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
- 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)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: PS3
Insert Quarter: A History of (Video Game) Violence
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
The video game industry’s fiercest critics will always say that games have never been more violent and that it is doing horrible damage to our children. But the game industry’s fiercest critics have always been saying that. In fact, many of them were children themselves when the first round of panic gripped parents during Death Race‘s 1976 heyday.
Vice’s Mike Diver examines this legacy of violence, citing everything from the obvious (Mortal Kombat and Carmageddon) to the obscure (Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior and Battle Chess). I never thought of Battle Chess as particularly gruesome, but your primer on pixelated gore awaits:
If you came to games fresh during the previous console generation, where once-grainy graphics made the switch to full HD, you don’t know how easy you’ve had it. There was a time, long before the gushes of crimson coloring contemporary offerings of extreme violence–Gears and God of War, Dead Rising, and the more recent Resident Evils, Max Payne 3, the Dead Space series, Bulletstorm, and BioShock (to name but a few)–where you had to lean on your imagination to bring scenes of disgusting dismemberment to life.
You can read the rest of the article at Vice.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix Collector’s Edition will include 1.5 HD ReMix too
If you missed out on Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix when it was released last year, you’ll want to pay extra attention to the recently announced Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix Collector’s Edition. That’s because the Collector’s Edition will include the first Kingdom Hearts HD collection as well as the second.
The Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix Collector’s Edition has been priced at $99.99 and it will be available exclusively through Square Enix’s official website. In addition to both HD collections, it will include a Collector’s Steelbook Case, a Shadow Heartless plush Toy, an exclusive Sora/Mickey collectible pin, and a 30-page hardcover Art Book.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix (which Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix and Birth By Sleep: Final Mix, as well as a “Theater Mode” version of Re:Coded) will be released for the PS3 on December 2.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix
Development begins on Destiny 2 as Activision reveals Destiny has 9.5 million users
When Activision and Bungie signed their ten-year pact to produce Destiny, it was always assumed that the deal would extend to additional games in the series. Yesterday, during their quarterly conference call, Activision executives have confirmed that Destiny 2 is now in active development.
Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision Publishing, told investors: “Work has also begun on future expansion packs [for Destiny] as well as on our next full-game release. We’re very pleased with the launch and continuing engagement, and we’ll update you on our progress on future calls.”
In other Destiny news, Activision has also announced that the game currently boasts more than 9.5 million users. These players appear to be putting a ton of time into Destiny as “active players” are averaging more than three hours of playtime per day. It’s unknown how that playerbase translates into copies sold, but the publisher said that Destiny has generated more than $500 million in revenue since its September 9 launch. Assuming $60 per copy, that roughly correlates to more than eight million copies sold.
And don’t forget, Destiny’s first expansion, The Dark Below, will be released on December 9.
CoD: Advanced Warfare, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, MotoGP 14, more added to PS Store
Just like this week’s retail release slate, most publishers avoided the PlayStation Store this week because the juggernaut that is Call of Duty has staked a permanent claim on the first Tuesday in November. This year’s edition, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, PS3), adds Kevin Spacey and a near-future storyline to the mix.
But a few games have taken up the challenge, including Edmund McMillen’s procedurally-generated action RPG, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (PS4, Vita). This expanded and updated edition of the game includes redone visuals and tons of other tweaks. Sony’s own downloadable version of SingStar (PS4, PS3) was also released yesterday after a slight delay. Also available this week is Milestone’s latest motorcycle racer, MotoGP 14 (PS4, PS4, Vita); a standalone download of Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition (PS4, PS3); and a handful of other titles.
More information on all of these titles is available after the break and a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Insert Quarter: Is Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Season Pass a Good Value or a Rip-Off?
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Gearbox supported 2012’s Borderlands 2 with a bevy of downloadable content including four campaign expansions (which were included as part of the game’s Season Pass), five Headhunter Packs, two level cap upgrades, and two additional playable characters. It was the most ambitious post-release DLC schedule for a game ever.
