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
New Releases: Pokemon Conquest, Lego Batman 2, Brave, More
This week’s new releases are for the kids as Pokemon Conquest (that wild Pokemon/Nobunaga’s Ambition crossover on the DS), Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360), and the game adaptation of Pixar’s Brave (DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) will all be available in stores this Tuesday.
Also available this week is the Kinect-powered Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor and an all new Civ V expansion, Civilization V: Gods and Kings.
Hit the jump for a complete look at this week’s new releases. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Brave, Lego Batman 2, Pokemon Conquest, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor
Nintendo Download: Amazing Spider-Man demo, Donkey Kong Jr., Mega Man X2, more
This week’s Nintendo Download includes another major 3DS demo. Today, gamers will be able to experience the handheld adventures of The Amazing Spider-Man before he swings his way into stores on June 26.
But that’s not all, Nintendo has also added a ton of classic games to their three download services today:
Donkey Kong Jr. (3DS eShop) – In this timeless classic, clamber up vines and chains and gather vital fruit and keys to free your father, Donkey Kong, who’s been imprisoned by Mario.
Mad Dog McCree (3DS eShop) – When the ruthless outlaw Mad Dog McCree goes on a rampage with a nasty pack ofwanted fugitives, they leave death in their wake. The only gunslinger who can stop them is you.
Mega Man X2 (Wii Virtual Console) – Fresh from defeating Sigma and his Mavericks, Mega Man X tracks down the remaining rogue Reploids to an abandoned factory where they are continuing their rebellion. While Mega Man X is kept busy by eight new Mavericks, a new threat plots to resurrect a secret weapon that is all too familiar.
Devil Band: Rock the Underworld (DSiWare) – Millions of demons and monsters emerge from the earth, destroying everything on their wake. Xavier, the most popular (and most evil) Death Metal rock band around the world, might be the only hope for the mankind…
7 Wonders II (DSiWare) – Match three to help your workers build the unbelievable sights from Stonehenge to the Taj Mahal.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii
Tagged The Amazing Spider-Man
Kirby Anniversary Collection will include these six games in Japan
The Kirby Anniversary Collection, known as Kirby’s Dream Collection in North America, will be released in Japan next month. Six classic Kirby games (the first six games in the series, actually) will be included in the package along with a soundtrack CD and a special anniversary booklet. It’s likely that the American lineup will remain the same, but as always, these things are subject to change.
Ready? The contents of compilation include:
- Kirby’s Dream Land (Game Boy)
- Kirby’s Adventure (NES)
- Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy)
- Kirby Super Star (Super NES)
- Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (Super NES)
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64)
Kirby’s Dream Collection will be available for the Wii in North America in September.
[Source: Siliconera]
Posted in News, Wii
Tagged Kirby's Dream Collection
Nintendo Download: Art of Balance: Touch, Lego Batman 2 demo, more
Nintendo has supplied a pretty substantial update with their weekly Nintendo Download, including a 3DS demo of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
Also available this week is five new games:
Art of Balance: Touch! (3DS eShop) – Grab your stylus and build a balanced stack in this physics-based puzzler. Enjoy 200 levels that not only challenge your skills but also spark your imagination. Art of Balance: Touch! is easy to pick up but hard to put away.
Prince of Persia (3DS eShop) – Relive a classic game that’s been heralded as a pioneer of the platforming genre. This version is faithful to the original, complete with the dashing acrobatics of the Prince that made the game famous.
Cat Frenzy (DSiWare) – This adorable and relaxing puzzle introduces totally new twists to the popular slide and match-3 mechanics and, of course, lots of cats.
Curling Super Championship (DSiWare) – Curling is the world famous sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice toward a target area, the “house.” Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy stones, also called “rocks.”
The Last Blade (Wii Virtual Console) – Originally released in 1997, The Last Blade is a fighting game set in the “Bakumatsu” period of Japanese history, where 10-plus swordsmen are fighting for different purposes.
