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
New Releases: Duke Nukem Forever for Mac, Bleach Soul Resurreccion, Saints Row Pack
The Summer game drought continues into the first week of August (and likely beyond).
This week, NIS America will be bringing the interestingly spelled Bleach: Soul Resurreccion to the PlayStation 3 and…
um…
hmm…
Oh! Duke Nukem Forever will be available for the Mac this week. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Unless you count the Saints Row Double Pack on the Xbox 360 as a new release.
Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
CoD Black Ops Annihilation map pack now available on PC, PS3
All you Call of Duty: Black Ops players on the PC and PS3 won’t have to wait any longer, the Annihilation Map Pack is now available to download.
In case you missed it, the pack includes four new multiplayer maps: “Hangar 18” (located within Area 51), “Drive-In” (a 60s American Drive-In theater), “Silo” (a massive secret Soviet nuclear missile site) and “Hazard” (a coastal golf course on the cliff sides of Cuba). A new Zombies Mode map, “Shangri-La,” resurrects everyone’s favorite undead monsters in an island paradise.
“Annihilation delivers four of the best Black Ops multiplayer maps, and a mind blowing new Zombies experience with Shangri La,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “With Annihilation, fans are really going to have a lot of fun continuing to play Black Ops online for a long time to come.”
The Annihilation Map Pack will be available to download for $14.99.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops
THQ ends development of Red Faction franchise
THQ (and their Vice President of “Core Games” Danny Bilson) have discussed the company’s dedication to bigtime franchises many times in the past. Sadly, it looks like that number was reduced by one yesterday.
During the company’s quarterly financial presentation, THQ CEO Brian Farrell revealed that the Red Faction franchise has become too much of a niche title to continue. This is hot on the heels of the June debuts of Red Faction: Armageddon and the Syfy movie Red Faction: Origins.
“Given that [the Red Faction franchise], now in two successive versions, has just found a niche, we do not intend to carry forward with that franchise in any meaningful way,” Farrell said.
But don’t feel too bad for developer Volition. They’ve got their hands full with Saints Row: The Third (which will be available this November) and Guillermo del Toro’s Insane trilogy.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Red Faction: Armageddon
The Humble Indie Bundle is back for a third round
For all of you PC, Mac, and Linux gamers out there, the Humble Indie Bundle 3 is out, featuring five games and a “pay what you want” price tag. All the games are DRM free and you get to select what portion of your price goes to which charities. Your donations will be made to either the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which helps to protect civil rights in the digital age, or Child’s Play, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals. It would also be nice of you to throw a bone to Humble Bundle, Inc.
For whatever price you like, you will receive:
- Crayon Physics Deluxe
- Cogs
- VVVVVV
- Hammerfight
- And Yet It Moves
Each game looks unique and fantastic in its own right. Come on, one game has a steampunk helicopter, while another has the whole world revolving around you. Who wouldn’t want that?
For more information on the Humble Indie Bundle 3, head to their homepage at HumbleBundle.com.
You can also find out more about the charities at EFF.org (The Electronic Frontier Foundation) and ChildsPlayCharity.org (Child’s Play).
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North “Fellowship” trailer is kind of emotional
Despite featuring a stereotypical fantasy narration, the latest trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North really goes at the heart of what friendship and courage are all about. Although completely rendered in CGI, it gets you amped for the story and excited for the co-operative gameplay.
War in the North will hit PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on August 24. You can get an arrow quiver if you pre-order it.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Choose the official female Shepard for Mass Effect 3
Fans and critics alike praised Jennifer Hale’s portrayal of the female version of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect games. As the feminine version of the protagonist garners more attention, BioWare wants to shine more of the spotlight on her with an official rendition. Fans may go to this Facebook page to let their voice be heard and “Like” their choice for the official, standard version of Commander Shepard for Mass Effect 3. Right now, contestant number five, featured left, appears to have a clear lead, with an alleged 2,300 votes. As the only blond of the lot, it would appear fans are subconsciously associating Mass Effect with Metroid, or there’s a strong Aryan demographic amongst Mass Effect fans.
Personally, I applaud BioWare for letting fans have a say in the development of the game. We’ve all seen how well that’s worked out in the past.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 3
Alice: Madness Returns Review: Almost the Nightmare of Your Dreams
mad·ness, Noun
1. The state of being mentally ill, esp. severely.
2. Extremely foolish behavior.
3. The state of that grayish-pink thing in American McGee’s skull casing.
Only once before has American McGee dared to present an intriguing new spin on the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland. Alice: Madness Returns dives back into a nightmarish Wonderland where the very fabric of poor Alice’s mind is being torn asunder from overly long levels and a maddening lack of story. Let’s see if American McGee is insane. I certainly think so. (more…)
Epic hints at more Unreal universe titles
Unreal Tournament III was kind of amazing. With cross-platform play between PC and PlayStation 3, keyboard & mouse support for the latter, as well as the ability to put any mod off the internet on that version, it was the ultimate bridge between PC and console gaming, something no title since has come close to matching. Some saw it as a simplification, but I would absolutely love to see what Epic does with a new entry.
Epic Games President Mike Capps acknowledged that Unreal has been off the shelf a little too long since it’s last 2007 release. “It’s been a long time since we shipped an Unreal game, and it’s an awfully loved franchise that we hold pretty dear here. We haven’t been giving it the attention it deserves because we’ve been focusing on Gears of War and we’re still a relatively small company.” Capps went on to say that Unreal may have plans in their upcoming business strategies. “We’ve been sort of focused on making new properties, which you’ve seen with Shadow Complex, BulletStorm and Infinity Blade, but sometimes I think just as a businessman that maybe we should be spending some more time with our existing franchises.”
I love it when business and fandom collide.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Unreal Tournament III