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
Rumor: Lego Lord of the Rings game set for this Fall
When Lego sets based on the Lord of the Rings movies were first revealed, the collective Internet naturally assumed that a Lego Lord of the Rings video game wouldn’t be far behind. That assumption is one step closer to becoming a reality as Lego fansite BrickUltra has discovered a teaser poster for Lego Lord of the Rings: The Game.
The poster includes minifig versions of Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf along with logos from developer TT Games and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Several platform logos are also listed on the poster including the 3DS, Wii, Xbox 360, and a generic “PlayStation” logo. A Kinect trademark appears in the fine print along the bottom, so expect Kinect support as well.
Lego Lord of the Rings: The Game will likely be released this Fall, which will put in stores just in time for the Christmas rush and the opening of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
Little Orbit announces E3 2012 lineup
Little Orbit today announced it’s product lineup for the 2012 E3 Expo.
First on the list is Young Justice: Legacy, which is a licensed action RPG based on the “Young Justice” television series on Cartoon Network. In the game, players control a squad composed of 12 possible characters from the series in locations all across the DC Comics world of Earth-16.
Next up is Mistborn: Birthright, an RPG based on the Mistborn series created by bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. The game is set hundreds of years before the first book in the original series, and will put Allomancy in the hands of players as they take control of a young nobleman who must learn to use his newfound abilities to save his family. Mistborn: Birthright is due out in late 2013.
Posted in DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged E3 2012, Mistborn: Birthright, Young Justice: Legacy
Monster World takes over this week’s Nintendo Download
Sega’s Monster World franchise takes over this week’s Nintendo Download as two games from the series (that were originally released on the Genesis) were added to the Virtual Console today. For Monster World IV, this is the first time it’s been available outside Japan.
Also in this week’s update there’s a DSiWare shooter and yet another rendition of Sudoku for the 3DS:
Sudoku by Nikoli (3DS eShop) – Enjoy 50 high-quality sudoku puzzles created by Nikoli, who gave the world-famous puzzle its name.
Paul’s Shooting Adventure 2 (DSiWare) – The player controls Paul and his brother, twins of a super hero family who were born with innate super powers. The two brothers have the ability to take flight and attack with powerful projectile energy.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Wii Virtual Console) – The once-beautiful kingdom of Wonder Land has been thrown into chaos by a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon called MEKA dragon. The dragon and his monstrous henchmen conquer the peaceful world, turning it into Monster Land.
Monster World IV (Wii Virtual Console) – For the first time outside of Japan, experience the final chapter in the classic Monster World series! One day, a young, green-haired girl names Asha, hears spirits calling out for help. Upon hearing the spirits, she leaves her village and sets forth on a grand adventure into Monster World.
Calvin Johnson’s curse begins now… EA Sports has released the Madden NFL 13 box art
Peyton Hillis was hit hard by the Madden Cover Curse last year. Perhaps harder than any player has ever been hit.***
But look at Calvin Johnson, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. EA Sports released the official cover of Madden NFL 13 today and he’s ready for it. He isn’t scared of any curse. After all, “Megatron” stomped Dwayne Bowe, Arian Foster, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Rodgers, and Cam Newton on his way to winning the fan vote. To see just how ready he is, click the cover to get an enlarged view.
Madden NFL 13 will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360, Vita, and other platforms this August
*** Editor’s Note: Statistically, there is no curse. We ran the numbers. We’re sure.
Nintendo Download: Super Hang-On, Amoebattle, Bird Mania 3D
Whoa, two weeks in a row with a new Virtual Console release!
For this week’s Nintendo Download, the publisher has added the Genesis classic Super Hang-On to the Wii’s Virtual Console. In addition to being the greatest motorcycle game ever… wait, being the greatest motorcycle game ever is more than enough reason to play it.
Also available this week is the DSi Shop title Amoebattle, an underwater puzzle game; and on the 3DS eShop, Bird Mania 3D, “a skill-based action game in which you steer a little birdie on his way to Africa.”
Nintendo Download: 3DS system update, Super Street Fighter II, more
Nintendo has pushed out a system update for the 3DS as part of their weekly Nintendo Download offerings. The update adds the ability to place folders on the handheld’s Home Screen as well as streamlines browsing in the 3DS eShop.
And speaking of the 3DS eShop, Nintendo has added a new game to the online store today as well. Titled Block Factory, it’s, you guessed it, a puzzle game that features falling blocks. On the DSi Shop, Nintendo has Chuck E. Cheese’s Arcade Room, which promises to “recreate the magic of being at Chuck E. Cheese’s!” Unless it includes a miniature copy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, I doubt it could recreate my favorite memories of Chuck E. Cheese.
Finally, Nintendo remembered that the Virtual Console still exists on the Wii and has added Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers to the Wii Shop. Unlike your typical Virtual Console game, Super Street Fighter II adds online multiplayer to the mix.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Calvin Johnson is your Madden NFL 13 cover athlete
The votes have been counted and we have a winner… Calvin Johnson, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, will be the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete.
Johnson, also known as “Megatron” to friends, fans, and well wishers, beat out Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the final round. A total of 651,790 votes were cast and Johnson came out on top with 52%, an almost razor-thin margin of victory. Nearly 20 million votes were cast throughout the entire tournament.
Johnson is the first player from the Lions to appear on the Madden cover since a shadowy image of Barry Sanders was inserted behind John Madden himself for Madden NFL 2000. Sanders retirement a month earlier and subsequent appearance on the cover is cited by some as the impetus of the “Madden Curse.”
Will Calvin Johnson be able to avoid the curse? Everybody hopes so, but after years of trying, Starscream did eventually manage to kill Megatron. So you never know.
Operation Rainfall sets their sights on Pandora’s Tower
After emerging victorious in their battles to bring Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story to America, Operation Rainfall has now set its sights on the final game on its wishlist, Pandora’s Tower.
Changing up their tactics slightly, the group plans to pitch Pandora’s Tower directly to third-party publishers who might be interested in picking up the action RPG. To do that, they have asked their community for monetary donations to create six pitch kits. Each of these pitch kits will contain a PAL copy of the game (the game was released in Europe last week), high-resoluton printouts of concept art from Pandora’s Tower, and many of the game’s “glowing” reviews.
Operation Rainfall plans to send these kits to all of the major publishers that specialize in localizing Japanese RPGs:
- Aksys Games
- Atlus
- NIS America
- Rising Star Games
- UTV Ignition
- XSEED Games
Obviously, this campaign doesn’t guarantee that Pandora’s Tower will find a North American publisher, but with two wins under their belt already, I believe in Operation Rainfall.
Posted in News, Wii
Tagged Pandora's Tower