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
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: Xbox One
Conan goes on a crime spree in Watch Dogs
Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs is now available in stores, but Conan O’Brien gave the world its first look at the game in last Thursday’s installment of his “Clueless Gamer” segment. If you’re unfamiliar with these segments, the title of them and the fact that it’s Conan should tell you all you need to know. Watch as he plays and reviews the game, imparting words of wisdom applicable not only to video games, but to life as well, such as “…the best way to solve a crime, sometimes, is to start a new crime.”
Enjoy!
Bethesda’s The Evil Within will miss its planned August release
After a slightly underwhelming PAX East 2014 presentation, Bethesda wants to give Shinji Mikami and his team at Tango Gameworks a bit more time to work on The Evil Within. The game, which was previously scheduled to launch on August 26, will now be released on October 21. The significance of moving into the middle of the Halloween season wasn’t lost on Bethesda’s marketing department either. They’ve released a new trailer, “Terrified,” which shows actual playtesters reacting to the game’s horrors.
“Nooooooooooooooo!”
Bethesda has also announced that everyone who pre-orders The Evil Within will receive access to the Fighting Chance Pack, a package of in-game items that will help Detective Castellanos better survive his fight with the undead. The Fighting Chance Pack will include:
- Medical Kit – A vital health enhancement to enable Sebastian to fight on.
- Green Gel – Used to upgrade Sebastian’s attributes.
- Double Barrel Shotgun – A larger and more formidable shotgun than the regular shotgun, it’s useful for tight situations with multiple encroaching enemies.
- Incendiary Agony Bolt – Capable of showering nearby enemies with damaging fire sparks.
- Poison Agony Bolt – Will draw enemies towards it and poison them, allowing Sebastian time for a quick escape.
The Evil Within is in development for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One… so it should be available for your platform of choice this October (sorry Wii U owners).
Lego Batman 3 blasts off into outer space this Fall
First, Lego Batman skulked about the streets of Gotham, protecting the city from his cunning and cagey Rogues Gallery. In Lego Batman 2, the Dark Knight teamed up with the Justice League to put a stop to a global threat from Lex Luthor. Now, in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the superheroes will have to team up with the supervillains to stop an intergalactic goon:
In Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics Universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth. Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe. Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it’s too late.
Once again developed by TT Games, Lego Batman 3 will include more than 150 playable characters when it’s released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this Fall.
Kickstart This! New Home Office Edition
Hello gamers and philanthropists, and welcome to Kickstart This! New Home Office Edition, which (as the title suggests) comes direct from my brand spanking new home office. I’m surrounded by unpacked boxes of books, games, and most importantly, Legos, but like the Death Star, it is armed and fully operational. With that in mind, let us turn our aim to the spectacle that is Kickstarter, and the handful of recent video game projects that have risen above the fold in vying for your affections, attentions, and well-earned remuneration.
First up is point-and-click adventure thriller The Mystery of Oak Island, followed by side-scrolling beat ’em up Rudo Resurrection. As if that was not enough, there is also FPS action horror A New Reckoning, and monster mayhem in Kaiju-A-Gogo.
Let’s rock and load! (more…)
Meet Drift in this Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark gameplay trailer
I’m not sure how much gameplay is actually in this “Gameplay Trailer,” nor am I sure how Activision plans to merge the Transformers movieverse with the Fall of Cybertron/War For Cybertron games… but here’s a new trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark that shows both sets of bots in action. I do know that the new trailer showcases the samurai-like Drift, a Decepticon who now sides with the Autobots, for the first time.
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark will be released on June 24 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. A companion game for the 3DS, in development at WayForward Technologies, will arrive in stores on the same day.
Evolve welcomes four new Hunters to the fray in new gameplay trailer
The newest gameplay video for Turtle Rock’s multiplayer shooter, Evolve, serves as an introduction to a host of new characters. The first is Maggie, a Trapper, who does not enter the arena alone. She has her Trapjaw companion Daisy to help her hunt, essentially an alien hunting dog that looks a bit like a raptor. While the previously revealed Trapper, Griffin, was armed with a mighty harpoon gun, Maggie has harpoon traps, which she sets on the ground, anticipating the Monster’s path.
Next up is Lazarus, aptly named as the Medic character can resuscitate his fellow Hunters when they’re injured. As a result of undoing the Monster’s handiwork, Lazarus will draw the ire of the Monster quicker than the other Hunters. To help the character hide while the Monster is miffed, he has a special cloaking ability.
Hyde is, in the words of Senior Producer Michael J. Boccieri, a “salty dog, who is crass, uncouth, and he just brings the pain.” As well as screaming expletives at the Monster in a cockney East-End London accent, Hyde is armed to the teeth with a chaingun in one hand, and a flamethrower in the other.
The last new character revealed is Bucket, a Support robot. Unlike the rather passive Hank, the first Support character shown, Bucket tends to be aggressive, and like Hyde, is sporting a British accent, although a Received Pronunciation with a robotic (and humorous) tone. “Detaching my head for recon. Please do not be alarmed.”
Publisher 2K Games also revealed that gamers who pre-order Evolve will receive the first DLC, the Monster Expansion Pack, featuring Goliath’s “Savage Skin,” for free.
New Releases: Watch Dogs, Mario Kart 8, Mind Zero, The Sly Collection
After all the delays and all the hype, Ubisoft is finally ready to release Watch Dogs this week. Can the first adventure of Aiden Pearce live up to gamer’s expectations? We’ll all find out together on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this week. If you’re thinking about picking it up, don’t forget, the game will launch with exclusive content on the PlayStation platforms.
Watch Dogs won’t be available for the Wii U until the Fall, but Wii U owners will still get a major new game to play this week as Nintendo will release Mario Kart 8 for their newest console on May 30. With 32 tracks and 30 characters, it’s one of the largest Mario Kart games ever.
Finally this week, two new games will be released for Sony’s PlayStation Vita. Mind Zero is a dungeon crawler from Aksys Games and The Sly Collection will compile Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves into one package.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Mario Kart 8, Mind Zero, The Sly Collection, Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs’ launch is imminent… so here’s a launch trailer
Watch Dogs will be available in just a few short days, so naturally, Ubisoft has released a launch trailer to promote the game. As I’m watching the trailer, it dawns on me, protagonist Aiden Pearce isn’t a “good guy” in any way, shape, or form. Sure, an early trailer showed him breaking up a sex slavery ring, but how many innocent people has he hurt and murdered due to the hacks he has to use to escape his pursuers? All told, I’m guessing hundreds (possibly thousands) of people were injured and several dozen more were killed as a result of Pearce’s rampage. The city of Chicago is a big place and that stunt with the power grid probably caused several massive car accidents alone.
He’s a loose cannon, is what I’m saying. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it…
Watch Dogs will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on May 27. The game will also be released for the Wii U sometime this Fall.