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
Super Mario Crossover 2.0 released – now with more characters!
Nostalgic nerds rejoice! Super Mario Crossover 2.0 has been released into the wild. Watch the trailer above for some of the highlights.
Don’t know what Super Mario Crossover is? I’ll give you a moment to get over your shame.
You can play through an old school Mario game while shooting Goombas as Mega Man. You can jump around as if you were playing Ninja Gaiden, filling enemies with shuriken. In short, SMC is a Flash recreation of Super Mario Bros. with other characters you know and love along for the ride – including Simon Belmont, Link, and Samus. And you can do all of this while listening to your favorite tunes from those old Mario games.
Read all about what went into 2.0 over at Exploding Rabbit, written by creator Jay Pavlina. Then go play it for hours.
BioWare planning more Mass Effect after ME3
In a move surprising to no one, producer Casey Hudson expresses certainty that there will be more Mass Effect even after the trilogy ends on March 6 with Mass Effect 3.
Hudson – who said they’re too busy to feel sad right now – expressed that he thinks this third chapter is going to be the best in the series, according to Computer and Video Games.
Hudson said, “We had ambitious goals, but to make a whole series that spans recessions, BioWare’s independence, different publishers… Well, we did it in the end… We don’t know exactly [what happens next], but there will be more Mass Effect for Mass Effect fans, I’m sure.”
This is interesting – but unsurprising – news, especially on the tail of Mike Gamble’s announcement for fans to hold onto their Mass Effect 3 saves. Not for any reason, you know. Just in case. You digital hoarders you.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Epic to unveil Unreal Engine 4 this year
Mark Rein, the vice president of Epic Games, told G4 TV to expect to see more of the Unreal Engine 4 this year.
Rein said, “People are going to be shocked later this year when they see Unreal Engine 4 and how much more profound an effect it will have.”
I think the picture I chose says what’s on my mind: when will there be a new installment of Unreal Tournament? How about if they release Unreal Tournament 4, simultaneously showing off their ludicrously amazing engine and making all of my dreams come true?
Blizzard: Diablo III is now a Spring release
After missing a late 2011 launch, Blizzard announced that Diablo III would be released in early 2012. It looks like that release date is also no more as Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime revealed that the game’s new launch window is Spring 2012. The devil must have made them do it!
The news emerged from Activision’s most recent quarterly conference call and is likely due to the extensive changes Blizzard wanted to make to the game after receiving feedback from the Diablo III beta. Here’s what Morhaime had to say about the delay:
Given the popularity of the Action/RPG genre and the keen interest in Diablo III, we expect this launch to be a big opportunity for Blizzard. We can also confirm that we are targeting a Q2 launch for Diablo III. We expect to announce more details about the release schedule in the coming weeks.
So it’s coming in the Spring now. And this time they really really mean it! I guess we’ll see.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
Skyrim practically sweeps the 2012 IAAs with five awards
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences handed out the Interactive Achievement Awards for the 15th consecutive year on February 9 and, not surprisingly, Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim came away the big winner.
The RPG practically swept all of the major awards including Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering. It also took home RPG of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story.
Among the other winners, Portal 2 lead the way with three awards including Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, and an Outstanding Character Performance for Wheatley. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception also took home three awards, all for Naughty Dog’s continued mastery of game graphics.
You can find the full list of winners after the break, while all the nominated games are listed here. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Bastion, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, FIFA Soccer 12, Forza Motorsport 4, Fruit Ninja Kinect, LittleBigPlanet 2, Mortal Kombat, Orcs Must Die!, Portal 2, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Super Mario 3D Land, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Sims Social, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Star Trek pushed back to Q1 2013, Namco Bandai co-publishing
The new Star Trek game is set to be released in early 2013, just in time for the May 17 release of the new Star Trek film. Paramount will be working with Namco Bandai, who will be co-publishing the game.
The game, which was revealed at last year’s E3, has an original story, which is being scripted by the writers and producers of the film, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, working with BAFTA award winner and God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk. Players will play cooperatively as Kirk and Spock in the same prequel universe created by J.J. Abrams 2009 film.
Star Trek is being developed by Digital Extremes and will be released on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A Wii U version might also be in the cards as the press release also referenced the game’s release on “major consoles.”
Skylanders Giants goes big this Fall
Activision has announced Skylanders Giants, sequel to 2011’s Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure.
The sequel will “feature close integration” with the online world Skylanders: Spyro’s Universe, and will also have “a variety of new characters, new challenges, a thrilling new story-driven adventure, and advanced integration across console, handheld, mobile and online.” It will have eight new collectible figures, characters that interact with the figures, new Skylanders, more arenas, and more gameplay options. The sequel also has compatibility with the original game.
Skylanders Giants is once again being developed by Toys For Bob and is scheduled to be out this fall for a “to be announced” set of platforms. The game will make its debut February 12th to the 15th at the North American International Toy Fair in booths 3151 and 3251 at the Javits Center in New York City.
Mass Effect 3 “Reinstated” trailer shows off FemShep
The new trailer for Mass Effect 3, entitled “Reinstated,” shows off lady Shepard in all her badass glory. The franchise’s fans have been asking for an official trailer featuring the gender-flipped Shepard and it’s finally here. This game just keeps looking better and better with every scene they release.
Mass Effect 3 will be out for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 6. So until then, ponder if you’ll be taking enemies on as FemShep – or, you know, just regular old Shepard.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3