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
Get to know Diablo III: Reaper of Souls’ new character class: The Crusader
Diablo III‘s first expansion, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, will be available exclusively for the PC at the end of the month. In addition to a higher level cap and several new gameplay modes, the expansion will give players the option of a new character class: The Crusader.
The Crusader’s origin, and his/her ability to dole out divine justice, is explored in a new trailer for Reaper of Souls that was released today by Blizzard.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be available for the PC on March 25. The expansion will also be released for the PS4 sometime this year as part of the “Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition” bundle.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Diablo III
CD Projekt pushes the release of The Witcher 3 into 2015
CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was one of the first games announced for the (then nameless) next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Originally scheduled to launch for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC in late 2014, CD Projekt RED confirmed today that the release of The Witcher 3 has been delayed.
In an open letter to fans and shareholders, the Managing Board of CD Projekt RED has revealed that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will now be released in February 2015. The development team believes that the delay will give them enough time to create the game that gamers expect from them:
We recently reexamined what we had achieved thus far, and faced a choice about the game’s final release date. The decision we made was difficult, thoroughly considered, and ultimately clear and obvious. We could have released the game towards the end of this year as we had initially planned. Yet we concluded that a few additional months will let us achieve the quality that will satisfy us, the quality gamers expect from us. Consequently, we have set the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for February 2015.
The full text of the letter can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided Review: Strength In Numbers
Telltale’s Walking Dead games can be tough to review. The series is so heavily focused on story that it becomes increasingly difficult to write a review without giving away some of the finer plot details. In the Walking Dead universe, characters you’ve grown attached to are taken away in the blink of an eye, and if you know what will happen beforehand, the emotional impact is greatly lessened. In that regard, I’ve opted to provide a separate, spoiler-free review of The Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided. That way, those of you who haven’t played the game can read on, knowing that nothing will be ruined. I promise to avoid any specific information or plot points throughout the rest of the review, so you can still feel confident in reading the entire review without learning too much.
Spoiler-Free Review: The game is amazing – go buy it right now!
OK, now that we have that out of the way, on with the review. (more…)
Double Fine treats us to a Costume Quest 2 announcement
Double Fine has begun development on their first sequel as the Tim Schafer-led studio announced today that Costume Quest 2 will be available for the PC and consoles this October. The developer has partnered with Midnight City, Majesco’s indie publishing label, to bring gamers back to the world of one of their first hits:
In Double Fine’s triumphant return to Auburn Pines, our candy-crazed crusaders Wren and Reynold must once again protect Halloween from untold horrors, and grown-ups! Your favorite trick-or-treaters will come armed with a new batch of costumes they wear to transform into giant super powered fantasy Hallowarriors. Yeah, we totally just made that up. Fans of the original can look forward to a sweet upgraded battle system and a story that is unmistakably Double Fine.
Tim Schafer is absolutely thrilled about the return of Costume Quest: “Whenever Halloween came around, I felt like something was missing. No matter how many pumpkins I carved, apples I bobbed, or candy I ate, it just couldn’t fill the big spooky hole inside of me. But then I realized what was missing: I needed more Costume Quest. And also, I really wanted a T-Shirt with glowing skulls on it.”
While it doesn’t include any glowing skulls, I recommend checking out Costume Quest 2’s wacky “Announcement Trailer” above.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Costume Quest 2
PC version of Dark Souls II will be released on April 25
Dark Souls II will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 next week, so now is the perfect time for Bandai Namco to announce that game will be available for the PC on April 25.
The PC edition of Dark Souls II will be the only version of the game to include “increased texture resolution with enhanced frame rates” as well as a keyboard/mouse control option. Players who pre-order the PC edition through Steam, GameStop, Amazon, or ClubNamco will receive a plethora of digital goodies including an Official Digital Dark Souls II Artbook (PDF), an Original Dark Souls II Digital Comic Book written by Rob Williams and Andi Ewington with art by Simon Coleby (PDF), the Complete Digital Game Soundtrack (MP3), and the five special weapons and shields found in the Black Armor Pack.
However, if you like your special editions to include tangible goodies, then the $109.99 Collector’s Edition is for you. Available only through GameStop, Amazon, and ClubNamco, the Collector’s Edition includes a digital download code for the game, a metal case, a 12″ tall Warrior Knight figurine, an exclusive hardbound Art Book, the original game soundtrack, and a cloth map.
And once Dark Souls II is released, I’m sure you can use the map to dry your tears after the brutal AI kills off your character over and over and over again.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Dark Souls II
BattleBlock Theater will jump ship to Steam soon
Friends! Gather round as I share with you the gloriously good news that BattleBlock Theater will be released for the PC through Steam sometime in 2014.
BattleBlock Theater was originally released last year for the Xbox Live Arcade and took home two Golden Pixel Awards in our 2013 year-end overview. So introducing more prisoners friends to Hatty Hattington and the S.S. Friendship is just about the greatest news you could read at 12:03 PM on a lazy Friday. OK, so my “deranged BattleBlock Theater narrator” needs a little work. Thankfully, I’ll have plenty of reasons to jump into the Steam version of the game as The Behemoth (via their blog) has announced plans to add several new features to the game:
- Weapon Switching! Players can now switch between a primary and secondary weapon in game.
- New Cat Guard Enemies! All throughout Story Mode.
- Steam Workshop Integration! For sharing user created levels.
- Steam Inventory Integration! This allows users to trade and sell weapons, prisoners, gems and yarn via Steam.
- X Input, Direct Input, and Keyboard/Mouse Support! How you can play the game.
The Behemoth will also be holding a closed beta to test out the multiplayer portion of BattleBlock Theater’s PC re-release. The beta will run from March 24 through March 31, and if you can sign up for access at The Behemoth’s official website.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged BattleBlock Theater
Thief Review: Criminally Mediocre
I’ve been a fan of the stealth genre since 1998, when I first played the greatest game ever: Metal Gear Solid. No hyperbole, of course. That’s not to say I don’t like other games in the genre, too: the entire Splinter Cell series is excellent and, more recently, Dishonored was hugely impressive. However, Thief was one I just never played. The loot-em-up is apparently the genesis of some stealth mechanics, such as light meters and sound cues, which were revolutionary achievements in the first person point of view. So, it should have been no surprise that I was incredibly intrigued by this new reimagining of Thief.
Sadly, if opportunity makes a thief, this reboot offers them up sparingly. (more…)
Call of Duty: Ghosts Devastation Pack coming to Xbox One, Xbox 360 on April 3
Activision has announced that the next piece of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Ghosts, the Devastation Map Pack, will be available to download on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 on April 3. Like the previous map packs, the Devastation Map Pack, which is priced at $14.99, will add four new maps to the game’s multiplayer mode alongside a new gun and the next Extinction Mode episode.
The Devastation Pack promises plenty of excitement as each of the four maps offers something for every CoD player. “Ruins” will include an erupting volcano, “Collision” is “a mangle of debris,” “Behemoth” is a sniper’s paradise, and “Unearthed” is a recreation of Modern Warfare 3‘s “Dome.” And the pack’s new weapon, the Ripper, is a Sub Machine-Gun (SMG)/Assault Rifle combo that will surely live up to its name.
Finally, the “Mayday” expansion to Ghosts’ Extinction Mode will take place on “a mysterious Chinese research vessel” as the alien hunters come face-to-face with a giant Cryptid known as The Kraken.
If history is any guide, the pack will make its way to the PC, PS3, and PS4 by the end of April. More details on the maps of the Devastation Map Pack can be found after the break. (more…)