Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
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: DS
505 Games acquires Drawn To Life license
While Nordic Games came away with the big prize from the second THQ auction, 505 Games managed to sneak in a winning bid for the Drawn To Life series. The Italian publisher bid $300,000 for the 5th Cell-developed franchise and that was good enough to win them the rights to the franchise as a whole as well as the previously released Drawn To Life (DS) and Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter (DS, Wii).
The sale of all THQ properties will be finalized during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing on May 13, 2013.
Nordic Games wins big at THQ auction: Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs ATV, more
An unlikely winner has emerged in the second round of the THQ sweepstakes: Nordic Games. The small publisher, located in Austria, bid $4.9 million to obtain the majority of THQ’s remaining properties including Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs ATV, Destroy all Humans!, Summoner, Titan Quest, Frontlines, Juiced, Full Spectrum Warrior, and over 150 other titles. A full list of Nordic’s acquisitions will be unveiled soon, probably sometime after the purchase hearing current set for May 13.
But now the question becomes, what happens next? What does Nordic Games, best known for publishing the Painkiller series, plan to do with all of these properties? According to Lars Wingefors, Nordic’s CEO, the company plans to embark on an in-depth analysis of each property and will eventually move forward with sequels to many of them.
“First and foremost we are very happy about this deal which also turns over a new leaf for the entire Nordic Games Group. In the long term, we either want to cooperate with the original creators or best possible developers in order to work on sequels or additional content for these titles,” Wingefors said.
To that end, Nordic Games has set up a special section in their official forums to solicit fan feedback on how to proceed with their new toys.
The first half of the THQ auction was held in January, with Deep Silver, Ubisoft, Crytek, Take-Two Interactive, and Sega participating.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Darksiders, Darksiders II, Destroy All Humans, MX vs ATV Alive, Red Faction: Armageddon
Nintendo Download: Lego City Undercover 3DS, Level-5 sale, a lot more
It’s another big week of release for the Nintendo Download, but once again, the biggest game won’t be available until Sunday.
TT Games’ Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins is that game and it’ll be available to download from the 3DS eShop on April 21. The handheld prequel to the Wii U hit goes back to tell the story of Chase McCain’s first case, back when he was a rookie cop wet behind his plastic hair.
But if you’re looking for something to download today, Nintendo has added the previously retail-only Tetris: Axis, Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns, and the following list of games to the 3DS eShop and/or DSiWare Shop:
- Mystery Murders: Jack the Ripper (3DS eShop)
- Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo (3DS eShop)
- Witch & Hero (3DS eShop)
- Working Dawgs: Rivet Retriever (DSiWare Shop)
Four more games will be added to the handheld download services on April 23:
- Puzzler Brain Games (3DS eShop)
- Puzzler World 2013 (3DS eShop)
- Puzzler Brain Games (DSiWare Shop)
- Puzzler World 2013 (DSiWare Shop)
Finally, the excellent Level-5-developed games Liberation Maiden, Crimson Shroud, and Aero Porter have been marked down for the next month on the 3DS eShop. Liberation Maiden and Crimson Shroud are on sale for $4.99 while Aero Porter is marked all the way down to $2.99. Highly recommended.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News
Tagged Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins
New Releases: Lego City Undercover, GoW: Judgment, Walking Dead FPS, More
Another week, another highly anticipated prequel. Gears of War: Judgment will be available this week, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Sidestepping to a shooter of a different kind is The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. This other game based on The Walking Dead used the television show for inspiration and stars the crossbow-wielding fan favorite, Daryl Dixon. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be released for the PC (download-only), PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U.
Speaking of the Wii U, this is actually a big week for new releases on Nintendo consoles as Lego City Undercover and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will soon be available for the Wii U. The 3DS will receive a pair of big new releases in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, as well as a portable version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
More new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Runner 2, Retro City Rampage, Castlevania: Mirror of Fate, more
It’s another big week for Nintendo’s download services… and we even get another Wii U game.
That game is Gaijin Games’ Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. The platformer, which stars everyone’s favorite monochrome mascot, CommanderVideo, is available today is both demo and full version form.
Also available this week is Konami’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate. The 3DS side-story that bridges the gap between the two Lords of Shadow games on the PS3/Xbox 360 is available now as a demo, with the full game set to hit the 3DS eShop on Tuesday, March 5.
Finally, this week finally marks the release of Retro City Rampage on the Wii Shop Channel. An 8-bit-styled, open-world game reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto’s early days, Retro City Rampage on the Wii includes the special “ROM City Rampage” mode, which morphs the game into a true 8-bit adventure that would have worked on the NES.
Hit the jump for more details on all of these games as well as three other additions to this week’s Nintendo Download. (more…)
THQ plans to sell off Darksiders, Red Faction, Homeworld, more in May
The THQ sell-off will continue this Spring as the publisher has announced that four major franchises will go up for auction as well as two compilations of lesser franchises.
Darksiders (which went unsold at the initial THQ auction), Red Faction, Homeworld, and the MX racing franchise have all been put on the block by THQ. The company will also sell the rights to a package of original properties (including Big Beach Sports, Destroy All Humans!, Summomner, and others) and a package of licensed games (Marvel Super Hero, Supreme Commander, Worms, and others). A new owner for each franchise will be chosen sometime in May.
If you’ve ever wanted to own a formerly top-selling video game franchise, you should get in touch with THQ by emailing them at auction@thq.com by April 1. But be aware, you’ll be expected to show proof of funds in case your bid is selected by the creditors committee.
Of course, how much could something like Destroy All Humans! (which, admittedly, I love) actually go for?
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Darksiders, Darksiders II, Destroy All Humans, Homeworld, Homeworld 2, Red Faction: Armageddon
Nintendo Download: Puddle, Ikachan, Fire Emblem Awakening on Monday, more
A handful of new games were added to Nintendo’s download services today:
- The tilt-controlled puzzler Puddle is now available on the Wii U eShop.
- Ikachan, the latest game from Nicalis, has been added to the 3DS eShop.
- As has the NES classic Ice Climber.
- The Wii Virtual Console is still kicking as well with the addition of Metal Slug 4.
And on Monday, the next Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Awakening, will be available to download from the 3DS eShop.
More information on all of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo gives release dates to Lego City, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and many more
Nintendo has announced new release dates for many of the Wii U’s “launch window” games including Lego City: Undercover and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
The Grand Theft Auto-like Lego City: Undercover will be released on March 18 while the monster mash that is Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will be available a day later on March 19 (a demo will be added to the Wii U eShop on February 21). Sadly, two of the biggest “launch window” games, Aliens: Colonial Marines and Bit.Trip Runner 2, are still without release dates.
Nintendo also took this opportunity to tag the Lego City 3DS spinoff, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, with an official release date. Lovers of all things Lego will be able to purchase it on April 21.
Hit the break for a look at the complete Winter/Spring release calendar for all four of Nintendo’s currently active platforms. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate