Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- 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
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
Battlefield Hardline will be available October 21… see the E3 teaser trailer now
EA just can’t keep Battlefield Hardline a secret. Their original plan was to reveal Visceral Games’ cops-and-robbers crime drama during their E3 Press Conference, which is scheduled to be held today. Instead, the existence of the game leaked a bit early. And now, the E3 trailer is out in the wild ahead of their press conference too. But rather than run from the rumors, EA officially released the trailer themselves, confirming Hardline’s October 21 release date in the process.
We’ll hear more about Battlefield Hardline, which is believed to be in development for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, later today.
New Releases: Enemy Front, How to Train Your Dragon 2
Like parents grounding a disobedient child, game publishers have told their new releases that they’re not allowed to leave the house while this E3 thing is going on. But a resourceful teenager will always find a way to escape into the great wide world. And this metaphor kind of falls apart when you realize I’m talking about a budget FPS set during World War II (yes, they still make those) and a movie tie-in game.
Developed by CI Games and co-published by Bandai Namco, Enemy Front is a first person shooter set during World War II that will available this week for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Although it is interesting that the main character (and thus, the main Nazi killer) is a reporter. B.J. Blazkowicz he ain’t.
This week’s other new release is How to Train Your Dragon 2, a game tie-in based on the DreamWorks film of the same name. It’ll be released for the 3DS, PS3, Wii (really), Wii U, and Xbox 360.
Tetris turns 30 years old today and creator Alexey Pajitnov still plays every week
Forget Pong. Forget Pac-Man. Even forget Space Invaders. The greatest gaming obsession was undoubtedly Tetris. The game, which single-handedly invented the “falling block” puzzler, is celebrating its 30th birthday today.
On June 6, 1984, in a country that was then still known as the Soviet Union, Alexey Pajitnov completed development on the first version of Tetris. Pajitnov, who moved to the United States in 1991, said he still plays his creation a few times a week: “I never imagined Tetris was going to be this successful. But the simple, yet addicting nature of Tetris still has me playing it a few times every week. I meet fans from around the world who are also as passionate about Tetris as me, and there is no doubt in my mind Tetris will continue to expand and bring its classic appeal to new players in new ways and on new devices, whatever they may be.”
Together with Henk Roger, the two men founded The Tetris Company in 1996 and continue to license new entries in the series to this day. And with the game’s 30th anniversary upon us (which they’re calling “We All Fit Together”), they’ve got plenty of cool stuff planned for this year:
- Ubisoft’s new Tetris Ultimate lands on PS4 and Xbox One this Summer (and on the PC in the Fall).
- Electronic Arts introduced a new mode to Tetris Blitz (iOS, Android) called Retro Blitz with shapes, styles, and colors that are an homage to the original Game Boy version from 1989.
- Tetris Online is joining in the celebration with 30th Anniversary updates to the Tetris Battle game on Facebook and the all-new Tetris Battle: Fusion game, now available for download on Amazon Fire TV.
- Rasta Imposta is bringing the Tetris lifestyle to adoring fans in the form of great Tetrimino-shaped Halloween costumes, interactive costumes and accessories.
- Robe Factory is extending the Tetris lifestyle into our everyday lives from the moment we step out of bed with plush robes and slippers, and into the bathroom with great Tetris designs on shower curtains, towels and rugs. The Tetris fun will continue on great new leggings, socks, footwear and more.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to buy a birthday cake for my favorite game and blow out the candles with my screams of frustration after I don’t get that long piece I need.
PAXpocalypse 2013 selection Pandamonium hits Kickstarter as Bearzerkers
We’ve had so many great games in our PAXpocalypse lists, and it’s always exciting when the indie ones go to Kickstarter. Pandamonium, which we played at PAX Prime 2013 and fell in love with, is now on Kickstarter as Bearzerkers – and it’s looking better than ever! The great team at Australian-based Wildgrass has been hard at work on the game. They’ve also launched a Greenlight campaign. There are so many ways you can help them succeed! They’re developing it for Windows, Mac, and Linux – but that’s just so far. Who knows what the future holds!
In Bearzerkers, you play as a Critter who is trying to stay alive by outrunning and outsmarting the giant, terrifying Bear that is relentlessly trying to kill you. But you can’t win just by running away – you can also trap the Bear in with your opponents, giving yourself some extra time by allowing him to feast on your enemies. It’s hilariously gory, and a lot of fun!
Check out the original prototype for Pandamonium at the Wildgrass site, and then try to look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to back it. Just try it.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Bearzerkers
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel celebrates release date with moon dance trailer
In honor of announcing the October 14 release date for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (and the imminent 2014 E3 Expo), 2K has released this awesome new trailer featuring a moon dance. Yes, you heard me right: a moon dance. Watch the trailer above to see it in its full glory. While it’s no Doomsday trailer from Borderlands 2 (that trailer STILL gives me chills), it’s still pretty great.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be released on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on October 14.
Shovel Knight will be released on June 26
I’ve been digging things up all Spring to prepare myself, and now, Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight has passed certification and is finally ready for release. Their retro-styled platformer will be released as a digital download for the PC (via Steam), Wii U, and 3DS on June 26.
In anticipation of Shovel Knight’s pending release, Yacht Club has revealed the game’s official box art and given everyone a sneak peek at the NES-inspired instruction manual via their official website. In the coming weeks, some of the game’s Kickstarter backers will receive physical copies of both.
And if you’re attending next week’s E3 Expo, you might run into members of the Yacht Club team on the show floor. And if you ask nicely, they’ll hand you a 3DS with Shovel Knight on it.
Continue Countdown #5 – Mortal Kombat X, Forza Horizon 2, Pre-E3 Predictions, More
It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the 2014 E3 Expo is right around the corner. The Warp Zoned staff spent a recent night chatting about some of the big pre-E3 announcements during the latest episode of “Continue Countdown.” We pre-pre-judged Mortal Kombat X, Homefront: The Revolution, Forza Horizon 2, BattleCry, Battlefield Hardline, and Hyrule Warriors in the first six segments of the show.
But we also wanted to worry and fret over a trio of delayed games (Batman: Arkham Knight, The Order: 1886, and Quantum Break) as well as speculate about what a Smash Bros.-style Mario Kart game would be like (spoiler alert: it would be AWESOME). And the eternal question (How much would you pay for an E.T. cartridge excavated from a landfill?) was answered.
Finally, we slipped a few E3 predictions in there. We’re probably way off the mark, but it’s that magical pre-E3 time when anything seems possible.
9 Topics… 30 Minutes… And Go!
Posted in PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight, BattleCry, Battlefield Hardline, E3 2014, Forza Horizon 2, Homefront: The Revolution, Hyrule Warriors, Mortal Kombat X, Quantum Break, The Order: 1886
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will begin stalking store shelves on February 24
CD Projekt RED has confirmed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 24 in two different editions.
The standard edition will include the game, a soundtrack CD, a softcover book exploring the game’s lore (“Witcher Universe – The Compendium”), a sticker pack, and a map of the game world. Meanwhile, the Collector’s Edition includes everything from the standard edition as well as a giant statue of Geralt battling a Griffin, a collector’s medallion, a 200-page artbook, and a SteelBook case. A price tag for the Collector’s Edition wasn’t announced.
If you need more witchery this afternoon, CD Projekt RED has also unveiled the game’s E3 2014 trailer, which is entitled “The Sword of Destiny.” Be sure to check out the trailer above and you can get a closer look at the standard edition and the Collector’s Edition after the break. (more…)