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: PS3
Sony Santa Monica lays off staff, cancels unannounced original game
After the completion of God of War III, Stig Asmussen, the game’s Director, began working on an original property within the walls of Sony Santa Monica. Sadly, it has been confirmed that the unannounced game has been cancelled. The cancellation looks to be the direct result of layoffs at the studio, as 50 employees recently lost their jobs. Lead Level Designer Jonathan Hawkins confirmed via Twitter that the project had been cancelled.
According to Gearnuke, Hawkins had been working on the new IP with Andy Puhl and Rob Davis, among other developers at the studio. The image above shows an Easter Egg from God of War: Ascension, which many thought was a teaser for the new property.
Once again, it’s a sad day for the industry when so many talented developers and staff members of an amazing studio like Sony Santa Monica are let go.
MGS5: Ground Zeroes gets a pre-release price cut and includes Phantom Pain DLC
Konami dropped a lot of information on us this week about Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. For starters, if you purchase the game “early on” (no time period specified), you’ll get exclusive DLC for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In the retail version, it will be available “in the first batch;” digitally, it will be available for only a limited amount of time. The DLC unlocks additional staff for the Mother Base, introduced in Ground Zeroes, and will give players an advantage against The Phantom Pain.
There will also be unlockable content from Ground Zeroes that will carry over to The Phantom Pain. Ground Zeroes players will have a leg up with the additional staff, which will include rescued prisoners of war and VIPs. You will be able to carry over your character skins as well.
But wait, there’s more! Ground Zeroes will have a second screen iDroid app, which will be available for iOS, Android, and Xbox Smart Glass systems. This free app is a replica of Big Boss’ communicator and map, meaning you’ll be able to look at your maps, call in air support, or play the audio files (found in the form of cassette tapes) found in Camp Omega.
And finally, Konami has announced a price reduction. On the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, physical and digital copies of the game will only cost $29.99. On the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the physical game will be $29.99, while digital will be $19.99. The game will be available starting March 18, 2014, so if you want to get in on some of these special additions, you should pre-order it soon.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Warner Bros. is making a Minecraft movie
What kind of film could you create out of a video game with no characters, no plot, and no consistent world from player to player? I don’t know, but when you’re talking about the most popular game in the world, Warner Bros. is willing to give it a try. Deadline is reporting that the movie studio has reached a deal with Mojang to create a movie based on Minecraft.
The Minecraft movie will be produced by Roy Lee, who is one of the masterminds behind this year’s massively popular The Lego Movie. Jill Messick, a producer on Mean Girls, will also help bring Minecraft to the silver screen. It is much too early to discuss writers, directors, or actors, but might I suggest Quentin Tarantino for all three? Nah, I’m only joking… I think.
Warner Bros. is no stranger to the world of video games. In addition to producing the next Mortal Kombat movie, the company is one of the few to find success in game publishing thanks to its WB Games label.
The Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided will be released next week
Telltale Games has announced that the second episode of The Walking Dead Season 2, “A House Divided,” will be available to download for the PC and the PS3 (from the PlayStation Store) next Tuesday, March 4. The game’s Xbox Live Arcade and iOS App Store release date will be confirmed “at a later date.” But I’d bet good money that both versions will be available sometime around March 4.
For “A House Divided,” Telltale has tapped Michael Madsen to play the mysterious Carver. What does Carver want? You’ll have to play the game to find out. Like the previous episodic editions, The Walking Dead Season 2’s second episode has been priced at $4.99. All five episodes from Season 2 can also be pre-purchased through the $19.99 Season Pass. If you plan to follow the entire story of Clementine’s survival, it’s a good deal.
Vita owners will be happy to learn that Telltale also confirmed that The Walking Dead Season 2 will be released for Sony’s handheld. The first two episodes will be available to download in late March.
Batman: Arkham Origins “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC available April 22
After a New Year’s tease, WB Games has announced that the first downloadable campaign content for Batman: Arkham Origins will reveal the story of the first time Batman and Mr. Freeze met. The DLC expansion will be known as “Cold, Cold Heart” and it’ll thaw your heart this Spring.
Priced at $9.99, and available for free to Season Pass subscribers) the “Cold, Cold Heart” add-on will take place within the walls of Wayne Manor during an awards banquet that Mr. Freeze decides to crash. Batman will be able to use a variety of new toys including the new Extreme Environment (XE) suit, as well as Thermal Gloves and Thermocharged Batarangs. Maybe this is a stupid question, but if “Cold, Cold Heart” is the first time Batman will tangle with Mr. Freeze, why does he even have Thermal Gloves and Thermocharged Batarangs?
The “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on April 22.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham Origins
Thief, Tales of Symphonia, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, more added to PS Store
Sony updated the PlayStation Store last night and added almost all of February’s biggest releases to their digital storefront.
Leading the way are the PS4 titles Thief and Basement Crawl. One is the reboot of a beloved franchise and the other is a Bomberman-inspired in the scariest basement this side of The Evil Dead. Thief is also available to download on the PS3.
Also available on the PS3 this week is Konami’s conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Dracula’s modern day adventure is joined by Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, a high definition remake of the popular action RPGs. Bandai Namco has also released the two games in the compilation, Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, as individual downloads. Finally, the publisher is compiling several games from another of its favorite franchises with this week’s Pac-Man Museum.
More details about all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break and a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Pac-Man Museum, Tales of Symphonia, Thief
It’s ‘Personarama’ as Atlus announces four Persona games for North America
Atlus today revealed that four new titles in the highly popular Persona universe will be making their way to the North America over the next two years.
First on the list is Persona 5, set to hit the PlayStation 3 in 2015. Persona 5 will be a traditional RPG, but details are slim. The game’s director, Katsura Hashino, only provided us (via the PlayStation Blog) with one cryptic hint of what to expect: “The storyline will be about throwing off the chains of oppression to find one’s true self.’
Second is the next installment of Persona’s fighter, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. A direct sequel to last year’s Persona 4 Arena, Ultimax will host several new features, including new characters, story, and fighting modes. Expect P4AU to hit the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in Fall 2014. You can take a look at Ultimax in motion on Atlus’ YouTube page.
Next, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is a rhythm action game, using tunes from the series. This PlayStation Vita title features 30 tracks, along with a full story mode. Not many details were given about this title, other than that instead of traditional attacks, characters combat each other with dance moves. Hey, why not? It’s worked before. Hold on to your dance shoes, though; this one won’t hit the Vita until 2015.
Finally, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth will unite the Persona users across space and time on the 3DS this Fall. A teaser trailer is available through Atlus’ YouTube page.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate descends on PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360 on April 1
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition brings the handheld content to high definition, replete with 2.5D graphics. It will also have 5.1 surround sound, voice acting, a new map, and a new hint system as well.
The storyline, in case you missed it the first time around, is pretty typical Batman fare: Blackgate Prison, a place full of baddies Batman put there, is having a rebellion, and the only man who can stop it is the caped crusader. Those who played Batman: Arkham Origins can continue the story of that game here.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition will be released for the PC (through Steam), PlayStation 3 (through the PSN), Xbox 360 (through the Xbox Live Marketplace), and Wii U (through Nintendo’s eShop) on April 1 for $19.99.