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
Scribblenauts Unlimited coming to 3DS, PC, Wii U
Warner Bros. and 5th Cell are expanding Maxwell’s horizons yet again, bringing him to the 3DS, PC, and Wii U with Scribblenauts Unlimited this holiday season. We’ll finally be learning more about Maxwell’s background as well – not only do we get to find out how he got his magical notepad, but we’ll also get the skinny on his parents and twin sister, Lily.
The PC and Wii U versions will also include an Object Editor, allowing players to make and share creations online. All objects – shared and summoned in the game – can be stored in your “magic backpack.” Jeremiah Slaczka, C.E.O. and Creative Director of 5th Cell, said, “With new gameplay modes and features, Scribblenauts Unlimited sets no limits on how players can use their imagination. The game breaks the franchise’s previously set boundaries and allows for unlimited creativity.”
This sounds promising. Even though I never finished the first one, I’m ready to put my Maxwell hat back on and jump into another creative adventure with him.
Atlus and ACE Team are bringing Zeno Clash II to PC, PS3, Xbox 360 in 2013
Atlus has been busy, it seems – the publisher announced that it will be teaming up with ACE Team to release Zeno Clash II in early 2013 for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The first game was an indie first-person brawler, and the sequel is going to tie in RPG elements in a vast open-world setting to make it bigger than the original.
The game will also feature drop-in/drop-out online co-op, allowing players to team Ghat up with his sister, Rimat. Andres Bordeu, co-founder of ACE Team, had this to say:
“The world of Zenozoik is one of wild dreams and wilder nightmares. This is part of the reason we are working on Zeno Clash II, to give players the opportunity to explore Zenozoik with a friend via online cooperative multiplayer, turning those moments of wonder and awe into a shared adventure. We will make certain that going back and forth between solo and cooperative play preserves the consistency and impact of the narrative experience, while still allowing friends easily drop in and out of the game’s fulfilling exploration and visceral melee combat.”
The Community video game is now a real thing
If you’re a fan of the show “Community,” you’ll be thrilled to learn that the 8-bit game you saw in the episode on May 17th, “Digital Estate Planning,” is now a real video game. The game, Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne, allows players to choose from a plethora of characters, including Jeff, Britta, Abed, Annie, Troy, Shirley, Pierce, Pillow Man, Constable Reggie, or Brittasaurus Rex.
However, the game is still a work in progress and the team is asking anyone with coding skills (and a love of “Community”) to pitch in.
So what are you waiting for? Download the game and get started! You can find more details on the game’s site, or over at reddit.
Danica Patrick joins Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed; Wii U version announced
Horny teens and auto nuts everywhere can now celebrate the announcement that NASCAR racing hottie Danica Patrick will be a playable character in Sega’s Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed. To promote the game, the driver and model will be racing a “No. 7 Sonic the Hedgehog Chevrolet” in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge on November 3 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Danica herself was bursting with enthusiasm when asked about her being turned into a video game character:
“It’s a very exciting experience since I’ll be sharing the screen with such an iconic character. I cannot wait for gamers to jump into my customized, transformable vehicles and give Sonic a run for his rings this holiday season!”
The sequel to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing will see the players take to the land, sea and air, similar to the N64’s underappreciated Diddy Kong Racing. Here, however, the vehicles will transform during the race in a triathlon fashion.
Sonic, Danica and the other All Stars will be appearing on the Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, PS Vita, and PC this winter. The sequel will also race onto the Wii U this winter as well.
Agni’s Philosophy gives a glimpse at what Square Enix can do on next-gen systems
Agni’s Philosophy is not a game. Instead, it’s a mini-movie, produced by Square Enix, depicting what is possible on next-generation consoles and PCs. Like the Final Fantasy VII technical demo they created to showcase the PS3’s processing power, Agni’s Philosophy was designed to give gamers their first taste of the Luminous Engine, Square Enix’s multiplatform game creation tool.
Agni’s Philosophy includes many of the hallmarks of the Final Fantasy series inclduing a plucky young protagonist, Summons, crystals, and an ancient order that protects them. New to the series is an almost post-apocalyptic look to the world including modern trucks and terrorists wielding AK-47s.
There’s little chance that Agni’s Philosophy will enter full production for the PS4, Xbox 720 or Wii U (in fact, Square Enix’s history with tech demos almost assures it won’t), but it’s also a stunning piece of video with some nifty smoke, fire, and water effects.
Prepare for another zombie paradise, Dead Island: Riptide announced
Get all your Weekend At Bernie’s jokes ready, because the dead will walk on an island paradise again in Dead Island: Riptide.
Publisher Deep Silver didn’t reveal much about the sequel, but they did confirm that the game will be available on “consoles and PCs” and that Techland is once again handling the development duties. A more complete reveal is planned for later this Summer.
And don’t forget, the Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition will also be available later this Summer. On June 26 to be exact.
Battlefield 3 follows Call of Duty into war zone of paid subscriptions
Following in the murky footstep of Activision’s Call of Duty Elite service, EA has announced a similar subscription service for their FPS, Battlefield 3, entitled Battlefield 3 Premium.
Priced at $49.99, Battlefield Premium carries the same price as its Elite competition. In return, players will receive five expansion packs; essentially it is five “Project Ten Dollars” shoved together. Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers will also have access to “a host of exclusive in-game items including the ACB-90 knife, a set of Premium dog tags, and soldier and weapon camos – all complemented by unique Battlelog features, Double XP weekends, and other exclusive events and videos.”
EA Games Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund claims that gamers will save $25 buying in bulk rather than buying the DLC packs individually, and that those who subscribed would receive new updates two weeks before normal players.
While the move is unsurprising, one cannot help but feel this is the road to Hell, paved with good intentions. Perhaps it is a question of lack of originality. Star Wars: The Old Republic was criticised for being too much like rival MMO World of Warcraft, while this new move sees Battlefield 3 merely following in Call of Duty’s footsteps. And when a game and subscription package costs over $100, players are more likely to only pick one.
And I can’t help but feel that EA is looking to gouge their players with little charges for any sort of perceived “extra.” But maybe it’s just me.
[Source: Reuters]
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Battlefield 3
Lord of the Rings is next franchise to get Lego treatment
After Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Batman, the Lego Group, along with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and TT Games, have announced the rather clumsily worded Lego The Lord of the Rings.
Surely they should have taken the definitive article out of the title? Regardless, the new game will encompass all three films from the trilogy, and will be released for all current consoles, including the 3DS, PS Vita, DS, PC, Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. In a break from the traditional “Lego Something” format, the game will also feature voiced dialogue.
Tom Stone, Managing Director at TT Games, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the game: “We are huge aficionados of The Lord of the Rings franchise and are incredibly excited to put our special Lego family-friendly touch on this classic fantasy adventure. We’ve taken what fans are familiar with and love about The Lord of the Rings films and combined it with the playful Lego style, which makes the story and gameplay accessible to gamers of all ages.”
Perhaps it is just me, but it is hard to get excited about yet another Lego transformation of a licensed film series. What’s next? Lego Fast and the Furious? Or maybe a move into TV with Lego Game of Thrones and Lego Sex and the City? The toy brick company has a number of original franchises, such as the Lego Hero Factory or Bionicle, the latter made into a mediocre game by Argonaut and EA and therefore in need of a decent reboot. I find I am much more excited by the upcoming Lego City Stories for Wii U.
Nevertheless, cutesy brick versions of Gandalf, Frodo and Legolas will be winging their way to you in the Fall.