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
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: PC
Pac-Man 256 will have co-op multiplayer when it comes to PC, PS4, Xbox One next month
Pac-Man 256, an endless maze runner released last year for mobile devices, is chomping its way towards the PC, PS4, and Xbox One next month.
In Pac-Man 256, players dash through a neverending maze level as they avoid ghosts, chomp pellets, and stay one step ahead of the dreaded “Level 256” glitch. But Pac-Man won’t need to do it alone anymore, because developer Hipster Whale is adding four-player simultaneous co-op to the PC/console version of Pac-Man 256. In addition to the main game, a collection of bonus themes will also be included in the game’s $4.99 purchase price.
Pac-Man 256 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 21.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Pac-Man 256
Dino Run DX has 60 new hats and heads available!
Hold onto your hats – no, really! There are 60 new hats and heads in the rad Dino Run DX, which is currently available on Steam for just $5.99. This is an absurd steal – $6 to doomsurf all you want?!?!
PixelJam calls it “The Indie Collection,” and be sure to watch the video to see loads of familiar faces from games like Castle Crashers, Fez, Hyper Light Drifter, Shovel Knight, and many more!
Dino Run DX is a remaster of the beautiful prehistoric multiplayer racing game, which PixelJam refers to as “the final evolution of the original game.” They’re currently raising funds via their own crowdfunding platform to add even more extra features to the game, and they’ve currently raised over $17,500.
What are you waiting for? Get your doomsurf on!
Neon Deity’s Bruis’n Cruisers channels Bump N Jump in first trailer
Bump N Jump is a lesser-known name from the annals of NES history. But the overhead driving game’s combination of bopping and hopping has made it one to remember for a small cult of fans.
This cult appeal meant that a followup to Bump N Jump was never produced. But the team behind the gonzo goldfish shooter Shutshimi, Neon Deity, clearly has a fondness for it. Just take a gander at the first trailer for their next project, the equally rhyme-y Bruis’n Cruisers.
Like Bump N Jump, Bruis’n Cruisers is an overhead racer where players will have to bash the opposing cars if they want to stay on the highway. And don’t think the developer forgot the jumping… each course is also littered with ramps that supply some serious hangtime. The eight-year-old within me is practically vibrating with excitement.
Bruis’n Cruisers is currently very early in development, but more will be revealed soon.
Soldier 76 stars in the final Overwatch animated short
Our long wait is almost over, Overwatch will be available beginning tomorrow for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. But Blizzard has one last animated short to debut before the game’s launch: Soldier 76.
In a previous life, Soldier 76 was known as John Morrison, the leader of Overwatch. He lead his team to victory in the Omnic Wars, a clash between robots and humans that took place well before the events of the game. Now, he’s a disgraced former agent, who still takes to the streets to dispense his own brand of law and order. Yes, you can take your pick… Solider 76 is Batman or The Punisher or Travis Bickle or Judge Dredd or any other one man army. But as the title of this short implies, he is also a “Hero.”
Blizzard has built quite a universe for Overwatch, and I’m genuinely sad that “Hero” is the final animated short (for now, at least). If you missed any of the others (“Recall,” “Alive,” and “Dragons“), I recommend you remedy that immediately.
Carl Edwards crosses the finish line first at All-Star Race to become NASCAR Heat: Evolution’s cover athlete
For some drivers, there was more at stake than the checkered flag during yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. That’s because Dusenberry Martin Racing, the publisher behind the upcoming NASCAR Heat: Evolution, offered the coveted cover athlete position to the first Toyota driver to cross the finish line. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex Jr. competed for the prize for 113 laps, but it was Edwards who beat out the other four in the end.
Dusenberry Martin Racing sent out this image (note the “Not Final Cover Art” tag) after his fourth place finish:
#CarlEdwards is the official cover athlete of #NASCARHeat Evolution. pic.twitter.com/TwbzortfBL
— DMR NASCAR Heat (@dmrnascarheat) May 22, 2016
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 13. And congratulations are also in order for Joey Logano, the actual winner of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
New Retail Releases: Overwatch, TMNT Mutants in Manhattan, More
Another week, another handful of new releases. However, one of the most-anticipated games of the last few years will be available on store shelves this week, so that’s certainly something to celebrate.
