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
Final Fantasy IX is now available to download through Steam
After a bit of a delay, Final Fantasy IX is now available to download for the PC through Steam. Originally released for the PlayStation way back in 2000, this is the first time the classic RPG can be played on a PC. And to make sure it’s a special occasion, publisher Square Enix has added a number of new features to Final Fantasy IX for its Steam debut:
- Steam Trading cards
- High Definition Movies and Character Models
- Cloud Save Feature… Allows players to back up save data to play across other compatible devices
- Auto Save Function
- Seven All-New Optional Booster Features… Including High Speed Mode and No Encounter Mode, which will allow players to automatically master equipped weapons and gear, as well as maximize character levels, magic stone counts and gil
And in case you need a refresher on a 16-year-old RPG, here’s what Final Fantasy IX is all about:
Final Fantasy IX tells the story of the bandit Zidane Tribal, who plans to kidnap the princess of Alexandria, Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th, with the troupe of thieves known as Tantalus. An unlikely series of events set Zidane, Garnet, the shy yet powerful black mage Vivi Ornitier, the loyal knight Adelbert Steiner, and other memorable characters on an epic journey as they learn about themselves, the secrets of the Crystal, and a malevolent force that threatens to destroy their world.
Final Fantasy IX on Steam will be regularly priced at $20.99, but it is currently available for the discounted price of $16.79 until April 20.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Final Fantasy IX
CoD: Black Ops III’s next Zombies episode is Zetsubou No Shima… get a sneak peek here
Treyarch will release the Eclipse DLC Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops III next week, but the developer couldn’t wait to upload a brand new for trailer the next Zombies episode to the Activision Games Blog.
In “Zetsubou No Shima” (which roughly translates to “Want of Despair”), players will guide Takeo, Dempsey, Richtofen, and Nikolai through an isolated island in the Pacific that’s populated with zombies, mutant spiders, and plant monsters:
Zetsubou No Shima continues the saga of Treyarch’s Origins characters as they find themselves stranded on a remote Pacific island. To survive and uncover the mysteries of the island, Takeo, Dempsey, Richtofen, and Nikolai will have to overcome powerful new enemies created within a secret Division 9 research lab housed there.
PS4 players will be able to download the Eclipse DLC Pack beginning on April 19, while PC and Xbox One owners will have to wait until sometime in May. In the meantime, you can also check out Zetsubou No Shima’s prologue, which is embedded after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
EA will add an Offline Mode to Star Wars: Battlefront this Spring
While Star Wars: Battlefront has been massively successful for Electronic Arts, many players were disappointed it continues to require an Internet connection to play as an “online only” game. Thankfully, it looks like EA plans to remedy that mistake in an upcoming Spring update.
According to the official Battlefront Blog, developer DICE will release a free update in “the next few months” that’ll add new in-game events, new Hutt Contracts, special May the 4th (AKA “Star Wars Day”) activities, and some kind of offline content to the game:
- New In-Game Events – More double score weekends, community missions and Special Login Events are coming for players to earn more experience, credits and items.
- New Hutt Contracts – Unlock powerful Star Cards like the Berserker Trait, Bacta Bomb, and Ion Neutralizer.
- More New Content – We also have a couple of surprises in store that we know our fans have been looking for, especially those who have been clamoring for ways to have more options to enjoy Star Wars Battlefront offline. More to come soon.
- Specific for May the 4th – In celebration of Star Wars Day we have cool activities planned that we’ll announce soon.
In other Battlefront news, the Bespin expansion will be released this June, and include four new maps set in and around Cloud City. The expansion will also include new Blasters and Star Cards, along with two new Heroes… Lando Calrissian and the bounty hunter Dengar. While the lack of Lobot is a blow to Star Wars fans everywhere, Dengar’s ability to look extra schlubby while standing next to Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back has made him a beloved part of the franchise’s lore.
Actually, no, that’s not true, not even a little bit.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront
Disasterpeace’s soundtrack to Hyper Light Drifter is now available to download
The haunting music of Hyper Light Drifter has captivated prospective players ever since the game’s first trailer was released way back in 2013. Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Richard “Disasterpeace” Vreeland, the maestro behind Mini Metro, Fez, and It Follows.
