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
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Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
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- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
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- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: PS3
2013 Writers Guild Award for Videogame Writing nominees announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for their 2013 Writers Guild Awards, and with them, the nominees for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing.”
To be eligible for consideration, this year’s nominees include games that were released between December 1, 2011 and November 30, 2012 on featured on-screen writing credits. This year, the Guild has continued their love affair with Ubisoft and the Uncharted series by bestowing nominations on Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Other nominated games for 2013 include Halo 4, 007 Legends, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
The 2013 Writers Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, February 17, 2013. A complete list of the nominated writers and editors can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged 007 Legends, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Epic Mickey 2, Halo 4, Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Bethesda announces that all Skyrim DLC will be available on PS3 in February
After more than six months of delays, Bethesda has finally announced that all the downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be available on the PlayStation Store in February.
Bethesda actually plans to go backwards with the PS3 DLC as Dragonborn will be available first, followed by Hearthfire, and then Dawnguard. As a mea culpa for the botched release schedule (Dawnguard was originally expected to come to the PS3 in July/August), all three add-ons will be priced at 50% off during their first week of availability.
And for all the PC gamers out there, you’ll be happy to know that Dragonborn will be available to download on February 5.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Curt Schilling’s bloody sock goes up for auction next month
So it’s come to this.
After striking out with the Amalur MMO (internally known as Copernicus), Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios closed up shop last year. Even though the Big Huge Games-developed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning did well with critics, gamers, and your local retailer, it wasn’t enough to keep the developer’s doors open. Now, Schilling has been forced to sell the infamous “bloody sock” so that his creditors (including the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island) will be able to reclaim some of the money owed to them.
The “bloody sock” was worn by Schilling during the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Schilling loaned the sock to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where it resided as part of the museum’s FENtennial exhibit last year. The sock is currently in position of Heritage Auctions and will be displayed at their Manhattan office before being sold at a live auction on February 23 (Internet bidding will begin on February 4).
According to Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage Auctions, the “bloody sock” is expected to sell for at least $100,000. Though that’s considered a “conservative” estimate (insert joke about Schilling’s political leanings here).
[Source: Associated Press]
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Bungie will unveil Destiny at GDC 2013
Bungie’s Destiny, the first game in their multi-year, multi-project deal with Activision, has been hidden behind enough security to make a man in black blush (discounting that unfortunate leak back in November). But the developer is ready to blow the doors off of their “New Universe” this March with an eye-opening presentation at the Game Developers Conference that will delve into their world building skills.
Design Director Joe Staten and Art Director Christopher Barrett will be on hand to describe the Bungie process, including “a glimpse” of Destiny. Here’s what your GDC 2013 program will say about the presentation:
Two decades of success in the gaming industry is no small feat, but after ten years of Halo, Bungie found themselves faced with a tremendous challenge: to build a whole new world, filled with even more amazing mysteries, places, creatures, and opportunities for player investment. For the first time ever, Bungie creative directors will discuss their world building techniques, from concept to production. Attendees will walk away with key insights into Bungie’s battle-tested design process. They’ll get a glimpse of the brave new world that has been built, a place where the next ten years of great Bungie adventures will unfold.
Destiny is expected to be available this Fall.
Ubisoft sneaks Splinter Cell: Blacklist release into August
The good news… Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist has an official release date!
The bad news… the game’s previously scheduled Spring 2013 release date has been erased, like so many of Sam Fisher’s targets. Blacklist will now be available in stores for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 20.
To celebrate, Ubisoft has released a new trailer for the game, which you can view above. And for some reason it intersplices the assassination action with video and audio from recent Presidential inaugurations. Yay for being timely, I guess, but why?
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
MotoGP 13 races onto PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Vita in June
Milestone, an Italian development team, has announced that they’ve begun work on MotoGP 13, the latest iteration of the motorcycle racing simulation series. MotoGP 13 is currently scheduled to be released in June 2013 for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Vita.
Milestone’s last MotoGP-licensed game was 2008’s MotoGP 08. So for MotoGP 13, the developer has created a brand new gameplay engine that they say will allow enhanced “graphics, physics, bikes, environment modeling and in-game sound.”
“We’re very proud to announce MotoGP 13. After four years, [we] have the license again in our hands and we’d like to put all the expertise we have developed during this time into the game. This new project will offer players the chance to experience a brand new MotoGP game that will include the most-loved features plus brand new ones,” said Luisa Bixio, Milestone’s Marketing and Sales Director.
MotoGP 13 will include all the tracks and riders from the 2013 MotoGP season, as well as Quick Race Mode and a first-person/third-person Career Mode.
PSN Today: DMC, Angry Birds Trilogy, Corpse Party 2, Siren, Disgaea
Sony has added five games to the PlayStation Store and… you’ll never believe it… one of them is a PSP game!
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows comes to Sony’s other handheld and “expands and elaborates” on the 2011 horror game. If you like adventure games and you haven’t upgraded to a Vita yet (or even if you have), it might be one to check out. Also available this week is two very different PS3 games focused on total destruction.
DMC: Devil May Cry is a fast-paced prequel to Dante’s battle against the demonic hordes. There’s gunplay and swordplay and other playful methods of giving a boot to the face of the denizens of Hell. On the other hand, Angry Birds Trilogy is all about flinging fat birds at even fatter pigs and destroying their houses. And you don’t even have to huff or puff.
Finally this week is a pair of PS2 classics. The underrated (but loved by many) Siren and the underrated (but loved by many) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break and a complete overview of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Angry Birds Trilogy, DMC: Devil May Cry
Deep Silver in deep over mutilated female torso statue
Some days, I feel like the gaming industry is making progress in accepting its female audience and making them feel welcome. But then something happens, like Deep Silver announcing a mutilated female torso statue with a Union Jack bikini barely covering up its lady bits, and all that faith starts to crumble.
Their reprehensible UK-only “Zombie Bait Edition” for Dead Island: Riptide was announced earlier today, and was quickly followed up by an apology, but the damage was already done. Many gamers, especially freelance writer Jenn Frank, were absolutely outraged. “People, how did we get here? Really? Really. How is a woman’s mangled body, a literal trophy on your desk, even remotely defensible,” she tweeted. Frank’s statements were on point, and she didn’t let up: “Stop sending me apologies. It takes a profound amount of foresight to conceive, design, produce a limited run, and then announce them.”
What can Deep Silver do to make up for this? I don’t imagine they can, at this point. Sure, they’ll still sell games, but they’ve just lost a lot of respect. All I want to do is quote Frank more: “So hey, I have as much right to this as you do, right? You can still have a voice, I’m so into that. But here’s a thought: BE LESS HORRIBLE,” and “Anyway, if you play games, I love you. You understand my world, and you already know games can change the world. So don’t stand for this BS.”
The Mary Sue had a good point – the apology doesn’t ever say the word “woman,” and mentions nothing about them actually pulling the offensive edition.
This is a sad day for the industry.
Show the 'Torso Edition'
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dead Island: Riptide