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
Bethesda bringing Rage to bookstores in novel tie-in
Bethesda Softworks and Del Rey have announced they’ll be teaming up to produce a tie-in novel based on id Software’s Rage.
The novel, which will also be called Rage, will be written by Matt Costello. Costello has some experience working with id Software. Not only did he write the game, but he also previously adapted two novels based on Doom 3 (Worlds on Fire and Maelstrom).
The novel will feature a similar story to the game in that a lone human emerges from an Ark and finds the Mad Max-like world on the outside:
When Lt. Nick Raine emerges from his Ark, he finds the human race has not been wiped out. And people, as resilient as they are, are scraping together a new world from the rubble of the old. This was not what anyone in the Arks expected–a new society where might is right, mutants plague the Earth, and “friend” is a term for the person who hasn’t stabbed you in the back.
The novel is scheduled for release on August 30 and will appear alongside a Dark Horse-published prequel comic book series. So there’s plenty of Rage tie-in stories to go around.
Crysis 2 Review: Not All It’s Cried Up to Be
“Can it run Crysis?” For years, this question was the hallmark of determining the mettle of a PC’s prospects as a gaming machine and the bar was so high that the Xbox 360 and even the PlayStation 3 were said to be incapable of running it. Looking to broaden their audience (and possibly clients who license game engines), Crytek unveiled the CryEngine 3, the escort that would bring Crysis to consoles. It’s actually been done; Crysis 2 runs and runs well, but despite its astounding emphasis on visuals, the game fails to stack up well against the FPS heavy hitters of today. (more…)
F1 2011 races to stores in September; coming to 3DS, NGP
Fans of the Formula 1 breed of motor sport can rest easy knowing that F1 2011 has narrowed its release date down to this September. Developed by Codemasters Birmingham, this comprehensive sim features every racer, team, and circuit from the 2011 Fia Formula One World Championship. The game is currently slated for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, but Codemasters also confirmed the game is in development for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony’s Next Generation Portable (NGP/PSP2). These versions may be more than gimped ports, as each will “take advantage of the new platforms’ unique capabilities.” No official date for the handhelds has been confirmed.
You can get a chance to preview the game early by uploading a video on YouTube asking a question for the development team. Tubers submitting the best questions, as judged by the team, will be invited out to Birmingham in May to check out the game and be taped for a developer diary. Sounds like a pretty great opportunity.
Capcom officially announces Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
After being outed last week by Official Xbox Magazine, Capcom has confirmed that Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is in development for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 by Slant Six.
Sensing the grumbling of fans that believe the series is straying too much from its roots, Capcom is returning to September 1998 and the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3. For the first time, players will play through the entire game as Umbrella operatives attempting to cover-up the T-Virus outbreak (while also battlnig zombies and Bio-Organic Weapons like Nemesis):
It is September 1998 and the action centres once more on the ill-fated Raccoon City and the horrific consequences of the deadly T-virus outbreak from the Umbrella facility. With a cover up required, Umbrella orders an elite team into Raccoon City to destroy all evidence of the outbreak and eliminate any survivors. Hearing of this plan, the US Government dispatches its own special forces to uncover any evidence that exposes the cause of the viral infection and Umbrella’s actions. Players take on the role of an Umbrella Security Services soldier (U.S.S.), competing alone or in four player co-op in a battle against all the competing forces at play in Raccoon City.
Operation Raccoon City will feature a variety of callbacks to the earlier games in the series including the Police Station and an appearance by Leon Kennedy (who has to be assassinated in one mission). The game will also include several competitive multiplayer modes pitting the Umbrella Security Services against a United States Special Ops team.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is scheduled for release this Winter.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
New Releases: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, 3rd Birthday, WWE All-Stars, More
While the impending release of the 3DS still dominates the coming soon lists, there will be plenty of new games available when the calendar skips to the week ahead.
Fresh off Tiger Woods’ victory on Morning Drive, his namesake game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, will be available in stores this week for the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. It’ll be joined by Square Enix’s long-awaited PSP sequel to Parasite Eve, The 3rd Birthday.
More sports action dominates this week’s new releases including the arcade wrestling title WWE All-Stars (PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS2!) as well as a pair of racing games: Shift 2: Unleashed (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) and NASCAR 2011 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360).
Finally, everyone’s favorite hack and slash series returns for another round of ancient Chinese warfare. I refer, of course, to Koei’s Dynasty Warriors 7 (PS3, Xbox 360).
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged NASCAR 2011: The Game, Shift 2: Unleashed, The 3rd Birthday, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, WWE All-Stars
Weinstein Company gets into the game business
Famous film brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have announced that their company, the creatively named The Weinstein Company, has started a video game division. The equally creatively named TWC Games will tap into the back catalog of The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films to develop and publish video games for mobile, social, and console platforms. Among the Weinstein/Dimension films that could get the game treatment are Scream, Hellraiser, Halloween and Children of the Corn.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if TWC Games teamed up with Freddy and Jason rightsholder Warner Bros. to create the ultimate slasher movie fighting game of Ghostface vs Pinhead vs Michael Myers vs “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” vs Freddy Kruegger vs Jason Voorhees? Considering the fact that Warner Bros. also owns Mortal Kombat maker NetherRealm Studios, it’s practically fate.
TWC Games will be working with Beefy Media, who has worked with Capcom in the past on a ton of projects, to bring their video game dreams to fruition. The consulting company will work with TWC Games to “foster relationships with publishers and create high quality games.”
Bob Weinstein, The Weinstein Company’s co-chairman, is thrilled about the announcement: “The video game marketplace is changing at such a rapid rate. With all of the digital platforms, there are so many opportunities to broaden our audience with compelling, high quality, cost-efficient, video game entertainment.”
Seriously, someone needs to convince Bob and Harvey to make that monster crossover happen.
THQ’s Homefront is a hit
THQ’s take on a Korean invasion of America in the 2027 has proven to be a hit with gamers across the globe. Described by company executives as one of the biggest games they’ve ever done, Homefront has now sold one million copies worldwide. THQ has also revealed that they’ve shipped 2.4 million copies of Homefront to stores since its release two weeks ago. So there’s plenty of copies out there if you want to become Homefront player #1,000,001.
“We are very pleased with strong worldwide shipments and sell-through for Homefront, and we continue to fulfill new retail orders for the game across the globe,” said Brian Farrell, THQ President and CEO. “Homefront is clearly resonating with gamers and we are certainly pleased with our initial sales results.”
Even before Homefront was released, THQ hinted that a sequel was in the planning stages. With the game crossing the million-seller mark already, expect to hear an announcement of Homefront: London any time now.
Lead and Gold on Steam gets free to play weekend, patch, DLC, and massive sale
If you missed out on last year’s excellent class-based, wild west multiplayer shooter, now’s a great time to get into Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West, particularly on Steam. The game is now 75% off and you can play without paying for it as part of this free to play weekend. The new Appendoah Valley – The Crops of Wrath map makes its debut in versus. Like the PS3 version got earlier this month, the game has been patched for numerous bugs on Steam.