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
BioWare will discuss Mass Effect 3 ending “when they can”
The uproar over the ending of Mass Effect 3 just will not die down. The movement has quickly gone from fanboy whining to organized petitions to a charity drive to convince BioWare to create a new ending.
Yesterday, developers at BioWare responded to these complaints through their official forum. And while the company isn’t yet ready to deal with the backlash (they want more people to reach the end first), they say they are listening:
We understand there is a lot of debate on the Mass Effect 3 ending and we will be more than happy to engage in healthy discussions once more people get to experience the game. We are listening to all of your feedback.
I guess that’s as good an answer as any right now.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
The Walking Dead coming to iOS, PC, PSN, XBLA in April
Telltale Games has told IGN that the first episode of The Walking Dead will shamble its way onto the iTunes App Store, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC download platforms in April.
For those keeping score at home, that is now two zombie games with April release dates.
Obviously, release dates for the remaining four episodes weren’t announced. However, Telltale did say to expect them on a “regular” schedule.
Diablo III has a release date: May 15
According to Blizzard, the end is nigh! Diablo III will be available in stores and online on May 15, 2012.
“After many years of hard work by our development team and months of beta testing by hundreds of thousands of dedicated players around the world, we’re now in the homestretch,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to putting the final polish on Diablo III over the next two months and delivering the ultimate action-RPG experience to gamers worldwide starting on May 15.”
And if you absolutely can’t wait, Blizzard has begun offering digital pre-orders through the Blizzard.com website.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
EA nabs new partners to provide content on Origin download service
Looks like Electronic Arts is aiming for bigger slice of the downloadable pie. Today, it announced partnerships with a number of publishers to provide content for it’s online download service, Origin.
Sega tops the list, bringing games like Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai to the table. Also new to the EA fold are Team 17 Software Limited, Rebellion, Kalypso Media Digital, and others, raising the number of Origin content providers to 35.
Origin provides features like built-in customer service, in-game overlay and chat, cloud saves, and live streaming demos, and has about 11 million subscribers, which is a little less than half the number Steam has.
To see what Origin has to offer, check out their website at Origin.com.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Total War: Shogun 2
Console versions of Risen 2 drop anchor in May
Deep Silver has announced that the console version of Risen 2: Dark Waters has set sail for the muddy waters of May.
Previously scheduled for an April 24 release, Risen 2 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 will now be available on May 22. The release date of the PC version was unchanged and remains April 27.
I hope somebody was forced to walk the plank for this! Arrrrr!
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Risen 2: Dark Waters
Pre-order Guild Wars 2 for early access and exclusive in-game gear
Starting April 10, players will be able to pre-order one of three editions of Guild Wars 2 and not only guarantee themselves a spot in beta weekend events, but also get a three-day head start before launch to rub into their friend’s faces.
But wait, there’s more! As a bonus, early birds will also receive a “Hero’s Band”, an exclusive item that will provide characters with a range of power boosts.
If you have the $149.99 to blow, you can get your hot little hands on a hand-painted 10-inch statue of the bestial warrior Rytlock Brimstone, a custom frame along with five Guild Wars 2 art prints, a 112-page Making of Guild Wars 2 hardback book, a “Best of Guild Wars 2” soundtrack CD, and five in-game items, including a Mistfire Wolf and a miniature Rytlock who will accompany players on their travels through Tyria.
If that seems a little pricey, you could always go for the “Digital Deluxe Edition.” It’s a slightly more affordable $79.99, and you’ll get the five in-game items that the Collector’s edition has.
For the complete scoop on the various Collector’s Editions, head over to the Guild Wars 2 website.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Guild Wars 2
Scrolls will remain Scrolls, but any sequels must be called something else
ZeniMax and Mojang have finally settled their trademark dispute over the word “scrolls.” While it’s a victory for Mojang (their next game, Scrolls, will retain its original title), ZeniMax comes out of this looking like an adventurer who took an arrow to the knee.
According to the settlement, ZeniMax (which is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks) will obtain the trademark to “Scrolls” and will license it to Mojang for use in their upcoming game. This decision was reached due to ZeniMax’s ownership of the “Elder Scrolls” trademark. The word “Scrolls” can also be used in any expansion to the digital card game. However, if Mojang ever creates a sequel, the terms of the settlement state that it cannot use the word “Scrolls.”
So I guess that’s settled. But the question remains, why did ZeniMax/Bethesda believe they had any right to the “Scrolls” trademark? Their most famous game series may be known as “The Elder Scrolls,” but the three most recent games in the series are always referred to as simply Morrowind, Oblivion, or Skyrim… even by the company’s own website. By putting restrictions on Mojang’s use of the word “Scrolls,” Bethesda just comes across as a bully.
And how did Mojang expect to trademark a single word such as “Scrolls” anyway? The mind boggles.
New Releases: Tales of Graces F, Silent Hill Downpour, Yakuza Dead Souls, More
It’s “The Wait is Over Week” in this week’s edition of the new release report as a trio of games that were announced a long time ago finally make it to store shelves:
Japan has always been a game or two ahead of the US when it comes to Namco Bandai’s Tales series. So fans of the RPG franchise will be pleased to know that the PS3-exclusive Tales of Graces F is ready for release.
The US releases in Sega’s Yakuza series are typically the victim of a similar situation. And so it goes with this week’s new entry in the series, Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3), which was originally released in Japan in early 2011.
But when it comes to Silent Hill: Downpour (PS3, Xbox 360), gamers have had to wait a while for the game due to a good old-fashioned delay. Several of them, in fact. But it too will be in stores this week.
Finally, EA’s FIFA Street series has suffered any delays, territorial or otherwise. Instead, it just disappeared for a few years. But the franchise is back, in rebooted form, as FIFA Street on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new releases including a pair of plane games and the new Naruto game. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Silent Hill: Downpour, Tales of Graces F, Yakuza: Dead Souls