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
Insert Quarter: Remembering the Wacky Games Released in a Console’s Twilight
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Now that the PS4 and Xbox One have completed their first full year on the market, it’s clear that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are slowly sliding into their golden years. The two consoles have lived exceptionally long lives, but now it’s time to say goodbye. However, that also means it’s time to say hello to some of the weird and wacky games that always appear during a console’s last days.
In light of the pending release of Yakuza 5, The A.V. Club’s Anthony John Agnello took a look back at some of these titles and reminisced about such strange offerings as Mega Man & Bass for the Super NES, Under Defeat for the Dreamcast, and Persona 4 for the PS2. Because even though those shiny new consoles look like fun, the party you’re currently at can get very interesting at the end:
Fashionably late: The same rules for when to arrive and leave a party hold true for video game consoles as well. Never show up too early. Is it exciting to get there before everyone else, maybe wait in line for a midnight release, sharing some weird, high-end booze you brought? Sure, but you’ll just end up buzzed before everyone else and playing lame games like Knack. It’s far more important to leave late, though. You never want to leave before things get weird. Parties and game consoles don’t necessarily peak when the guests do.
The full article is available for your perusal at The A.V. Club.
Posted in Insert Quarter
Tagged PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Yakuza 5
Ken Levine talks a little bit about his next game, a “sci-fi ish” “open worldish RPG”
Ken Levine, the creator of BioShock and BioShock Infinite, told the world about a year ago that he wanted to move away from AAA game development and onto something smaller. Yesterday, he finally opened up about the game, encouraging his Twitter followers to ask him anything and everything about it. Levine was still quiet about some subjects, but we know a lot more about the developer’s next game now than we did before:
1:25 PM: [W]ill it be first person or third? Current thinking is first.
1:26 PM: It’s a new universe, not set in any existing.
1:35 PM: We’re playing with something sci fi. Or sci-fi ish.
1:37 PM: [V]oice actors. But have to write them very differently so smaller chunks recombine in meaningful ways. Lots of headscratching.
1:49 PM: Still sticking to 3 act structure? [N]o don’t think that’s relevant in what we’re doing. [I] think more like chapters.
1:51 PM: A game with replayable narrative that can be added IN to like a [Civ] expansion pack, vs. say a Burial at Sea. [Responding to a question asking what he hoped to achieve in the long run.]
2:00 PM: [M]ovies that inspired this project? –Stylistically, yes. Been looking at formalism a la Kubrick and Wes Anderson.
2:00 PM: [N]ot really, because it’s add IN, not add on. Think [Civ] expansion packs. [Responding to a question asking if it’ll be episodic.]
2:04 PM: As of now, developing for [PC].
2:24 PM: High level of replayability. Or we have to substantially re-think.
2:46 PM: [I] think small open worldish (but not necessarily outdoors) [RPG] with quest structure coming from passion system. [Responding to a question about what the actual game will be like.]
So there you have it. Levine is working on some kind of chapter-based (but not episodic) RPG set in an original science-fictional world that will have a high level of replayability. Also, it’s not going to be revealed during this year’s E3 Expo because that’s not how he wants to show his game to fans for the first time.
Like I said, it’s not much, but it is something to chew on for now.
Posted in News
PGA Tour 15 pushed back to Spring; Need For Speed, Star Wars: Battlefront on track for 2015
Electronic Arts delivered their quarterly financial presentation yesterday and the company’s executives gave investors a quick peek into what they have planned for 2015.
Andrew Wilson, EA’s Chief Executive Officer, confirmed that a more detailed dive into the publisher’s 2015 schedule would happen at their next quarterly presentation, but he was able to share a few new announcements. First, Wilson revealed that the release of PGA Tour 15 has been officially delayed. Originally planned for an early 2015 launch, the PS4/Xbox One game (which won’t star Tiger Woods) will now make its way to stores in the Spring.
The CEO followed up that announcement with the happier news that the next Need For Speed game and Star Wars: Battlefront are still on track for late 2015/early 2016. Battlefront will be released during the “holiday quarter” (presumably to coincide with Star Wars: The Force Awakens) while Need For Speed will be released sometime in “Fiscal Year 2016” (which runs from April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016).
