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: Nicole Kline
Starhawk Beta Impressions: Building a Better Warhawk
Starhawk is an upcoming third-person shooter set to be released on May 8. This PlayStation 3 exclusive is the spiritual successor to Warhawk, a multiplayer-only third-person shooter from 2007. Starhawk is being developed by LightBox Interactive, which is composed of several former members of Warhawk developer Incognito Entertainment. Starhawk aims to be like Warhawk, except in space, and with an included single player campaign. Will Starhawk be able to bring everything together and exceed what Warhawk was? (more…)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC detailed
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is hardly a day old, and Square Enix has already announced their plans for downloadable content. The DLC, which will be available for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, includes Coliseum Battles, in which the player is pitted against allies and enemies from other games in the Final Fantasy franchise. Defeat them and recruit them into your party! The first one, “Lightning & Amodar,” will come to Xbox 360 first on February 7 and the next day for PSN.
There will also be story episodes for some of the main characters, including Lightning. These episodes will give players the chance to explore the secrets of the game and also serve as a complement to the narrative. Square Enix says that more details will be released at a later date.
I am not going to worry about this DLC until I’m finished the game. I will not obsess over it. I will not obsess over it. I will not! You can’t make me!
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Final Fantasy XIII-2
Kaz Hirai promoted to President and CEO of Sony
Kaz Hirai has been named as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation today. This change will become effective as of April 1. The current Chairman, CEO, and President, Sir Howard Stringer, will become Chairman of the Board of Directors come June.
This change of the guard really comes as no surprise. Kaz has been great for Sony (and for Ridge Racer jokes). In addition to these changes, the former chairman, Yotaro Kobayashi, will be retiring.
So what did Kaz have to say about the changes?
“As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position. I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees. The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses – primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains. The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.”
I’m personally excited to see what Kaz can do for Sony. Bring on the regime change!
Daily Scoop: February 1, 2012 – Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
What a lovely day to think about rainbows, and what is on the other side of them. Don’t you agree, froggy friends?
Not much going on today in terms of deals, other than Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games. They’ve got the Xbox 360 version of Mortal Kombat for just $25. Scoop that jam up!
No video game shirts today, but I couldn’t help myself on sharing this one: (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, Xbox 360
Prototype 2 RadNet Edition content announced
Radical Entertainment has announced a set of Radnet Edition content of their upcoming game, Prototype 2. The game will launch on April 24, and a limited number of games released that day (including pre-orders) will include free access to RadNet. Fans will get in via a one-time use code and will receive 55 pieces of free additional content, which will be released over seven weeks.
Included within this content are Avatar Items, Behind-the-Scenes videos, Challenges, Dynamic Themes, in-game Events, and bonus Mutations to be used in the game’s single-player campaign. There’s also “the ultimate shape-shifting reward,” which will be announced sometime in March.
Apparently, there’s never been more impetus to kill Alex Mercer. Ken Rosman, Studio Head of Radical Entertainment, said that the studio “has always focused on bringing long lasting fun to its fans, and Prototype 2’s RadNet content is our way of rewarding the game’s most loyal supporters – the early adopters, the one’s who will replay it over and over again. We think this is great because we’re giving our fans hours of additional gameplay outside Prototype 2’s main narrative, and cool rewards – all delivered weekly following the game’s launch!”
That’s some pretty good incentive to me. Pick up your copy of the game when it releases on April 24 and try to be one of the lucky ones.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Prototype 2
Mass Effect 3 voice cast announced
As if fans weren’t already excited enough, BioWare announced the all-star voice cast they’re using for Mass Effect 3.
Of course, Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale return as Shepard and FemShep, respectively, and Martin Sheen will reprise his role as the Illusive Man. Other celebrities returning are Keith David as Captain Anderson, Lance Henriksen as Admiral Steven Hackett, Tricia Helfer as the Normandy’s A.I., Ali Hillis as Dr. Liara T’Soni, Seth Green as Joker, Carrie-Anne Moss as Aria T’Loak, and Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda.
But there will be some new voices as well, most notably Freddie Prinze, Jr. as one of Shepard’s allies, James Vega, and Jessica Chobot as news reporter Diana Allers. Prinze, Jr. even had an opinion about video games: “I have always loved science fiction and I have always loved games and Mass Effect is really the first time both come together successfully. It is a completely immersive game where you really feel like you’re part of this journey inside this universe. It will make you think, you will care about the character you are playing, and you will care about the characters that you bring into battle with you.”
Wow. Really? The first successful science fiction video game? I think some would balk at that.
Mass Effect 3 will be out on March 6.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Daily Scoop: January 30, 2012 – An awesome t-shirt appears!
Mmm, another Monday. How I missed you, Monday. What? You know how to detect sarcasm? Well don’t you just get smarter with every passing week!
Ahem. Excuse me. The Deal of the Day in video games over at Amazon today is twofold – first, they’ve got $50 off the price of the Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Value Bundle with Kinect, marking it down to $349 from $399.99. The second is the PC download of Risen, which is on sale for just $5.99 today. They’ve also got new weekly deals as well. Kinect games Jillian Michaels Fitness Adventure and Hulk Hogan’s Main Event are $19.99, PC game Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is $39.99, and the accessory Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror is $64.99. They’re also having a warehouse sale, where you can save up to 25% on select used games.
Today’s video game t-shirt comes with a COUPON!! Hit the jump for details! (more…)
State of California pays ESA $950,000 because of Brown v. ESA
Remember that time the Governator tried to put unjust regulations on the video game industry? No? Well, you should.
In 2005’s Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association, then-Governor Schwarzenegger and State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) tried to turn the regulation of video games into a government affair. The Supreme Court ruled against it last June, arguing that “California’s effort to regulate violent video games is the latest episode in a long series of failed attempts to censor violent entertainment for minors… Even where the protection of children is the object, the constitutional limits on governmental action apply.”
The ESA was reimbursed $950,000 for legal fees, and plans to donate some of that money to create “after-school educational programs for underserved communities in Oakland and Sacramento,” according to their website.
“ESA’s new charitable education initiative, which will launch in the Spring of 2012, will harness young peoples’ natural passion for playing and making video games and connect them to the development of critical 21st Century job skills,” it reads. Considering what a colossal role the video game industry plays in California’s economy, this seems like a practical – not to mention righteous – move. Well played, ESA.