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)
Most Recent: News
Camilla Luddington is the voice and body of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider
The new Lara Croft made a major splash at the last two E3 Expos, but until now we never knew who provided her trademark English accent. Yesterday, Square Enix announced that Camilla Luddington, who has appeared on Californication and True Blood using an American accent, will be playng Ms. Croft in next year’s Tomb Raider. As well as lending her voice to the role, Square Enix confirmed that Luddington performed motion capture for developer Crystal Dynamics, so she’s also the body behind this version of Lara Croft.
“This has been one of the most important jobs for us to get right,” said Darrell Gallagher, the Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics. “This Tomb Raider game is very different to any other and we are demanding far more from the voice and performance acting than ever before as we take the franchise in a new direction.”
Tomb Raider will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 5, 2013.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Tomb Raider
PSN Today: Uncharted 1 & 2, Resident Evil Chronicles HD, Amazing Spider-Man, more
If, for some insane reason, you own a PS3 and have yet to play Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune or Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Sony is giving you another chance by adding both titles to the PlayStation Store today. Hmm, I’m a PS3 owner who’s never played either, maybe this was meant for me.
Another new release that was clearly meant for me is Resident Evil Chronicles: HD Collection. The compilation bundles together The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles, two light gun games that were previously exclusive to the Wii.
Sony’s not done as they’ve also added movie tie-in game The Amazing Spider-Man, food preparation sim Order Up!!, offroad racer Jeremy Mcgrath’s Offroad and PSone Classic The Little Mermaid II.
Finally, the PSP RPG Unchained Blades, which was developed by the makers of Grandia and Lunar, has been added to the PlayStation Store today.
For more information on all of this week’s releases, hit the jump. And for a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons, please visit the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Iwata: Wii U launch price will be “reasonable”
Nintendo’s President, Satoru Iwata, was quoted in today’s edition of Yomiuri Shimbun (a major Japanese newspaper) that the Wii U’s launch price would be “reasonable.”
According to Iwata, the company has learned its lesson from the lukewarm 3DS launch: “We won’t make the same mistake that we did with the 3DS [launch price], which was considered relatively high by consumers.”
An unnamed financial analyst was quoted in the Yomiuri Shimbun article that the Wii U’s break-even price is 30,000 yen ($377), making it hard to reconcile the idea of a “reasonable” launch price and Nintendo’s desire not to sell their systems at a loss.
Hopefully, Nintendo will release the official launch price soon.
[Source: Andriasang]
Griffin, Durant, Rose score a spot on the NBA 2K13 cover
With the lockout a thing of the past, 2K Sports has decided to not go with a retired legend for the cover of NBA 2K13.
Instead, the publisher has tapped three of the best players currently playing the game: Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. All three were suitably humbled to be selected for the cover. And why not, they were preteens when NBA 2K was released!
“Being crowned as one of the NBA 2K13 cover athletes is a huge honor and something I always dreamt about,” said Durant. “It’s definitely humbling to grace the cover after the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.”
“There’s so much young talent around the NBA, so it’s very exciting to be chosen for NBA 2K’s ‘New Dynasty’ alongside Kevin and Derrick,” added Griffin. “The NBA 2K series has always been my first choice when I want to get a game in.”
“It’s a dream come true to be one of the cover athletes for NBA 2K13,” commented Rose. “I’ve worked closely with 2K Sports since NBA 2K10, and I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan as the latest Chicago Bull to be featured on the cover.”
NBA 2K13 will be released for the PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 on October 2. A Wii U version will also be available before the end of the year.
Super Mario Crossover creator has Kickstarted development of an original game
There are so many Kickstarter game projects these days that it is becoming harder and harder to choose which ones to support.
Exploding Rabbit, led by Jay Pavlian, has been making games for a while now, most famously Super Mario Bros Crossover. While that game was fun, it was also ripping off a number of character’s other people had created. Thankfully, Exploding Rabbit has taken what they love about retro gaming and made it into something fresh – Super Retro Squad.
