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
Hitman: Absolution is absolutely full of Hollywood actors
Having a cast full of Hollywood actors isn’t quote the big deal it used to be, but leave it to Hitman: Absolution to collect one of the strangest groups of thespians I’ve ever seen.
David Bateson returns to portray the voice of Agent 47, but the motion capture work to bring the assassin to life was done by Lost‘s William Mapother. Ethan Rom did always walk in a creepy manner.
Other members of the cast include an extraordinary badass (Powers Boothe), the world’s most famous former porn star (Traci Lords), one of Bill’s Deadly Vipers (Vivica A. Fox), Bill’s real-life brother (Keith Carradine), and the deranged child star of Orphan (Isabelle Fuhrman).
The complete cast list can be found after the break. Hitman: Absolution will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 20. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Hitman: Absolution
Halo 4 War Games Pass, map pack schedule announced
Another game has jumped on the “Season Pass” bandwagon as Microsoft announced the Halo 4 War Games Pass yesterday.
The War Games Pass will give purchasers free access to three Halo 4 map packs, which will be released in December, February, and April. The pass has been priced at $24.99 (2000 Microsoft Points), which garners you a 15% discount over buying all three map packs individually. A War Games Pass will also be included with the Halo 4 Limited Edition.
As an added bonus, the War Games Pass includes “two unique in-game helmets (Scanner and Strider) and an exclusive in-game emblem (Falcon).”
You can read all about the upcoming map packs after the break. (more…)
Activision’s Walking Dead game gets new title; contest to appear in the game announced
Now that the third season has begun, Activision is ready to announce the official title of their first person shooter based on The Walking Dead television show. Since Telltale’s adventure game already laid claim to The Walking Dead, Activision and developer Terminal Reality have decided to go with The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.
And if you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a zombie (and if so, what is wrong with you?), Activision has a contest for you. The publisher has sprinkled hidden clues throughout this season’s episodes of The Walking Dead. If you spot one, and enter it at AMCDead.com, you’ll be entered into a drawing to have your face put into the game. Well, a little more than just your face…
Each week one lucky winner will be chosen to appear as a character in the game! Terminal Reality will then use photos of his or her facial likeness to create a unique character whose backstory and chilling death scene may be encountered by players during The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.
I call dibs on “killed while trying to turn my hand into a chainsaw.”
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
First Grand Theft Auto V artwork, Pest Control, released
Rockstar Games is certainly the king when it comes to manipulating the public and the press. Grand Theft Auto V‘s splashy debut trailer has since been followed by a trickle of screenshots and only the barest of gameplay details. Naturally, it’s only made the masses more primed for the game’s impending “information blowout” next month.
And so it goes with yesterday’s reveal of the first official Grand Theft Auto V artwork. Titled “Pest Control,” the image depicts an artier version of the heist from the first trailer.
If you’d like to use “Pest Control” as your desktop background, Rockstar has released the image in a variety of sizes on their official website.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V
Nintendo Download: NightSky, Liberation Maiden, New Super Mario Bros. 2 DLC, more
Welcome to one of the biggest Nintendo Downloads ever. Level-5 (creator of the Professor Layton series) and Nicalis (creator of Cave Story) both have new games available that may be worth a look.
Liberation Maiden is an arcade shooter developed by Level-5 in conjunction with Suda 51’s Grasshopper Manufacture and is available today on the 3DS eShop. Also available to download from the eShop today is Nicalis’ NightSky, an “ambient” puzzle platformer that is sure to appeal to fans of Limbo.
The Virtual Console also gets a workout with today’s update as Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Castlevania: The Adventure have been added to the 3DS eShop while 1997’s Shock Troopers can now be downloaded to your Wii. Finally, the non-Virtual Console 18th Gate was added to the DSiWare Shop.
Two new Coin Rush DLC packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2 rounds out today’s update. The “Gold Mushroom Pack” and “Coin Challenge Pack B” have been priced at $2.50 apiece.
One extra game will be added to the 3DS eShop this week. Level-5’s Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (look, we’ve come full circle) will be available to download on Sunday, October 28 (the same day its available in brick and mortar stores).
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii
Tagged New Super Mario Bros. 2, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Get elected mayor in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Nintendo is finally ready to talk about Animal Crossing on the 3DS and it sounds like it was worth the wait. Debuting during this morning’s Nintendo Direct broadcast, the game has officially been titled Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It’ll be available early next year and New Leaf casts players in a new role, the mayor. As mayor, Animal Crossing: New Leaf players will gain control of the entire town, placing landmarks, overseeing businesses, and “sitting in the big chair.”
New Leaf also promises plenty of new customization options including clothes, furniture, and decorations. All of these items can also be shared with other players thanks to the game’s built-in QR Code generator. Finally, Animal Crossing: New Leaf will contain “Paradise Island,” a place where players can take part in new minigames or just swim in the water.
You can get a good look at all of these new features (as well as DJ K.K. Slider) in the trailer above.
Posted in News
Tagged 3DS, Animal Crossing: New Leaf
SimCity breaks ground on March 5, 2013
Originally scheduled for release in February, EA has announced that SimCity will be released on March 5, 2013 (March 8 in Europe). As they say, that’s close enough for government work. You know, because you’re the mayor…
Mayors! Mark your calendars, #SimCity will be in stores March 5th in NA. RT If you’re planning to take vacation that week to play.
— SimCity (@simcity) October 24, 2012
You can check out the latest trailer for the game, “How to Deal with Disasters,” above.
XBLA Today: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus, the fourth revision of 2002’s Guilty Gear XX, has been added to the Xbox Live Arcade today. Priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), it will surely make fighting fans very happy:
Network Battle Mode is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for the all new “Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus” from the best-selling 2D fighting game series. It all started from Story Mode, and now there’s a wide variety of Modes to play! Choose from among 25 fighters and engage in high-speed combat!