Blizzard began working on their secretive “Titan MMO” project more than ten years, and while the game was eventually scrapped, parts of it were incorporated into Overwatch, a unique “Hero Shooter” for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Rather than populate its game with generic character types, Blizzard chose to create dozens of unique “Heroes” for Overwatch, and they gave each one their own personality and fighting style. Overwatch is very similar to the recently-released Battleborn, and I’m sure the two games will be compared and contrasted for many years to come.
Also available this week is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, a Platinum Games-developed beat ’em up for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. Mutants in Manhattan isn’t a simple movie adaptation, and instead features a comics-inspired art style and an original storyline not tied to any previous incarnation of the Ninja Turtles.
Finally this week, a trio of lesser-known games will also be available on store shelves for the first time. The list includes Dungeons II (PS4), a tactical strategy game; Adam’s Venture: Origins (PS4), a narrative adventure game; and Tropico 5: Penultimate Edition (Xbox One), a repackaged re-release of the city builder with additional bonus material.
We’ll be back soon to look at the latest digital releases on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop throughout the rest of the week.
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will be released on September 13
Dusenberry Martin Racing, which formerly operated under the DMi Games moniker, announced today that they will bring back the NASCAR Heat series this September with NASCAR Heat: Evolution. In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the racing simulation will be developed by Monster Games, the same team responsible for the original NASCAR Heat.
Ed Martin, the “Martin” (and President) of Dusenberry Martin Racing, believes this partnership will lead to a new era of NASCAR games: “To deliver an all-new NASCAR game experience, we assembled an all-star team of NASCAR game experts and started with a clean sheet of paper. What the DMR and Monster Games teams have come up with is going to amaze NASCAR fans.”
NASCAR Heat: Evolution will immerse fans in the door-to-door excitement of stock car racing and allow users to live the experience of taking the checkered flag. Whether a casual or hardcore gaming fan, NASCAR Heat Evolution will dynamically adapt to any skill level and deliver a true-to-life racing experience. The new game will feature all of the top drivers, teams, and incredibly detailed tracks and environments, giving fans the opportunity to feel what it is like to be a racing legend.
Dusenberry Martin Racing is also holding a contest to choose a cover athlete for NASCAR Heat: Evolution, but don’t expect the typical online vote. Instead, the publisher struck a sponsorship deal with Toyota, and the first Toyota driver (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, or Martin Truex Jr.) to cross the finish line during tomorrow’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway will also appear on the cover of NASCAR Heat: Evolution.
NASCAR Heat: Evolution is currently scheduled to be released on September 13.
Shovel Knight is getting a series of tie-in kids books this January
Shovel Knight lives by the Codes of Shovelry, and the teachings of this ancient art helped him topple the Order of No Quarter in Yacht Club’s excellent side-scrolling platformer of the same name. Capturing the hearts and minds of nostalgic gamers everywhere after his 2014 debut, Shovel Knight will take on his greatest challenge next year… the Children’s Literature section of your local bookstore.
Yacht Club Games has partnered with Grosset & Dunlap to publish a series of Shovel Knight-themed books targeted at kids 8-12 years old. The four books announced so far include:
- Shovel Knight Guidebook, a 176-page strategy guide that includes all of Shovel Knight’s secrets and tips to defeat the Order of No Quarter.
- Shovel Knight: Codes of Shovelry Handbook, which will teach readers more about the characters from the game, “as well as tips for enhanced gameplay.”
- Shovel Knight: Digger’s Diary, a journal filled with “fun activities, challenging mazes and puzzles, and writing prompts.”
- Shovel Knight Mad Libs, which promises 21 silly stories from the world of Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club expects to release Shovel Knight’s final two expansions by the end of the year, which nicely matches up with the January 10, 2017 release date for the game’s first four tie-in books.