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 One
Continue Countdown #1 – Project Morpheus, The Last of Us Movie, South Park RPG, More
Welcome to the world premiere of Warp Zoned’s “Continue Countdown.” In each 30-minute episode, the Warp Zoned staff will discuss nine news stories from the week that was.
Get your quarters ready because in this episode Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo, Senior Editor Nicole Kline, and Staff Writer Mike Ryan talk about Sony’s “Project Morpheus” headset, the movie adaptation of The Last of Us, DriveClub’s delay, our expectations for Alien: Isolation, Gone Home’s console port, the epicness quotient of Angry Birds Epic, South Park: The Stick of Truth and the future of the licensed game, used games at Walmart, and our suggestions for the Official Scrabble Dictionary.
Posted in Mobile, PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Angry Birds Epic, DriveClub, Gone Home, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Tabletop Games, The Last of Us
XBL Store Today: MGS5: Ground Zeroes, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, more
The Xbox Live Store has been updated with several new downloadable offerings and if you’re looking for a few new Xbox 360/Xbox One games today, your choices include:
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Xbox One/Xbox 360) – Hideo Kojima’s latest mission for Big Boss will serve as a prequel to The Phantom Pain as well as serve as an introduction to the new. mechanics found in the game.
- Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (Xbox 360) – Tecmo Koei’s latest Ninja Gaiden game promises cyborg-on-zombie battles and the ability to wield nunchucks made from zombie arms.
- Constant C (XBLA) is a puzzle platformer that messes with gravity and time.
- And Skydive: Proximity Flight (XBLA) is a Kinect-powered wingsuit simulator.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z
Project Spark open beta now available on Xbox One
Project Spark, Microsoft’s game creation tool for the Xbox One, is now available as an open beta downloadable through the Xbox Live Store.
To celebrate the game’s availability to all, developer Team Dakota has put together the video montage above (which is scored to Linkin Park) showcasing some of the beta’s coolest creations so far. The development team plans to share more of Project Spark’s secrets during a Twitch stream they have scheduled for today, March 18, at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time).
Project Spark is also in development for the PC and Xbox 360, with a full release planned for sometime this year.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Project Spark
New Releases: MGS5: Ground Zeroes, InFamous: Second Son, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, More
TitanFall made a huge splash last week, but a new set of publishers are ready to compete for your gaming dollar this week with a new set of games. Are you ready? Here we go…
Konami and Kojima Productions will release Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes for next-generation consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) and current-generation consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) this week. The game will serve as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which does not currently have a release date, and will serve as an introduction to the franchise’s brand new open world mechanics.
Also available this week is the next major PS4 exclsuive from Sony, InFamous: Second Son. With Second Son, the InFamous series gains a new protagonist and a new city to wreak havoc in. And speaking of havoc, Tecmo Koei will release Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, a wild collaboration between Team Ninja, Spark Unlimited, and Keiji Inafune’s Comcept, for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.
Finally, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will bring the beloved pair of games to the PS3 and Vita this week. It will be joined the week’s lone Wii U release, the kart racing game Hello Kitty Kruisers.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, InFamous: Second Son, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z
Creative Assembly makes the Alien scary again in Alien: Isolation
In a new developer diary, Al Hope, the Creative Director at Creative Assembly, details his team’s goal for your extraterrestrial adversary in Alien: Isolation: “We wanted to make the Alien scary again.” Hope will attempt to make good on his promise by creating a Xenomorph that is unpredictable and very scary. Gary Napper, one of the game’s designers, laid it all out for us:
“Depending on how cautious players are, we’ve seen encounters in Alien: Isolation last over 30 minutes in some cases. And this just can’t be done with scripted behavior. As soon as the player can predict a pattern in the Alien, it stops being scary. It doesn’t follow any prescribed path or set of behaviors that are telling it to do specific things. It’s just reacting to the player’s presence and the choices that the player makes.”
