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)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (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)
Most Recent: Articles
Next Modern Warfare may be a prequel; Raven likely working on Call of Duty
An anonymous source who previously identified many Xbox-related rumors leaked that Infinity Ward’s next game will be a prequel to the original Modern Warfare, Call of Duty 4. The details were a lot of negatives – the game will not be called “Modern Warfare 3,” will not use a new engine, and will not be released this year. The alleged game focuses on Ghost and will revisit many of the areas of the first two Modern Warfare games, but through a different perspective. This seems to align with rumors from 2009 that Ghost would be getting his own spin-off game like the comic mini-series. If this rumor is true, Infinity Ward must have been hit pretty hard by its talent exodus to not be able to complete a game on its two year cycle, especially using older scenery with no new engine.
In a related matter, the rumors that Raven Software (the studio behind Singularity, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Wolfenstein) have been conscripted to the ever-growing roster of studios working on Call of Duty seems more likely. Their website currently lists a job for Lead FX Artist on “an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter.” Raven has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision for some time now, making the established “military shooter” an obvious reference.
[Source: ThisIsXbox]
Posted in News
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Ubisoft teases Beyond Good & Evil HD
Beyond Good & Evil HD will be coming to a digital download service near you (PSN and XBLA to be exact) sometime this year. But Ubisoft has yet to narrow the remake’s release date down beyond that. However, they did release a short teaser trailer for the game today, which you can see above.
Now, if we could just get a straight answer out of Ubisoft about Beyond Good & Evil 2…
Posted in News
Tagged Beyond Good & Evil, Xbox 360
Ilomilo Review: A Puzzler Fit For a Fairy Tale
Officially added to the Xbox Live Arcade today, Ilomilo has actually been available since November via a “super secret access code” provided by developer Southend Interactive. This backdoor launch strategy has netted Ilomilo plenty of buzz among the gaming community for its adorable presentation and interesting puzzle design. And now that it’s available to everyone, Ilomilo should give the rest of the Xbox Live community something to talk about. (more…)
THQ has the power (to make games based on Mattel toys)
Like two action figures that come together to form an even bigger action figure, THQ will raid Mattel’s toy chest in a multi-year deal to create games based on many of the company’s biggest properties.
THQ currently has multiple Mattel-inspired games in the works, with the first scheduled for release this Fall. The deal will ultimately result in new THQ-published games based on many of Mattel’s biggest toy lines, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Monster High, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Polly Pocket and He-Man: Masters of the Universe.
THQ wasn’t ready to talk about specific games on specific platforms, but they did confirm that the agreement allows them to create games for consoles (both disc-based and downloadable games), handhelds, PCs, mobile devices and social networking platforms. However, THQ did reveal that at least one game will support the publisher’s uDraw GameTablet on the Wii.
Ilomilo added to XBLA
Even though it’s been available to download on the Xbox Live Arcade for several weeks now with a “super secret access code,” everyone will get a chance to play Southend Interactive’s Ilomilo today. The game marks the final entry in Microsoft’s “Games For the Holidays” promotion and features some cross-game unlockables with the two other titles, A World of Keflings and Raskulls.
Ilomilo is a puzzle platformer that has used its dreamlike imagery and secret launch to gather plenty of fans in the last few months. It’s been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), just like the other Games For the Holidays titles.
You can read our review of Ilomilo later this morning.
DS, Wii set new sales records in 2010
This is not news: The DS and Wii sold a ton of systems in 2010.
This is news: The DS and Wii sold a record-setting amount of systems in 2010.
While it seems like news outlets publish this story every year and just change the date, Nintendo has announced that the DS and Wii have set several new sales records in 2010.
The DS pushed its total install base to 47 million in 2010. According to Nintendo’s internal numbers, that’s a new record for a console or handheld in the US. Congratulations to Nintendo, but Sony put out a similar press release in 2009 claiming the PS2 had sold 50 million units in the US. We may never know which one actually holds the record, but they both have a huge library of classic games, and that’s all that really matters.
The Wii also set a record in 2010, becoming the only system to sell seven million units (or more) in three straight years. Nintendo’s little white machine (which added black and red variations in 2010) has sold 34 million units in North American since its debut in 2006.
Tune in with Q-Games on PixelJunk Radio
The hotly anticipated PSN title PixelJunk Shooter 2 is reportedly close to completion and the folks at Kyoto-based Q-Games have launched the inaugural episode of their podcast, PixelJunk Radio. Ariel Angelotti, Bear Trickey, Duncan Flett, and the man himself, Dylan Cuthbert sit down over Kirin beers to discuss life in Japan, particularly the toilets. It’s just over 11 minutes so I’d highly recommend it if you’re interested in some laid back banter among the team (about toilets). You can follow the chatter at their YouTube channel or subscribe to it on iTunes.
The PixelJunk series has consistently been among the best downloadable games this generation, so it’ll be interesting to get insight from the team, especially as they answer fan questions. For more on podcasts, you can expect the inaugural episode of our very own Warp Zoned Podcast to drop in the coming days, starring Ryan Littlefield, Nicole Kline, and yours truly.
You can also watch the first episode right here:
Posted in News
Tagged PixelJunk Shooter 2, PS3
X-Raying the Brain Training Trend
Brain games were all the rage back in 2006, but what happened to them? Despite the great reviews and large audience appeal, players stopped caring about Brain Age and Brain Age 2 roughly a month after they were each released. Repetitive gaming is only fun for so long. What newer thinking games are worth your time and money, and, more importantly, will they actually make you smarter?
Since the beginning of time, mankind has found ways to stretch their brains. Some strive to become smarter, while others thrive on being stupid. History lessons aside, the video gaming industry has found a way to capitalize on this idea, and has fairly successfully encapsulated the trend that is “brain gaming” – gaming that totally makes you “smarter.” (more…)