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
Counter-Strike creator teases Half-Life 3 and Left 4 Dead 3
Half-Life 3 and Left 4 Dead 3 rumors? By golly, this year’s E3 Expo must be right around the corner.
Minh “Gooseman” Le, the creator of Counter-Strike, recently sat down for an interview with goRGNtv (via NowGamer). In the course of the hour-long interview, Le dropped a pair of bombshells without even realizing it. First, the developer revealed that on a recent visit to Valve, he got a glimpse of some Half-Life 3 concept art:
“I guess I could say that I did see something that could be in the Half-Life universe. I mean it wouldn’t surprise anyone if I said yeah they’re working on it. To go out on a limb, I would say I did see some Half-Life 3 concept art.”
Le brushed the revelation off as “old news” and it’s hard to argue with him. We all know Valve is working on another game in the Half-Life franchise, but until we hear it direct from Gabe Newell, it may as well be as good as vaporware. Much more interesting was Le’s thoughts on Left 4 Dead 3, which remains officially unannounced even though it has appeared on several development documents that were purported to come from within Valve:
“It wouldn’t be any news if I said ‘yes, I saw it’ and it looks great,” said Minh. “I was really excited when I saw that, like ‘wow, this looks great’.”
So Half-Life 3 and Left 4 Dead 3 are in the works. Probably. And we’ll get to hear about them eventually. Maybe. I’m betting an E3 announcement is likely out of the question.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Half-Life 3
Meet Drift in this Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark gameplay trailer
I’m not sure how much gameplay is actually in this “Gameplay Trailer,” nor am I sure how Activision plans to merge the Transformers movieverse with the Fall of Cybertron/War For Cybertron games… but here’s a new trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark that shows both sets of bots in action. I do know that the new trailer showcases the samurai-like Drift, a Decepticon who now sides with the Autobots, for the first time.
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark will be released on June 24 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. A companion game for the 3DS, in development at WayForward Technologies, will arrive in stores on the same day.
It’s not TV, it’s homoerotic Nintendo characters on HBO’s Last Week Tonight
“Virtual, eventual, equality. That’s the dream!”
As you may know, two weeks ago Nintendo upset everyone with their omission of a same-sex relationship option in the upcoming North American/European release of Tomodachi Life, a Sims-ian life simulator. Not a simian life simulator — this isn’t Planet of the Apes. But there’s a game idea, Nintendo. Trademark!
Anyway, last week on Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, America’s favorite chimney sweep, the delightful Brit Mr. Oliver, discussed this story on his program. With Nintendo’s promise of future inclusion despite their massive oversight that gay people exist, watch as beloved Nintendo characters like Mario, Link, and Zelda celebrate the announcement in this clip.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs on Sunday nights at 11:00 PM on HBO (but not tonight, he’s on vacation #FortnightOfIgnorance).
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News
Tagged Tomodachi Life
Evolve welcomes four new Hunters to the fray in new gameplay trailer
The newest gameplay video for Turtle Rock’s multiplayer shooter, Evolve, serves as an introduction to a host of new characters. The first is Maggie, a Trapper, who does not enter the arena alone. She has her Trapjaw companion Daisy to help her hunt, essentially an alien hunting dog that looks a bit like a raptor. While the previously revealed Trapper, Griffin, was armed with a mighty harpoon gun, Maggie has harpoon traps, which she sets on the ground, anticipating the Monster’s path.
Next up is Lazarus, aptly named as the Medic character can resuscitate his fellow Hunters when they’re injured. As a result of undoing the Monster’s handiwork, Lazarus will draw the ire of the Monster quicker than the other Hunters. To help the character hide while the Monster is miffed, he has a special cloaking ability.
Hyde is, in the words of Senior Producer Michael J. Boccieri, a “salty dog, who is crass, uncouth, and he just brings the pain.” As well as screaming expletives at the Monster in a cockney East-End London accent, Hyde is armed to the teeth with a chaingun in one hand, and a flamethrower in the other.
