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: Wii U
Assassin’s Creed IV: Freedom Cry expansion announced; DLC not setting sail for Wii U
Despite the recent sales surge and more positive outlook of Nintendo’s home console thanks to the likes of Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will not receive any post-release downloadable content on the Wii U.
The company has revealed there will be a number of post-launch releases for all other versions (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One), including multiplayer characters and customisable items. Not only that, but the publisher is working on a massive expansion to the single-player campaign that takes the story in a new direction. Entitled Freedom Cry, it focuses on Adewale, a former slave serving as a crew member under Edward Kenway on his ship, the Jackdaw. Freedom Cry will allow players to control Adewale as he gathers his own crew with the goal of freeing the slaves from the Dominican Republic port of Saint Dominique as it further pushes the Assassin’s Creed series forward in dealing with major historical events and themes in human history that others shy away from. The trailer for Freedom Cry, which mixes real footage and gameplay, can be viewed above.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will be released for current-gen consoles on October 29 with next-generation and PC editions of the game available in November.
[Source: Venture Beat]
Nintendo Download: Tennis, Golf, Pokemon X/Y (Saturday), more
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are coming. Not only will they be available on store shelves this Saturday, October 12, but they will also be available to download on day one from the 3DS eShop.
However, if you’d rather know what’s available in this week’s Nintendo Download that you can play today, I’m happy to oblige. Sticking with the 3DS eShop, Nintendo will add Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, a well-liked RPG from Atlus, to their online store today. And skipping over to the Wii U eShop, Golf and Tennis, two Virtual Console titles, are now available to download.
More information on these games, and a few other new releases, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Pokemon X/Y, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked
New Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze trailer heralds the return of Dixie
Although it now won’t be released this side of Christmas, Retro’s Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is shaping up to look like one of the Wii U’s must-own titles, if the new trailer is anything to go by. Not only does it show off a barrel-load of new enemies, but it also highlights the return of fan favourite Dixie Kong and her whip-like blonde ponytail. Interestingly, she only appears alongside Donkey Kong himself, although Retro has previously confirmed the characters can be played individually in multiplayer or swapped during levels in the single-player mode via character barrels.
With one playable character still to be revealed, many are wondering if it is someone we have seen before such as Funky or Trixie. Or… maybe Retro has an entirely new character for us.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Nintendo Direct News: New Mario 3D World trailer, Kirby 3DS announced, more
Just when everyone had ruled them out, last week’s Nintendo Direct announcement showed the company still has the fiery fighting spirit that has kept them going since the days of the NES, showing their plans for the remainder of 2013 and beyond.
The biggest knockout blow was the new trailer for Super Mario 3D World (which you can view above). While Nintendo had already teased one new power-up, the Cat Suit, during its E3 video presentation, it turns out this was just the tip of the ice-berg. As well as the welcome return of the Tanooki suit from Super Mario Bros 3, Mario now has access to a Hammer Bros. Suit, a Bullet Bill Suit, and uses items like soccer balls and baseballs to strike enemies. He can ever carry knocked out enemies, such as Pete the Piranha Plant. But the most interesting of these new suits was the Cherry Clone item, which made a duplicate Mario. Later in the trailer, there are three Marios, all moving in sync. How this will work in the game remains to be seen, but it seems Nintendo may have another sterling system seller on its hands.
In more Mario news, the company unveiled two new Wii remote Plus designs based on the infamous Bros. One will be Mario Red and sport an ‘M’ on the central speaker, while the other will be Luigi Green and have a similar ‘L’ adorning it. The company also announced new downloadable content and mission mode stages for Pikmin 3 for the reasonable price of $1.99, although the British and European prices are almost double at £1.99 and €1.99 respectively. Finally, Nintendo unveiled ambitious plans for the online multiplayer elements of Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. While the majority of events will focused on localised multiplayer, four of these will be playable against gamers around the globe, with points going towards that player’s country tally if they win. In essence, players will be able to compete for their contry online.
Looking forward to 2014, it was also announced that Nintendo’s bubblegum pink mascot Kirby will be getting a new platformer game on 3DS. And games will be able to enjoy the Square Enix RPG Bravely Default in early 2014. However, European 3DS owners will see the game on this side of Christmas when its released on December 6 across the Atlantic.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World
New Shovel Knight trailer heralds Winter 2013 release
Yacht Club Games has released a new trailer for Shovel Knight, their upcoming side-scrolling action title that features a level select style similar to Mega Man. The trailer is very similar to the game’s reveal trailer, which was released a few months ago, but I’m happy whenever we get new Shovel Knight information.
The developer has also confirmed that the game’s official release date is “Winter 2013” and a pre-order page for the PC/Steam version is now available at their official website. The game will also be released for the 3DS and Wii U but, obviously, you can’t pre-order it yet.
And if you’re at this year’s IndieCade, which concludes today, be on the lookout for Shovel Knight at the Nintendo booth.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight
New Releases: Beyond: Two Souls, Pokemon X/Y, Just Dance 2014, More
All you Pokemaniacs can rejoice, for it is time. Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, the first “main series” Pokemon games for the 3DS, will be released this week.
If you’d prefer something a little more out there (and you own a PS3), there’s Quantic Dream’s latest action/adventure game, Beyond: Two Souls. The supernatural Saga of Jodie (played by Ellen Page) and her doctor (played by Willem Dafoe) is sure to feature plenty of the developer’s signature weirdness and grandeur.
And if you want to go REALLY out there, NIS America will release Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness for the PS3. The latest game in the insane strategy RPG franchise is a direct sequel to the to the first game in the series, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, which should please its many fans.
This week’s last “new” releases is Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2014. The dancing franchise will boogie its way (again) onto the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this week. PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game are set to be released in November.
Finally, a trio of re-releases should keep budget hunters happy as 2K Games/Gearbox will release Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition, Bethesda/Arkane will release Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition, and Capcom will release the Capcom Essentials collection (which contains Dead Rising 2, Devil May Cry 4, Mega Man 10, Resident Evil 6, and Super Street Fighter IV).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Beyond: Two Souls, Borderlands 2, Disgaea Dimension 2, Dishonored, Just Dance 2014, Pokemon X/Y
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Review: Amazing At Any Resolution
Nintendo is no stranger to remakes and reimaginings. Super Mario Bros. Metroid. Mario Kart. Donkey Kong. In fact, most of the company’s key franchises have been recycled with every console generation. And yet, somehow, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD feels different. Perhaps it is because the Wii U is under intense pressure to pick up sales, and needs a knockout game. Or maybe it is the fact that certain critics see Nintendo’s stable of characters as stale and overused, relying too much on the charity of nostalgic gamers. Or it could just be that it is the first Zelda game in high definition.
Whatever made Nintendo decide to re-release this title, it has proven to be a brilliant choice. It’s like meeting an old friend after a ten-year gap. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Learn more about “Squads” in this Call of Duty: Ghosts trailer
Activision has released a new trailer detailing the “Squads” feature of Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ multiplayer. Check it out:
Squads introduces a whole new level of competition to Call of Duty: Ghosts. Combining the unrivaled Multiplayer experience with cutting edge AI, Squads lets you play a variety of new game modes with your customized squad-mates. Play solo against another player and their squad, or cooperatively with friends, competing versus an AI-controlled squad. Best of all, the XP earned in Squads is directly connected to your Multiplayer progress!
Call of Duty: Ghosts will be released for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on November 15. A PS4 edition will follow on November 15 and an Xbox One version will be available on November 22.