Yesterday, the composer released the full soundtrack to Hyper Light Drifter through his official website. You can listen to the entire album, which clocks in at just over two hours, in your browser or you can download it via Bandcamp for $5.
Hyper Light Drifter, a Zelda-like adventure in a heavily pixelated world, was released for the PC on March 31. A PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One release is planned for later this year.
The Hunstman: Winter’s Curse is an RPG based on the film… and its coming next week
Mirror, Mirror on the wall… someone is releasing a game based on The Huntsman: Winter’s War to surprise us all…
Desert Owl Games has teamed up with Universal Pictures and will release The Hunstman: Winter’s Curse for the PC on April 20. The Hunstman: Winter’s Curse is a card-based RPG and players will collect equipment cards to take into battle against the game’s many beasts and monsters. Featuring graphics styled like a storybook, the game will be offered as a free download through Steam, though the developer plans to release additional episodes to further expand the story:
The story begins with the game’s protagonist, Elisabeth, vowing to her dying father to locate and reunite with her long-lost brothers. At the start of her journey, she partners with a young man with mysterious magical powers named Marcus, who likewise wants to find Elisabeth’s siblings, but his motives are less than pure.
Players guide Elisabeth and Marcus through the enchanted world of The Huntsman: Winter’s Curse, outwitting foes and directing the narrative through choose-your-own-adventure style decisions. As the story progresses, the party will sometimes be joined by a third member, including fellow humans, dwarves and supernatural beings.
The Hunstman: Winter’s Curse will also be available for the PS4 later this year. And don’t forget, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, starring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, and Emily Blunt, will open in theaters next Friday, April 22.
NBA 2K17: Legend Edition will feature Kobe Bryant on the cover
Kobe Bryant will suit up for his final NBA game tonight, and 2K Games has decided to honor the legendary basketball player as the cover athlete of the NBA 2K17: Legend Edition.
NBA 2K17’s Legend Edition is a special bundle that’ll be available this September for the PS4 and Xbox One for $79.99. Prospective purchasers will receive a boxful of bonus items (a Limited Edition Kobe Poster, Two Kobe Panini Trading Cards, and a “Black Mamba” Game Controller Skin), along with various bits of in-game content (30,000 Virtual Currency, MyTeam Bundle+ with a Kobe Limited-Use Card, Nike Kobe 11 Retirement Shoes, Kobe #8 Mitchell and Ness Jersey, Kobe Hoodie, and more).
According to 2K, Kobe is part of an elite (and tiny) fraternity of players to appear in every game in the NBA 2K franchise. So as another tribute, developer Visual Concepts put together a special video showing the evolution of Kobe’s video game alter ego through the years. It’s been embedded after the break.
The cover athlete for the standard edition of NBA 2K17, which is also in development for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, will be announced this June. (more…)
Dark Souls III is here… and so is a Launch Trailer
Ladies and gentlemen, today’s the day, Dark Souls III is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. To get players in the appropriate mood, Bandai Namco and From Software have released a Launch Trailer that promises grotesque monsters, epic battles, and crumbling gothic architecture.
Souls fans surely don’t expect anything less from the series by now, but this trailer is still a great way to spend the next three minutes.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls III
First teaser for Titanfall 2 promises a PC, PS4, Xbox One launch and a June 12 reveal
EA and Respawn Entertainment officially announced Titanfall 2 today, and confirmed the game is indeed in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Unfortunately, this announcement is a bit short on details, though EA did unveil a pretty great teaser trailer for the game. Just 44 seconds long, the clip shows an escape pod being approached by a Titan with a big honking sword. I thought the “mech with a sword” scenes from Avatar were pretty silly, but I have a feeling that EA and Respawn can make it work.
We’ll learn more about Titanfall 2 during a “Worldwide Reveal” presentation that EA will host on June 12, as part of their Pre-E3 EA Play festivities.