Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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: 3DS
Yacht Club will uncover a retail version of Shovel Knight on October 13
After selling more than 700,000 copies of Shovel Knight across seven different platforms, Yacht Club Games has announced plans to release a retail edition of the game on October 13. Yacht Club will self-publish Shovel Knight’s retail edition, which will be priced at $19.99 on the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One. Our friends in Europe will also get the chance to buy a boxed version of the game for the PC if they so choose.
The boxed version of Shovel Knight will come complete with the Plague of Shadows expansion, which Yacht Club says will be available for owners of the download version much sooner than October. Whether you own the boxed version or the download version, all Shovel Knight players will eventually receive free access to all the planned updates including the Specter Knight expansion, the King Knight expansion, Battle Mode, and Body Swap Mode. Naturally, Shovel Knight’s retail edition will also include a retro-tastic instruction booklet.
You can visit Yacht Club’s official website for an even more in-depth look at Shovel Knight’s retail edition and the upcoming Plague of Shadows expansion.
Star Wars: Battlefront, Fallout 4 lead the way in Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2015 nominees
The Force is strong with DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront as the game collected five nominations, more than any other title, from the Game Critics Awards in their annual Best of E3 competition. The Star Wars shooter is up for “Best of Show,” “Best Console Game,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer.”
Bethesda’s Fallout 4 and Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn can also be considered contenders after collecting four nominations apiece. Both games will battle each other (and Battlefront) for “Best of Show” and “Best Console Game,” but their path will split for the remaining nominations. Fallout 4 is up for “Best PC Game” and “Best RPG,” while Horizon: Zero Dawn was nominated for “Best Original Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”
Two other nominees will compete for this year’s “Best of Show” award including Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and the Oculus Touch motion controller.
The group behind the Game Critics Awards is comprised of representatives from 38 media publications, and they plan to announce this year’s winners on July 7. 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 E3 2015, Fallout 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Star Wars: Battlefront, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Iwata is Listening: 5 Things Nintendo Needs to Hear After Negative E3 Reaction
In a year when big hitters like Microsoft, Sony, and Bethesda gave exciting, extraordinary E3 presentations that included a smooth blend of new tech, surprise reveals, and gorgeous gameplay videos, the reverse is true for Nintendo. The company, who gave up on live E3 presentations two years ago, delivered a lackluster Digital Event that sought to highlight games due out this year or early next year. This effectively ruled out showing any new footage from the still untitled Legend of Zelda Wii U, despite the fact it was revealed at last year’s E3. Not content with backing itself into a corner with this decision, we were told that the company’s new platform, the NX, would also not be touched upon. Yet, given how meager-looking the titles were for the Wii U, it has led to rampant speculation that the company is holding upcoming games back for its next console.
In summary, Xenoblade Chronicles X was shown. Again. Super Mario Maker was shown. Again, and not just from E3 2014, but also from the Nintendo World Championships. Yoshi’s Woolly World was shown. Again.
3DS owners fared far better, with the announcement of new games such as The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes and Hyrule Warriors Legends, a port of the underrated Wii U game. There was also a new Paper Mario-esque title, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, and an odd Samus-lite Metroid game, Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
There were a few surprises for the Wii U, but not the good kind, and certainly not the ones fans wanted or expected, such as Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash or Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (which is, essentially, Mario Party with Animal Crossing characters). The initial reaction to the presentation was best summed up by our good friends over at Nintendo Life:
As a Wii U owner and general advocate for Nintendo, I was not as angered as many who chose to vent their anger on social media, but after Sony and Microsoft made pitch-perfect presentations, to say I was disappointed in Nintendo’s efforts would be an understatement. Nintendo President (and part-time puppet) Satoru Iwata seemed equally aware of the reaction from gamers and fans around the world, taking to Twitter to reassure them the company was listening: “Thank you for watching until midnight. We take the various opinions for this year’s Digital Event very seriously. I would like to continue our efforts to be able to meet more and more of your expectations in the future.”
Unlike many armchair CEOs calling for his resignation, I personally think Iwata has steered Nintendo through a stormy chapter in its history, and is obviously aware that more change may be needed. With that in mind, here are five suggestions on how Nintendo can improve for next year. (more…)
Nintendo announces Samus-less Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Another announcement you might have missed during Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event was Metroid Prime: Federation Force. The game, which retains the Prime series’ first-person adventure style, places a heavy emphasis on co-op missions. You and up to three teammates will work to eliminate enemies and complete missions.
