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
“Aim Greater” with this new cinematic trailer for Rise of the Tomb Raider
“For some, discovering the secrets of the world is the only way to live.”
Rise of the Tomb Raider is still a ridiculously awful title, but this cinematic new trailer does an amazing job of showing Lara Croft’s transformation from an inexperienced graduate student to the globe-trotting adventurer we all know her to be.
Microsoft will unveil the first gameplay footage from Rise of the Tomb Raider during a special “World Premiere” presentation as part of their E3 2015 Press Conference, which will take place two weeks from today on June 15. Fans will be able to view the show through Xbox.com, their Xbox system, or through a variety of online video providers.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is in development at Crystal Dynamics and will be released this Fall for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Rise of the Tomb Raider
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games announced by Nintendo
UPDATE: We’ve added the English-language trailer from the June 1 “Nintendo Direct Micro” presentation after the break.
Mario and Sonic will do battle on the athletic field once more in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which was announced this morning as part of a Nintendo Direct presentation delivered by Nintendo Japan. Like the first Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and London 2012, players will be able to go for the gold medal in Track, Floor Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Soccer, Beach Volleyball, and many other sports. We also got our first look at two new additions to the series today: Rugby and Golf.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be released for the 3DS and Wii U sometime in the near future, though no release date was announced. However, every previous entry in the series has debuted during the November before the Olympic Games, so I think it’s a safe bet to assume Rio 2016 will as well. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Yoshi’s Woolly World will be released on July 16 in Japan
Nintendo has announced Yoshi’s Woolly World will be released fro the Wii U on July 16 in Japan. The news was delivered this morning during a special Japan-focused Nintendo Direct presentation.
In the video, which has been embedded above, players were introduced to many of Yarn Yoshi’s many patterns including Rainbow Yoshi, Piranha Plant Yoshi, Winter Yoshi, Moo-Moo Yoshi, and Famicom Yoshi. Yoshis patterned after Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong (unlockable through an Amiibo tap of the three figures) were also shown. The Power Badge system, wherein Yarn Yoshi trades some Beads for a powerup, was given a few seconds in the spotlight as well.
Yoshi’s Woolly World is still officially scheduled for a “Fall 2015” launch in North America, though we previously learned the game will be released across Europe in June. With Yoshi’s Woolly World set to release during the Summer in those two territories, I don’t think US gamers will have to wait until the last three months of the year to purchase a copy of the game. Hopefully, we’ll hear about an official US launch date soon.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Yoshi's Woolly World
Halo 3: ODST and “Remnant” map now available for Halo: Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection got a little bigger yesterday when Microsoft added the Halo 3: ODST single-player campaign and the Halo 2 Anniversary “Remnant” map as downloadable options.
Halo 3: ODST is set between Halo 2 and Halo 3 and follows a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) in the aftermath of the New Mombasa invasion. Featuring upgraded graphics, the Halo 3: ODST campaign is available as a free download if you played Halo: The Master Chief Collection between November 11, 2014 and December 19, 2014. However, if you’re new to the compilation, the campaign can be download for $4.99. Max Szlagor, a Senior Game Designer at 343 Industries, and Joseph Staten, a developer on the original Xbox 360 version of Halo 3: ODST, discuss the game in the video above.
Meanwhile, the “Remnant” map is based on Halo 2’s “Relic” map, and is available as a free content update for everyone. According to Microsoft, the “Remnant” maps features “a towering and iconic Forerunner megalith, weathered over untold millennia. The map’s asymmetric layout and the artifact’s elevated, yet embedded, position, make it perfect for classic Slayer, Assault, and 1-Flag CTF game types.” A detailed look at the “Remnant” map, part of The Halo Channel’s “Breaking Down the Map” series, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Halo 3: ODST, Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Bloodstained coming to Wii U with Vita version now in sight
As expected, backers have pushed the Kickstarter campaign for Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night past the $3 million mark, reaching a huge stretch goal and opening up a few more.
First things first, this new monetary benchmark means a Wii U version of the game will officially go into development at Armature. The porting house plans to make full use of the GamePad’s second screen and will feature a map that can be fully annotated. Though if you prefer Off-Screen Play, that will also be included. Miiverse integration, and Wii U Pro Controller support will be included as well.
A pair of additional stretch goals have also opened up including Asynchronous Online Multiplayer at $3.25 million and a Vita version of the game at $3.5 million. And actually, the Asynchronous Online Multiplayer features that “Iga” would like to include sound very cool:
- “Borrow” a friend’s character stats for a certain amount of time (your friend will get a bonus)
- Ghost Data (See friend’s saved character movements while fighting a boss)
- Friend’s playthroughs affect your game in some way (e.g. a gravestone and an offering might mark the spot where your friend died)
Bloodstained’s campaign still has 12 days to go, so both of these stretch goals (and surely a few others) seem well within reach.
Weekly Warp-Up: It’s One of Those Weeks Edition
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
Every few months, there’s that one week where nothing truly BIG happens and you just have to make due with a bunch of smaller news stories. This is one of those weeks.
First things first, feel free to check out a recently-posted review of We Are Doomed, it’s a pretty good twin-stick shooter if you’re interested in that kind of thing.
Now then, it’s neat that 2K Games is teasing a game currently known as Advent with a pretty interesting in-universe website. But we don’t know anything else about it and probably won’t until E3. It was also interesting to hear Sony’s Andrew House say their 2015 lineup is “a little sparse” while calling the Vita a “legacy platform.” I enjoy the honesty, but let’s face it, everyone’s 2015 is looking a little sparse. Thank god for Mario Maker…
Speaking of Nintendo, how about a standing ovation for the Humble Nindie Bundle, which brings the “pay-what-you-want” model to the 3DS and Wii U for the first time. That is seriously great, but not what you’d call “blockbuster” news.
Oh well, if nothing else, this week gave us the Darksiders II “Deathinitive Edition” and that’s a terrible play-on-words I can get behind. If you’re looking for more news from this past week, you’ll find it after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Heroes of the Storm, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, Tetris Vita, More
As we close the book on May and its scant slate of new releases, we look ahead to June and find… another scant slate of new releases. Sigh.
This week, Blizzard is ready to roll out the full version of Heroes of the Storm, their entry into the crowded MOBA field. Also available as a Battle.net download for the PC, this “Starter Pack” will include five heroes (Sonya the Warrior, Zeratul the Assassin, Zagara the Specialist, Li Li the Support, and Jaina the Assassin) and a Golden Tiger Mount.
Also available this week is Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, a new strategy RPG for the 3DS from Marvelous and XSEED. Lord of Magna follows Luchs as he attempts to recruit seven maidens to save the world and battles enemies by literally bowling them over. Speaking of knocking things down, Ubisoft will also bring everyone’s favorite puzzle game to the Vita this week as Tetris Ultimate.
Finally, Rescue 2: Everyday Heroes is a firefighter sim for the PC and a sequel to Rescue 2013: Everyday Heroes.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, Vita
Tagged Heroes of the Storm, Tetris Ultimate
Splat or be Splatted in the Splatoon launch trailer
The paint flies fast and furious in the Nintendo UK launch trailer for Splatoon, which is available in stores worldwide today.
If you’re still unsure about Nintendo’s first wholly original property in years, this trailer makes a pretty compelling case for shooter fans. Especially if you’re interested in the 4v4 online fights found in Turf Wars… or the one-on-one local duels in the Battle Dojo… or the single-player story campaign… or the game’s three Amiibo figures.
Just don’t get splatted.