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
Google Maps goes 8-bit with Dragon Warrior world map filter
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like in 8-bits?
Now we can find out because Google has added an 8-bit “Quest” filter to Google Maps. Using the world map tiles from the four Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest games on the NES, the filter remaps streets, rivers, parks, mountains, and more in glorious 8-bit. And don’t forget to check out the Street View too!
This isn’t the first time Google has mined NES and Super NES nostalgia for a fun time. Previously, the search giant transformed their logo into a playable version of Pac-Man, added the Konami Code to Google Reader, and did a barrel roll with their search results.
UPDATE: The “Quest” filter is no longer accessible through Google Maps. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. The video walkthrough is all that’s left:
New Releases: Kinect Star Wars, Devil May Cry Collection, Xenoblade Chronicles, More
March is over and that means Spring is… well… Spring’s been here for a while now, I guess it’s just a tad more official with the turning of the calendar page.
That said, we’ve got a few new releases that’s sure to interest you including the Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360), which compiles Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening. It’s joined by the long-awaited Kinect Star Wars and it’s companion R2-D2 Xbox 360 Bundle. The GameStop-exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles will also be available this Friday, April 6. You may squeal now.
What else is new in stores this week? Hit the jump to find out. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Devil May Cry HD Collection, Kinect Star Wars, Xenoblade Chronicles
PAX East 2012: 2K offering fans a chance to play Borderlands 2, XCOM RTS, more
If you’re a Borderlands fan, and you happen to be in the Boston area next weekend, you might want to consider getting a day pass for PAX East.
2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that a co-op Borderlands 2 demo will be playable at their booth on the show floor. The demo will feature the “Caustic Caverns” map, and you can play as either the brand spankin’ new Gunzerker class or the new and improved Siren.
If that’s not enough Borderlands action for you, you can also check out Gearbox Software’s panel on Sunday, April 8th, where they will be talking about Borderlands 2 and all the other games they are currently working on.
Borderlands publisher 2K Games has plenty more planned for PAX 2012. Hit the jump for more details. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands 2, PAX East 2012, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Auditorium 2: Duet needs your help on Kickstarter!
Ever wanted to help out an indie company, but you weren’t sure how? Now is your chance. Philadelphia-based indie studio Cipher Prime is trying to fund the sequel to their groundbreaking hit, Auditorium, through the magic of Kickstarter. The sequel, called Auditorium 2: Duet, only has three days left to make another $11,000. I’m going to pledge $30, but I’m torn between which reward I want: the t-shirt, or the extra copy of the game to play with my boyfriend.
Auditorium isn’t an easy game to explain. You “create music by bending dazzling rivers of light and color through brain-twisting puzzles.” Sound awesome? It is. Duet will allow you to solve puzzles cooperatively, which is just as sexy as it sounds.
Technical Director Dain Saint said, “Donations gave us our start; they let us know that people cared enough about our games that we could do it full time. If this Kickstarter works, we’ll know we can keep doing crazy things with reckless abandon.” Creative Director William Stallwood promised he’d give me a lapdance while wearing his jeggings if I helped get them some donations. So, seriously people, it’s time to open up your wallet.
Here’s how close they are: (more…)
Brandon Sanderson and Little Orbit unite to transform Mistborn saga into an epic RPG
Take note, fantasy junkies; publisher Little Orbit plans to put out an RPG that will serve as a prequel to Brandon Sanderson’s best-selling Mistborn series, set several hundred years before the first Mistborn novel. Mistborn: Birthright will even include an original storyline penned by Sanderson himself.
This is not Sanderson’s first foray into video games; he recently finished work on Infinity Blade II and an accompanying novella called Infinity Blade: Awakening.
