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
- 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
Project Guard becomes Star Fox Guard and it’ll be released on April 22
Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto first unveiled Project Guard during E3 2014. As one of the famed developer’s more experimental projects, Project Guard tasked players with positioning cameras around a castle to take out encroaching waves of enemies, similar to a tower defense game. Today, the game was re-revealed as Star Fox Guard, though players will still jump from camera-to-camera to stop hostile invaders:
Players set up 12 cameras to find and defeat enemies who are attacking the mining site of Slippy Toad’s uncle, Grippy Toad. The game includes about 100 stages, but players can also create their own stages by editing the placement of enemies and uploading their levels online.
Star Fox Guard will be released for the Wii U on April 22, and players who purchase Star Fox Zero (for $59.99) will receive it for free. However, it’ll also be available as a standalone download through the Wii U eShop for $14.99.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Star Fox Guard, Star Fox Zero
The Force is with the latest Star Fox Zero trailer
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m definitely sensing a Star Wars influence buried deep in the latest trailer for Star Fox Zero. But there’s also another influence here that’s much closer to the surface and that’s Star Fox 64.
Players who step into an Arwing in Star Fox Zero will get to blast away at Andross’s forces and tangle with Star Wolf while also exploring the galaxy through a number of different branching paths, so no two playthroughs will be the same. A two-player co-op mode where one player pilots the Arwing while another mans the gunner’s seat also got a few seconds of screen time.
As part of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage to talk a bit more about the game, as well as revealing that tapping a Star Fox Amiibo figure will unlock the original Arwing from 1993’s Star Fox.
Jointly developed by Nintendo and Platinum Games, Star Fox Zero will be released exclusively for the Wii U on April 22.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Star Fox Zero
Nintendo launches a Super NES Virtual Console exclusively for the New 3DS XL
Nintendo is bringing a handful of Super NES games from their Virtual Console service to the 3DS… but only if you own the more powerful New 3DS XL.
Announced during the consolemaker’s latest Nintendo Direct presentation, three Super NES classics are already available to download on the New 3DS XL: Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings. If you’re old enough, you might remember that trio of titles as the original launch lineup for the Super NES back in 1991.
Nintendo will further fill out the digital store shelves for the Super NES Virtual Console on the New 3DS XL with a number of additional releases throughout the Spring including Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, and EarthBound on March 24. They’ll later be joined by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Quest on April 14.
According to Nintendo, the New 3DS XL handheld enables “Perfect Pixel Mode” for Super NES games, which gives players the option to display the downloadable titles in their original resolution.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged EarthBound
The Games of March 2016
For the most part, we here at Warp Zoned are all pretty excited about some Nintendo game or another coming out this month! But that’s not all. Read on to find out what we’re excited to play this March! (more…)
Daily Scoop: March 3, 2016 – New Humble Weekly Bundle available now
Have you heard the news? Diablo III has a secret cow level this month only! I am mooooooooved beyond belief! I can’t wait to find it!
It’s Thursday, which means there’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle, and this one is Zen Studios 3! Pay $1 or more to get tons of Pinball, including Pinball FX2 Zen Studios F.C., Guardians of the Galaxy, and Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Pay $5 or more to unlock The Walking Dead, Civil War, Ant-Man, and Star Wars Rebels. Get ready to up your pinball game!
At Steam, there’s a Square Enix publisher weekend! The list is huge, and it includes Just Cause 3 for $40.19, Rise of the Tomb Raider for $47.99, Hitman Absolute: Elite Edition for $6.24, and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for $14.99. The Daily Deal is Styx: Master of Shadows, which is on sale for $7.49.
Just a handful of shirts today. Hit the jump to check them out! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
No Man’s Sky will be released for PC, PS4 on June 21
After years of toil, a flood of biblical proportions, and a chat with Mr. Stephen Colbert, Hello Games is finally ready to announce that No Man’s Sky will be released for the PC and PS4 on June 21.
While the developer doesn’t have a new trailer to mark the occasion, they did reveal that No Man’s Sky will be available to purchase for the PC (as a digital download) and the PS4 (as a digital download through the PlayStation Store and as a Blu-ray disc at your game store). They also confirmed that players will interact with aliens throughout the course of the game, and will even need to decipher several alien languages to advance.
Managing Director Sean Murray stopped by the PlayStation Blog and spoke to SCEE Blog Manager Fred Dutton about this rather unexpected new feature:
In short, here’s how it works. As you travel around the universe you’ll encounter individuals from several distinct races. As with everything else in the game, how they look and what they say is procedurally generated based on a set of variables defined by the Hello Games team.
You’ll be able to trade with them, gain upgrades, learn more about the game’s lore, forge alliances and so forth. Sound straightforward? Well, not so fast.
[…]
“With NPCs in No Man’s Sky, you actually have to learn their language; they speak to you in their native tongue. The more you travel around the universe, the more you learn their language, and the more you can communicate with them.”
Murray used the remainder of the post to reveal a lot more about the game’s many alien languages and how players will interact with the various factions in the No Man’s Sky universe. I think it’s well worth your time.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged No Man's Sky
Dead Island: Definitive Collection will be released for PS4, Xbox One on May 31
We still don’t know if Dead Island 2 will be ready for its planned 2016 launch, but Deep Silver hasn’t given up on their undead franchise.
The publisher announced today that Dead Island: Definitive Collection, which includes Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide, will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 31. The remastered compilation will give both games a complete visual overhaul courtesy of several fancy graphical tricks that weren’t possible before:
- Higher Quality Textures – Game textures have been redone in a higher resolution and the level of quality has been improved across the board.
- Photorealistic New Lighting System – The lighting system in the game has been vastly improved, providing a much more realistic look to the beautiful sunny tropical setting.
- Physically Based Shading – The introduction of new physically based shading techniques due to the latest iteration of the Chrome Engine means a higher quality look to the game models and objects as they react in a more realistic way to various lighting conditions.
- Image Quality Enhancements Via Anti-Aliasing – The addition of more sophisticated anti-aliasing means that console players can now experience Dead Island without unsightly jaggies meaning a much cleaner look throughout.
- Improved-Quality Game Models and Geometry Assets – All major geometry assets (for example, NPCs and character models) highlight a marked quality increase.
- HBAO and Motion Blur Effects – The introduction of Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion adds an extra layer of depth and realism to the world. Through a better implementation of object shadows, while the all-new motion blur effects will provide a much more cinematic feel to the game experience.
- Updated Game UI – Providing a more consistent look between both Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. Increase to equal quality level for seamless game experience.
Both games in the Dead Island: Definitive Collection will include all of the previously released downloadable expansions, as well as new features like online four-player co-op, streaming, and recording. PlayStation 4 owners will also be able to take advantage of PS Vita Remote Play and Share Play. Players will also get the chance to test out the “Power Fists” powerup, a fan favorite mod.
Finally, the Dead Island: Definitive Collection will include Dead Island: Retro Revenge, a side-scrolling endless runner that will be exclusive to the retail package.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide
Warpback: What We Played in February 2016
Even when the calendar of new releases is sparse, we here at Warp Zoned know it’s important to keep our controllers charged. We hit our backlogs hard in February, playing everything from Dark Souls to Destiny, while still keeping it fresh with a handful of newer releases. Read on to see what games kept us warm during this cold month! (more…)