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)
Warp Zoned Archives
Most Recent: Articles
Activision will launch Skylanders BattleCast mobile card game in 2016
Having captured the hearts and minds of mobile gamers everywhere with Hearthstone, Activision is looking to do it again in 2016 with Skylanders BattleCast.
Like Hearthstone, Skylanders BattleCast will be a free-to-play collectible card game for mobile devices. But unlike Hearthstone, Activision plans to print physical cards for Skylanders BattleCast that players will need to scan to add to their digital collection. These physical cards can be collected and traded outside the app, and digital packs can be purchased to further augment your card collection.
Writing on the Activision Games Blog, the publisher also revealed they are consulting pro card players and experts in physical card game design to make sure they get it right:
Alongside the talented development teams behind the Skylanders franchise, we’ve assembled a team of experts across physical card game design, pro card players, and the top card artists to help create an authentic card battle experience with Skylanders BattleCast.
We don’t know exactly how Skylanders BattleCast will work just yet, but this commitment is an encouraging sign. Even though the full game won’t be available until 2016, players will get a chance to try out Skylanders BattleCast beginning September 20 by downloading a special preview app through their iOS or Android device.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Skylanders BattleCast
Splatoon Global Testfire returns on August 21-23

Are you a Wii U owner that still hasn’t experienced the unparalleled joy of Splatoon? Well good news, Nintendo is bringing back the “Splatoon Global Testfire” and everyone can give the game a shot this weekend.
To join the fun, you’ll need to download the “Splatoon Global Testfire” demo from the Wii U eShop. Then get yourself prepared to trade some ink this weekend, August 21-23, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) every night.
Splatoon’s “2.0 Update” has been available since August 5, so players who haven’t visited Inkopolis since the first “Global Testfire” will get a glimpse at a very different (and much improved) game.
Van Halen’s “Panama” added to Rock Band 4; More VH tracks available as DLC post-launch
Yesterday, Harmonix announced that Van Halen will be part of the Rock Band franchise for the first time in Rock Band 4. Originally released in 1984, “Panama” could easily be considered the band’s signature song (though “Jump” and “Hot For Teacher” might give it a run for its money).
If it seems surprising that its taken this long for Van Halen to collaborate with Harmonix, there’s a good reason behind it. Back in 2009, the band signed a deal with Activision to created Guitar Hero: Van Halen, the final band-specific produced before the series went on hiatus in 2010.
“For years we’ve wanted to bring Van Halen’s music to Rock Band,” said Harmonix CEO Steve Janiak. “Not only are the songs incredible in their own right, but they’re amazingly fun to play and perform, whether you’re on guitar, bass, drums, or vocals.”
If you need more Van Halen in your Rock Band, don’t worry, Harmonix plans to add more songs from the band’s catalog to the Rock Band Music Store after Rock Band 4 launches for the PS4 and Xbox One on October 6.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
Daily Scoop: August 17, 2015 – New week, new deals!
Happy Monday, everyone! Was your weekend filled with gaming? Mine was filled with brunch, comic books, and board games, as well as playing D&D, catching up with friends, and doing homework. All in all, I have to admit: I didn’t want it to end.
Anyway, let’s talk about deals! There’s less than a day left to get the Bandai Namco bundle at Humble. Pay what you want for Pac-man Championship Edition DX+ (All You Can Eat Edition Bundle), Platformines, and DeadCore. Beat the average to get Ridge Racer Unbounded Bundle Complete, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Premium Edition, Ace Combat Assault Horizon Enhanced Edition, Star Trek, and Beware Planet Earth! Pay $10 or more to unlock Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition.
There are 116 new Weeklong Deals at Steam! Reassembly is $10.04, Kholat is $12.99, Guns, Gore & Cannoli is $6.69, and Nom Nom Galaxy is $6.99, among lots of other great deals. The Daily Deal is Dungeon Siege III, which is on sale for $3.74.
Plenty of shirts today! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
Telltale has released a launch trailer for Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 4
If you’ve been following along with Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands, you’ll definitely want to watch the launch trailer embedded above. And if you haven’t been playing it, you have two options. You can either avoid the trailer like the plague, or you can use it to catch up with what you missed and pretend that you’ve played the first three episodes:
In this penultimate episode of the season, captured by Vallory and her goons, Rhys and Fiona are forced to continue the search for the Vault beacon – at gunpoint. The beacon is on the Hyperion moon base – Helios – while our heroes are on Pandora… so there’s the pesky cold void of death known as “space” to overcome. Even with assistance from a familiar face, and with a worryingly helpful Handsome Jack hitching a ride in Rhys’ head, getting on board the ominous “H” is going to take every drop of guile, and quite possibly all the spunk you’ve got. Sacrifices will be made – can you make the tough choices needed to succeed?
