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
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: PC
The Video Game Canon – Pac-Man
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look back at the true stories behind some of gaming’s greatest urban legends, most of which seem to revolve around Pac-Man. Here’s a teaser…
With more than 40 years of history behind it, it’s not surprising the video game community has developed its own catalog of urban legends that have been passed from player to player over the years. Everyone who played it desperately tried to resurrect Aerith after her tragic demise in Final Fantasy VII, and we all heard stories about the “nude codes” that supposedly existed in games like Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat II, and The Sims.
Unfortunately, every one of those rumors has more in common with the hook man at lover’s lane than they do with the unvarnished truth. But some of the legends are true. And nearly all of them revolve around Pac-Man in some way.
Pac-Man is a simple creature. Just a yellow circle with a triangular wedge removed to represent his mouth. Some will say his design was simplistic because the designers at Namco were working within the hardware limitations of the day. Those people would be wrong. The inspiration for Pac-Man overcame Namco’s Toru Iwatani after he snatched the first slice at a company pizza party and noticed that it looked like a circle with a mouth.
But it gets weirder from there.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Anarki is a “Transhuman Punk” in the latest Quake Champions trailer
We still don’t know when its Closed Beta will begin, but Bethesda and id Software recently deployed another Character Trailer for Quake Champions. This time around, fans will get a chance to meet “Anarki the Transhuman Punk,” a drug-addled lover of heavy metal and hoverboards:
Anarki (Transhuman Punk)
Anarki’s rebellion began with the usual self-vandalism, but he craved something greater, and found it in transhumanism. Addiction, injury, disease… Why tolerate flesh if he could replace it? Using family riches, he underwent increasingly extreme cybernetic surgeries. After a microelectrode pierced his pineal gland, Anarki perceived a surreal, alien reality breakthrough! He eagerly sought more procedures, ignoring the insomnia. Each strengthened his perception of the hidden realm. But only once he met a girl who saw it, too, was he sure he could reach it.Active Ability – Health Injection: Taking too much damage? Good thing for you Anarki is well-versed in various performance enhancing … treatments. Use the Health Injection Active Ability to give Anarki a quick heal mid-match. Juice it up, baby!
Passive Ability – Hoverboard Air Control: Anarki’s hoverboard is a brutal bonus. Anarki is already one of the fastest Champions in the game, but the hoverboard means he can actually gain speed as he strafe-jumps around the Arenas, reaching a ludicrous velocity. In addition, his hoverboard awards a special Passive Ability that allows players more control in mid-air to turn sharply and chase down enemies or escape those who dare follow him up a jump pad.
Three Champions have been revealed so far, and Anarki will join Nyx the Fathom Agent and Scalebearer the Galactic Warlord on the battlefield in Quake Champions when it launches later this year.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Quake Champions
Here’s the first trailer for Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Telltale Games promised to release the first full trailer from their adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy today, and they delivered. The Guardians are up to their usual shenanigans in the 90-second clip, and it looks like Star-Lord’s team will tangle with Thanos in the first episode:
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.
From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Episode 1: Tangled Up In Blue will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on April 18. The game’s debut on “additional platforms” (possibly the Switch) will be announced at a later date.
First trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront II will debut on April 15
After a seemingly neverending stream of commentary from their executive officers, Electronic Arts has finally announced that we’ll get our first look at Star Wars: Battlefront II during this year’s Star Wars Celebration.
Fans will converge on Orlando next month for Star Wars Celebration 2017, which begins on April 13th. The four-day festival will publicize the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as honor the 40th anniversary of the original Star Wars. And on April 15, at 2:30 PM (Eastern Time), Electronic Arts will host a panel for “The Galaxywide Premiere of Star Wars: Battlefront II.”
If you’re unable to attend this year’s Star Wars Celebration, you’ll still be able to view the trailer at StarWars.com (and eventually, on YouTube). And don’t forget, the publisher will deliver even more news about the shooter sequel at their EA Play event during this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront II
Rally the Troops! Destiny 2 is officially coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One on September 8
“There will be a ton of loot!”
With that totally unselfish sentiment, Nathan Fillion’s Cayde-6 rallies the troops to take back the Last City in Destiny 2. Humanity has paid the ultimate price at the start of the shooter sequel, which is officially scheduled to launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 8.
Bungie wants to take players players on an adventure “filled with new destinations around our solar system to explore.” New weapons and abilities, and a “fresh” story, will also greet veteran Guardians and newcomers on the battlefield:
In Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lay in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy and his elite army, the Red Legion. Every player creates their own character called a “Guardian,” humanity’s chosen protectors. As a Guardian in Destiny 2, players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home.
