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
- 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
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
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: Switch
Arms will be available for the Nintendo Switch on June 16
Nintendo mapped out the Switch’s Summer release schedule during yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, and they kicked things off with Arms.
The consolemaker gave fans an extended look at their upcoming stretchy-armed boxing game with a brand new gameplay trailer narrated by Biff, the Arms League Commentator. In addition to briefly discussing the Arm Types and their special abilities, Biff introduced viewers to another playable character: Min Min, “The Ramen Bomber.”
She’s a martial artist with a fire-breathing Dragon Arm that’s able to hold a longer charge, and Nintendo pitted her against Spring Man in a full match. The two characters ducked, dodged, and counterpunched as they circled the arena, and we learned that you can disable your opponent’s arms. The match showcased the many strategic options players will have in Arms, but Min Min ultimately emerged victorious thanks to her powerful Dragon Arm.
Finally, Nintendo also confirmed that Arms will include 2v2 fights. We’ll likely hear more about those in a future Nintendo Direct.
Arms will launch for the Switch on June 16, alongside the separate release of a special Neon Yellow Joy-Con set and a Joy-Con AA Battery Pack.
Blaster Master Zero Review: Tanks for the Memories
The Nintendo Entertainment System was my first foray into real gaming. Granted, I played a lot of Atari and Intellivision back when I was a young ‘un, but the NES was a huge part of my childhood, and helped shape me into the gamer that I am today.
As a young hardcore gamer (did that term exist back in the day?), one of the things I loved doing was signing up for video game magazines. At Doc Lewis’s behest, I joined the Nintendo Fun Club. When I would get my allowance, I would head over to the local Woolworth and pick up the newest GamePro magazine. And yes, I was a subscriber to the short-lived Sunsoft Game Time News. I loved reading about their newest games, learning tips and tricks, and bugging my mom for $5.00 to order that Xenophobe T-shirt (I never did get it, though). One of the games that always piqued my interest in the Sunsoft newsletter was Blaster Master. It looked like a fun game, with lots of action and adventure.
Unfortunately, my only experience with the title was renting it once at the local movie rental shop. While it was a somewhat fun experience, I was pretty much lost and didn’t know what to do. I also never played it again, because I was knee deep in Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda, and Dragon Warrior. But I always regretted that decision, because Blaster Master has a reputation as one of the great games from the NES era. Well, fate as smiled upon me, as now I am able to play a new Blaster Master… and I don’t even have to hook up my old system! (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Blaster Master Zero
Nintendo Download: Lego City Undercover, Graceful Explosion Machine, Vroom in the Night Sky, more
Four new games are now available to download for the Nintendo Switch… and three of them will offer players plenty of explosions.
Lego City Undercover is an open-world action game that takes the gritty “cops and robbers” genre and gives it a family-friendly makeover. Players will take control of Chase McCain, an undercover officer who has been ordered to take down notorious criminal Rex Fury. But they’ll also be able to keep themselves busy with “more than 20 unique districts to investigate, car thieves to bust, hilarious movie references to discover, vehicles to drive, and hundreds of collectibles.” Oh, and an explosion or two.
As you’d expect, Graceful Explosion Machine is also packed with fiery detonations. In this side-scrolling shooter, Switch owners will pilot the Graceful Explosion Machine, using its quartet of weapons to blast a bunch of aliens. If you prefer your shooters to scroll vertically, Alpha Mission II, which was originally released for the NeoGeo in 1991, is also available to download today.
Finally this week, Switch owners will be able to download Vroom in the Night Sky, which doesn’t appear to include explosions of any kind. Instead, players will fly through the night collecting Stardusts to unlock the Magical Gate.
You can learn about this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (which also includes several 3DS and Wii U games) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Graceful Explosion Machine, Lego City Undercover
Graceful Explosion Machine Review: Colorful Arcade Shooter Pops On Nintendo’s Switch
When your brand new console launches with a single marquee game, you need to do something in the ensuing weeks and months to hold the interest of all those early adopters. Most Nintendo Switch owners (approximately 89%, according to GameStop) are busy exploring every corner of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but the consolemaker’s “Nindies” program has also given the eShop a boost in these early days thanks to exclusive and semi-exclusive software like Snipperclips, FAST RMX, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, and Blaster Master Zero.
