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
Star Wars Journeys storybooks to be released for mobile devices by Disney
Disney and Lucasfilm have decided they want to start getting kids more into Star Wars at a younger age – at least, that’s what Variety said about the first interactive storybook, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace, that was released yesterday. The app is only available on Apple devices so far, and the current plan is that there will be one released for each Star Wars movie up until Star Wars: Episode VII comes out. The interactive storybooks are going to cost a whopping $6.99 each. Yikes.
According to Variety, “The first, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace, is broken up into three parts, including a story mode that immerses readers into the film’s plot with custom-designed art and a unique viewing experience that enables users to swipe to reveal areas of a scene and unlock new chapters.” There will also be databases and games in each app as well, to get kids more involved in the universe of Star Wars.
Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace is available now on iTunes.
Techland’s Hellraid delayed to 2015 as development moves to next-gen consoles
Hellraid will miss another release date as developer Techland has confirmed the “first person slasher” won’t be released this year as originally planned. But the team, who also created Dead Island and Call of Juarez, has a good excuse: Hellraid is making the jump to next-generation consoles. Originally set for a PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 release, Hellraid is now in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The horsepower of the next-generation systems will allow Techland to add a variety of under-the-hood additions to Hellraid including “a physics-based lighting system, more detailed locations and character models, complex animations, advanced particle effects, and state-of-the-art AI systems.” While players will be unable to see these enhancements, they will directly affect the game’s combat system, which is also undergoing an upgrade. According to the developer, combat in Hellraid will feature a “class-free” skills system for endless customization, multiple different weapon types, magical spells, and “diverse fighting styles.” A crafting component will add even more weapons to the player’s arsenal.
Finally, Techland will use the additional development to implement three different gameplay modes in Hellraid. A standard Story Campaign, playable by up to four players, will be the main draw. But the game will also include a score-based Mission Mode and a wave-based survival challenge known as Arena Mode.
The full version of Hellraid will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2015 but an Early Access edition will be available through Steam this Fall.
Warpback: What We Played in April 2014
April was a crazy month for Warp Zoned! We went to PAX East and the East Coast Game Conference, played a ton of games, and caught up on our backlogs. Read on to find out all the games we played last month! (more…)
Tony Hawk’s Shred Session officially announced for mobile devices
Back in February, Activision confirmed that the virtual version of Tony Hawk would return to video games sometime this year. Now, they’ve officially confirmed that Tony Hawk’s Shred Session will be available for iOS and Android devices this Summer.
When it’s release, Shred Session will include two very different gameplay modes. “Survival” turns the Tony Hawk series into an endless skater that requires players to swipe and tap to pull off continuous tricks and combos for as long as they can. Meanwhile, “Shred Sessions” offers a more traditional Tony Hawk experience, asking players to complete classic objectives and rack up the highest score possible.
Tony Hawk, who is almost 50 years old, said that he is “stoked that Activision shares [his] vision for an original skateboarding game on mobile.” He is also looking forward to “[evolving] with new technologies” and taking Shred Session in a “whole new direction.”
Even with its smaller stature, Tony Hawk’s Shred Session will include a host of customization options including multiple pro skaters (Chris Cole, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Lizzie Armanto, David Gonzalez, Riley Hawk, and Tony Hawk), real skate brand apparel, and deck designs that bestow bonus points upon your tricks.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Tony Hawk's Shred Session
Activision unveils Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare trailer a bit early after leak
Activision was all set to unveil Call of Duty 2014 on Sunday, May 4. But late last night, the trailer found its way onto the Internet (specifically, Destructoid), so Activision sped up their timetable.
The next Call of Duty game will be titled Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and it will star Kevin Spacey as a private military contractor who is attempting to take over the world. To do that, Spacey’s character has outfitted his troops with power armor, cloaking devices, Spider-Man-esque climbing gloves, hoverbikes, portable bulletproof walls, and other futuristic weaponry.
Activision trademarked the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare name in 2010 (along with Future Warfare and Space Warfare), so it good to see them finally doing something with it. The game is in development at Sledgehammer Games and will be released on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One (with possibly more platforms to come) on November 4.
Call of Duty 2014 to focus on private military contractors; full reveal set for Sunday
Activision has confirmed that the next Call of Duty game, the Sledgehammer-developed Call of Duty 2014, will be fully unveiled on Sunday, May 4. Aside from a single image, the game has been kept heavily under wraps. But a teaser video posted to the franchise’s official YouTube channel has confirmed that Call of Duty 2014 will focus on a private military corporation (PMC) takeover of the United States.
To promote the reveal, Activision has partnered with Vice to produce a mini-expose on PMCs, which is embedded above. The video takes a very dim view of PMCs, so it will be interesting to see how the game’s story will handle PMCs and the soldiers that work for them.
Call of Duty 2014 will be released this November and is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game is also likely in development for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U as well, but we won’t know for sure until Sunday.
BattleBlock Theater gets Steam release date, free to Beta testers
That’s right – the Behemoth’s BattleBlock Theater is finally coming to a platform I can play it on! It will be releasing for Steam on May 15th, with a price tag of $14.99. They’ve even made some improvements (it’s unknown if these improvements will come to the XBLA edition):
Cats are fatter, weapons can be immediately switched, Steam Trading, Steam Trading Cards, alterations of the “better” variety exist for sure.
Cats are fatter??? Sign me UP. What’s even better is that anyone who beta tested the Steam version gets the game for free! That’s right: the Behemoth is bequeathing you a copy of the game for being so helpful. How awesome is that?
So mark your calendar now – you can get BattleBlock Theater on May 15th for $14.99 for Linux and Windows PC. Rejoice!
Posted in News, PC
Tagged BattleBlock Theater
Intake Review: The Only Time I’ll Tell You to Take Some Pills
PC and mobile gaming are crowded spaces, and they just gets moreso by the day. It’s not hard to find great games – and it’s not even hard to find cheap, great games. But what’s truly amazing is the fact that indie studio Cipher Prime consistently makes games that are both inexpensive and mind-blowingly good. Their latest creation, Intake, just shows how far they’ve come, and promises even more for the future. This intense game was released for the PC last year and is now available on the iPad as of today, and each one has its own appeal and level of addictiveness and fun. (more…)