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
Nintendo announces ZombiU + Wii U console bundle
Ubisoft’s ZombiU is one of the unquestioned successes of the Wii U’s early life. The game has given the zombie genre a new twist and it has made more than a few gamers interested in the game of cricket. Hoping to hook new Wii U purchasers in the same way, Nintendo has announced its first special system bundle: the ZombiU Deluxe Set.
The ZombiU bundle comes with all the contents of the original Deluxe Set including a black Wii U system with 32GB of storage space, a Wii U GamePad, a copy of Nintendo Land (albeit as a download instead of as a disc), and an HDMI cable. It also includes a copy of ZombiU (naturally), a ZombiU-themed art book, and a Wii U Pro Controller. All this can be yours for $389.99 (a savings of $70 if all items were purchased separately)!
The ZombiU Deluxe Set will be available on February 17.
Skylanders Swap Force brings customizable figures to the franchise
Skylanders Giants is less than four months old and Activision is already ready to announce the next game in the series. Skylanders Swap Force will make its worldwide debut this weekend at the 2013 Toy Fair. Taking up residence in booth 3061, Activision will unveil Swap Force’s 16 new customizable characters at the Javits Center in New York City.
Here’s some of the new features that the kiddies can look forward to in Skylanders Swap Force:
Swap Force builds upon the success of the franchise’s signature gameplay with an all-new innovative play pattern — swapability — that gives kids more choice than ever before by letting them swap the top and bottom halves of the toys to create their own characters. The game lets Portal Masters reconfigure 16 Swap Force characters into more than 250 unique combinations. Kids can mix and match characters’ powers and moves, and then bring them to life in the game. Fans of the franchise also can play Skylanders Swap Force with their entire collection of characters from both Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants, now with the added capability of jumping.
Skylanders Swap Force is in development at Vicarious Visions and will likely be released this Fall for every platform imaginable.
Ravens win as Madden Super Bowl Simulation is scary accurate this year
EA Sports’ Madden NFL Super Bowl Simulation is always pretty close to the final result, but this year’s prediction was so scarily accurate that some might be wondering if the fix was in. As prognasticated by Madden NFL 13, Super Bowl XLVII ended with a Baltmore Ravens victory over the San Francisco 49ers. But the simulation also accurately served up a wide variety of indiviudal moments from the game:
- The 49ers were held to a field goal in the first quarter.
- Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.
- The Ravens put the game away with a Justin Tucker field goal.
- The margin of victory was three points (34-31 in real life versus 27-24 in the simulation)
- Joe Flacco was named the Super Bowl MVP.
But of course, no simulation could have predicted the 34-minute blackout that overtook the game or that the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer would be super good (Benedict Cumberbatch just needs to be in every movie… ever). With this correct prediction, the Madden Super Bowl Simulation improves to 8-2 since EA Sports began making picks in 2004.
Console port of Resident Evil Revelations may shape the franchise’s future
Are you one of the many who cried foul at Resident Evil 6‘s rather drastic departure from what made the series so great? Do you have trouple falling asleep at night, staring at the ceiling and wishing that the series would return to the style that made “survival horror” a common household name? Then start saving your money! Your purchase of Resident Evil Revelations may help govern where the series goes next.
Masachika Kawata, who produced Resident Evil Revelations on the 3DS, said that Capcom will be paying very close attention to the success of the home console port of the portable title:
“I think we’ll get a lot of input from the fanbase and the media on what it means for Resident Evil, and what it could mean for the future of the series. We’ll definitely be looking at that as a signpost for where we need to be going next.”
“Moving forward I can see us focusing even more on the horror aspect and fear in the series, and see us making something scarier than we have already.”
Vote with your wallets, people!
[Source: Eurogamer]
Nintendo Download: Puddle, Ikachan, Fire Emblem Awakening on Monday, more
A handful of new games were added to Nintendo’s download services today:
- The tilt-controlled puzzler Puddle is now available on the Wii U eShop.
- Ikachan, the latest game from Nicalis, has been added to the 3DS eShop.
- As has the NES classic Ice Climber.
- The Wii Virtual Console is still kicking as well with the addition of Metal Slug 4.
And on Monday, the next Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Awakening, will be available to download from the 3DS eShop.
More information on all of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Why I Bought A Wii U Game Without Owning A Wii U
Yes, you read the title of this editorial correctly; I bought a game for a console I do not own. The game in question is Ubisoft’s ZombiU. It is not a gift or present for a loved one; I fully intend to use it myself. But why would I spend money on a game if I don’t own the console to play it on? That’s just madness, right?
Well, no.
The first reason I bought it was because I need new underwear (by all accounts I may need more once I have played ZombiU). British retailer The Hut was offering a deal; buy three pairs of boxer shorts at £15 ($23.75), and get ZombiU for £20 ($31.50). So I could pay £35 ($55.25) for boxer shorts and the game, or £40 ($63) just for the game. I like a bargain when I see one, so I snapped it up.
But again, I can’t play it. Yet. (more…)
Crytek plans to release first Homefront 2 details soon; release date delay likely
Crytek’s purchase of the Homefront franchise hasn’t impacted the development of Homefront 2. In fact, Crytek UK General Manager Nick Button-Brown confirmed (in an interview with VG247) that executives within the company want to unveil a more revealing look at Homefront 2 sooner rather than later. But, Button-Brown also confirmed that the title might be delayed due to Crytek’s desire to create the best game possible:
“Crytek’s focus is fairly similar to THQ’s -namely to make the best game possible. So this will not have too much impact on the development itself. However, we might change the release date that we haven’t announced, and move this to another release date we won’t announce yet either.”
THQ originally revealed Homefront 2’s existence (and Crytek’s involvement with the sequel) back in September 2011. At that point, the game had a late 2013/early 2014 release date. But due to THQ’s financial problems and the title’s eventual acquisition by Crytek, it’s now best to think of Homefront 2 as a “when it’s done” game.
The latest trailer for The Wonderful 101 is colorfully chaotic
When a bunch of comical aliens come calling for Earth, who ya gonna call? Remember, Will Smith is busy with being an actor and not an actual alien policeman. So how about The Wonderful 101? Developed by Platinum Games and controlled by the Wii U GamePad, The Wonderful 101 will definitely save the day!
The Wonderful 101 looks to take a ton of inspiration from another Platinum creation, Viewtiful Joe, but combines it with the group dynamics of Pikmin. And we’ll get a chance to try it for ourselves sometime this Summer.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged The Wonderful 101