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
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: News
Weekend Pipeline: 4/7/17 – Convention Fun for Everyone!
It’s Friday again, which means I’m back to give you the rundown on what’s what this weekend. The convention scene is looking rather hefty this weekend, with multiple conventions taking place across the nation, and offering activities for everyone. Whether you’re a furry fan looking for like-minded individuals in a safe setting, or a parent on a budget in search of wholesome family fun, there’s a convention for everyone!
We’ve also got some sweet deals for you this week, a few esports events worth checking out, and a couple of demos/betas that are really worth looking into. So if you haven’t made weekend plans just yet, now is the perfect time to do so. (more…)
Posted in News
Rising Star Games will serve up Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop for the 3DS on May 16
Cooking Mama is back… and this time, she’s bringing dessert.
Set to be published by Rising Star Games and in development at Office Create, Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop will be available for the 3DS on May 16, and dozens of recipes and more than 160 minigames will be on the menu:
With over 60 different recipes to create, spread throughout 160 different minigames, players use the stylus to slice, stir, bake and decorate their creations – you can even use the microphone to blow and cool your delicacies! Create a wide assortment of delicious looking sweets and puddings, and serve customers in the shop to keep them happy. The more sweets you create and complete, the more your shop expands. You may even trigger a special event! Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop also features a competitive multiplayer mode for two to four players… challenge your friends and see who can make the tastiest treats. And just like always, don’t worry if you make a mistake… Mama will fix it for you!
For an appetizer, the first trailer for Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop has been embedded above.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End named “Best Game” at 2017 BAFTA Games Awards
Nathan Drake is going to ride off into the sunset with one last “Game of the Year” award. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosted the ceremony for the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards last night, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was selected as the year’s “Best Game.”
Playdead’s Inside didn’t win the big prize, but the indie game scooped up four BAFTAs including “Artistic Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Narrative,” and “Original Property.” Ghost Town’s Overcooked (“Best British Game” and “Family”) and Campo Santo’s Firewatch (“Debut Game” and “Performer” for Cissy Jones) also managed to collect multiple awards as part of the festivities.
A whole slew of titles were able to pull out a win in one category last night, and they include That Dragon Cancer (“Game Innovation”), Rocket League (“Evolving Game”), Overwatch (“Multiplayer”), Pokemon Go (“Mobile & Handheld”), The Last Guardian (“Audio Achievement”), and Virginia (“Music”).
A complete list of winners and nominees from the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards is available at Video Game Canon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Firewatch, Inside, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Rocket League, The Last Guardian, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Nintendo Download: Lego City Undercover, Graceful Explosion Machine, Vroom in the Night Sky, more
Four new games are now available to download for the Nintendo Switch… and three of them will offer players plenty of explosions.
Lego City Undercover is an open-world action game that takes the gritty “cops and robbers” genre and gives it a family-friendly makeover. Players will take control of Chase McCain, an undercover officer who has been ordered to take down notorious criminal Rex Fury. But they’ll also be able to keep themselves busy with “more than 20 unique districts to investigate, car thieves to bust, hilarious movie references to discover, vehicles to drive, and hundreds of collectibles.” Oh, and an explosion or two.
As you’d expect, Graceful Explosion Machine is also packed with fiery detonations. In this side-scrolling shooter, Switch owners will pilot the Graceful Explosion Machine, using its quartet of weapons to blast a bunch of aliens. If you prefer your shooters to scroll vertically, Alpha Mission II, which was originally released for the NeoGeo in 1991, is also available to download today.
Finally this week, Switch owners will be able to download Vroom in the Night Sky, which doesn’t appear to include explosions of any kind. Instead, players will fly through the night collecting Stardusts to unlock the Magical Gate.
You can learn about this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (which also includes several 3DS and Wii U games) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Graceful Explosion Machine, Lego City Undercover
The Society emerges as a threat to the Injustice 2 universe in “Shattered Alliances Part 4”
After Superman’s Regime came to power in Injustice: Gods Among Us, they managed to end all crime on Earth by executing any supervillain that fought back.
Naturally, this lead to some sore feelings, and now that the Man of Steel is in prison, the supervillain community has roared back in Injustice 2 as a terrorist organization known as “The Society.” Gorilla Grodd is leading Bane, Cheetah, Catwoman, Captain Cold, Deadshot, Scarecrow, and others against Batman’s forces, and it’s going to be a bloody confrontation.
You can learn all about Grodd’s machinations by viewing the “Shattered Alliances Part 4” trailer embedded above, and catch up with the rest of Injustice 2’s story in “Part 1,” “Part 2,” and “Part 3.”
Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
Activision is working on at least three movies in a connected Call of Duty Cinematic Universe
Activision first began discussing the possibility of a “Call of Duty Cinematic Universe” shortly after opening their film division, Activision Blizzard Studios, a few years ago. Earlier this week, a new profile in The Guardian has revealed that the studio is already working on three separate films:
“We have plotted out many years,” [Co-President Stacey] Sher tells the Guardian. “We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.”
According to The Guardian, Activision would like to start filming the first entry in the “Call of Duty Cinematic Universe” sometime next year, with a theatrical premiere planned for “a couple of years after” that.
Sher and her Co-President, Nick Van Dyk, also have ambitions beyond traditional motion pictures. The pair has already partnered with Netflix to produce Skylanders Academy, and they’re also envisioning a Call of Duty-branded series that focuses on historical conflicts such as World War II and the Vietnam War.
Sher also wants fans to know that, above all else, Activision Blizzard Studios wants to make good movies: “If you just chase the empty blockbuster, and have nothing to say in the genre, forget about it.”
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops
Captain Cold does his best Sub-Zero impression in this Injustice 2 trailer
Just as we suspected when he was first unveiled in the “It’s Good To Be Bad” trailer, Captain Cold’s Injustice 2 incarnation owes a lot to Sub-Zero. The Mortal Kombat mainstay is the master of ice and cold, and it makes perfect sense that NetherRealm Studios would want to recreate his moveset for DC’s icy villain.
Sworn to ending all crime, the Regime hunted down and brutally executed every member of the Rogues, including Captain Cold’s sister. Using his skills as a thief and his iconic Cold Gun, Cold now seeks his vengeance. He’ll gladly use the Society to achieve it.
Captain Cold uses his Cold Gun to shoot icy projectiles across the screen. He can also freeze his opponents for a free hit or drop an Ice Ball on the ground as a trap. The supervillain even makes use of the Lin Kuei ninja’s Cold Shoulder charge.
Injustice 2 is just a little over a month away, and it’ll launch for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
This News Is On Fire… NBA Playgrounds will be available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in May
IGN is reporting that Saber Interactive will team up with the National Basketball Assocation to release NBA Playgrounds for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this May.
NBA Playgrounds is following in the footsteps of the wild antics and insane dunks that NBA Jam and NBA Street pioneered more than a decade ago. Midway and EA Big may both be defunct, but their love of an over-the-top arcade basketball experience definitely lives on in 2017.
The game will feature 2-on-2 matchups with players from all 30 NBA teams, as well as a deep bench of retired legends such as Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, and more. And as you might expect, players can pick up and play NBA Playgrounds in single-player or multiplayer (local and online) modes.
NBA Playgrounds will be available next month exclusively as a digital download, but do not miss the game’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above.