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
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4 will hit Steam on September 18
Crickey mates! Throw some prawn on the barbie and come on down to the Outback, another Ty the Tasmanian Tiger game is in the works!
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger was just one of many in the large stable of PS2-era 3D platformers… and the bane of editors everywhere for it’s alliteration. Ty 3: Night of the Quinkan was the last in the series, released way back in 2005 for the PS2 and Xbox. Now, more than an entire console generation later, the franchise is coming back with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4. And it’s set to be released exclusively for the PC (via Steam… sorry console owners. In addition to moving platforms, the new game will shift planes and take place entirely in 2D… sorry 3D platformer fans.
Perhaps the weirdest bit of news, besides the fact that this fourth game exists at all, is that it’s coming out in only a few weeks on September 18. It’s rare for a game to be formally announced this close to its release date, but we’re going to have to give Krome Studios the benefit of the doubt.
If Ty 4 is a success, Krome hopes to bring the three earlier entries in the series to Steam as well. Hopefully, fans of the franchise can make that happen. But first, I’m going to go ahead and write a few million apology notes to everyone in Australia.
Black Holmes is the next game from the developer of Hatoful Boyfriend
Hatoful Boyfriend, a pigeon dating sim, is a real game that exists. It is also genuinely regarded as a pretty good game by contributors to the Metacritic average. And despite being a game about dating pigeons, it eventually even found its way to the PS4 and Vita.
You know a developer has to be good when they make a game about the mating habit of teenage pigeons and people legitimately love it.
That developer, Moa Hato, recently announced Black Holmes, his next romance game… minus the pigeons this time. Black Holmes was revealed through its own new website, which is all in Japanese. However, Warp Zoned’s highly skilled team of translators, lead by Goog L. Tran-Slate (it’s French), were able to gather some facts about the game.
It’s not clear where the name “Black” Holmes comes from, but the star of the game is indeed a detective named Holmes. Rather than Sherlock, the main character is Noah Holmes, and he “loves the crime bad conduct detective.” Don’t we all?
The site doesn’t have much to offer besides that, a few pictures, and the briefest of plot summaries:
1889, London.
Dazzling light prosperity and civilization has brought dropped a well-colored shadow on society, Malicious people in stagnation had undergone a deepening.
Human history and criminal history just like coins of both sides. Crime In response to the evolution of civilization also will increase the diversity.
This is a detective that has been fascinated with the art serving crime that gave birth of humanity, He committed the crime lord of the story.
Judging by the artwork available, Black Holmes will likely have a manga feel to it. We also know it’ll be another visual novel, like Hatoful Boyfriend, and may be released episodically.
As a big fan of visual novels and Sherlock Holmes, this kind of game seems right up my alley. Look forward to more information about the game when we can get our hands on it… and when Goog L. Tran-Slate can be bothered to do his job.
Nintendo will add “Rainmaker” to Splatoon’s Ranked Battle Mode on August 14
Splatoon is getting a “Capture the Flag” mode as Nintendo has announced that the “Rainmaker” match type will be available to play in Ranked Battle Mode beginning tomorrow night (August 14) at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time). Writing on the Squid Research Lab blog, here’s what Nintendo had to say about the new mode:
Introducing…. Rainmaker! In Rainmaker, both teams compete to snag the, uhhh, Rainmaker. Once you’ve got it, the goal is to carry it into the other team’s base!
How’s it work, you ask? As soon as the battle begins, grab onto that Rainmaker! It’s guarded by a shield, though, so you’ll need to bust it out first. Once you snag it, head for the other team’s base. And be quick about it!
If you run out of time or get splatted, the Rainmaker will be dropped and its shield will also reactivate. The Rainmaker is crazy heavy, so you can’t Super Jump while carrying it. Hopefully your teammates will watch your back!
The Rainmaker doesn’t just sit there and look pretty. It can also shoot ink like an Inkzooka and has an extra-powerful charge shot too. It’s also booby-trapped, so if you don’t make it to the other team’s base in time, it’ll blow up in your face.
A batch of new screenshots from the Rainmaker match type are also available at the Squid Research Lab blog.
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Charts… Lego Jurassic World is best-selling game of July ’15
July is not typically a very strong month for new game releases, and only a single new title was able to crack the NPD Group’s recounting of the ten best-selling games of the month. But it was Lego Jurassic World, a June release, that sits at the top of the sales food chain this month.