Perhaps it’s due to the developer switch or maybe it’s because the latest Borderlands game is still living on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in a new-generation world, but Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel‘s DLC schedule isn’t nearly as expansive. 2K Games is once again selling a Season Pass for The Pre-Sequel, but Destructoid’s Darren Nakamura is concerned that 2K is being intentionally vague in their promotion of the Pass to hide its less-than-stellar value:
So even though no promises are technically being broken, and 2K plans to deliver four digital additions to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for the price of three through the season pass, I cannot blame any who bought it for feeling cheated. The content fits the requirements laid out, but the value is not there. Even if the plans were to change from here onward and the season pass ends up including one new Vault Hunter and three story DLCs, the value of the pass over purchasing content piecemeal hinges on the quality of all three packs, and the series does not have a perfect track record on that front.
You can read the rest of the article at Destructoid.
Posted in Insert Quarter, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Retro City Rampage: DX will be available on nearly every platform imaginable next week
Vblank Entertainment has announced that Retro City Rampage: DX, the expanded version of 2012’s Retro City Rampage, will be available on nearly every video game platform beginning next week.
Retro City Rampage: DX will be available on November 11 for the PS4, PS3, and Vita as a Cross-Buy title. The game will be a separate download from the original PS3/Vita version and will priced at $9.99 ($7.99 for PlayStation Plus subscribers).
If you’ve already purchased Retro City Rampage on the other previously available platforms, the DX version will be available as a free update. The game will be available through the WiiWare Shop for Nintendo’s Wii console on Thursday, November 13. The PC/Mac version will launch sometime next week, though the date is still to be determined. Finally, Retro City Rampage: DX is expected to be available for Xbox 360 next week through the Xbox Live Arcade, barring any last minute certification problems.
The DX version of Retro City Rampage was originally released for the 3DS earlier this year. This new version of the game fine-tuned everything about the Retro City Rampage experience including rebalanced missions, more checkpoints, tweaked controls, a complete graphical overhaul, and many more updates. A full rundown of the changes made to the DX version of the game can be found at Vblank’s official website.
If this wasn’t enough Retro City Rampage news for one day, stay tuned, because Vblank has promised “pretty big” RCR news will be announced later this month.
Handsome Jack will join Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel as fifth playable character
Admit it, ever since Borderlands 2 came out, you’ve wanted to play as Handsome Jack. Well, you’ll get your chance (sort of) in the “Handsome Jack Doppelganger Pack,” the first downloadable content pack for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Available on November 11, players will be able to take control of Jack’s Doppelganger, who is able to summon multiple Jack clones to aid him in battle:
As “Jack,” you’ll be able to summon multiple Digi-Jacks, which will join you in battle to mow down enemies and earn you more sweet, sweet loot. Depending on how you spec out your Skill Trees, these Digi-Jacks can earn you bonuses or even get you a Second Wind in Fight For Your Life. “Jack” can also shoot enemies with wrist lasers, get buffs every time he picks up money (in typical CEO fashion), or even get upgrades for using guns made by specific manufacturers.
The Handsome Jack Doppelganger Pack will be the first piece of content available through the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Season Pass (which is available for $29.99) and can also be purchased separately for $9.99 on the PC, PS3, or Xbox 360.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
New Releases: CoD: Advanced Warfare, Wolf Among Us, Harvest Moon: Lost Valley, More
It’s the first full week of November, so you know what that means, don’t you? Activision is rolling out the latest entry in their Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Starring Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons, the head of a massive Private Military Contractor, the near-future shooter will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Naturally, this also means that all of the other publishers are ducking Advanced Warfare and holding their big November games until later in the month. Sometimes Nintendo bucks the trend with a big game, but not this year. Instead, we get the 3DS game Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (the first in the series to be developed in-house at Natsume) and Telltale’s collected edition of The Wolf Among Us (PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One). And speaking of collections, 2K Games bundled together BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.
The full list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, The Wolf Among Us