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: Etcetera
Microsoft reveals Halo 5: Guardians and confirms Fall 2015 release date
With this year’s E3 Expo just under a month away, Microsoft has officially re-announced the next Halo game. Halo 5: Guardians will be released exclusively for the Xbox One in Fall 2015, alongside the Steven Spielberg-produced Halo: The Television Series. This launch timeframe is technically a delay, as 343’s Bonnie Ross originally promised that our Halo journey would begin in 2014 during last year’s E3 Expo.
Apparently, we all misunderstood her meaning:
Many fans noted that I was very deliberate with my phrasing on stage at E3 last year. I spoke about a “journey,” rather than a destination – and that journey definitely begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step. We’ll give you much more information about our plans for this year at the Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing on June 9, and we’re confident that Halo fans will be pretty excited about the special plans we have in store.
I’m not sure I believe that. But it is good to know we’ll learn more about Halo 5: Guardians, which is being built with a “brand new and more powerful” engine, during E3. Ross also stated that Halo 5 will be a bigger game, in terms of both content and scope, than Halo 4. The 343 team wants to take everything they learned in creating the Master Chief’s previous adventure, “technology, aesthetics, performance and scale,” and expand on it for Guardians.
As for Halo: The Television Series, it will stand alone, but it is also meant to “complement and enrich the game experience” of Halo 5. We may find out a bit more about it during this year’s E3 Expo, but we’ll most likely have to wait until closer to the show’s Fall 2015 debut.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Halo 5: Guardians
Daily Scoop: May 15, 2014 – Nearly the weekend
We’re so close to the weekend, I can practically taste it! Anthony Amato and I have been working so hard on getting our game ready for IndieCade, and now that it’s been submitted, I hope to have some time to play games this weekend. After I do my homework and write all my articles, of course!
Let’s talk deals! There are lots of new bundles once again – Indie Royale has the Debut 13 Bundle. Pay the minimum for Toxic Bunny HD, The Howler, Data Hacker – Initiation, Memories of a Vagabond, Age of Conquest III, and ONE DAY for Ched. Over at Humble Daily Bundle, they’re showcasing The Banner Saga! Pay what you want for artwork and the starter pack; pay $10.78 to unlock the Variations starter pack; and pay $15 or more to unlock the entire game.
But wait: there’s more! There’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle as well – this one’s all about platforming! Pay what you want for Shank 2, Blocks that Matter, and Bit.Trip Runner. Pay more than $6 to unlock Bit.Trip Presents… Runner 2, Megabyte Punch, and Fly’n. Pay $10 or more to unlock King Arthur’s Gold and Mark of the Ninja: Special Edition.
And now, time for t-shirts! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Daily Scoop: May 14, 2014 – Bundles ending soon!
There are two bundles that are ending soon, so if you want them, you need to jump on them now! The Royale with Cheese bundle at Indie Royale and the Humble Weekly Bundle are both ending soon. The former includes Continue?9876543210, while the latter includes System Shock 2 with a minimum payment of $9. Scoop ’em up while you still can!
There’s a new Humble Daily Bundle as well – From Outer Space! Pay what you want for X3: Terran Conflict. Pay more than the average to unlock Universe Sandbox. Pay $10 or more to unlock early access to Kinetic Void. Finally, over at Steam, the Daily Deal is Volgarr the Viking for $4.07.
As always, I’ve got a few t-shirts for you! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Daily Scoop: May 13, 2014 – 14 Days of Bundles Announced
There’s something crazy happening over at Humble Bundle. Today’s is the Humble Deep Silver Re-Bundle! Pay what you want for Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row 2, Risen 2: Dark Waters, and Sacred 2: Gold Edition. Pay more than the average to unlock Dead Island GOTY, Saints Row: The Third – The Full DLC Package, Metro 2033, Risen, and Sacred Citadel. Pay $9 or more to unlock Dead Island: Riptide – Complete Edition. This is a great deal, but it’s only around for a day. Grab it while you can!
Other than that, the only other deals are at Steam. The Midweek Madness deal is Spec Ops: The Line for $7.49, and the Daily Deal is The Binding of Isaac for $0.99. Scoop up these cheapies while you can!
Lots of t-shirts again today!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
10 Actors (and Actresses) We Think Could Play Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect Movie
BioWare’s Mass Effect series has proven so difficult to bring to the big screen that, according to Screen Rant, it turned screenwriter Mark Protosevich from ever attempting to tackle a video game adaptation again. Legendary Pictures producer Avi Arad has hinted the film could still be five years away. His boss, Legendary CEO Thomas Tull, explained to Ain’t It Cool last summer, “If you’ve played it and you know the universe, you know it is not uncomplicated. To try to hone that, to bring that down to a place that will translate into screen storytelling… we’re pretty close, closer than we’ve ever been. We’re committed to it, but it has to be great or we’re not going to do it. We’re treading on sacred ground. We’re not going to be the guys to screw up Commander Shepard.”
