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
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will be released on September 13
Dusenberry Martin Racing, which formerly operated under the DMi Games moniker, announced today that they will bring back the NASCAR Heat series this September with NASCAR Heat: Evolution. In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the racing simulation will be developed by Monster Games, the same team responsible for the original NASCAR Heat.
Ed Martin, the “Martin” (and President) of Dusenberry Martin Racing, believes this partnership will lead to a new era of NASCAR games: “To deliver an all-new NASCAR game experience, we assembled an all-star team of NASCAR game experts and started with a clean sheet of paper. What the DMR and Monster Games teams have come up with is going to amaze NASCAR fans.”
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will immerse fans in the door-to-door excitement of stock car racing and allow users to live the experience of taking the checkered flag. Whether a casual or hardcore gaming fan, NASCAR Heat Evolution will dynamically adapt to any skill level and deliver a true-to-life racing experience. The new game will feature all of the top drivers, teams, and incredibly detailed tracks and environments, giving fans the opportunity to feel what it is like to be a racing legend.
Dusenberry Martin Racing is also holding a contest to choose a cover athlete for NASCAR Heat: Evolution, but don’t expect the typical online vote. Instead, the publisher struck a sponsorship deal with Toyota, and the first Toyota driver (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, or Martin Truex Jr.) to cross the finish line during tomorrow’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway will also appear on the cover of NASCAR Heat: Evolution.
NASCAR Heat: Evolution is currently scheduled to be released on September 13.
Shovel Knight is getting a series of tie-in kids books this January
Shovel Knight lives by the Codes of Shovelry, and the teachings of this ancient art helped him topple the Order of No Quarter in Yacht Club’s excellent side-scrolling platformer of the same name. Capturing the hearts and minds of nostalgic gamers everywhere after his 2014 debut, Shovel Knight will take on his greatest challenge next year… the Children’s Literature section of your local bookstore.
Yacht Club Games has partnered with Grosset & Dunlap to publish a series of Shovel Knight-themed books targeted at kids 8-12 years old. The four books announced so far include:
- Shovel Knight Guidebook, a 176-page strategy guide that includes all of Shovel Knight’s secrets and tips to defeat the Order of No Quarter.
- Shovel Knight: Codes of Shovelry Handbook, which will teach readers more about the characters from the game, “as well as tips for enhanced gameplay.”
- Shovel Knight: Digger’s Diary, a journal filled with “fun activities, challenging mazes and puzzles, and writing prompts.”
- Shovel Knight Mad Libs, which promises 21 silly stories from the world of Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club expects to release Shovel Knight’s final two expansions by the end of the year, which nicely matches up with the January 10, 2017 release date for the game’s first four tie-in books.
Battleborn’s first DLC character, Alani, will be available very soon
Gearbox Software is getting ready to release Alani, the first of five free downloadable bonus characters for Battleborn. If you purchased Battleborn’s Digital Deluxe Edition or Season Pass, you’ll be able to play as Alani as early as Tuesday, May 24. Everyone else will be able to download the character a week later, on May 31.
Alani is a Warrior-Monk, who has the ability to heal while also charging into battle like a badass. You can get a look at the character on the game’s official website, and learn more about her backstory right here:
A member of the Eldrid faction who was raised as a healer, but forced to be a warrior, Alani is all that remains of her order after Rendain’s Jennerit Imperium stole the oceans from her world. As a warrior from a planet with vast seas, Alani’s attacks and abilities revolve around her power to control water to dish out pain, or heal her fellow Battleborn.
Gearbox is also introducing “Hero Keys” for Digital Deluxe and Season Pass owners later this month. With a Hero Key, players will be able to instantly unlock any hero in the game, even if they haven’t completed the necessary Challenge Objective or reached the requisite Command Rank. Everyone who participated in the Open Beta on the PS4 will also receive a Hero Key, and access to the first Story DLC Pack.
Finally, Gearbox will host a Double XP Event for Battleborn players all this weekend. The event kicked off a few hours ago and will come to an end on Wednesday, May 25, at 11:00 AM (Eastern Time).
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
Xbox Store Today: Cubikolor
Just one new addition to the Xbox Games Store today, and it’s Cubikolor, a cube-moving puzzler from developer Fractal Box. Available now for the Xbox One, Cubikolor looks like it would have been all the rage back in the puzzle-loving days of the late 80s and early 90s.
And here’s a bit more information about Cubikolor from its Xbox Games Store description page:
Xbox One Games
Cubikolor ($7.99)
Move your Kube by matching the kolors of the sides and the platform to complete each level. Armed only with your logic and your Kube, move through the 150 levels outwitting the traps in the System, an evil, scheming entity, to confront the machine and pass the test! Discover lots of special Kubes with some surprising effects, and advance through the different game backdrops in Classik or Hardkore mode. Keep an eye on the time and move limits! Outsmart the System and use its traps to your advantage: Booby-trapped Kubes, multikolored Kubes and many more await you in this next-gen puzzle game.
KIRBY SMASH! Check out the new Kirby: Planet Robobot Overview Trailer
Kirby in a mech!
Kirby with a flamethrower!
Kirby with a laser cannon!
Not enough Nintendo characters get to use high-tech weaponry to save their home from an alien invasion, but Kirby is going to get his chance when Kirby: Planet Robobot launches for the 3DS on June 10.
You can get an in-depth look at Kirby’s arsenal (including mech transformations, copy abilities, and Amiibo support) in this new Overview Trailer from Nintendo UK. The last few seconds will also give you a glimpse at “Team Kirby Clash” and “Kirby 3D Rumble,” two multiplayer minigames that’ll be included in Kirby: Planet Robobot.
Now, what do you think the odds are that we can get Mario fitted for a mech suit…
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Kirby: Planet Robobot
Sony gives a green light to the first Gran Turismo Sport gameplay trailer
Yesterday, Sony revealed that Gran Turismo Sport will be released exclusively for the PS4 on November 15. They also hosted a rather in-depth livestream, “Gran Turismo Sport Unveiling,” and launched a brand-new gameplay trailer.
The gameplay trailer is embedded above, and as you might have guessed, it features a bunch of pretty cars in a bunch of pretty locales. Thanks to the rather chill soundtrack choice, it almost feels less like a video game trailer and more like a real car commercial. But I have a feeling that’s what developer Polyphony Digital was going for.
In other Gran Turismo Sport news, Polyphony CEO Kazunori Yamauchi told VideoGamer.com that a previously-announced beta test won’t proceed as planned. Development on the beta was canceled so Polyphony would have enough time to meet the November 15 release date.
But if you need more Gran Turismo Sport on this Friday, you can find the complete “Gran Turismo Sport Unveiling” stream (all three hours of it) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Gran Turismo Sport
Capcom is adding Arthur’s armor from Ghosts N Goblins to Monster Hunter Generations
Capcom loves to stick bonus costumes into the Monster Hunter games, and the upcoming Monster Hunter Generations is no exception. Yesterday, the publisher revealed that players will be able to outfit their Felyne companion with Arthur’s armor and lance set from Ghosts N Goblins. I’d love to get a new Ghosts N Goblins game someday, but I guess this will have to do for now.
More crossover costumes will be packed into Monster Hunter Generations, including an Okami-inspired Amaterasu outfit for your Felyne, and Marth’s armor from Fire Emblem. Trailers for both costume sets can be found after the break.
And don’t forget, Monster Hunter Generations will be released for the 3DS on July 15. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Monster Hunter Generations
Tetris: The Movie is a “sci-fi thriller” that’s the first in a trilogy
Nearly two years ago, the producer of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Lawrence Kasanoff, surprised the world by saying he was going to turn Tetris into a blockbuster film franchise. We all had a good laugh at the sheer absurdity of an action movie starring animatronic Tetris pieces and then we forgot about it. But Kasanoff didn’t forget, and he was just biding his time until a group of investors decided to drop a bag of cash into his lap.
According to a report on Deadline, Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertainment has partnered with Bruno Wu of Seven Star Works to produce Tetris: The Movie. The $80 million film will be shot in China and other locations with a predominantly Chinese cast, though Kasanoff said he makes “world movies for the world market.”
So how do you make a movie out of Tetris? Beats me, but Kasanoff said he has that part figured out too. Tetris: The Movie will be a “sci-fi thriller,” and also, “the first in a trilogy.” It’s an ambitious plan, and while I can’t wrap my head around the idea of Tetris as a sci-fi thriller, maybe Kasanoff has an elusive line piece in his back pocket.
Meanwhile, director Brett Ratner is continuing to work on his biographical film about the life of Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. It’s currently without a release date, but maybe we’ll have another Armageddon/Deep Impact situation on our hands.