Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 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
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: PC
New Releases: Resistance Burning Skies, Max Payne 3, Batman Arkham City GOTY, More
We close out the month of May with a trio of big new releases and the re-release of one of 2011’s best games.
This week, Sony brings the fight against the Chimera to the Vita in Resistance: Burning Skies. Also this week, Rockstar brings Max Payne 3 to the PC after a successful PS3/Xbox 360 debut. Finally, NIS America will be releasing the latest Atelier game on the PS3, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland.
And that re-release is none other than Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, which includes all of the released DLC, including “Harley Quinn’s Revenge.”
More new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City, Max Payne 3, Resistance: Burning Skies
Jet Set Radio skates to Vita and E3 2012
Sega confirmed today that an updated version of Jet Set Radio, the rollerblading Dreamcast classic, will be available on th Vita, as well as the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC this summer. Also, it will be playable at E3 2012.
This version of Jet Set Radio will feature upgraded HD visuals, but keep the original soundtrack, which will come as a relief to fans of the series. The Vita version promises enhanced interaction with the environments in the game, making use of the system’s touch functionality and camera for activities like spraying graffiti.
38 Studios, Big Huge Games shutting down
38 Studios (and their subsidiary, Big Huge Games) have laid off their entire staff and are effectively shutting down, just a week after declaring that Project Copernicus, their Amalur MMO, would ship in June 2013.
The company sent the following email to all 379 members of the staff, informing them of the lay off:
The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary. These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.
This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.
The death of 38 is being laid at the feet of a $75 million loan the company received from the state of Rhode Island to develop Copernicus. As of last week, 38 was up-to-date on their loan payments, but they reportedly haven’t made payroll since May 1. The underperformance of their most recent (and only) game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, also aggravated the situation. The developer sold about 1.2 million copies of Amalur, an astonishing number for a brand-new franchise, but it needed three million in sales to break even.
Company founder, and former Major League pitcher, Curt Schilling later told his followers on Facebook, “38 isn’t dead yet.”
[Source: WPRI]
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Amalur MMO, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
BioWare bringing Rebellion multiplayer pack to Mass Effect 3 next week
It’s not the extended ending (yet), but BioWare will push out another free downloadable content pack to Mass Effect 3 players next week.
The “Rebellion Pack” will be available to download for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on May 29. Like the “Resurgence Pack” before it, this pack will include a ton of new content for Mass Effect’s multiplayer mode:
Two New Action-Packed Maps – Land on Firebase Jade, located in a Salarian STG base on Sur’Kesh and fight to control Firebase Goddess on the Asari homeworld of Thessia.
Six Powerful New Unlockable Characters – Level and promote six new unlockable characters, including the ex-Cerberus Adept and Vanguard, the Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel or the Male Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator.
New In-Mission Objective – Randomly occurring during waves 3, 6 and 10, this new objective will demand that teams retrieve a high priority package and securely escort it to a designated extraction zone on each map.
New Gear Slot – A new slot will be available on the equipment screen, offering players a persistent gameplay bonus that will not expire after the end of a match. These new items will vary from weapon upgrades to character enhancements and will be available through reinforcement packs.
Lethal New Weapons – Eliminate the enemy with deadly new weapons, including the Cerberus Harrier, Krysae Sniper Rifle, and Reegar Carbine.
A trio of “Rebellion Pack” screenshots can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Ubisoft reveals E3 2012 lineup
Today, Ubisoft announced that it will start its E3 2012 festivities with an invitation-only press conference at 3 PM (Pacific Time) on June 4th, but you shouldn’t feel left out; those unable to attend E3 can watch the press conference live on YouTube, and get bonus backstage videos and free content on Uplay, Ubisoft’s online community site dedicated to enhancing player experience.
The press conference will feature Ubisoft’s upcoming lineup (including their Wii U plans), special guests and some surprise announcements. In a first, Ubisoft will be inviting gamers to ask questions of its development teams on Uplay, and will broadcast the best questions live during the conference.
Games available to be played at Ubisoft’s booth will include Assassin’s Creed III, Far Cry 3, Rayman Legends, and Rocksmith. The finale of a ShootMania: Storm marathon tournament will be broadcast from the booth at 11 AM (Pacific Time) on June 6.
For more information on Ubisoft’s lineup at E3, check out their Facebook page, or bookmark their YouTube site to watch the press conference on June 4th!
Diablo III scores biggest PC launch ever
Blizzard has announced that more than 3.5 million copies of Diablo III were sold in its first 24 hours of availability, setting a single-day sales record for PC games in the process. An additional 1.2 million copies of the game were given to World of Warcraft players who signed up for the Annual Pass promotion.
In the week since its launch, more than 6.3 million people have purchased a copy of Diablo III or received one as part of the Annual Pass offer. And that’s not all. The title has taken the South Korea’s Internet game rooms by storm, with a record 39% of all users joining the fight for Sanctuary.
“We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support.”
I guess you could say that Diablo III has made a lot of “scratch” since it launched.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
XCOM FPS delayed into 2013
After announcing an October release date for XCOM: Enemy Unknown this morning, Take Two Interactive confirmed that the XCOM first person shooter won’t be released this year. In fact, the game has been delayed into the publisher’s 2014 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. So yeah, we won’t be playing an XCOM shooter anytime soon.
XCOM is in development at 2K Marin for a PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 release. No reason was given for the delay, but presumably it’s so that the two games don’t compete against each other for shelf space this Fall.
AirMech prepares to land on Steam
Carbon Games says that AirMech, an action strategy game that puts you in control of a transforming robot, will soon be available to download on Steam. The game is already available for test through Google Chrome, and can be downloaded from Carbon Games’ website if you’d like to check it out.
Additionally, if you’d like access to AirMech ahead of the public beta, you only need to follow AirMech on Facebook or Google+ for a Steam key.
For more information about the game, or about the developers, head on over to the Carbon Games dev blog.