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
Giveaway: Torchlight (PC)
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who entered! We’ve picked a winner!
The release of Torchlight II is fast approaching. While we don’t know the exact release date for Runic’s RPG sequel, you can pre-order it now from Steam. But are you ready for Torchlight II?
If not, we can get you prepared to delve into a demonic horde with only your mouse button clicker finger for protection by giving away a PC copy of the original Torchlight.
Using your Facebook account, comment on this article below and tell us your Steam username. We’ll select one lucky winner on Wednesday, May 2 at 5 PM (Eastern) and deliver a copy of Torchlight directly to your Steam account.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Torchlight
Rockstar reveals cover for first issue of Max Payne 3 comic
Max Payne is drunk and he just shot somebody and left them to die in the street. Welcome back to Max’s world and welcome to the cover of “Max Payne 3: After the Fall,” a three-issue limited series comic created by Marvel and Rockstar Games.
Issue #1 of “After the Fall” is written by Rockstar’s Dan Houser (he also wrote the story for the game) and Remedy’s Sam Lake. The cover art was created by Greg Horn with pencils and inks by Fernando Blanco. The series will “[feature] characters from all three Max Payne games as the series weaves together events from various points in Max’s life.”
“After the Fall” will be available as a free digital download through the Rockstar Newswire and on the Max Payne 3 official site this Thursday, May 3. A “limited run” of print copies will be also available later in the month.
Max Payne 3 will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on May 15.
Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed announced
After originally being revealed at the New York Toy Fair earlier this year, Sega is ready to officially announce Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed. The kart racing sequel is once again in development at Sumo Digital and is planned for a late 2012 release on the 3DS, PC, PS3, Vita, and Xbox 360.
Sega is planning to make Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed an all-terrain affair with karts that transform into boats on the water and planes in the air. Why yes, it does sound a bit reminiscent of Mario Kart 7. But what’s new is the game’s unique “fair weapon system.” As they race, players will gain skills for their chosen racer, including the ability to “[block or evade] weapons fired at your vehicle.” Awesome!
Also new is a pair of debuting racers, Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse of Skies of Arcadia. Both were up for inclusion in the first game, but for some reason, were left on the cutting room floor.
I’ll be very surprised if the “fair weapon system” doesn’t end up in the next Mario Kart game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II pre-order cards spotted in the wild
First, there was a hidden message written in morse code embedded within a splash page at CallofDuty.com. Now, an IGN reader has stumbled across Target pre-order cards that seemingly confirm the next Call of Duty game will be titled Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
I suppose it’s possible the image to your left is a fake, but the fact that the cards are still in shrinkwrap would make a Photoshop job extremely unlikely. So consider it even more confirmed, the next CoD game will be Call of Duty: Black Ops II and it’ll be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 (and surely the PC as well) on November 13.
But if you’re waiting for the official reveal, that’s still set for May 1 during TNT’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops II
New Releases: Mortal Kombat Vita, Tera, More
Possibly the weakest month ever for new video games comes to a close… but the new games we can look forward to on May 1 aren’t much more impressive.
However, that’s not to say there’s nothing new this week. For example, if you’re a fan of the best fighting game of last year… and your Vita needs a new game… look no further than Mortal Kombat on the PS Vita. Or perhaps you’re looking for a new PC game. There’s the MMORPG Tera and the Quake III-like team FPS shooting of Nexuiz. And don’t worry, there’s one new console game as well. players will be able to get a bead on their targets in Sniper Elite V2 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
And that’s it. If there’s something for you, great. If not, there’s just two more weeks until we’re all blown away by the new releases of May 15.
The Cross and The Controller: The Darkness II Shines a Light on Religious History
On the face of it, The Darkness II, by Digital Extremes, simply doesn’t seem like the kind of game I should be praising for its use of religion. It stars a character, Jackie Estacado, who is, by all rights, a very bad man. He wields a living weapon known as “The Darkness” that hates God and light in order to maintain his control of his New York-based mafia family. The game features other demonic characters as well as brutal and wildly graphic violence. (more…)
Google does a “Zerg Rush” on your search results
Those wacky Googlers are at it again.
First, they added the Konami Code to Google Reader. Then, they created a Google Doodle to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man and the thing turned out to be playable, which ended up costing the worldwide economy over $120 million in lost productivity. After that, they induced us all to “do a barrel roll,” even though most of the world had no idea what that meant (some thought it was a dig at Apple’s iOS, a competitor to Google’s Android platform). And just a few weeks ago they added a “Quest” filter to Google Maps that was clearly modeled after Dragon Warrior. But their latest trick tops all of these.
Go to the Google homepage, and search for “zerg rush.” And then watch as your search results are destroyed by an overwhelming swarm of red and yellow Os. Hovering over an O will bring up a targetting reticule to take the little buggers down, but the swarm will always win (and taunt you with a “GG” after it’s over).
Good show Google. Do something Mario-related next!
Pre-order Torchlight II, receive original Torchlight or access to Neverwinter beta
Torchlight II still doesn’t have an official release date. Developer Runic Games will only say that it’s coming in the Summer and that they’re shooting for June or July. But that hasn’t stopped Steam and Perfect World from offering plenty of pre-order loot to RPG-hungry gamers.
If you pre-order Torchlight II from Perfect World, you’ll receive access to the Neverwinter beta. However, Perfect World was quick to point out that the “exact date of access will vary.”
If you go the more conventional route and pre-order from Steam, you’ll receive a copy of Torchlight absolutely free. That’s right now! No waiting!
Both online shops have priced the game at $19.99, but if you buy a four-pack of copies from Steam (one copy for you and one copy for three of your friends), you’ll only pay $59.99, meaning that one copy was free. And you’ll also receive four copies of the original Torchlight on top of that.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Torchlight II