Available today, Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine is the latest title to join this steady stream of smaller Switch launches. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Graceful Explosion Machine
This News Is On Fire… NBA Playgrounds will be available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in May
IGN is reporting that Saber Interactive will team up with the National Basketball Assocation to release NBA Playgrounds for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this May.
NBA Playgrounds is following in the footsteps of the wild antics and insane dunks that NBA Jam and NBA Street pioneered more than a decade ago. Midway and EA Big may both be defunct, but their love of an over-the-top arcade basketball experience definitely lives on in 2017.
The game will feature 2-on-2 matchups with players from all 30 NBA teams, as well as a deep bench of retired legends such as Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, and more. And as you might expect, players can pick up and play NBA Playgrounds in single-player or multiplayer (local and online) modes.
NBA Playgrounds will be available next month exclusively as a digital download, but do not miss the game’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above.
Cars 3: Driven To Win will be released for every available console on June 13
WB Games and Avalanche Software have announced that the Cars 3 video game, Cars 3: Driven To Win, will be released for the PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 13.
Taking place after the events of Disney/Pixar’s upcoming film, Cars 3: Driven To Win will ask players to master advanced racing abilities such as “Drifting, Turbo, Two-Wheel Driving, Driving Backwards and Side-Bash” as they rise through the ranks of the Piston Cup. Naturally, the game will also feature splitscreen multiplayer for competitive and cooperative modes:
Picking up after the final big race in the film, Cars 3: Driven to Win extends the storyline of Cars 3 with all-new action packed adventures and takes players through a high-speed competition that is filled with both familiar and new faces. Players will be able to join Lightning McQueen and Cruz Ramirez as they prepare to take on rival racer Jackson Storm. The game features more than 20 customizable playable characters including popular heroes from the Cars franchise and next generation racers. Players can also select their favorite race environments from a series of iconic settings from the film, such as Radiator Springs and Florida International Speedway, with over 20 unique tracks to choose from across 13 different locations.
We also got a glance at the first trailer for Cars 3: Driven To Win, and its been embedded above.
It looks like Udon will publish a Shovel Knight: Official Design Works artbook in August
We’re still waiting patiently for the release of those children’s books based on Shovel Knight (they’re currently scheduled to arrive in stores on April 18), but it looks like you’ll be able to purchase yet another tome featuring the titular knight later this Summer.
According to a new listing on Amazon, Udon Entertainment will publish Shovel Knight: Official Design Works on August 29. The artbook will include 184 pages of images from the game, as well as new information about Shovel Knight from the development team at Yacht Club Games:
Shovel Knight: Official Design Works collects the fun and original artwork behind this landmark title. Inside you’ll find key art, character concepts, enemy designs, sprite sheets, unused ideas, and an all-new Shovel Knight tribute art gallery! This epic tome is also packed with creator commentary, as well as exclusive interview with the Yacht Club Games team.
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, the newest expansion to Shovel Knight’s side-scrolling adventure, will be available to download for the PC beginning tomorrow. If missed its Nintendo Switch launch last month, you might not know that it’s an AMAZING addition to the franchise.
Nintendo unveils “Humpback Pump Track” stage for Splatoon 2
ESL hosted the Go4Splatoon European Grand Finals over the weekend, but after the winners were crowned, Nintendo of Europe had a surprise in store for the crowd. The consolemaker unveiled a brand new stage set to appear in the upcoming Splatoon 2.
“Humpback Pump Track” is the name of the stage, and it takes place in the middle of an indoor BMX track. Inklings will be able to zip through the stage’s “curvy ups and downs,” as they trade ink in Turf War. Nintendo’s short video introducing the “Humpback Pump Track” can be found after the break.
Splatoon 2 will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch this Summer, and congratulations to Team Rising Moon, the winners at the Go4Splatoon European Grand Finals. (more…)
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Splatoon 2