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: Articles
Need For Speed Rivals races into stores this November; on PS4, Xbox One later this year
Criterion Games is taking the year off, but Electronic Arts will have a new Need For Speed game this Fall when Need For Speed Rivals launches for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 19. A PS4 and Xbox One version will also be released before the end of the year.
Rivals is in development at Ghost Games, an internal EA studio in Gothenburg, Sweden that spun off from DICE earlier this year. Using the Frostbite 3 engine, Rivals “captures the adrenaline and intensity of the street’s ultimate rivalry between cops and racers in a stunning open road environment.”
In Need for Speed Rivals, gamers play as either a cop or racer, where each side of the law has its own set of high stakes challenges, rewards and consequences. As a racer, the goal is to become infamous for taking risks behind the wheel and capturing your most intense escapes on video for the world to see. The more cops players evade, the more Speed Points they collect, enabling them to unlock new cars and items. Keep raising the stakes race after race to become an ever-more valuable target to the cops – but risk losing it all if busted. As a cop, players work together as part of a team in pursuit of racers, earning prominence and rising in the ranks of the Police Force with every bust. Achieving higher ranks unlocks new police-only cars and more powerful pursuit tech.
Need For Speed fans will be pleased to know that Ferrari returns to the franchise for the first time since 2006’s Need For Speed Carbon. A hybrid single-player/multiplayer online mode known as AllDrive, which allows players to “seamlessly transition from playing alone to playing with friends.”
EA has also announced that if you pre-order Need For Speed Rivals, you’ll receive the “Ultimate Cop Pack” for free. The pack includes the Nissan GT-R Black Edition police car, “advanced pursuit technology,” and “a custom livery.”
E3 2013: The Roadmap To Victory for Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony
Even with the rise of PAX Prime, PAX East, the San Diego Comic-Con, and Gamescom, the annual E3 Expo is still the game industry’s premiere showcase for “what’s next.” And every year, half the fun of the festivities is picking apart the press conferences from Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony and declaring a winner.
I admit, picking press conference winners is more than a little silly. But the three companies are locked in a vicious three-way battle for your video game dollar. Even as the total market has expanded, the opportunities for any individual company have shrunk. So anytime one can wrest control of the headlines away from the other two is a victory. But what can each consolemaker do to ensure a win? Read on and follow our E3 Roadmaps for Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to find out. (more…)
Daily Scoop: May 23, 2013 – More Pokemon shirts
It’s almost impossible to get through a single refresh of my Twitter or Facebook feed without listening to people freaking out about the Xbox One reveal! I’m going to wait and see what Microsoft has to say at E3 before making any judgments about it. Here’s hoping they show some of those games they were talking about!
There are a bunch of new weekly deals at Amazon going on right now. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is $39.98, Diablo III is $34.99, Gears of War: Judgment is $39.99, the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Collector’s Edition is $34.99, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown is $29.99. Scoop ’em up!
There are tons of shirts today! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Giancarlo Esposito narrates Bungie’s first Destiny trailer
Giancarlo Esposito (formerly of Breaking Bad, currently of Revolution, and the man who knows who Keyser Soze is) narrates “The Law of the Jungle,” the first trailer for Bungie’s sci-fi space epic, Destiny.
The trailer, which was actually directed by Jon Favreau, also promises that the first gameplay footage of the game will be revealed during Sony’s E3 Press Conference on Monday, June 10.
Destiny is currently without a release date, but is expected to be released sometime in 2014.
Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition and Collector’s Edition detailed
Do you have your wallet ready? Rockstar Games just revealed the contents of the Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition, as well as an even more fully stocked Collector’s Edition.
The Special Edition, which is priced at $79.99, includes a SteelBook case, a Blueprint Map, an in-game Special Ability Boost, the Stunt Plane Trials game mode, an Outfits and Tattoos pack, and an Additional Weapons pack.
The much more lavish Collector’s Edition, and priced to match at $149.99, includes everything you get in the Special Edition as well as a GTA5-branded Security Deposit Bag, a GTA5 baseball cap, a classic GTA character for use in the GTA Online mode, and Unique Vehicles and Garage Property pack.
Everyone who pre-orders Grand Theft Auto V, regardless of which version you pick, will receive access to the Atomic Blimp vehicle in the game.
Hit the jump for a look at the Special Edition and Collector’s Edition of Grand Theft Auto V as well as more details on all of the goodies each premium version of the game contains. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V
Nintendo Download: Trio of Kirby games, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, more
Donkey Kong Country Returns makes the jump to the 3DS tomorrow as, not surprisingly, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. It’ll be available in stores and on the 3DS eShop.
But the true star of this week’s Nintendo Download is Kirby. The pink puffball stars in three new games added to the Wii U Virtual Console today: Kirby’s Dream Land 3, Kirby’s Dream Course, and Kirby Super Star. Regularly priced at $7.99 each, if you buy any two of the games before May 30, you’ll get the third free.
Let’s see… also available this week is the 3DS rhythm game Groove Heaven and Naruto: Powerful Shippuden, a side-scrolling brawler based on the popular anime.
More details about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Donkey Kong Country Returns
“Historic IP” from Rare will get a new Xbox One game at E3 2013
Microsoft’s Don Mattrick opened the “Next Xbox Reveal” by saying that Tuesday’s presentation was all about introducing the world to the Xbox One. Game announcements for the next generation console, including 15 titles in development at Microsoft Studios, would come at E3.
One of those games will apparently be the rebirth of a classic franchise from Rare’s stable. Speaking to Polygon, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said: “Fans of Rare and Rare IP I think will be pleased with what we’re going to show at E3. That historic IP that they’ve built I think can play a real important role on Xbox One.”
The GoldenEye and Donkey Kong Country developer was purchased by Microsoft in 2002, which also included most of their non-Nintendo published properties such as Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Killer Instinct, Battletoads, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and Jet Force Gemini.
So which one will it be? It’s anyone’s guess, but Microsoft did famously renew the Killer Instinct trademark earlier this year.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2013, Killer Instinct, Next Xbox Reveal
Infinity Ward confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts is coming to PS4
It’s not like it was ever in doubt, but Infinity Ward has confirmed that Call of Duty: Ghosts will be coming to the PlayStation 4 as well as the Xbox One:
Yes @smithson89 we’ll be releasing #CODGhosts on both platforms #PS3 #PS4
— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) May 22, 2013
In a separate tweet, Infinity Ward confirmed that development duties for Ghosts will actually be spread across two additional Activision studios. Raven Software (who helped with Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3) and Neversoft will contribute to the game in a “support” capacity.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 5. The PS4 and Xbox One edition (which stars the awesomest video game dog ever) will likely launch with the next-generation systems and the Wii U version is still, technically, unannounced.