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
J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell tease possible game/movie collaboration
Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams and Valve CEO Gabe Newell spent the morning addressing the crowd at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit. Their talk, “Storytelling Across Platforms,” kicked off the conference and was heavily promoted before the four-day gathering of developers began.
Apparently, there was a good reason for that.
Abrams and Newell’s panel concluded a few minutes ago and they dropped a massive bombshell before they left. Are you ready? Abrams announced that he wants to partner with Valve on a video game and Newell announced that he wants work with Abrams (and his Bad Robot production company) on movies based on Half-Life and Portal:
Abrams: There’s an idea we [at Bad Robot] have for a game that we’d like to work with Valve on.
Newell: We’re going to find out if there’s a way we can work with you on a Portal and Half-Life movie.
Oh. My. God.
[Source: Kotaku]
Star Wars Pinball strikes back on digital platforms this month
Zen Studios will be bringing three Star Wars-themed pinball tables to a download service near you this month. Star Wars Pinball will be available as a standalone app on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Android Store. It’ll also be released as downloadable content for Pinball FX 2 (Xbox Live Arcade, Windows 8), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation Network, Vita, Mac App Store), and Zen Pinball (Apple App Store, Google Play).
“It’s been over 30 years since Star Wars, videogames, and solid state pinball all burst onto the entertainment scene, and their popularity endures today. We’re excited to be combining all three for the very first time,” said Neil Sorens, Zen Studios’ Creative Director. “Our designers are huge Star Wars fans, and you can expect every detail in every table to reflect their passion for the Star Wars universe.”
The three tables will be based on three of the biggest names in Star Wars history: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Screenshots and more details can be found at the game’s official site, StarWarsPinball.com.
Approve of this, I do.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Star Wars Pinball, Zen Pinball 2
XCOM shooter still on track for 2013/2014 release
XCOM: Enemy Unknown was released to near universal critical acclaim last year. But you may remember that Take-Two also announced a first person shooter set in the XCOM universe (simply titled XCOM) at E3 2010. Repeatedly delayed, you’re forgiven if you don’t remember it.
But within the paragraphs of their quarterly financial report, Take-Two confirmed that XCOM is still in development for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and that it’s still on track for a “fiscal year 2014” release.
Take-Two’s 2014 fiscal year runs from April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. Even though it’s possible the game could be released as early as this Spring, I’d guess that a late 2013/early 2014 release is much more likely.
New Releases: Dead Space 3, Sly Cooper 4, Fire Emblem: Awakening, More
This week’s biggest new release is the return of Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 3. Everyone’s favorite alien-hunting engineer (wait, was Ripley an engineer?) has help this time in the form of the appropriately named John Carver. Go grab a buddy for co-op and check out Dead Space 3 this week on the PC, PS3, or Xbox 360.
Also available this week is Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time returns in a new adventure available simultaneously for the PS3 and Vita. But remember, if you buy the PS3 version, you’ll get the Vita version for free as part of Sony’s Cross-Buy promotion.
Namco Bandai will be bringing Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 to the PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this week in a unique way. The Xbox 360 version will be available on store shelves as a disc-based game while the PS3 and Wii U versions will be released exclusively as digital downloads.
And speaking of digital downloads, you can obtain the 3DS strategy game Fire Emblem: Awakening on Monday as a download from the 3DS eShop or in stores.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360
Tagged Dead Space 3, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Kickstart This! Winter 2013 Edition
Hello and welcome to the first Kickstart This! of 2013. A new year brings us new projects that we can help push from the planning stages to a grateful reality by offering donations in exchange for credits, goodies, and whatever oddities these humble game designers can dream up. This month we have the nomadic turn-based strategy game Unwritten, fantasy MMORPG Oceania, cuter-than-cute dungeon adventure Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, evolutionary RPG Wildman, hectic sci-fi shooter Defend the Fawkin Station, and last, but by no means least, puzzle strategy game Pixel Kingdom. (more…)
Console port of Resident Evil Revelations may shape the franchise’s future
Are you one of the many who cried foul at Resident Evil 6‘s rather drastic departure from what made the series so great? Do you have trouple falling asleep at night, staring at the ceiling and wishing that the series would return to the style that made “survival horror” a common household name? Then start saving your money! Your purchase of Resident Evil Revelations may help govern where the series goes next.
Masachika Kawata, who produced Resident Evil Revelations on the 3DS, said that Capcom will be paying very close attention to the success of the home console port of the portable title:
“I think we’ll get a lot of input from the fanbase and the media on what it means for Resident Evil, and what it could mean for the future of the series. We’ll definitely be looking at that as a signpost for where we need to be going next.”
“Moving forward I can see us focusing even more on the horror aspect and fear in the series, and see us making something scarier than we have already.”
Vote with your wallets, people!
[Source: Eurogamer]
Grid 2 rolls into stores on May 28th
Racing fans only need to wait a few short months before being able to rev their virtual engines. Codemasters announced today that Grid 2 will hit stores on May 28th in North America, and May 31st abroad. Also detailed was the game’s pre-order incentives, which are as follows:
Pre-orders at GameStop get the McLaren Racing Pack and GTR Racing Pack, which includes the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, and the Nissan GT-R SpecV. In addition, the pre-order also unlocks two routes for the Brands Hatch and five routes for Yas Marina. You also get to participate in some special online events.
If Grid 2 is pre-ordered at Best Buy, you get the IndyCar pack, giving you the Dallara IndyCar, two routes for the Indianapolis Motor SpeedWay Oval circuit, and another exclusive online event.
Finally, those who pre-order from Amazon get the Head Start pack, netting the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT and a RaceNet bonus. Amazon pre-orders also get discounted car upgrades.
Grid 2 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Bethesda soundtracks now available on iTunes
Still got leftover credit from all those iTunes gift cards you got for the holidays and don’t know what to spend them on? Well, Bethesda just made your music-purchasing decisions a whole lot easier. Starting today, you can buy the soundtracks to the following Bethesda games:
Dishonored ($9.99)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind ($9.99)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ($9.99)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ($15.99)
Fallout 3 ($11.99)
Fallout: New Vegas ($11.99)
Rage ($9.99)
Just click on the above names and you’ll be taken right to their corresponding iTunes page. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to listen to some Fallout 3.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dishonored, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Rage, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim