpart to unlock special in-game content. Owners of the console version will also be able to unlock special content in the iOS edition.
“The team at NeatherRealm Studios created a custom mobile experience for Injustice: Gods Among Us on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch that delivers gameplay mechanics created specifically for the platform,” said Ed Boon, the Creative Director at NetherRealm Studios. “We’re excited to offer fans a new way to play fighting games that can be enjoyed alone or as a companion experience to the console versions.”
Injustice: Gods Among Us will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on April 19. A trailer for the iOS edition can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Toki Tori 2, Castlevania, More
The giant chicken at the center of Toki Tori 2 is the hightlight of this week’s Nintendo Download. The puzzle platformer marks the continuation of Nintendo’s push to get indie developers on the Wii U eShop and its available to download for $X.XX.
Also available this week is the classic 8-bit platformer, Castlevania. Downloadable on the 3DS for the first time, the first adventure of the original “vampire killer,” Simon Belmont, is joined by Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D and Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove 3D.
And over on the Wii’s Virtual Console, Nam-1975 (originally released for the NeoGeo) is now available to download.
Additional details for all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)