We’ve heard these kinds of promises before in relation to a game based on the Alien films. But the atmosphere and mood that Hope, Napper, and the rest of the Creative Assembly team have packed into this video’s few minutes is incredible. They deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Alien: Isolation will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One towards the end of the year.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the best-selling game of February 2014
Call of Duty: Ghosts was the best-selling game of the month in November, December, and January. Today, the NPD Group released their list of the best-selling games in February and, once again, Ghosts has taken the top spot. Ghosts has had an impressive run, but I have a strong feeling that major new releases like TitanFall and Dark Souls II will prevent Infinity Ward’s military shooter from winning one for the thumb next month.
Amongst new releases, the game adaptation of The Lego Movie and a trio of games from Square Enix (the Thief reboot, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and Bravely Default) all broke into the top ten. Amazingly, the boxed version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is still hanging on at #9.
The battle of the next-generation consoles continues to be almost a wash as the PS4 slightly squeaked ahead of the Xbox One in February. According to Microsoft, 258,000 Xbox One systems were sold during the month with the NPD Group reporting that Sony sold 10% more PS4 systems. Due to the Xbox One’s premium price tag, it technically brought in more sales dollars in February. As I said, the whole thing is almost a wash.
A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
First R.B.I. Baseball 14 screenshots bring back the 80s sports game… literally
Today, Yahoo! Sports published the first screenshots of MLB Advanced Media’s mysterious R.B.I. Baseball 14. The game franchise was incredibly popular in the late 80s and early 90s, and the reboot will respect that heritage with its graphics and gameplay style. R.B.I Baseball 14 sidesteps the heavy duty simulation aspects of 2K’s defunct MLB 2K series and Sony’s upcoming MLB 14: The Show to bring video game baseball back to a simpler time.
But don’t think this means that R.B.I. 14 won’t feature realistic baseball. All 30 MLB teams will be represented and 480 players will be included in the game. And the developers will use real-life game metrics compiled by MLB Advanced Media to create each player’s digital self. But all of these statistics will be in service to a game that doesn’t include online multiplayer (it includes local “couch play” only) and only offers three modes: Season, Postseason, and Exhibition. It’s just like the 80s, but many don’t see that as a bad thing.
“There are people out there who would want by a pixel-by-pixel recreation of a game from that era, and there are people who want something that has more control and has more than eight teams,” said Jamie Leece, MLB Advanced Media’s Vice President of Gaming. “If you take a step back and just play the game, what we’re seeing and hearing is: ‘You’re taking me back,’ ‘It feels like the old games,’ ‘It’s so much fun.'”
R.B.I. Baseball 14 will be available as a downloadable game for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile platforms in early April (lending credence to this earlier rumor). The game will also slide onto the PS4 and Xbox One “shortly after.”
XBL Store Today: TitanFall, Dark Souls II
While Sony continues to work on getting this week’s PlayStation Store update uploaded to the PSN, Microsoft has added two games that need no introduction to the Xbox Live Store. So say hello to the multiplayer mech madness of Respawn’s TitanFall (Xbox One) and the brutal medieval action of Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls II.
But if you really need an introduction, here’s a bit more information about both games:
Xbox One Game Store
TitanFall ($59.99)
Stand by for Titanfall. Crafted by key developers behind the Call of Duty franchise, TitanFall is the first next-gen shooter that combines pure adrenaline, wall-running, double-jumping action with powerful, fast-paced titan warfare to set the new bar for online multiplayer gameplay. Delivering blistering fast, fluid combat that gives you the freedom to fight your way as elite, assault pilots or agile, heavily armored titans. Rethink fundamental combat and movement with new abilities to change tactics on the fly, attacking or escaping depending on the situation. Heart-pounding multiplayer action combined with dramatic, cinematic moments lets you enjoy the fiction and characters of the universe without having to leave your favorite game online multiplayer mode. Online multiplayer matches featuring both human/AI allies and enemies create an experience like none other.
Xbox 360 Game Store
Dark Souls II ($59.99)
Developed by From Software, Dark Souls II is the highly anticipated sequel to the punishing 2011 breakout hit Dark Souls. The unique old-school action RPG experience captivated imaginations of gamers worldwide with incredible challenge and intense emotional reward. Dark Souls II brings the franchise’s renowned difficulty & gripping gameplay innovations to both single and multiplayer experiences.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls II, TitanFall