The last new character revealed is Bucket, a Support robot. Unlike the rather passive Hank, the first Support character shown, Bucket tends to be aggressive, and like Hyde, is sporting a British accent, although a Received Pronunciation with a robotic (and humorous) tone. “Detaching my head for recon. Please do not be alarmed.”
Publisher 2K Games also revealed that gamers who pre-order Evolve will receive the first DLC, the Monster Expansion Pack, featuring Goliath’s “Savage Skin,” for free.
Weekly Warp-Up: Two Weeks to E3 2014 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…
The 2014 E3 Expo is approaching, so it’s rather fitting that most of this week’s big news concerns bigger news we’ll be told about at the video game industry’s biggest showcase. For example, did you hear that Take-Two will release Evolve on October 21? Or that Metro Redux will be available this Summer? We will no doubt learn more about both games at the E3 Expo, as both will be on display during the big show. As will at least five titles from Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Far Cry 4, The Crew, and more).
Even this week’s episode of Continue Countdown couldn’t get away from the E3 talk. If you’re interested in listening to the Warp Zoned staff debate Microsoft’s plans for the Xbox One (including Halo 5 and Sunset Overdrive), then this is the show for you.
More news from this past week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Watch Dogs, Mario Kart 8, Mind Zero, The Sly Collection
After all the delays and all the hype, Ubisoft is finally ready to release Watch Dogs this week. Can the first adventure of Aiden Pearce live up to gamer’s expectations? We’ll all find out together on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this week. If you’re thinking about picking it up, don’t forget, the game will launch with exclusive content on the PlayStation platforms.
Watch Dogs won’t be available for the Wii U until the Fall, but Wii U owners will still get a major new game to play this week as Nintendo will release Mario Kart 8 for their newest console on May 30. With 32 tracks and 30 characters, it’s one of the largest Mario Kart games ever.
Finally this week, two new games will be released for Sony’s PlayStation Vita. Mind Zero is a dungeon crawler from Aksys Games and The Sly Collection will compile Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves into one package.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Mario Kart 8, Mind Zero, The Sly Collection, Watch Dogs
Take-Two renews their trademark for Agent… again
Agent. That’s all I have to say…
OK, a little more. Agent has been in development in some form or another since 2007. It was first announced in 2009 as a PS3 exclusive and its been in limbo practically ever since. Sony doesn’t want to talk about it. Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s CEO, refuses to comment on its progress. But somehow, it still lives. This week, Take-Two Interactive renewed both of their trademarks related to Agent (the title and the logo).
If this story sounds familiar, it should. Take-Two filed a renewal application for Agent’s trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office in July 2013. What’s different this time? Who knows?
What we do know that Rockstar Games is hard at work on a game for next-generation consoles and they plan to release it before April 1, 2015. Could it be Agent? It’s certainly a possibility (and we said as much in the latest episode of Continue Countdown), though an enhanced edition of Grand Theft Auto V is more likely.
The 2014 E3 Expo is slightly more than two weeks away, perhaps we’ll find out there.
Listen to Transistor’s full soundtrack right now
Supergiant’s Bastion built its post-apocalyptic story on the back of an amazing soundtrack composed by Darren Korb and featuring vocals by Ashley Barrett. The duo got the band back together for the developer’s sophomore outing, Transistor, which was released for the PC and PS4 on Tuesday.
Transistor’s soundtrack is now available to purchase through the Supergiant Store, but if you’d prefer to give it a listen first, the developer has posted the entire album on YouTube. Once again, Korb’s music and Barrett’s vocals come together to create some of the best video game music that money can buy (or stream for free, in this case).
While Supergiant wants everyone to experience the game’s soundtrack, they did say that prospective listeners might be better off playing the game first: “We highly recommend playing through the game before listening to the soundtrack, since the soundtrack is deeply connected to the game’s story.” But if you’re ready to dive in, I recommend jumping straight to “We All Become,” the song used in Transistor’s debut trailer.
You can read more of Darren Korb’s thoughts on the process behind Transistor’s soundtrack at the PlayStation Blog.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS4
Tagged Transistor