Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- 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
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: Xbox 360
Mass Effect 2 DLC makes an “Arrival” on March 29
Commander Shepard just recently made an arrival on the PS3, but now the Normandy has one last voyage to embark on, completing this fantastic second installment of Shepard’s conquests. BioWare recently announced “Arrival,” the third and final DLC pack for Mass Effect 2.
“Arrival” presents Shepard with information regarding an imminent Reaper invasion, an event which has been in the cards since Mass Effect’s start. Returning to the series is fan-favorite Admiral Hackett, who made a prominent appearance in the first Mass Effect game, and is voiced by sci-fi actor Lance Henriksen.
As previously noted, “Arrival” will do just that on March 29th, and will be available for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 for $7.00/560 Microsoft Points. God, I can’t wait for Mass Effect 3.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mass Effect 2
Mortal Kombat hooks Kabal in GTTV reveal
The latest episode of GameTrailers TV includes the reveal of another Mortal Kombat character, the masked wasteland dweller Kabal!
Kabal has dropped his Elvis impersonation, but the hook swords and the Spin Dash special move remain, as does his dusty longcoat and Darth Vader-esque breathing apparatus. It might kill any MK cred I have, but Kabal was always one of my favorite characters (Stryker too), so this is welcome news. And check out his gruesome fatality in the video above.
Mortal Kombat will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 19. Which can’t come soon enough.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Mortal Kombat
Crysis 2 “Be Fast” trailer has superspeed and superawesome
Amidst all the back and forth over graphical comparisons of Crysis 2 on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Crytek has released a new trailer for the game entitled “Be Fast.”
“Be Fast” refers to the enhanced abilities of the Nanosuit that Alcatraz, “the savior of mankind,” possesses in his battle to stop the invading aliens from annihilating mankind. After all the explosions and gunfire, the trailer ends on a rather ominous note as Hargreave, the man who created the Nanosuits, tell him: “Enjoy this power while you have it, for one day, it will be reclaimed.”
Sequel hook? Perhaps. But until then, Crysis 2 will be in stores for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 next week.
The 2010-2011 Video Game Awards Season
Beginning with the Spike TV Video Game Awards in early December and culminating with last night’s BAFTA Games Awards, the 2010-2011 “video game awards season” has come to a close. And after four months of awards, acceptance speeches and arguments, we have a clearer picture of what really were the best games of the year.
The snobbier segments of the game community love to decry the Spike TV Video Game Awards as an embarrassment and not representative of the feelings of “real” gamers. Typically, the show’s world premiere trailers overshadow the actual awards themselves. But the event is spearheaded by Geoff Keighley of GameTrailers TV and the winners are voted on by a well-respected contingent of game journalists, so I guess it could be worse.
That said, this year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards “Game of the Year” was awarded to Rockstar’s epic western Red Dead Redemption. Keighley and company spread the love as the remaining major awards all went to other games: “Best PC Game” StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; “Best PS3 Game” God of War III; “Best Wii Game” Super Mario Galaxy 2; “Best Xbox 360 Game” Halo: Reach; “Best Handheld Game” God of War: Ghost of Sparta; and “Best Downloadable Game” Costume Quest.
If Spike TV’s annual awards attempt to reach the mainstream, Time Magazine‘s top ten is the polar opposite, reaching into corners of the gaming world that are often ignored. This year’s selections are no different, including Alan Wake being awarded the #1 spot with iOS phenomenon Angry Birds at #2. The rest of the list was pretty typical, but the lack of Alan Wake’s spiritual twin, Heavy Rain, was the baffling part. Also, Limbo received its first love of the year-end awards with a sixth-place selection. (more…)
Homefront sells some copies
Homefront has been pushing some units, enough that THQ would want to brag about it. Brian Farrell, THQ President and CEO stated, “we are delighted with first day sales for Homefront and are already fulfilling re-orders for the game from multiple retailers,” which he declared after the game sold more than 375,000 copies in its first day. The game released a few days ago on March 15 in North America and will be following up in Asia Pacific and Europe throughout the rest of the week.
THQ seems to attribute a lot of the success to dedicated servers, as Danny Bilson, EVP Core Games said, ”Homefront’s excellent multiplayer experience, combined with our commitment to dedicated servers, make this a must-have purchase for gamers.”
This Koreo-phobic military shooter is available now on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
Riddler shows his face in Batman: Arkham City
The Riddler served a challenging purpose in Batman: Arkham Asylum, hiding riddles all over the premises and daring Batman to try and solve them. All you heard of him, though, were tape recordings. It now looks like Riddler will be getting some face time in the sequel, Batman: Arkham City. Rocksteady released a couple screen shots portraying Edward Nigma, and you can see them after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City
Crysis 2 on PS3 and 360 analyzed side by side
Yesterday we reported on Crytek challenging anyone to find any meaningful difference between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Crysis 2. Lens of Truth has answered that call, and used the multiplayer demos for both consoles in a head to head comparison. Interpretations have varied, but in general, it does indeed seem like the PS3 version has that general “washed out” look we’ve seen with many multiplatform games, with less detailed lighting and shadows.
We’ll have to wait until the game ships next week on March 22 for PC, 360, and PS3 to see how the two versions ultimately stack up. Until then, we’ll all probably be having fun playing the demo on our respective platforms.
Hans Zimmer contributed to Crysis 2 score
Electronic Arts and Crytek have revealed that Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer lent a hand with the Crysis 2 score. Zimmer collaborated with existing composers Borislav Slavov and Tilman Sillescu to create an “intense and dramatic” score.
“I was drawn to Crysis 2 because of Crytek’s passion for the project and the world they created,” Zimmer said. “And I am very happy with the outcome of our collaboration.”
An alien invasion in the year 2023 seems right up Zimmer’s alley after his amazing work on Gladiator, The Dark Knight and last year’s Inception. Moviegoers will next be able to hear his work in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
The complete Crysis 2 soundtrack will be available to download from iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers on March 22nd (the same day the game hits the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360), but fans can preview the first track, “Intro,” at SoundCloud.