In addition to the titles mentioned by Wilson, EA has a massive number of semi-announced games in development including Mass Effect 4, Star Wars: Visceral, and Criterion’s Vehicle Game. While it’s unlikely that any of them will be released this year, we may learn more about them in future financial presentations and at this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Need For Speed, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, Star Wars: Battlefront
Dying Light, Grim Fandango Remastered, Life Is Strange Episode 1, more added to PS Store
It’s all about the undead in this week’s PlayStation Store update:
- Zombies figure prominently in Techland’s Dying Light for the PS4. The first-person survival game incorporates a day/night cycle and gives parkour moves to the player-controlled characters.
- The afterlife of the undead is the focus of Grim Fandango Remastered, a PS4/Vita Cross-Buy re-release of the popular adventure game from Tim Tim Schafer. Only Manny Calavera, a travel agent at the Department of Death, could make Limbo this exciting.
- The first episode of Dontnod’s Life Is Strange (available Friday on the PS3 and PS4) introduces us to Max, a woman who is able to bring people back to life thanks to her ability to rewind time.
Two decidedly un-undead games were also added to the Vita storefront this week. There’s the wacky RPG antics of HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 2: Sisters Generation and the dark puzzle-platforming of Nihilumbra.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break and a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dying Light, Grim Fandango, Life Is Strange
Ice to see you… Latest Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel trailer features Lady Hammerlock
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel expanded today with the release of the Lady Hammerlock Pack, which adds Aurelia the Baroness to the game as a playable character. Lady Hammerlock is a master of ice-based superpowers and you can get a small taste of that in the trailer above. “On the Rocks” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The Lady Hammerlock Pack is part of the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Season Pass (which is priced at $29.99), but she can also be downloaded on her own for $9.99.
Daily Scoop: January 27, 2015 – Blizzard dud
No, I’m not talking about the company, I’m talking about this epic snowstorm we were supposed to get. It turned out to be a major disappointment! I was hoping for a lovely day of hot chocolate and video games, with occasional glances out the window at the winter beauty. Instead, the snow is nearly gone already. Boo!
Over at Steam, their Midweek Madness deal is the wonderful Portal 2! Get one copy of the game for $4.99, or two copies for $8.74 (so you can play co-op!). Get it bundled with the first game for $6.24. The Daily Deal is Minimum, which is on sale for just $2.49. You can also get the Team Pack for $8.74, which gives you five copies of the game.
Don’t forget about that Humble Sale! There are lots of games on this list, like Tristoy for $14.99, Infinity Runner for $2.99, and Point Perfect for $2.49.
And, of course, there are always t-shirts… (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
Reptile hisses his way into Mortal Kombat X
NetherRealm Studios has partnered with IGN to release the latest trailer for Mortal Kombat X and it features a character reveal of one of the franchise’s favorites… Reptile!
The original secret character is back with a scaly costume that looks both fresh and familiar. Almost all of Reptile’s classic special moves will be included in Mortal Kombat X including Acid Spit, Power Slide, Invisibility, and Force Ball. He’s also got a new tongue stunner that looks like a ton of fun.
Mortal Kombat X will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on April 14. The game is expected to include at least 28 characters, so we’re going to be reporting on a lot more of these character reveals over the next three months.
Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age 3 lead all nominees at 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards
Another major award show has announced their 2014/2015 nominees and, once again, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor lead the pack. This time, we’re discussing the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards, where each game has secured five nominations apiece.
Naturally, both games are competing for the Game of the Year prize, alongside Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, and Shovel Knight. Dragon Age: Inquisition was also nominated for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Technical Achievement,” “Excellence in Narrative,” and “Excellence in Design and Direction.” Shadow of Mordor is up for most of the same secondary awards, except swap out “Excellence in Gameplay” for “Excellence in Animation.”
The winners of the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards will be announced on Saturday, March 14 as part of the SXSW Gaming Expo, which runs from March 13th through the 15th in Austin, Texas. The first list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Shovel Knight, Tabletop Games