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
- 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”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
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: Xbox 360
Capcom has no plans to resurrect the Darkstalkers franchise again
The world of fighting games has been growing at an exponential rate ever since the release of Street Fighter IV back in 2008. In just five short years we’ve seen four versions of that game, a new Marvel vs. Capcom title (along with one revision), and a new installment in nearly every fighting game franchise ever conceived: Tekken Tag 2, Dead or Alive 5, King of Fighters XIII, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, Mortal Kombat… you get the idea.
On top of the sequels, we have a few completely new franchises that have made their way into the fighting game market, such as Street Fighter X Tekken, Skullgirls, Persona 4: Arena, and Injustice: Gods Among Us. And now we hear that the old arcade classic Killer Instinct is being revived. So, yeah, on the 12th day of Christmas, the industry gave to me: twelve new fighting games and a partridge in a pear tree. Amongst all of this hype, it’s hard to believe that any fighting game genre could actually be experiencing problems, but unfortunately for Darkstalkers fans, that appears to be just the case.
Things certainly seemed to be looking promising for the franchise with popular Darkstalkers characters receiving a bit of exposure in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien Ko each managed to snag one of the coveted spots in the Capcom half of the game’s 36 roster spots. There seemed to be enough excitement surrounding the game and its characters to cause Capcom to take a hard look at the series, and fans were excited when Capcom announced Darkstalkers Resurrection, which was a compilation of two previous Darkstalkers titles. The goal was both to generate hype for the franchise and to test the waters for future prospects, but according to Matt Dahlgren, Capcom’s Fighting Game Manager, the game did not perform well enough to earn Capcom’s devoted attention.
Speaking to Siliconera, Dahlgren stated, “There is nothing Darkstalkers on the immediate horizon for sure.”
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Comic-Con 2013, Darkstalkers Resurrection
Kickstart This! The Organic Monochrome Augmented Reality Edition
Summer is in full swing, like a party at Jay Gatsby’s house. While we are currently in the middle of a month of suffering thanks to a gaming drought, there’s always new opportunities on Kickstarter. This month, choose whether to join Team Meat or Team Cheese in Organic Panic, explore the chilling dystopia of Monochroma, or get your steampunk on in turn-based strategy Tooth and Cog.
Taking a slight detour from video games themselves, there is also the augmented reality board game Darkling Plain, a new open-source programmable handheld console in the FEZ Game-O, and finally, Double Jump, a novel about a man who finds himself in a world governed by video game logic.
Let’s jump right in! (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Tabletop Games
Martian Manhunter will invade Injustice: Gods Among Us on July 30
NetherRealm Studios has confirmed (via Facebook) that Martian Manhunter will be available to download through the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Injustice: Gods Among Us on Tuesday, July 30. Owners of the Wii U edition will have to wait until a later date to purchase the superhero also known as J’onn J’onzz.
The Martian Manhunter DLC will likely be priced at $4.99 (400 Microsoft Points) and a John Stewart Green Lantern skin will also be available on the same day.
Posted in News, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Comic-Con 2013, Injustice: Gods Among Us
Saints Row IV almost ended in a big Bollywood-style dance number
I think it’s time we tested the water at Volition HQ. The developers behind the increasingly absurd Saints Row saga hosted “Saints Row Super Dangerous Wub Wub Panel” at Comic-Con on Saturday and Creative Director Steve Jaros revealed the depths of the company’s entrenched insanity… They wanted the final boss battle of Saints Row IV to take place during a big Bollywood-style dance number.
Sadly, a lot of additional time and money would have been needed to make the dance sequence a reality and it was ultimately scrapped:
“It was on our schedule,” Jaros said during today’s Saints Row Super Dangerous Wub Wub Panel, “and we were trying to do it the right way,” with Volition looking at choreography and “the right Bollywood song” to license. Jaros said the idea was scrapped when the Saints Row 4 motion capture team detailed the cost and complexity of adding the song and dance gag. “Time kills jokes, is what it boils down to,” he said.
“The stars didn’t line up,” Jaros said, but assured Comic-Con attendees “the spirit of the Bollywood dance number happens [at the end] and it is poetry in motion. It is so good.”