The official Destiny 2 reveal trailer, “Rally the Troops,” shows two of the Vanguard, leaders of the Guardians, inspiring the people of the Last City in an impassioned (and occasionally sarcastic) call to arms. In Destiny 2, players will answer this call, embarking on a fresh story filled with new destinations around our solar system to explore, and an expansive amount of activities to discover. There is something for almost every type of gamer in Destiny 2, including gameplay for solo, cooperative, and competitive players set within a vast, evolving and exciting universe.
Bungie also confirmed that we’ll get our first look at a gameplay reveal during a special livestream on May 18. The broadcast will showcase “a variety of fun, action-oriented activities within Destiny 2, and will highlight the brand-new, epic adventure waiting for players.”
Unfortunately, your characters from the original Destiny will not carry over to Destiny 2. The developer is promising that all players will get a “fresh start” with the sequel.
Players who pre-order Destiny 2 on any platform will receive access to a pre-release beta, and Bungie is planning to offer the game in multiple configurations including a Standard Edition ($59.99), a Standard Edition + Expansion Pass Bundle ($89.99), a Limited Edition ($99.99), and a Digital Deluxe Edition ($99.99) featuring premium digital content. There will also be a Collector’s Edition ($249.99) containing a fully-wearable Frontier Bag, the Expansion Pass, premium digital content, and a Cabal-themed Collector’s Box.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment will be released for the PC on April 5
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment was one of the best games released for the Nintendo Switch during its launch weekend, but we have good news if you’ve been waiting for it to make its way to other platforms.
Late last night, Yacht Club Games announced (via their official website) that Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment will be available to download for the PC on April 5. The game is also in development for more than a half-dozen other platforms (3DS, Fire TV, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One), and each one is currently scheduled to be released by the end of April.
Players who previously purchased Shovel Knight (which is now known as Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove) will receive the campaign as a free expansion. But PC, PS4, and Xbox One players who have never played Shovel Knight before will also have the option to purchase Specter of Torment as a standalone download.
Two additional expansions (King Knight’s Campaign and Battle Mode) are also in the works at Yacht Club Games. They’re expected to launch before the end of the year.
Planescape: Torment – Enhanced Edition will be available on April 11
Beamdog and Chris Avellone have teamed up to bring Planescape: Torment into the modern age. The seminal RPG will be reborn on the PC (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and mobile devices (iOS and Android) as Planescape: Torment – Enhanced Edition on April 11. In addition to a gorgeous graphical makeover, the Enhanced Edition will include a number of futuristic new features:
Enhanced Edition Features
- Enhanced Planescape: Chris Avellone, Lead Designer on Planescape Torment, has partnered with Beamdog to curate gameplay updates, bug fixes, and enhancements to best capture his original vision for the game.
- Remastered Music: The full Planescape: Torment soundtrack has been remastered in-game to add more depth to Sigil and the multiverse.
- 4K Interface: Sigil has never looked this good! The interface of Planescape: Torment has been rebuilt in high definition with tons of new convenience features.
- A Planescape For Today: The Enhanced Edition includes modern features such as tab highlighting, area zooming, combat log, quickloot, and more!
You can learn more about Planescape: Torment’s Enhanced Edition by sneaking a peek at the FAQ on the game’s official website. And don’t forget to check out the Announcement Trailer for Planescape: Torment – Enhanced Edition, which has been embedded above.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC
Tagged Planescape: Torment
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 3, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5, MLB The Show 17, more added to PS Store
It’s another big update for the PlayStation Store this week, so let’s get right to it…
Kingdom Hearts III is still no closer to release, but Square Enix wants to prepare PS4 players with the downloadable release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMix. The compilation includes four full Kingdom Hearts games (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Herts: ReChain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep), and it offers the most complete look back at the franchise’s beginnings.
Telltale continues the story in The Walking Dead: A New Fronter this week with Episode 3: Above the Law. Now available to download for the PS4, players will need to help Javier find a role in his newly reunited family in the middle episode of this season.
Sports fans will have several new choices to choose from this week on the PlayStation Store, including dueling baseball games (MLB The Show 17 and RBI Baseball 2017), an old school hockey game (Old Time Hockey), and a boxing management simulation (Punch Club).
Elsewhere on the PlayStation Store, the “Play Collective” promotion rolls on with the PS4 release of Videocult’s side-scrolling survival game, Rain World.
Finally this week, Ska Studios will bring Salt and Sanctuary, their side-scrolling action RPG, to the Vita.
You can learn more about this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)