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii
Tagged Lego Batman 2
Lord of the Rings is next franchise to get Lego treatment
After Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Batman, the Lego Group, along with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and TT Games, have announced the rather clumsily worded Lego The Lord of the Rings.
Surely they should have taken the definitive article out of the title? Regardless, the new game will encompass all three films from the trilogy, and will be released for all current consoles, including the 3DS, PS Vita, DS, PC, Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. In a break from the traditional “Lego Something” format, the game will also feature voiced dialogue.
Tom Stone, Managing Director at TT Games, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the game: “We are huge aficionados of The Lord of the Rings franchise and are incredibly excited to put our special Lego family-friendly touch on this classic fantasy adventure. We’ve taken what fans are familiar with and love about The Lord of the Rings films and combined it with the playful Lego style, which makes the story and gameplay accessible to gamers of all ages.”
Perhaps it is just me, but it is hard to get excited about yet another Lego transformation of a licensed film series. What’s next? Lego Fast and the Furious? Or maybe a move into TV with Lego Game of Thrones and Lego Sex and the City? The toy brick company has a number of original franchises, such as the Lego Hero Factory or Bionicle, the latter made into a mediocre game by Argonaut and EA and therefore in need of a decent reboot. I find I am much more excited by the upcoming Lego City Stories for Wii U.
Nevertheless, cutesy brick versions of Gandalf, Frodo and Legolas will be winging their way to you in the Fall.
EA @ E3 12: Madden NFL 13 has a new engine, Connected Careers mode
It won’t be the same old Madden when Madden NFL 13 launches this August. The latest football sim from EA will include a brand new engine, the Infinity Engine, which is a brand new run-time physics engine. According to EA’s Cam Weber, “No two plays will be the same.”
Collisions will be affected by a player’s size, their speed, and how the hit begins. If a player is hit on the arm, they could lose the ball, but tackle animations are no longer the end of the play. Players will be able to “regain balance after contact to fight for a few more yards.”
Former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin also took the stage to showcase the game’s RPG-like Connected Careers mode. In Connected Careers, players will select a current player, a created player, a legendary player, or a coach in a story-based mode. Completing goals will earn XP that can be used towards a Canton career. Goals can also be shared on Twitter and Facebook.
Madden NFL 13 will launch on August 28.
New Releases: Inversion, Madagascar 3, Pikmin 2, More
With E3 less than 48 hours away, it’s understandable if this week’s new releases haven’t registered with you yet. And game publishers are doing their best to keep most new releases away from store shelves while the industry indulges in a little spectacle over “what’s next.” But a few big titles will soon land on store shelves:
For example, there’s Namco Bandai’s gravity-defying shooter Inversion for the PS3 and Xbox 360. A PC version will materialize later this year.
There’s also a new version of Pikmin 2 for the Wii complete with Wii Remote/Nunchuk controls.
Finally, a tie-in game based on Madagascar 3 will stampede onto five platforms (3DS, DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) and Katy Perry continues her transformation into a video game character with The Sims 3: Katy Perry Sweet Treats on the PC.
Nintendo Download: Rayman, 99 Seconds, more
Here are four new games that have been added to the various Nintendo download services today:
Rayman (3DS eShop) – This classic, award-winning platformer is the first game in the Rayman series – now available on 3DS. Explore six unique worlds and play through more than 70 levels of platforming madness.
Kakuro by Nikoli (3DS eShop) – With the Nikoli puzzle series, you can enjoy high-quality “Kakuro” puzzles, created by Nikoli, who gave the world-famous puzzle its name.
99 Seconds (DSiWare) – 99 Seconds is a fun, retro-style video game in which you can modify time to avoid all kinds of danger. Dodge enemies and use SlowDown to slow, stop and even go back in time.
Metal Slug 3 (Wii Virtual Console) – Marco and Tarma are back to blast their way through another action-packed adventure, picking up various weapons along the way. The Slugs are also back and more colorful than ever, with Slugmariners, Drill Slugs and Elephant Slugs joining the original Metal Slugs and Slugnoids.