We’ll all be able to see the real ending of Saints Row IV when the game ships for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 20.
[Source: Polygon]
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Comic-Con 2013, Saints Row IV
New Releases: The Smurfs 2
Welcome to the Smurfiest week of new releases ever. And why is that… because The Smurfs 2 is this week’s only retail release. The game will be released for the DS (but curiously, not the 3DS), PS3, Wii, Wii U, and the Xbox 360.
If the lack of new releases has left you feeling blue, don’t worry, the game industry’s many digital download services will surely have an additional batch of new games this week.
Soul Calibur II HD Online will be available this Fall
Does your soul still burn? Then I suggest watching this beautiful trailer for Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur II HD Online, a PlayStation Network/Xbox Live Arcade remake of the arcade classic. As the title states, this version of Soul Calibur will include high definition graphics and online battles.
Scheduled for release this Fall, Soul Calibur II HD Online will include all of your favorite “Soul Warriors” and Heihachi Mishima, the Tekken character who crossed-over with the PS2 version of the game. That’s nice and all, but why isn’t Namco Bandai working on a Wii U release featuring Link?
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Comic-Con 2013, Soul Calibur II HD Online
Copperhead slithers into Batman: Arkham Origins
The Arkham games have a reputation not only for being fantastic action/adventure titles, but also for being extremely in tune with their source material. I didn’t exactly grow up with Batman, and I only knew about as much as the Christopher Nolan movies taught me, but then I played Batman: Arkham Asylum, and I got a bigger taste of Batman’s world than I had anticipated.
In addition to run-ins with mainstream villains like The Joker and Poison Ivy, Arkham Asylum dug deeper into the Batman world to bring out enemies like Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc. There were also plenty of nods to even more obscure antagonists, like the deranged Humpty Dumpty, or the dreaded Calendar Man. Keeping with the tradition of providing the most authentic and fan-service loaded experience possible, WB Games has revealed the inclusion of another little-known villain in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins: the assassin, Copperhead.
The most notable aspect of Copperhead’s appearance in Arkham Origins is, of course, that he is not a male. As of the “New 52” revamp of their entire multiverse, DC Comics is taking a different direction with Copperhead. According to DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns (via Newsarama), this new version of the character will be featured in the comic books shortly after the release of Batman: Arkham Origins. For a closer look at the lethal new Copperhead, check out the cinematic official reveal trailer after the break, which showcases the deadly assassin’s arsenal of quick and deadly maneuvers. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham Origins, Comic-Con 2013
Saints Row IV voice cast features Daniel Dae Kim, Keith David, NPH, more
Saint’s Row IV is really shaping up to be quite the epic adventure. The voice cast was announced this week, and some pretty interesting names are included, including the return of Daniel Dae Kim as Johnny Gat. You can view the full list below. Also, Rob Van Dam!
| The Cast: | |
| Daniel Dae Kim | Johnny Gat |
| Keith David | As Himself |
| Danielle Nicolet | Shaundi |
| Jennifer Jules Hart | Shaundi #2 |
| Natalie Lander | Kinzie Kensington |
| Terry Crews | Benjamin King |
| JB Blanc | Zinyak/Phillipe Loren |
| Michael Dorn | Maero |
| Neil Patrick Harris | DJ Veteran Child |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Matt Miller |
| Arif Kinchen | Pierce Washington |
| Tim Thomerson | Cyrus Temple |
| Mike Carlucci | Zach |
| Rob Van Dam | Bobby |
| Rebecca Riedy | Asha Odekar |
| Andrew Bowen | Josh Birk/NyteBlayde |
| Michael Yurchak | CID |
| TC Carson | Big Tony |
| Ursula Taherian | Tanya |
| Ogie Banks | Warren Williams |
| The President: | |
| Nolan North | The Player |
| Troy Baker | The Player |
| Laura Bailey | The Player |
| Robin Atkin Downes | The Player |
| Diane Michelle | The Player |
| Kenn Michael | The Player |
| Sumalee Montano | The Player |
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Saints Row IV