Yet, who could the filmmakers cast in such a highly respected role? They’ll need someone with Shepard’s rugged gravitas. Someone who can carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders. Someone who can sleep with half the universe.
While we wait ever-so-patiently for Legendary to pull its metaphorical finger out of its alien orifice, we thought we would scour the galaxy for an actor worthy of donning the N7 Armour. But just imagine for a moment that some bright producer within Legendary had an idea, an idea that blossomed into something unprecedented in the history of film: they film the same film twice. One version would include a male lead, while the other would place a woman (popularly known as “FemShep”) in charge of the Normandy. I’m not talking about a sci-fi version of Sliding Doors here. I want them to actually release two versions of the same film, and the audience can choose which gender of Shepard they wish to watch, just as they do in the game. How many fans would go see both?
This, I’m afraid, is likely the only way we will ever see a cinematic version of FemShep. Yet, if the producers set the casting directors to task in finding the right actress for the role, who would they choose? Bearing in mind that the character’s appearance is fully customisable, it could really be anyone, but taking the game’s FemShep alternate cover as a template, let’s also have a look and see which starlet could save the galaxy.
So here we go, two Sheps (and two films) for the price of one. (more…)
Daily Scoop: May 9, 2014 – Weekend at last!
Well hello there, weekend! There’s so much going on the next few days that I doubt I’ll be able to play any video games. But I’ve been smuggling my 3DS everywhere lately to try to wrap up Phoenix Wright: And Justice for All, so maybe I’ll finish that while heading to Mother’s Day brunch!
There are just a handful of deals today – over at Steam, the Weekend Deal is 75% off Dragon Age: Origins, marking it down to $4.99. The Daily Deal is Darksiders II, which is on sale for $7.49.
Meanwhile, at the Humble Store, they’ve got Metro: Last Light – Complete Edition for $7.99, Orcs Must Die! 2 – Complete for $6.24, and DLC Quest, among many other sales. Those are some great deals!
And now, lots of t-shirts!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Continue Countdown #3 – CoD Advanced Warfare, MS @ E3 2014, Mario Kart 8, More
The film industry uses the opening of blockbuster season to signify the start of Summer. Meanwhile, the video game industry sets its seasonal clock by Activision and the announcement of the next Call of Duty game. This year’s entry stars Kevin Spacey and the staff of Warp Zoned took the time to debate his inclusion in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in the latest episode of “Continue Countdown.”
After that, the trio of Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo, Staff Writer Mike Ryan, and special guest Adam Woolcott talked about the expunging of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and the unearthing of Atari’s E.T. landfill. Next, they examined Microsoft’s Xbox Originals film production plan and their possible E3 2014 announcements before turning to Nintendo and Fatal Frame 5‘s Japanese exclusivity, Mario Kart 8‘s free game deal, and Super Smash Bros. 4‘s Best Buy debut. Finally, we say goodbye to Bob “Mario Mario” Hoskins.
9 Topics… 30 Minutes… And Go!
Posted in Etcetera, PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, E3 2014, Fatal Frame 5, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Daily Scoop: May 8, 2014 – More bundles
It’s another day, which means there are a bunch of new bundles available!
There’s a brand new bundle over at Bundle Stars – it’s called the Intense Bundle. Pay $3.99 for 10 Steam games – Rescue: Everyday Heroes US Edition, Gray Matter, Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars, Gomo, QuestRun, Adventure Park, CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect, Fortix 2, Hotel Collector’s Edition, and Zooloretto. There’s also a new bundle at Indie Royale as well – the Royale with Cheese Bundle! Pay the current minimum for Continue?9876543210, Cognition Episode 3: The Oracle, Yelaxot, Rogue’s Tale, and Too Many Me. And last but not least, there’s a new Humble Weekly Bundle – this one’s filled with games from Night Dive Studios. Pay what you want for Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant, and Shadow Man. Pay $5 or more to unlock I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Harvester, and The 7th Guest. Pay $9 or more to unlock Wizardry 8, System Shock 2, and The 11th Hour.
Whew! That’s a lot of bundles! In addition, Steam’s Midweek Madness deal is BioShock Infinite for $9.89, and their Daily Deal is Super Meat Boy for the ridiculously low price of $2.99. Scoop ’em up!
As always, I’ve got a few shirts for you!
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News