Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
- Breakout, Ripoff, Genre: How Fiction Outgrows Originality – Uncanny Magazine (2025)
- ‘I Could Make “Fart Fart Boobie Fart: The Game” and Maybe It Would Eventually Get Taken Down’ – Devs Reveal Why the Consoles Are Drowning in ‘Eslop’ – IGN (2025)
Most Recent: 3DS
Nintendo announces Bravely Second release date, Fire Emblem Fates-themed New 3DS XL
While European gamers will get it on February 26, Nintendo has announced that Bravely Second: End Layer will be released in North America on April 15. A Collector’s Edition of Bravely Second (priced at $69.99) will be available for those who want to spend a little bit extra and it’ll include the game, a 10-song soundtrack CD, and a 250-page art book.
If you’re unsure if Bravely Second is the game for you, Nintendo also revealed that a special demo version of the game, Bravely Second: End Layer – The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers, will be available to download through the 3DS eShop sometime before April 15. And you might want to grab the demo even if you’re planning to buy Bravely Second as the story you’ll experience in The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers, along with new jobs and areas to explore, will be unique to the demo.
Bravely Second isn’t the only RPG that Nintendo has on their release schedule. The consolemaker will release Fire Emblem Fates on February 19 and plans to heavily support the game with a series of downloadable maps. The first one, imaginatively titled Map Pack 1, will be available alongside the game’s launch on day one. Nintendo added that the Revelation expansion, which will offer a third path beyond the Conquest or Birthright scenarios, will be released on March 10. A special edition of Fire Emblem Fates that includes all three storylines will be released on the same day for $79.99.
Finally, if you don’t have a 3DS yet, Nintendo will release a fancy Fire Emblem Fates-themed New 3DS XL system for $199.99 on February 19. Unfortunately, the game will be sold separately.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Bravely Second: End Layer, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest
SteamWorld Heist Review: Hard Coiled
When Image and Form’s SteamWorld Dig released back in 2013, it didn’t just release, it kicked open the doors and burst right in. Nobody expected Dig’s popularity to skyrocket as much as it did, but it was well-earned. SteamWorld Dig was a fantastic game (as evidenced by our review) that brought gamers into a new, fantastic world. Soon, everyone clamored for a sequel to Rusty’s adventure; however, Image and Form had other plans. Enter: SteamWorld Heist. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged SteamWorld Heist
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (January – March)
After years and years of publishers packing the September through November “Holiday” season with an unmanageable number of new AAA titles, we might get a much more balanced release calendar in 2016. But can you believe it all happened by accident?
Video game fans have always had to deal with delays, but publishers got even more use out of their erasers than normal in 2015. Aside from the one-two punch of Fallout 4‘s E3 2015 announcement, and its eventual release on November 10th, no game felt safe… and more than a few big titles got pushed into 2016. So now we get to ring in 2016 with a release calendar that just might offer up something exciting all year long.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Amplitude, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia, Bravely Second: End Layer, EA Sports UFC 2, EVE: Valkyrie, Far Cry: Primal, Final Fantasy Explorers, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest, Gone Home, Hitman, Hyrule Warriors, Killer Instinct, Lego Avengers, Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mighty No. 9, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Pokken Tournament, Project X Zone 2, Rebel Galaxy, Resident Evil 0, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Street Fighter V, The Banner Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Walking Dead: Michonne, The Witness, Tom Clancy's The Division, Umbrella Corps, XCOM 2
New Releases: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Resident Evil Origins, Life Is Strange, More
It’s been a few weeks, but welcome to the first roundup of new retail game releases for 2016!
We start off the year with Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, a new RPG for the 3DS from the Nintendo. After years of keeping them separate, the publisher has finally decided to merge their Mario & Luigi series of RPGs with the Paper Mario series of RPGs. I’m a bit surprised it took this long, but maybe Nintendo felt they needed more time to prepare the world for GIANT PAPERCRAFT BATTLES.
Also available this week is the Resident Evil Origins Collection for the PS4 and Xbox One. After redoing Resident Evil last year, Capcom turned their trained recreationists towards its prequel, Resident Evil 0, which had previously only been available on Nintendo platforms. The publisher packaged both games together for a retail release, but players can also acquire them as separate downloads through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store (and Steam, for that matter).
Moving from remakes to re-releases, Dontnod has compiled their episodic game series, Life Is Strange, into a retail package for the PS4 and Xbox One. Players who missed out on Max Caulfield’s time-traveling adventures in Arcadia Bay will now be able to experience the complete story without waiting weeks between episodes. Also this week, PQube will re-release the Vita version of SteinsGate in a “Limited Edition” that includes a 2016 calendar.
Finally, get on the bus (and drive it) this week with Astragon’s Bus Simulator 16 for the PC.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Life Is Strange, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 0, SteinsGate
Nintendo Download: Metroid Zero Mission, Lionel City Builder 3D, Space Hulk, more
Wii U owners will get a chance to try one of Samus Aran’s earliest missions in this week’s Nintendo Download. That’s because Metroid: Zero Mission, an enhanced remake of the first Metroid game for the NES, is now available to download through the Wii U eShop. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004, Nintendo added improved graphics and several bonus areas to Zero Mission, as well as animated cinematics to help propel the game’s story forward.
Also available on the Wii U eShop this week is Space Hulk, a digital rendition of Games Workshop’s two-player strategy board game. Players will explore the Warhammer 40,000 universe from a new angle as they take control of a small squad of Space Marine Terminators that’s planning to mount an assault against a group of vicious Genestealers. A single-player mode has also been included.
Finally this week, Lionel City Builder 3D: Rise of the Rails will give 3DS owners the opportunity to create their own model railroad and the entire world around it. Choo choo!
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards have been announced with Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Witcher 3 leading the way
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 2016 DICE Awards.
Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider and CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lead all other games with eight nominations apiece, including “Game of the Year.” They’ll be competing for the AIAS’s highest honor against three other games: Bloodborne, Fallout 4, and Ori and the Blind Forest. All told, 53 different titles received at least one nomination.
“Looking at the nominees for the 19th Annual DICE Awards, I am especially impressed by the broad range of titles catering to gamers’ increasingly sophisticated and diverse tastes,” said Martin Rae, the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. “It is always gratifying to watch our industry and its many artists and craftsmen grow and continue to challenge and thrill audiences.”
In addition to this year’s awards show, Satoru Iwata will be honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award and Hideo Kojima will be inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
The ceremony for the 2016 DICE Awards will take place on Thursday, February 16, during this year’s DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. The full 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 Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Forza Motorsport 6, Helldivers, Heroes of the Storm, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mortal Kombat X, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rocket League, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be released for 3DS on March 18; Wii U version launching later
Get your torch relay ready, Nintendo has announced (via their Facebook page) that Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be released for the 3DS on March 18. The sports-themed minigame collection will also be released for the Wii U later this year.
The 2016 Summer Olympics will kick off on August 5, so we can probably expect to see the Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games sometime this Summer.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Nintendo Download: The Adventures of Bayou Billy, Hogan’s Alley, Wild Gunman, more
Dust off your Wii Remote, because Nintendo is bringing a trio of NES-era light gun games to the Wii U eShop today…
- Hogan’s Alley puts players on the shooting range opposite a bunch of old-timey gangsters. But watch out for those civilians!
- The Adventures of Bayou Billy does a great impersonation of a deranged 80s action movie as players will have to survive beat ’em up levels, light gun levels, and racing levels to rescue Billy’s girlfriend from Godfather Gordon.
- Finally, Wild Gunman transports players back to the Old West and asks them to compete in a series of high noon standoffs with a gang of outlaws.
More information on all of these games (and the rest of this week’s new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)