Whatever your choice, Tales From the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo will be available to download through all the major digital storefronts this week:
- Tuesday, August 18: PC, PS3, and PS4
- Wednesday, August 19: Xbox One and Xbox 360
- Thursday, August 20: iOS and Android
And don’t forget, developers from Telltale will make the trip to this year’s PAX Prime expo to host a special “Crowd Play” presentation of Tales From the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo on Saturday, August 29 at 8:30 PM. There will be plenty of giveaways and the entire crowd is expected to help steer the events of the episode.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Tales From the Borderlands
Limited Edition “Darth Vader PS4” goes on sale this Fall in two different bundles
“I felt a great disturbance in The Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in joy, and were suddenly silenced (in awe). I fear something terrible (to our wallets) has happened.”
With Lucasfilm and the rest of the Star Wars family now firmly ensconced in Disney’s bosom, the biennial D23 Expo is now home to plenty of reveals related to a galaxy far, far away. But the announcement of a Darth Vader-branded PS4 bundle might do more to empty the wallets of fanboys everywhere than a billion Blu-ray re-releases.
The Limited Edition system will include a profile image of the Dark Lord of the Sith and a standard 500GB hard drive. The included DualShock 4 controller will feature a red-and-black design inspired by Darth Vader’s chest panel. Each Limited Edition will also include a download code for four classic Star Wars games (Super Star Wars, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter), all remade for the PS4 with enhanced graphics and Trophy support.
However, rather than limit this system to just one bundle, players will also receive one of this Fall’s new Star Wars titles: Star Wars: Battlefront and Disney Infinity: Star Wars. The Battlefront bundle will be available at retailers everywhere, while the Disney Infinity package (which also includes a Disney Infinity Base, the Rise Against the Empire Play Set Pack, a Luke Skywalker figure, a Leia Organa figure, and a Boba Fett figure) will be released exclusively through Walmart.
Both versions of the Darth Vader Limited Edition Bundle will be available on November 17. A third bundle, which includes Star Wars: Battlefront, the four classic Star Wars games, and a PS4 system and DualShock 4 in Jet Black, will also be available on November 17.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Star Wars
Studio 4℃ is asking for more money for the Red Ash anime
Although the Kickstarter campaign for Red Ash: The Indelible Legend failed, the Red Ash anime campaign (Red Ash: Magicicada) actually succeeded, reaching its goal with a day to spare, and ultimately pulling in $162,882.
Well, that just wasn’t good enough for Studio 4℃, who have now set up their own crowdfunding page to squeeze more money from fans secure more money to extend the run time of the anime film. The new campaign is asking for $127,118 and, unlike on Kickstarter, Studio 4℃ will be getting all the money donated whether or not they hit that goal.
This new campaign begins several weeks after the Red Ash video game had to be bailed out by Chinese publisher Fuze. Comcept’s first game, Mighty No. 9, has also suffered its own problems in recent days as it was quietly delayed.
People can spend their money on whatever they like, but I am not happy with the way Comcept and Studio 4℃ have handled Red Ash: The Indelible Legend and Red Ash: Magicicada. I’m sure many others agree with me.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Red Ash: The Indelible Legend
Extreme Fallout: New Vegas “You Only Live Once” run comes to an end
On September 7, 2014, YouTuber “Many A True Nerd” posted the first video of a Fallout: New Vegas run that he referred to as “You Only Live Once.” Yesterday, nearly a year later, the series finally came to an end.
The name of the game is simple, or rather, the rule set is simple. “Many A True Nerd” wanted to beat Fallout: New Vegas, and all of its expansions, with a single health bar. “Many A True Nerd,” real name Jon, wasn’t allowed to heal his character’s wounds or radiation once in the entire series. If he took any damage, it would be a permanent strike on his health bar. His character’s name, Please Don’t Shoot, seemed rather apt.
In the final video, Jon reminiscences about the series and how it’s helped him and his YouTube channel, which grew from 10,000 subscribers to nearly 100,000. He beat the base game in February of this year and spent the last six months completing the game’s downloadable content, starting with Honest Hearts.
Jon admitted to making several mistakes over the course of the series, including underestimating certain enemies and walking into several traps including a bear trap and tripwire rigged shotgun. But he was able to beat the first three expansions, and entered Lonesome Road with less than 100 hit points. Coming into the final battle, he had all of 23 hit points to survive, and was on the verge of getting radiation poisoning, which would have dropped him down to three hit points. After coming so far, will Jon see it through to the end? You’ll have to watch the video yourself, embedded above, to see.
As for what’s next for Many A True Nerd, he wasted no time telling us how much more difficult the next challenge will be… An “You Only Live Once” run through Fallout 3. But hven he’s convinced he won’t get far.
The game where it’s absolutely, definitely, flipping impossible. There are only about 12 weeks left until Fallout 4 […] Honestly if I can get more than 12 or 13 parts through Fallout 3 “You Only Live Once” I will have surprised myself.
He’s laughing as he says this. Granted, he and everyone else said that about New Vegas. However, Fallout 3 is a much tougher game. With no gambling to quickly make money, a limited damage resistance system, a lack of different ammo types, more random events, and Fallout 3’s heavier reliance on combat, it will be truly remarkable if he can get through ten parts, much less beat the entire game (and all its expansions).
Starting next week, we’ll all find out together. Good luck, Jon, we have faith in you… somewhat.