The upcoming RPG is due out in 2013, and will be available on the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Mac. The gameplay will feature a unique combat system that includes “Allomancy”, an ability familiar to fans of the series that involves using metals to enhance the physical and mental capabilities of the user. For more on the game, you should check out the official website.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mistborn: Birthright
Rockstar takes gang warfare to the next level with “Crews” in Max Payne 3, GTA 5
Rockstar has announced a new feature for their Rockstar Games Social Club platform that’ll make its debut in Max Payne 3: Crews.
Crews are sort of like clans, except that they’ll exist outside of any individual game. Players will be able to join a Crew in Max Payne 3’s multiplayer mode and they’ll still be a member of that same Crew when future Rockstar games like Grand Theft Auto V, and other “appropriate titles,” are released.
In an interview with IGN, Rockstar’s Vice President of Creativity, Dan Houser, laid down some details on what you’ll be able to do with Crews:
How will Crews be able to interact?
Houser: One major way will be with Feuds. In multiplayer games we have a feature called Vendettas – if someone kills you twice, you can initiate a vendetta against them, which lets everyone know that you’re out to get that person. For you, a special X marks their blip when they’re visible to you on the map. If you take that person down, you get extra XP. If they survive your vendetta though, they get that XP.
Crew Feuds are essentially Crew Vendettas: impromptu skirmishes between crews that can spring up in multiplayer matches that quickly spawn a first-to-10-kills battle. You can be playing any team-based game with a completely new set of players, but if you spot two or more members of a crew you’re feuding with on the opposite team, any kills you get against them will count to the overall feud so rivalries will spring up automatically – and when they do, you’ll be notified and the grudge will come to the forefront of the game.
We’ll track who you’re feuding with, how long you’ve been feuding, and who’s winning. You’ll get extra XP for taking down members of crews you’re feuding with, so you’ll be able to remember those grudges for future matches. Again, we want to create more drama out of the interactions that go down in typical multiplayer matches.
And the beauty of this system is that crews persist over time and across future games. Multiplayer is an ever-more important part of all our games moving forward, and by creating crews through Social Club the crews that you create in Max Payne 3 will be ready and available for you to play in Grand Theft Auto V from day one. It’s all part of our larger approach to make multiplayer deeper and richer than what’s currently available, much more easily accessible to the newcomer and rewarding for the hardcore.
Whoa. Why didn’t anybody think of this before? Max Payne 3 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 15 with the PC version following on May 29.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Grand Theft Auto V, Max Payne 3
Square Enix Steam titles on sale for a short time
Square Enix is having a huge sale on Steam that’s running from now until March 26th.
All Square Enix games and DLC packs will be half off throughout the five-day sale period, and there will be additional “Daily Deals” that promise even greater savings (such as today’s offer of 75% off any Hitman title). Steam is also selling a “Square Enix Hit Collection” bundle with over 15 titles, including classics like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tomb Raider: Legend, Thief: Deadly Shadows, and Hitman: Blood Money.
Check out Steam for more details!
The Cross and The Controller: Mass Effect’s Picture of Faith
SPOILER WARNING: This article will talk about the death of a major character in Mass Effect 3 that takes place about a third of the way through the game… unless, of course, that character died in your playthrough of Mass Effect 2.
Prayer is a very strange thing. It takes numerous forms, from the recitation of memorized words, often ancient, to the spontaneous utterances of exuberant or anguished hearts. It can be practiced in deep silence, and it can be as informal as a muttered word for help before a surgery or a battle. Prayer flows out of human beings; we seem to be hardwired for it, either by some quirk of natural selection or through deep enculturation. The old saying “there are no atheists in foxholes” suggests the fact that, at our core, humanity is a praying species.
It’s important to note that none of this is an apologetic for the existence of God. One needs a particular understanding of the bare facts to interpret them in any particular way. Our penchant for prayer may be a quirk of genetic mutation; it may be a result of millennia of conditioning. Neither suggests that there is anyone listening to our prayer. So, while I do believe that our prayers are heard, I do not think the fact that we pray is somehow proof of that. (more…)