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
Tremor will shake up Mortal Kombat X beginning tomorrow
Many seismologists believe that earthquake prediction is impossible. Someone at NetherRealm Studios clearly agrees as the developer has announced they’ll unleash Tremor, the fourth (and currently final), downloadable character for Mortal Kombat X much sooner than expected.
Kombat Pass owners will be able to download Tremor, along with Klassic Skins Pack 2, beginning tomorrow, July 21. Everyone else will get a crack at the character on July 28 as a standalone download ($4.99) or in a bundle with Klassic Skins Pack 2 ($7.99). The Skins Pack, which includes “klassic” duds for Kung Lao, Quan Chi, and Jax, will also be available by itself for $3.99.
Tremor first appeared in 2000’s Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, and has been a fan favorite ever since. It was these fans that encouraged NetherRealm to make Tremor a fully playable character for the first time in Mortal Kombat X. Able to control the earth itself, a trailer starring the latest incarnation of Tremor was unveiled during this weekend’s EVO event. It’s been embedded above.
Classic JRPG Odin Sphere getting an HD remaster in Japan on PS4, PS3, Vita
Atlus and Vanillaware, the publisher and developer of cult classic PS2 RPG Odin Sphere, announced today that a high defintion remaster is in development for the PS3, PS4, and PS Vita.
According to Siliconera, this will be more than the typical paint job that many remasters from the PS2 era receive. In addition to the expected HD visual makeover, Vanillaware will add “new battle actions, maps, enemies, [and] animations” to game, along with with “an enhanced fighting system and additional features to make the overall gameplay smoother and faster than before.”
The remaster will be known as Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir, a title I’m sure many of us won’t be able to properly pronounce for some time. And we don’t have much time to figure it out as the remaster is scheduled for a January 14, 2016 release in Japan. There has been no word yet on an overseas release, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted when that changes.
The original Odin Sphere was released on the PS2 in 2007. The game was well received, and beat sales expectations in Japan. To date, Odin Sphere has never received a sequel or spinoff, making Leifdrasir a welcome return for players who have missed out on it the first time.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Odin Sphere
Player skill to blame for negative previews of Devil’s Third, says Itagaki
The tumultuous development cycle of Devil’s Third is finally starting to get to Tomonobu Itagaki, the game’s Director. The Wii U exclusive has been beset by the bankruptcy of its original publisher, a rocky relationship with its current publisher, an engine switch, and upgrading to a new console generation in mid-development.
Itagaki, who is no stranger to speaking his mind, took to Facebookto blame Devil’s Third’s poor reception on game journalist’s overall lack of skill:
Guys, At last, I was be able to understand about the reactions. Devil’s Third is the game which reflects the player’s skill directly/vividly. This is truth.
Game developers claiming any negative reviews are the result of the game journalist’s skill, or lack thereof, is nothing new. But when game journalists are in almost universal agreement that a game isn’t very good, it’s possible the game might not be very good. Criticism exists to inform readers, not to wage vendettas against people the critic doesn’t even know.
Hopefully Devil’s Third will be a good game, and who knows, maybe the people playing it weren’t very good. But we won’t know for sure until the game’s launch this August in the UK and Japan.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Devil's Third
Warner Bros. to release “interim” patch for Batman: Arkham Knight on PC
WB Games announced yesterday (through their Steam Community page) that an “interim” patch is coming for the much-maligned PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight.
In the statement, Warner Bros. said the patch will “address many of the issues” they include in their last update on June 27. Internal documents obtained by Kotaku Australia claim that a full patch won’t happen until September at the earliest, so it looks like this update will be little more than a band-aid.
Still, the next update looks like it will cover a wide range of bugs. The patch will allow the game to run higher than 30 FPS, will improve texture issues, and “improve overall performance,” though what specifically that means remains a mystery. Don’t expect this to be the deus ex machina that fixes all your problems, but it should make the game run a little better if you’ve already had the misfortune of buying it on PC. The full list of planned fixes can be found at Arkham Knight’s Steam Community page.
