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
New Super Mario Bros. U Review: Storm the Castle in an Above Average Mario Game
The Wii U’s launch brought with it one of the largest launch lineups in video game history and even larger expectations. But it also brought with it a brand new Mario game that was available on the system’s first day, something the world hasn’t seen since the Nintendo 64. New Super Mario Bros. U isn’t going to be the game changer that Super Mario 64 was, but it feels good to have a new Mario game released alongside a new Nintendo system. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Wii U
Tagged New Super Mario Bros. U
Journey lands 11 nominations at 2013 DICE Awards
The Interactive Achievement Awards will be sporting a new look in 2013, but they’ve managed to recognize the great games all the same. Now known as the DICE Awards, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences revealed their picks for the best games of the year this morning, nominating thatgamecompany’s Journey for an astonishing 11 awards.
The game is up for… deep breath… Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Downloadable Game of the Year, Casual Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering, Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Story.
Other Game of the Year contenders include Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. All four of those games are up for multiple awards, along with other big hitters like Halo 4 (six nominations) and Dishonored (five nominations).
The 2013 DICE Awards will be given out on February 7 during the 2013 DICE Summit. Our host for the evening will be Chris Hardwick, best known as the host of The Nerdist and Telltale’s Talking Dead (hmmm…).
The complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Journey, The Walking Dead, XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-selling game in all of 2012 too
As the best-selling game of the month in November and December, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has consistently blown away the competition since its November 13th launch. But seven weeks was all it needed to stand tall as the best-selling game of all of 2012.
The complete list doesn’t include many surprises. Like the list of bestsellers from December 2012, no original games are included in the full-year list. Microsoft’s Halo 4 was the only platform-exclusive title to make the list and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the only 2011 release able to retain its spot in the top ten.
In terms of retail sales, 2012 was a down year for the game industry. Retail sales of games, accessories, and consoles (not counting used games/hardware or downloadable games/content) totaled $13.26 billion, which was off 20% from 2011’s $16.99 billion total. perhaps this Fall’s expected launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will kickstart the industry in 2013.
The complete 2012 top ten can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, FIFA Soccer 13, Halo 4, Just Dance 4, Lego Batman 2, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, NPD
CoD Black Ops II was the best-selling game of December 2012
For the second straight month, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II stands tall as the best-selling game of the month, per The NPD Group’s December 2012 report.
The first person shooter fended off a bevy of sequels including the rest of the top five: Just Dance 4, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Madden NFL 13. In fact, not a single non-sequel cracked the top ten last month.
Once again, The NPD Group is reporting (via Game Informer) that game sales and console sales are down relative to 2011 (which was itself down from 2010). Of course, the NPD Group’s inability to track sales of downloadable games makes this statistic less than helpful.
The full top ten from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Far Cry 3, FIFA Soccer 13, Halo 4, Just Dance 4, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, New Super Mario Bros. 2, NPD, Skylanders Giants
Nintendo Download: ZombiU demo, NBA 2K13 demo, more
Nintendo continues to play catchup to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace when it comes to offering downloadable demos. But today’s Wii U eShop update adds two new try-before-you-buy titles to the service: Ubisoft’s ZombiU and 2K’s NBA 2K13.
This is great for Wii U owners as you really have to try ZombiU’s unique mix of GamePad inventory management and first person shooting for yourself.
You can see what else is available as part of this week’s Nintendo Download (on the 3DS, DS, and Wii) after the break. (more…)
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct coming to Wii U too; March release confirmed
Glenn Gamble, a Producer at Terminal Reality, has revealed that The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Activision’s first person shooter based on the popular AMC show, will be available for the Wii U in addition to the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
So what will the Wii U version bring to Survival Instinct? A more streamlined inventory system, according to Gamble:
“We didn’t want to change the game, because the game had already been established, so we tried to say, ‘What can we augment with the Wii U version?’ That’s where it’s basically a more elegant inventory management system. With the Wii U you have access to your backpack at all times, so you can tap what weapons you want, you can drop stuff. It’s a lot more streamlined.”
Finally, Gamble confirmed that the game will be released in Europe on March 29, just two days before the third season finale. Because of the close tie-in with the TV show, a North American release date is likely to be very similar.
UPDATE: As expected, Activision has announced The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be released in North America on March 26.
[Source: Digital Spy]
Lego Marvel Super Heroes assembles on every platform this Fall
The team-up you thought you’d never see! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (a sister-company to DC Comics) and Marvel have announced that Lego Marvel Super Heroes will be released this Fall for the 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
Like the other games in the “Lego _____” series, Lego Marvel Super Heroes will be developed by TT Games and include a huge number of characters from the source material. According to the publisher, more than 100 Marvel characters will appear in the game, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus. And, as you might have guessed, the game’s story will ask players to save the Earth from Loki’s tricks and the hunger of Galactus.
“We’re very excited to bring a myriad of classic Marvel characters to life in Lego form for some fun, family-friendly gameplay in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,” said Tom Stone, the Managing Director at TT Games. “Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the world as they explore famous landmarks in Lego New York and take the adventure beyond Earth to iconic locations in the Marvel Universe.”
I bet The Hulk can do some excellent smashing when the entire world is made of Legos.
Bane, Lex Luthor added to Injustice: Gods Among Us
Netherrealm has added two new heavies to the Injustice: Gods Among Us roster: Lex Luthor (in his power suit) and Bane. The news comes courtesy of a tweet from Netherrealm’s supreme leader, Ed Boon:
Uh oh.. looks like the cats out of the bag. New INJUSTICE characters! @brizzy_bear @noobde not bad, not bad at all. twitter.com/Brizzy_Bear/st…
— Ed Boon (@noobde) January 8, 2013
Luthor looks very similar to his Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe incarnation while Bane will be taking his cues from the comics and not his recent appearance in The Dark Knight Rises. This includes the use of his Venom steroid as well as the luchadore mask.
Should this news get you excited for Injustice’s April release? Of course!
Posted in News, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Injustice: Gods Among Us