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
- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: Top Story
The G-Spot: Modern Warfare 2 vs. Black Ops
When Infinity Ward released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009, it launched one of the biggest names in gaming into the stratosphere of pop culture. A year later, at the time it needed to deliver most, Treyarch released Call of Duty: Black Ops, which not only matched the records of Modern Warfare 2, but shattered them. This prolific series fought its way to the top of the charts while spurning out ugly legal battles and one of the most caustic rivalries in the history of gaming. Now that the first map pack for Black Ops is about to be available on all platforms, it’s time to examine the comparative merits of these two games, and this is our focus for the second installment of The G-Spot. (more…)
Posted in Opinions, PC, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Stacking Review: Yertle Ain’t Got Nothing on Double Fine’s Puzzler
In a space where a million small studios are trying to make the next big hit, world-class developer Double Fine productions returns to the downloadable scene with Stacking. From the mind of Art Director Lee Petty and under the mantle of the legendary Tim Schafer, this puzzle-solving adventure game combines pleasantly appealing visuals and intuitive gameplay with the social commentary and quirky humor of the era of silent films. (more…)
Test Drive Unlimited 2 Review: A Modern-Day Fantasy Island
The original Test Drive Unlimited was a legitimate sleeper hit in the earliest days of the Xbox 360. Thanks to its combination of classic arcade-style racing, the stylish open world map of Oahu, and the introduction of Massively Open Online Racing (better known as M.O.O.R.), TDU garnered a loyal following. However, that was over four years ago, and for a while it seemed the Unlimited series would be a one-and-done. Thankfully, last year, Atari and Eden Games satisfied the demands of the followers by announcing Test Drive Unlimited 2… and now it’s here. Was it worth the wait? (more…)
Warp Zoned Podcast: Episode 4
They’re back! Mike Gutierriez, Nicole Kline, and Ryan Littlefield return for another podcast. In Episode IV: A New Hope, they go into detail about what games they’re playing, one of which happens to be the same game. You’ll also get to hear all about their awesome trip to New York City, where they visited both Nintendo World (and played a lot of Pokemon there) and the Sony Style Store. They also discuss the recent cuts at Activision, the downfall of those games with plastic instruments, and how it’s never good for anyone to lose their job. They wrap it up with upcoming new releases, and point out that these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.
And be sure to check back in two weeks for Episode 5!
Hard Corps: Uprising Review: A Contra Game By Any Other Name…
The definition of a “shooter” game has changed greatly since the days of the NES. In those days, a “shooter” was a game like Contra: a side-scrolling, brutally hard, assault on wave-after-wave of enemy soldiers, followed by a screen-sized baddie that flashed red when you shot its weak point. Today, a “shooter” more likely means a first person shooter as visions of Halo, CODBLOPS and Gears of War dance through your head.
But Konami has shown that the old ways don’t have to fade away as the publisher has taken great care to bring the Contra series into the 21st century. Recognizing the franchise’s trademark stlye, the most recent Contra games have been 2D side-scrollers that specialize in controller-throwing difficulty. There was the grittiness of the PS2 entries, the portability of Contra 4, and the 16-bit stylings of Contra ReBirth. Now, there’s the anime-inspired Hard Corps: Uprising, the first game in the series not to carry the Contra name. (more…)
Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Hard Corps: Uprising
State of the Video Game Magazine: 2011 Edition
As a technology-based hobby, it’s not surprising that video game magazines have faded into the shadows of the umpteen billions of gaming-related websites. What might be surprising is despite the move towards online publications, game magazines – once the only way die-hard gamers could get information, reviews, and run-downs of everything that happened at the important trade shows – have reinvented themselves in the 21st century to complement the 24 hour news cycle that runs in your web browser. You might think that print magazines are dead, or at least on life-support… but believe it or not, they might be at a higher quality than they were during the peak of the medium. Shall we take a tour? (more…)
A Eulogy For Guitar Hero: The Day the (Plastic) Music Died
A wise man once said that it’s far better to burn out than fade away. Apparently Activision agreed with the sentiment, as after a bit more than five years of rapid-fire releases, the company has shuttered the Guitar Hero franchise. Just 40 months ago the music gaming business was at its absolute peak – Guitar Hero III sold roughly 2.45 bazillion copies across a half-dozen platforms – but now the series is in complete shambles, what with the latest installment releasing with the authority of a farting ant. This legendary tumble from grace is no doubt why the company canceled the forthcoming Guitar Hero 7 and put the entire series on hold, perhaps permanently. Rather than harp on all that went wrong and led to its untimely demise, let’s discuss what went right – and what the future may hold if Activision dares to bring the music back. (more…)
Posted in DS, Features, Mobile, PS2, PS3, PSP, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: World Tour
Dead Space: Extraction Review: Pure Fun on Rails
Dead Space: Extraction is another chapter in the horror-laden universe Visceral Games created back in 2008. Extraction is a prequel to the first Dead Space, and shows the gruesome details of what happened aboard both the colony and Ishimura before Isaac and his crew got there. Originally made for the Wii, this rail shooter from 2009 was ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2011 with incredible results – and an HD facelift. Surprisingly, Extraction isn’t just another rail shooter. (more…)