Sales of the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight were suspended just days after its launch. Pulling a game from online storefronts is almost unprecedented, and can likely be attributed to Valve’s new refund policy on Steam.
WB GAmes has yet to announce when Batman: Arkham Knight will be once again available for purchase on the PC.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
Long-lost animated cutscenes from Crash Bandicoot emerge
One of many former mascots for Sony’s PlayStation, Crash Bandicoot, was originally going to feature animated cutscenes between levels. Footage released yesterday via YouTube, thanks to a user named “9Matt2,” gave gamers their first look at the animation, which had been lost for more than 20 years.
David Siller, a Producer on Crash Bandicoot, spoke to Crash Mania about the cartoon:
“It was based on ideas for where we were going with this IP at that time. It was probably too ambitious in nature and was also trying to be humorous. It was never used or even embedded in the game as a hidden ‘easter egg’ treat.
Once UIS licensed the game to Sony for publication, Sony did not want it utilized since they were heavily pushing the ‘3D’ agenda.”
The first segment of the video was supposed to be the game’s intro, while the second part was going to be used for the outro of the game. Crash Bandicoot hasn’t been heard from in a long time, but it’s always fun to get a taste of gaming history.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Crash Bandicoot
Weekly Warp-Up: Satoru Iwata 1959-2015
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
The only news last week was the untimely passing of Nintendo’s President and CEO, Satoru Iwata. Just 55 years old at the time of his death, Iwata wasn’t a prolific hitmaker like Shigeru Miyamoto or a big talker like Hideo Kojima, but his quiet devotion to video games has certainly made the world a better place.
Thousands paid their respects at Iwata’s funeral this weekend while thousands more have petitioned Nintendo to create an Amiibo figure to honor their late leader. After seeing Iwata perform hosting duties for Nintendo’s series of Nintendo Direct video, I think he would have enjoyed that very much.
More news from this past week, including our review of Kholat, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Wolfenstein: Old Blood, Zombie Army Trilogy, Onechanbara Z2, F1 2015
Two, count ’em, two games about fighting the undead in the waning days of World War II will be available on stores this week. And, interestingly enough, both are currently available to download through digital storefronts. The public has spoken, and they want discs!
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood brings B.J. Blazkowicz back to the frontlines on the PS4 and Xbox One. As a prequel to last year’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, Blazkowicz will get to do some 1940s-style Nazi hunting, but he’ll also tangle with an entire village of zombies. Ach du lieber!
But Blazkowicz won’t be fighting alone as Zombie Hitler himself is behind the undead shenanigans in Zombie Army Trilogy for the PS4 and Xbox One. A standalone spinoff of Sniper Elite III, Zombie Army Trilogy is a team-based game where the Allies have to stop this final solution for Nazi world domination. Ach du lieber, wieder!
A third round of zombie hunting is available to shoppers this week in Onechanbara Z2: Chaos for the PS4. Published by XSEED, Onechanbara Z2 features the further adventures of the “bikini zombie squad,” a group of Japanese sisters who kill zombies with swords while wearing bikinis… obviously.
Finally this week, Codemasters will release F1 2015, the latest Formula 1 racing sim, and first to be released for the PS4 and Xbox One. If you love open wheel racing, this is the game for you. But sorry, no zombies.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged F1 2015, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Zombie Army Trilogy
Kholat Review: Lo-Fi Scares From Russia
I don’t normally play horror games as it’s not really a genre I enjoy. But horror games from Russian and former Soviet bloc countries are a different story. There’s something about their style that shows they really understand fear. I cannot quite explain the draw, but I really like their ability to create an atmosphere where the surroundings and my mind are working equally hard to scare me. And when I heard that Kholat was from that part of the world, I knew I wanted to give it a try. (more…)