When you’re done with your alien genocide, you can relax and play a game of “Blast Ball,” a three-on-three competitive game that requires players to blast balls into each others’ goals. Kind of like soccer with a giant ball. And arm cannons.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is set to invade 3DS systems in 2016.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged E3 2015, Metroid Prime: Federation Force
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes brings a triple threat
During their E3 Digital Event, Nintendo announced the newest entry in the Zelda franchise: The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. The game, which comes to the 3DS this Fall, retains the same birds-eye view seen in classic titles and, more recently, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Cooperative gameplay is a focus here, as each player controls one of three differently-colored Links. You’ll need to rely on teamwork, as all three Links share the same health. The Links can also hop on each others’ shoulders to create a Totem pole in order to reach inaccessible areas and solve puzzles.
Outfits will also play a role in the game. You’ll need to equip Link with different costumes in order to utilize their abilities. The Lucky Loungewear, for example, increases your odds of not taking damage after getting hit. Additionally, the Big Bomb Outfit allows you to carry and toss large bombs as if they were their smaller counterparts.
Tri Force Heroes is set to hit the 3DS this fall.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged E3 2015, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Nintendo Download: Nindies@Home reminder, Fire Emblem Sacred Stones, Fat City, more
Before we delve into today’s additions to the Nintendo eShop, the consolemaker wants to remind everyone that only four days remain in their Nindies @ Home demo offer. The program, which expires on Monday, June 22 at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time), gives gamers at home the chance to download nine demos that Nintendo brought to the 2015 E3 Expo as part of their “Nindies” initiative. There’s some pretty great games in the list including Extreme Exorcism, Rive, Freedome Planet, Typoman, Runbow, Lovely Planet, Soul Axiom, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, and Forma.8. I highly recommend exploring the “Nindies” if you own a Wii U.
Now then, onto this week’s new releases, which also includes the Wii U Virtual Console release of Earthbound Beginnings, which was originally released for the NES back in 1989 and only in Japan. But if you’re looking for something new to the Wii U eShop today, there are a few options…
- Nintendo’s Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was the second game in the strategy RPG series to be released outside of Japan when it originally launched for the Game Boy Advance in 2005.
- Heavy Iron’s Fat City looks to combine the “let’s pull off a heist” plot of Ocean’s 11 with the overhead viewpoint of Pac-Man.
- Super Icon’s Life of Pixel is a side-scroller that promises to take players through a history lesson of early gaming styles.
- Jose Varela’s Solitaire Dungeon Escape is a solitaire/puzzle game with magic card.
More details on these games, as well as a pair of new releases for the 3DS, can be found after the break. (more…)
Fire Emblem If will be Fire Emblem Fates in US; Two separate versions confirmed
The next Fire Emblem game, which is known in Japan as Fire Emblem If, will go by a different name when its released in North America in 2016: Fire Emblem Fates…
Two kingdoms at war – the peace-loving Hoshido and the glory-seeking Nohr – It’s up to the player to decide which side to take. As the prince/princess of Hoshido, who was raised by Nohr royal family, you will be torn between two families you love. Whichever path you take, you will face different types of challenges.
Your choice of which path to follow will actually be made at the store as Fire Emblem Fates will be released in two separate versions. Birthright will follow the story down the Hoshido path, while Conquest will track the Nohr campaign:
- Each path will offer a completely different storyline with a different set of characters to recruit as allies.
- The Hoshido path is a more traditional path as you work together with your allies to fend off Nohrian invaders.
- The Nohr path will force you to revolutionize an unruly kingdom from the inside – this path offers a slightly more complex story and will be more challenging.
In Japan, Nintendo also plans to release a third option as downloadable content where players can forge a neutral path by siding with neither family. A North American release for the neutral option hasn’t been announced, but it seems likely that it too will cross the Pacific in 2016.
If you’re itching to see Fire Emblem Fates in action, then you’re in luck. An E3 trailer has been embedded above and a video recap of Nintendo Treehouse Live’s extended playthrough is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged E3 2015, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest
Hyrule Warriors comes to 3DS early next year as Hyrule Warriors Legends
The rumor mill spoiled this one a few weeks ago, but Nintendo officially announced that the excellent Hyrule Warriors will be coming to the 3DS in early 2016 as Hyrule Warriors Legends.
Once again development at Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force studio, the portable version of Hyrule Warriors will include a cool cel-shaded art style and the ability to switch between Hero characters on the fly. The game will also include at least one new stage inspired by The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, along with two never-before-seen playable characters, Tetra and the King of Hyrule, from Link’s recently remastered adventure.
Hyrule Warriors Legends will also come packed with every piece of downloadable content Nintendo has released for the Wii U version over the past year. It’s currently unknown if the Wind Waker content will make the reverse trip to the Wii U, but fingers crossed. The game’s E3 2015 trailer has been embedded above for your viewing pleasure.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged E3 2015, Hyrule Warriors