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
Shinji Mikami’s Zwei is actually the very creepy The Evil Within
Shinji Mikami has a vision for his next game and it has nothing to do with cartoony superheroes or quirky brawlers or futuristic supersoldiers. Instead, it is a vision of pure, unrelenting terror. Mikami’s next game is a survival horror game that will be known as The Evil Within. It’ll be released for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and “next-generation consoles” sometime in 2014.
“We’re incredibly proud to announce The Evil Within,” said Mikami. “My team and I are committed to creating an exciting new franchise, providing fans the perfect blend of horror and action.”
IGN will publish an exclusive preview of the game on Monday, but for now, take a look at the game’s live-action announcement trailer. It is just dripping with surreal scenery and is something that only the father of the Resident Evil series could create. The Evil Within was previously codenamed “Zwei” (the German word for “two”) and it’s not hard to connect the two titles with the demonic child imagery throughout the trailer including the bloody “birth” of a woman with four arms.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to turn on all the lights in my house (and yes, I realize it’s daytime).
Secret Ponchos Interview: Dueling With Yousuf Mapara and Jose Lopez
One of the games we were most excited to see at PAX East 2013 was Secret Ponchos, the intense twin-stick arena fighter set in the world of a Spaghetti Western. Contributor Anthony Amato, Senior Editor Nicole Kline, and Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo met up with President and Creative Director Yousuf Mapara and Art Director Jose Lopez and had a fantastic conversation with them while trying out the game. Nicole got her butt kicked by an eight-year-old, but that didn’t mar our first impression of the game, which was: we want more as soon as possible. Read on for the full interview we conducted with the incredibly talented guys at Switchblade Monkeys. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2013, Secret Ponchos
BioShock Infinite is exceptional atop the March 2013 list of bestselling games
Good news everyone! The NPD Group (via Game Informer) has released their report on the best-selling games of March 2013 and they’ve confirmed that total game sales saw a 2% increase over March 2012. That’s the first year-over-year increase since November 2011. So good job game-buying public!
BioShock Infinite was the top-selling game of the month, just ahead of Square Enix’s Tomb Raider reboot. New games dominated the list as eight of the top ten titles were released in March. Only Call of Duty: Black Ops II and NBA 2K13 managed to fight through the new release wave to earn a spot in the top ten.
Here’s the complete list of the top ten best-selling games in March 2013:
1. BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Tomb Raider (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)
4. God of War: Ascension (PS3)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)
8. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
9. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
10. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)
Secret Ponchos Hands-On Preview: These Outlaws Will Steal Your Heart (Literally)
Secret Ponchos is a top-down, twin stick arena shooter stylized as a Spaghetti Western – characters, locations, music, and all. Developer Switchblade Monkeys has taken their love of those old Italian movies and married it to twitch-reaction arena mechanics, creating a game that took PAX East 2013 by storm. After seeing the trailer, it was on the top of my list of must-play games that weekend, and I was not disappointed by my experience. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2013, Secret Ponchos
Deadpool release date and pre-order bonuses announced
Marvel Entertainment and Activision’s Deadpool: The Game will be available in stores on June 25 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC (that’s new!). Developed by High Moon, the studio behind Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, the first game starring Marvel’s epic comic hero (and all his awesomeness) will presumably be available in the UK & Europe shortly after. But for everyone who plans to purchase it in North America, Activision has announced a pair of pre-order bonuses.
GameStop is offering:
- Merc with a Map Pack – “GRT Plaza” and “Inside the Tower” Challenge Maps
- Two Exclusive Suts – “D-Pooly” and “Uncanny X-Force”
- “The Most Epic Digital Wallpaper Ever!” – Yes, he’s riding a ****ing unicorn! (US Only)
Meanwhile, Amazon is offering a $5 credit towards select Marvel graphic novels, and an exclusive digital coversleeve and wallpaper.
Will you be picking up Deadpool when it arrives this summer?
Sega announces Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse reboot
It’s a good time to be a fan of Disney side-scrollers from the late 80s/early 90s. Just a few weeks after Capcom announced DuckTales Remastered, Sega has confirmed that Castle of Illusion will be remade for the PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade this Summer.
“The original Castle of Illusion was tremendously entertaining and has a well-deserved reputation as a Sega classic. Castle of Illusion Featuring Mickey Mouse brings this great game to a new generation,” said Chris Olson, Vice President of Digital Business at Sega of America. “Mickey is back and he looks fantastic.”
If there’s any justice in the world, an Aladdin HD remake will be announced next…
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Castle of Illusion
New Releases: Injustice, Pandora’s Tower, SMT Devil Summoner Soul Hackers, More
NetherRealm Studios (the creators of Mortal Kombat) are back with their latest game, the DC Comics one-on-one fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us. Watch Superman and Batman battle it out for the soul of the DC Universe on the PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii U this Tuesday.
This week also sees the release of the final Operation Rainfall game, Pandora’s Tower. The Operation Rainfall group worked tirelessly to find a publisher for the Wii game (along with Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story before it) and it is amazing that we’ll finally get to play the fruits of their labor for oursselves this week.
A trio of other games will also be available this week:
- Atlus is returning to the world of Shin Megami Tensei this week with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner – Soul Hackers on the 3DS.
- Pandora plans to release Victoria II: A Heart of Darkness, the second expansion to Victoria II.
- And the beat ’em up Sacred Citadel is coming to the PC. PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade editions should also be available this week.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Injustice: Gods Among Us, Pandora's Tower
Shovel Knight quadruples Kickstarter goal
Shovel Knight has reached the end of its Kickstarter odyssey and the retro platformer from Yacht Club Games has surpassed the developer’s wildest expectations.
Yacht Club Games, which is made up of several former members of WayForward Technologies, was asking for $75,000 to complete development on the PC, 3DS, and Wii U game. 14,749 backers responded with four times that amount and pledged a total of $311,502. The developer has set up a PayPal account for fans who missed out on the Kickstarter drive and still wish to donate and/or pre-order the game.
This outpouring of support has ensured that every stretch goal Yacht Club set for Shovel Knight will make its way into the final game including:
- Music Player
- Achievements
- New Game+
- 3 Playable Boss Knights
- Linux/Mac Versions
- Gender Swap Mode
- Challenge Mode
- 4 Player Battle Mode With All Boss Knights
- Real, Physical Box
Congratulations to the team at Yacht Club Games. Shovel Knight is currently expected to be released in September.