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
Sony pins SOE attack on Anonymous, makes statement to Congress
While the PlayStation Network is still down, Sony has gone on the offensive, detailing exactly what they told the U.S. House of Representatives and pinning the Sony Online Entertainment attack on Anonymous.
According to a new post on the PlayStation.Blog, Sony discovered a file on one of the SOE servers named “Anonymous” with the words “We are Legion.” Perhaps this calling card was left by an unconnected party in an attempt to paint the “hacktivist group” in a bad light. But it doesn’t inspire confidence in the group’s message that “For Once, We Didn’t Do It.”
Kazuo Hirai, SCEA’s Chairman of the Board, would go on to say that the major credit companies have not reported a single fraudulent transaction connected to the PSN information breach. But to be on the safe side, the company has also pledged to offer complimentary identity theft protection to U.S. account holders. This offer was not part of Sony’s original “Welcome Back” program and may have been spurred on by a Senator from Connecticut making the demand for identity theft protection in an open letter to the console maker last week.
Sony still has not confirmed when the PSN will be back online. They would only say that details will be coming “shortly.” Perhaps the promise of a return to service this week was a bit premature. SOE servers remain down indefinitely.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PSP
Tagged ApocalyPS3 2011
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations takes place in Istanbul
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations reveal has been slowly working its way towards completion and the new pictures are beginning to clear up the future of the franchise.
The clearest image is that of the Hagia Sophia (left), the largest church in the city of Istanbul. However, Turkish gaming site Oyungezer (via Joystiq) has translated more of the teaser and supplied the worldwide gaming community with even more clues:
- The number (“24061459”) is actually the birthdate of Assassin’s Creed II protagonist Ezio Auditore da Firenze (albeit written in the European date format).
- The amoeba-like symbol that occasionally flashes across the screen is a Tughra, an official seal or signature for a sultan.
The Tughra shown belongs to Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1520 until 1566. So it’s very possible that Assassin’s Creed: Revelation will be another direct sequel to ACII (which takes place in 1499) and Brotherhood (which takes place from 1499-1507).
Joystiq speculates that the inclusion of Ezio’s birthdate hints at a prequel focusing on Ezio’s father. Which would mean the action will take place in Constantinople (not Istanbul!).
They Might Be Giants had no comment on the rumors.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Revelations
The Darkness II dated for October 4
We finally know when we’ll be able to “quad-wield” in 2K Games’ The Darkness II. The publisher has released a new teaser that confirms the supernatural shooter will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 4.
If you need a primer on The Darkness II (the first game is almost four years old at this point, after all), here’s what 2K says you can expect from the game:
It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Estacado crime family, used Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. Jackie continues to have haunting visions of his beloved Jenny since her death. He’s tried to cope by bottling up his supernatural power, and now Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for Darkness to reemerge, and sets Jackie on a journey to hell and worse, as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of Darkness itself.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Darkness II
Bethesda bringing three more DLC packs to Fallout: New Vegas
Bethesda has announced that they plan to bring three additional DLC packs to Fallout: New Vegas this Summer. The expansions will be released simultaneously on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 (for $9.99 each) and, according to Bethesda, they will “raise the stakes” of the series. While they didn’t announce one, I’d bet good money that a Fallout: New Vegas Game of the Year Edition is in the works for this Fall.
But Fall is so far away. Especially when we’ve got all the details on the downloadable packs, straight from Bethesda:
Available on May 17, “Honest Hearts” takes you on an expedition to the unspoiled wilderness of Utah’s Zion National Park. Things go horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave, you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaanite missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. The decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.
In “Old World Blues,” releasing in June, you will discover how some of the Mojave’s mutated monsters came to be when you unwittingly become a lab rat in a science experiment gone awry. You’ll need to scour the Pre-War research centers of the Big Empty in search of technology to turn the tables on your kidnappers or join forces with them against an even greater threat.
“Lonesome Road,” available in July, brings the courier’s story full circle when you are contacted by the original Courier Six, a man by the name of Ulysses who refused to deliver the Platinum Chip at the start of New Vegas. In his transmission, Ulysses promises the answer as to why, but only if you take one last job –a job that leads you into the depths of the hurricane-swept canyons of the Divide, a landscape torn apart by earthquakes and violent storms. The road to the Divide is a long and treacherous one, and of the few to ever walk the road, none have ever returned.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Fallout: New Vegas
Duke Nukem Forever system requirements announced
Today, on the Gearbox Forums, the system requirements for Duke Nukem Forever were announced. The game will hit store shelves June 14 after a very long and infamous development process. For those who are unaware, the title was originally revealed in April 1997, and has jumped from three developers and four publishers in its 14 years of development.
The current requirements are likely quite different than what 3D Realms would have asked of your PC back in the late 90s, but you can find them after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Duke Nukem Forever
Sony Online Entertainment accounts compromised
The ApocalyPS3 continues as yesterday Sony took down Sony Online Entertainment in response to their discovery of “an issue.” According to CNet, after SOE was taken down, this message was sent: “Dear Valued SOE Customers, We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today Monday. We apologize for any inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience.”
Sony released more information at the SOE website, detailing the breach: “Stolen information includes, to the extent you provided it to us, the following: name, address (city, state, zip, country), email address, gender, birthdate, phone number, login name and hashed password.” There’s also “evidence that information from an outdated database from 2007 containing approximately 12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes) and about 10,700 direct debit records listing bank account numbers of certain customers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain may have also been obtained.”
Holy crap. This is really bad, Sony. The company is pointing SOE users to the government-offered free credit report service: “U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.” In other news, I just got my free t-shirt for participating in the Rewards Beta. I think I’ll wear it when I sign up for my free credit report.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged ApocalyPS3 2011
Daily Scoop: May 2, 2011 – Console deals!
Listen, people. The Internet really wants you to buy some consoles. Not only has the Wii seemed to have dropped to $169.99 (at least, black and white consoles on Amazon still are), but now there’s also a $50 promotional credit on the 160 GB PlayStation 3 consoles. On top of that, there’s a deal on Xbox 360 consoles – buy any of the new generation Xbox 360s and get $50 in promotional credit and 1600 Xbox Live points for free. This is a really great time to get that console you don’t have!
Let’s see, what else… Mortal Kombat is still $39.99 (and the Kollector’s Edition is $85.99), Portal 2 is still $34.99 on PS3 and Xbox and $29.99 on the PC, and today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Sega of America’s Aliens vs Predator for the Xbox 360, which is just $19.99. That’s a lotta good deals!
No game-related shirts today, but as a dinosaur lover, I feel like I should share the love of today’s Qwertee:
Too adorable. <3
The Next Level: The Games of May 2011
After a wild April that saw major havoc being wreaked on the PlayStation Network and several high profile releases in Mortal Kombat, Portal 2 and SOCOM 4, it’ll be hard for May to compete. And with a slew of delays, the already slim May slate has gotten even slimmer over the last few weeks. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t on the brink of something big. So join us in la-la-land for a look at what we want to play in May: (more…)