Debuting at #3 in the NPD’s June report, Lego Jurassic World likely got a boost from the tremendous box office support for the film. After nearly nine weeks in theaters, the film has earned more than $636 million. Only Titanic ($658 million) and Avatar ($760 million) have made more money at the domestic box office.
While it’s unlikely that Lego Jurassic World will reach those heights, the game is another hit for WB Games, which had yet another big month in July. Batman: Arkham Knight (#2) and Mortal Kombat X (#8) once again both landed in the top ten.
The only new release to break into the top ten last month was EA’s Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. Before McIlroy, Tiger Woods had been PGA Tour’s pitchman for more than 15 years. As great as Tiger used to be, it looks like EA doesn’t need him to sell their golf game.
Finally this month, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that overall sales of all game-related items (hardware, software, and accessories) is roughly even with July 2014. Both July 2014 and July 2015 produced around $184 million in total sales.
The complete top ten for July 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Jurassic World, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat X, NPD, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, The Elder Scrolls Online
Energy Hook is now available through Steam Early Access
Do you ever wish Spider-Man had a jetpack and competed in a futuristic sport based entirely around webswinging? Jamie Fristrom of Happion Labs has had that dream, and he’s using it as the basis of his next game, Energy Hook. However, Fristrom has a little more experience with this idea than most, as he was the original designer behind the webswinging mechanic in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.
After a variety of delays, we won’t have to wait much longer to play it as the developer announced that Energy Hook will be available through Steam Early Access beginning today.
Happion Labs expects to keep Energy Hook in Early Access for about four months and is also developing a version of the game for the PS4 and Vita. Presumably, we’ll learn more about Energy Hook’s full version (and its console launch) at a later date.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Vita
Tagged Energy Hook
Nintendo Download: Pandora’s Tower, Wind-Up Knight 2, more
One of the last major games released for the Wii, Pandora’s Tower, is now available to download through the Wii U eShop. Developed by Ganbarion, and originally released in April 2013, Pandora’s Tower tells the “haunting tale [of] a cursed young woman’s slow transformation into a hideous beast, and the lengths to which the man she loves will go in order to save her.” Best of all, it’s priced at $20, well below the price tag most online retailers are currently seeking for a new copy.
Over on the 3DS eShop, there’s a pair of new licensed that should keep all the kids out there entertained. Paddington: Adventures in London asks players to guide the titular bear through the streets of London as he does good deeds for its citizens. And in Garfield Kart, players get behind the wheel in a kart racing game that stars the lasagna-eating cat and all his friends. I’ll let someone else make the Toonces joke…
Actually, I might be the only one that still remembers Toonces.
Anyway, more information on all of this week’s new eShop releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Pandora's Tower
Final Fantasy XV will be released in every territory on the same date
Final Fantasy XV is expected to be released sometime in 2016. We don’t yet know the exact date, but we now know that the game will receive a simultaneous global launch… a first for the series. Director Hajime Tabata confirmed the good news to to GameSpot during last week’s Gamescom expo:
“This may be something that we are little bit embarrassed to talk about, but really, this is the first time that we’ve done a packaged, standalone Final Fantasy game with a simultaneous global launch, so we didn’t have the setup to deal with that, really. The first thing we had to do was rearrange our internal structure to create something that could do that. That was the first important work on the project.”
Typically, it takes three-to-six months after its Japanese launch for a game in the Final Fantasy series to make its English-language debut. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the most recent game in the series (not counting Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and its expansion) and it made it across the Pacific in a relatively quick two months and 21 days.
Final Fantasy XV is in development for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy XV, Gamescom 2015
Daily Scoop: August 13, 2015 – New Humble Weekly Bundle!
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: it’s Philly Dev Night! Stop by, hang out, play games, talk shop. It’s fun!
There’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle: The Return of Space Boy! Pay what you want for Steam Marines, ROCKETSROCKETSROCKETS, and early access to StarMade. Beat the average to get Interplanetary, Starwhal, and early access to Edge of Space. Pay $10 or more to unlock Reassembly.
There’s a Kalypso Anniversary Sale right now over at Steam. Pick up classics like Tropico 5 for $9.99, Omerta – City of Gangsters is $4.99, and Rise of Venice is $6.24. The Daily Deal is Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition for $4.99.
Just a few shirts today… (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop