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
Rise of the Triad now available… check out the ludicrous launch trailer
Interceptor Entertainment’s reboot of Rise of the Triad is now available to download from your favorite digital retailer (for $14.99) and here’s the ludicrous launch trailer to prove it.
Flying eyeballs, spider women, enchanted baseball bats, a gun that shoots a literal wall of flame, and the ability to play as a dog. Yup, this is Rise of the Triad alright.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Rise of the Triad
Batman: Arkham Origins multiplayer mode pits The Joker vs Bane vs the Dynamic Duo
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced that an online multiplayer mode will be available in Batman: Arkham Origins, courtesy of Splash Damage, when it ships this October. The team behind Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has created a unique three-faction free-for-all that pits The Joker versus Bane versus Batman and Robin.
Each rogue will be able to command a squad of three henchmen as they battle each other and our caped heroes. The henchmen can use guns, rocket launchers, melee weapons, and other implements of destruction during the fight, adding third-person shooter mechanics to the traditional Arkham-style fighting employed by Batman and Robin. But don’t think the supervillains will just be sitting on the sidelines, players can call in The Joker or Bane as the “ultimate reinforcement.”
Sadly, Wii U owners won’t be able to take the fight online as the multiplayer mode will only be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for all four on October 25. A companion game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, will be released for the 3DS and Vita on the same day.
Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer reveal set for August 14
Activision and Infinity Ward have announced that gamers around the world will get their first glimpse at Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ multiplayer mode on August 14 at 10:30 AM (Pacific Time). The Los Angeles-based event will be livestreamed through the official Call of Duty website, so be sure to bookmark it now.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on November 5. The game will also be available for the PS4 and Xbox One during each system’s launch.
BioShock Infinite DLC, Clash in the Clouds, available today
As promised, 2K and Irrational Games have announced the first details of BioShock Infinite‘s downloadable content schedule. Actually, the first DLC expansion, “Clash in the Clouds,” is available today. That’s a nice surprise.
BioShock Infinite: Clash in the Clouds is a set of wave-based maps that “presents players with a series of unique, intense challenges and a whole new gambit of combat opportunities.” Players will be able to access four new areas in Clash in the Clouds and if they complete all 60 Blue Ribbon Challenges, they’ll be able to view a batch of new new Voxophones, Kinetoscopes, and concept art in the Columbian Archeological Society. BioShock Infinite: Clash in the Clouds can be downloaded now for $4.99 (or 400 Microsoft Points).
But Clash in the Clouds is just an appetizer before BioShock Infinite’s downloadable main course. “Burial at Sea” is a noir-like two-part expansion to the game that will bring Booker and Elizabeth to the underwater city of Rapture before its fall. Priced at $14.99 apiece, both parts of Burial at Sea are currently without release dates.
If you’re looking to save a little money, all of BioShock Infinite’s DLC can be yours as part of the game’s Season Pass, which is still available for $19.99, a significant discount over buying each piece individually.
You can find the first trailers for Clash in the Clouds and Burial at Sea after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged BioShock Infinite
Fez II canceled as Phil Fish quits game development
Phil Fish is one half of Polytron and the outspoken developer behind Fez, a highly acclaimed puzzle platformer released on the Xbox 360 and PC last year. During this year’s E3 Expo, Fish announced that he had begun work on a sequel, Fez II. But over the weekend, things between Fish and the gaming public turned ugly and he has canceled Fez II. In fact, Fish has decided to get out of game development completely. In a statement on Polytron’s webiste, he wrote:
FEZ II is cancelled. i am done. i take the money and i run. this is as much as i can stomach. this is isn’t the result of any one thing, but the end of a long, bloody campaign.
you win.
The dustup started after Marcus Beer, the “Annoyed Gamer,” tore into Fish on the latest episode of Invisible Walls, his show on Game Trailers. Beer was angry at Fish for refusing to comment on Microsoft’s recent Xbox One policy change allowing indie developers to self-publish their games on the system. Actually, describing Beer’s tirade as “angry” might be underselling it. It was much closer to verbal abuse.
Fish, quoting a line said by Bender on Futurama, told Beer (via Twitter) to kill himself and promptly canceled Fez II. Phil Fish has endured a lot of criticism from gamers over the years. Some of it is fair and some of it isn’t. But it looks like his battle with Beer was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Unless Fish changes his mind and tries to play the whole thing off as a PR stunt.
NBA 2K14 soundtrack handpicked by Lebron James… listen to it now!
In a first, cover athlete Lebron James has been tapped by 2K Sports to select the songs that will appear on NBA 2K14‘s soundtrack. The soundtrack to last year’s game, NBA 2K13, was handpicked by Jay-Z, that title’s honorary “Executive Producer.” The world’s most famous sports agent also raps occasionally, and James has included Jay-Z’s “The Ruler’s Back” amongst this year’s selections.
“2K is letting me take control of some important elements in NBA 2K14, including this year’s soundtrack,” James said. “I love that I’m the first NBA 2K cover athlete to choose the soundtrack.”
So what other songs did King James choose? You can listen for yourself at Spotify or you can check out the complete soundtrack listing after the break. Actually, feel free to do both. (more…)
Neil Gaiman will bring Wayward Manor to PC, tablets this Fall
Few names carry more cred in geek circles than Neil Gaiman (maybe Joss Whedon, as long as you ignore Season 6 of Buffy). Because of his reputation, there was much rejoicing in geek circles today as Gaiman announced that he plans to take his first step into the video game industry this Fall. The fantasy author has contributed the story to Wayward Manor, a PC/Mac/tablet game in development at The Odd Gentlemen (who also worked on The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom).
Wayward Manor, which shares a similar art style with the film adaptation of Gaiman’s Coraline, stars a ghost who just wants to enjoy his death in peace:
Set in a 1920s Victorian Gothic pastoral estate, Wayward Manor focuses on the plight of a ghost whose hope of a peaceful after-life is interrupted by a remarkable cast of intruders. Awoken from his post-mortem slumbers, our ghost must find ever-more inventive and brilliant ways to scare them away. As the ghost learns more about the living characters, he also learns more about his own death and after-life, and the danger they are all facing.
Players can pre-order the game, as well as a huge stash of Wayward Manor-stamped swag, at WhoHauntsNeil.com.
Precursor relaunches Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter campaign with no episodic content
The first time Precursor Games tried to obtain funding for Shadow of the Eternals, their spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness, they had a tough time. When the campaign was suspended last month, backers had pledged only 10% of the requested $1.35 million total.
Today, the developers are back with a second shot at Kickstarter glory, but with some major changes to their pitch. The new Shadow of the Eternals will be no longer be released in an episodic fashion. Precursor is now stating that they will create a complete 8-10 hour game if their funding goal (which has been lowered to $750,000) is reached. David Hayter, the former voice of Solid Snake, has also been brought aboard as the voice of Detective Paul Becker, the game’s main character. Finally, Precursor will bring the game to the PS4 if they reach an unnamed stretch goal.
The rest of the pitch looks very similar to what we saw before, including a level that takes place in Csejthe Castle (home of Elizabeth Bathory, “The Blood Countess”), the Sanity Events, and an action-adventure look that is very reminiscent of Eternal Darkness. If all goes well, Precursor expects to release the game sometime in the Fall of 2014.
The Kickstarter campaign for Shadow of the Eternals will run through Friday, August 23. As of this writing, just a hair over $40,000 has been pledged towards the project.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U
Tagged Shadow of the Eternals