The 2D scrolling platformer will feature eight original characters, although each is heavily inspired by historical characters from the heyday of 8-bit games. The game features over 40 levels stretched across eight worlds, each of which is based on one of the playable characters. As well as implementing an equipment and upgrade system, the game will include a story that tells the tale of these eight heroes.
As Exploding Rabbit is working for free, they are looking for donations to upgrade their development software, as well as equipment that will allow them to develop the game for Android and Apple systems. Rewards for pledging are as simple as a copy of the game to being able all the way to being able to write dialogue for NPCs.
Far Cry 3 delayed three months, just in time for Christmas
Ubisoft has pushed back the release date of Far Cry 3 by three months, meaning it is now pencilled in to launch on November 29 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the North American release a few days later on December 4. While delays are almost always never a good sign, Ubisoft has been in top form recently, and producer Dan Hay stressed the delay was to perfect the game:
“We’re taking more time to create the best possible gameplay experience, Far Cry 3 is a huge offering and we want every element of this insane, action-packed adventure to be of the highest possible quality for the players.”
The game is powered by the brand new Dunia 2 engine. The engine has also powered recently released footage from the game, which features the luscious environments of the mysterious tropical island that protagonist Jason Brody finds himself surviving on. And, of course, it also renders Brody’s impressive mohawk.
Complete contents of the Journey: Collector’s Edition revealed
Thatgamecompany has officially unveiled their first disc-based release, and while the title is Journey: Collector’s Edition, the Blu-ray disc will come bundled with both of the developer’s other games, Flow and Flower, previously only available as digital downloads via the PlayStation Network.
Not only that, but the disc is going to be stuffed, crammed and jammed with special bonus features, including three mini-games born out of a tradition at thatgamecompany known as the 24hr Game Jam, where games are created in the space of a day. Usually only playable in the company’s offices, players will be able to experience Gravediggers, Duke War!!, and Nostril Shot and see what 24 hours of creativity and hard graft looks like.
On top of this, there will be an array of additional bonus features including PSN avatars, soundtracks for all three games, developer diaries and making of documentaries. As if that wasn’t enough, players will also be able to experience optional live commentary during their playing experience, hearing from the talented individuals that were involved in the creative process.
“We are particularly excited about the Creator Commentary playthroughs of all three games, because we get to share with players insights about Flow, Flower, and Journey straight from the minds of the designers, artists, engineers and composers who worked together to make these games so special,” Studio Manager Sunni Pavlovic said.
Journey: Collector’s Edition looks to be an absolute steal at $29.99 when it’s released on August 28 in North America.
Activision announces Wreck-It Ralph tie-in game
Normally, when Activision announces they’re producing a video game tied to a film, I shrug with a certain sadness. It is a shrug that says “Haven’t they given up the ghost?”
But Wreck-It Ralph managed to stop me mid-shrug, because the concept of the Disney film may work in the game’s favour. In a nutshell, Ralph is an arcade bad-guy, who sets out to prove that he can be a good guy. The game itself will take the form of a 2D side-scrolling beat’em up in a similar fashion to classics like Double Dragon or the recent game based on cult comic film adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Activison Publishing Executive VP David Oxford certainly sees it that way:
“Wreck-It Ralph, as a brand entity, is perfectly suited for video game stardom. With the fantastic characters and creative atmosphere envisioned by Walt Disney Animation Studios, we know fans are going to love seeing their newfound favorite characters embark on an all-new side scrolling adventure.”
The company is clearly targeting the film’s audience, choosing to release Wreck-It Ralph exclusively on Nintendo systems (DS, 3DS, and Wii). The game will take place after the events of the film, with the Wii version offering a classic two-player co-op mode, with Ralph’s friend Fix-It Felix as the other character. The game will hit stores around November 2, when the film is rampaging into cinemas.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii
Tagged Wreck-It Ralph