Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
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: Wii
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…)
2013 Writers Guild Award for Videogame Writing nominees announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for their 2013 Writers Guild Awards, and with them, the nominees for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing.”
To be eligible for consideration, this year’s nominees include games that were released between December 1, 2011 and November 30, 2012 on featured on-screen writing credits. This year, the Guild has continued their love affair with Ubisoft and the Uncharted series by bestowing nominations on Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Other nominated games for 2013 include Halo 4, 007 Legends, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.
The 2013 Writers Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, February 17, 2013. A complete list of the nominated writers and editors can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged 007 Legends, Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Epic Mickey 2, Halo 4, Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Nintendo gives release dates to Lego City, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and many more
Nintendo has announced new release dates for many of the Wii U’s “launch window” games including Lego City: Undercover and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
The Grand Theft Auto-like Lego City: Undercover will be released on March 18 while the monster mash that is Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will be available a day later on March 19 (a demo will be added to the Wii U eShop on February 21). Sadly, two of the biggest “launch window” games, Aliens: Colonial Marines and Bit.Trip Runner 2, are still without release dates.
Nintendo also took this opportunity to tag the Lego City 3DS spinoff, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, with an official release date. Lovers of all things Lego will be able to purchase it on April 21.
Hit the break for a look at the complete Winter/Spring release calendar for all four of Nintendo’s currently active platforms. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Disney Infinity combines toys and games this Summer
If that headline is giving you Skylanders flashbacks, that’s by design. Disney’s latest game project, Disney Infinity, combines toys and video games in a way that is very reminiscent of Activision’s cash cow.
Announced today at a press conference in Los Angeles, Disney Infinity will bring Disney’s massive stable of characters together in a way that you normally wouldn’t see outside of Disney World.
In development for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360, every copy of Disney Infinity will include three figures: Captain Jack Sparrow, Sulley, and Mr. Incredible. The three characters will be able to experience their own separate adventures within Disney Infinity, but the real draw of the game is Toy Box Mode.
In Toy Box Mode, the three figures (along with additional figures, which are available to buy separately) can be mixed together in a game of your own creation:
[C]reate your own world! Unlock virtual toys, characters, buildings, weapons, gadgets and more — and bring them into the Disney Infinity ‘Toy Box’ where you can mix them all up to create your own game. In the Disney Infinity Toy Box, there are no rules and you can create any adventure you want. Share your creations with your friends with up to 4-player co-op play.
Disney Infinity will be available this Summer, but a countdown clock on the game’s official site expires on June 1. So I’m thinking “early Summer” instead of “late Summer.”
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 Golden Pixel Awards 2012: Gaming’s Best, Worst, and Everything Else
Welcome to Warp Zoned’s second annual Golden Pixel Awards. It was definitely a good year for gaming. With the fight over Mass Effect 3‘s ending, the resurrection of Sleeping Dogs, and the launch of the Wii U, we were treated to 12 months of interesting stories.
So sit back and relax as we reward the best (and worst) games of 2012 with a series of accolades based on their rather unique accomplishments.
The Apocalypse List
The bombs have fallen, the economy has collapsed, food is scarce, the zombie hordes are scratching at your door, and you’ve boarded yourself up in a bunker that’ll stand for a hundred years. What better way to spend your time in “The Vault” than by playing Warp Zoned’s favorite games from 2012? It doesn’t matter if you call it a “Top Ten List” or “Our Favorites From 2012,” but these are the games we plan to keep playing even if there was no game industry to keep making games. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, Etcetera, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, Top Story, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Angry Birds Star Wars, Binary Domain, Borderlands 2, Dishonored, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Halo 4, Journey, Lego Lord of the Rings, Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Minecraft, Sleeping Dogs, Street Fighter X Mega Man, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, The Walking Dead, Xenoblade Chronicles
EA shutting down online servers for NBA Jam, NBA Live 10, Sims 2, more
Electronic Arts has announced another round of shutdowns for some of their online-enabled games. This time the hammer is falling on EA Sports’ 2009/2010 slate of games, including NBA Live 10 and NBA Jam. This announcement means that NBA Jam: On Fire Edition becomes EA’s only basketball game with online play.
The publisher is also cutting the cord on online support for The Sims 2, claiming it’s “no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running.”
You can find the full list of upcoming server shutdowns after the break. (more…)