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
Bye bye to the Rock Band Store… “American Pie” released as last weekly update
After 281 weekly updates, Harmonix has released the final new addition to the Rock Band Music Store, Don Mclean’s “American Pie.” Like most Rock Band 3 tracks, the song has been priced at $1.99 on the PlayStation Network, 160 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and 200 Wii Points on the Wii Shop. As always, the song is also compatible with the instrument-less Rock Band Blitz.
We were singing, bye bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good ol’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing…
This’ll be the day that I die
To put an exclamation point on the five years (and over 4,000 songs) that went into building the Rock Band Music Store, Harmonix has created a short video, The Story of Rock Band, which you can view above.
Posted in News
Tagged PS3, Rock Band 3, Rock Band Blitz, Wii, Xbox 360
DayZ dev says “console port is almost certain”
Last year, Dean Hall told the world that he wanted to bring the standalone version of his ArmA II mod, DayZ, to consoles. At the time, he said a console version would only be considered after a successful launch for the PC version. A month later, a Bohemia Interactive developer bolstered Hall’s claim, saying “it would be stupid” not to bring the game to consoles.
Speaking to The Escapist today, Hall spoke again about a console port of DayZ, now stating it’s “almost certain” to happen.
“Certainly I think if we don’t, for want of a better word ‘[****] up,’ the PC release then I would say a console port is almost certain,” Hall revealed. “I know a lot of people get really hot and bothered about it. Like, I’m not a console gamer, I’m a PC gamer, but I don’t think it necessarily has to hurt things.”
As development on the console port has yet to begin, Hall doesn’t know which platforms it’ll end up on. But right now, the PS4 appears to be the frontrunner. “We’ve talked and met with Sony, and they’re very – you know, they’re obviously interested,” he said.
Killer Is Dead’s insane second trailer is no joke
Do they celebrate April Fool’s Day in Japan? Maybe I should check Google… OK, they do. Either way, this bizarre (and 100% real) trailer for Suda 51’s Killer Is Dead tops every joke trailer released today by quite a bit.
How crazy is it? It starts out pretty normal for a video game, with the main character attempting to stop an alien invasion. Then a woman grows 12 arms (in addition to her two regular arms), grabs a gun with each hand, and tries to murder him (by the way, he’s actually a secret cyborg). And all of this is backed by the rising crescendo from Kill the Wabbit the Apocalypse Now theme “Ride of the Valkyries.” Oh, and a stinger at the end of the trailer has revealed that the third Killer Is Dead clip will be titled “Gigolo vs Sexy Monster.” Oh Suda 51, never change.
Killer Is Dead will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this Summer.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Killer Is Dead
4/1: Guild Wars 2 is NOT crossing over with Minecraft
Guild Wars 2‘s “Super Adventure Box” update isn’t real, but the Minecraft-like graphical overhaul does make good on its promise to bring back the 80s with the awesome trailer/commercial above.
Here’s what else you’ll be able to find inside the “Super Adventure Box“:
- Super-Hot Graphics: Featuring ‘cutting-edge’ graphics with more than 256 colours, the Super Adventure Box is a visual feast for the gaming connoisseur. Your character has never explored a world like this.
- Awesome New Levels: Three levels full of pogo mushrooms, platform puzzles, bunny tornadoes, and more. Don’t worry about taking a tumble – we’ve turned off the falling damage and turned up the fun!
- Big Fun, Big Rewards: You’ll earn “baubles” by slaying varmints and exploring the virtual world of the Super Adventure Box. Exchange baubles for weapons and skills by talking to the shopkeepers inside the Box, or redeem your baubles for special Super Adventure Box weapon skins from asuran inventor, Moto.
Gag Reflex: I think I’d play a lot more MMORPGs if they looked like this. And like Deus Ex: Human Defiance, I have to give points for the expertly-crafted website/trailer combination.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Guild Wars 2
4/1: thatgamecompany is NOT adding Rocket Death Match DLC to Journey
Journey has been praised for its delicate gameplay and serene score. So naturally, thatgamecompany has decided to throw all of that out for the game’s first downloadable expansion. Available on April 1, 2014, the “Rocket Death Match DLC” pack will add a pretty self-explanatory punch to your next journey into Journey.
Gag Reflex: Adding rocket launchers to the leading proponent of the “games as art” movement is an obvious April Fool’s Day joke. The trailer is fun, but I think it didn’t go far enough. The rockets need to look even more ridiculous and a few explosions would have made my day.
4/1: Square Enix is NOT working on an 8-bit Deus Ex game
Deus Ex: Human Defiance just won’t go away. After Square Enix Europe trademarked the title in February, fans were excited to hear more about the further adventures of Adam Jensen. Then CBS Films revealed that it was actually one of the titles under consideration for the movie adaptation and had nothing to do with any future games. Now, Square Enix has struck back and confirmed that Deus Ex: Human Defiance is actually the name of an 8-bit sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Human Defiance will include a co-op mode where the second player would control JC Denton. More than a mere demake, the two characters will engage augmented enemies in classic Deus Ex style:
Human Defiance is everything you expect from a Deus Ex experience. Every challenge can be tackled in many different ways, from ghost-mode stealth to all-out gunplay. Every choice you make has far-reaching consequences. Every truth you uncover reveals new layers of secrets and conspiracy.
Or rather, it would if the whole thing wasn’t an April Fool’s Day joke. A trailer and a nicer official site than most real games can be found at DeusEx.com/humandefiance.
Gag Reflex: The lengthy, and rather amazing, trailer is a nice touch. It’s too bad this is clearly fake as I’d definitely play it.
Posted in News
Tagged Deus Ex: Human Revolution
4/1: Capcom will NOT release Super Duper Street Fighter IV
After Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, it’s not hard to believe that Capcom would release one more update to the popular fighting game. And guess what? According to the Capcom-Unity blog, it’s Super Duper:
Introducing the Duper Meter. This will sit below the Super Meter and be easily identifiable with it’s Yellow color. With the Duper meter, Super moves can now take on the properties of EX Moves after their activation or be used to strengthen EX moves in general. The Duper Meter also builds 1.5 times faster than the normal Super Meter. Now players will get even more options to select from as we know Street Fighter 4 players love option selecting.
Super Duper Street Fighter IV won’t be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 anytime soon because it’s an April Fool’s Day joke.
Gag Reflex: Previous games in the Street Fighter series have carried run-on titles like Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight For the Future, so “Super Duper” isn’t that much of a stretch. You probably won’t stumble across a more believable hoax all day.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Street Fighter IV
Xbox Live Rewards expands in April with Play To Earn program
Taking a page from Sony, Microsoft is launching a new way to earn cash and prizes through their Xbox Rewards program in April. Beginning today, all Xbox Rewards members will get a chance to “Play To Earn” through the MyPunchcard promotion. Throughout the month of April, Xbox 360 owners who play Xbox Live Arcade titles and purchase items from the Xbox Live Marketplace will be rewarded:
- Receive a Free Avatar Item WHEN YOU Play 20 hours of any combination of XBLA games.
- Receive a 1-Month Xbox Live Gold Membership WHEN YOU Purchase any four XBLA games priced at 400 Microsoft Points or more.
- Receive 800 Microsoft Points WHEN YOU Spend 3200 Microsoft Points on XBLA games.
And if you’re looking for something to buy, Major Nelson has alerted us that several big new games will be available on the XBLA this month including BattleBlock Theater, Double Dragon II, Motocross Madness, Sacred Citadel, God Mode, and Monaco.