Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
- “Animal Crossing” and Undertale” Lead the Way for New Book Series About Games at University of Chicago Press
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)
All Articles: DS
The Smurfs smurf their way onto the Wii, DS this Summer
A film adaptation of The Smurfs will be released in theaters on August 3, and Ubisoft has announced that the blue creatures will smurf their way onto the Wii and DS around the same time as well.
Nothing else was announced about the game, but executives at Ubisoft are absolutely thrilled to be working on a Smurfs game (the game’s unnamed developers didn’t mention what they thought of the deal):
“We’re thrilled to be working with Lafig Belgium and Sony Pictures on the Smurfs license. Our ongoing partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products allows us to create fun and entertaining video games based on some of the most popular family films,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. “Ubisoft’s creative team is working hard on crafting the perfect video game experience that will appeal to new and old fans of The Smurfs.”
Red Dead Redemption, Enslaved, God of War III lead 2011 AIAS nominees
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced the nominees for the 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards (IAAs). As expected, Red Dead Redemption lead the way with nine nominations including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Game of the Year.
God of War III and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (a title that is already being considered one of the best games you’ve never played) shared the second-most nominations with six apiece. Other games up for multiple awards include Call of Duty: Black Ops, Heavy Rain, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Mass Effect 2 (five nominations apiece) along with Dance Central, Limbo and Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (four apiece).
The awards will be handed out by Jay Mohr at the 2011 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit on Thursday, February 10. The hour-long show will be broadcast on G4 two days later, February 12, at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) with a webcast scheduled for 7:30 PM (Eastern Time) at G4tv.com/DICE.
A complete list of nominees can be on the AIAS website, but the “Game of the Year” will come from this list of five: Angry Birds HD, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III, Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption.
New Releases: LittleBigPlanet 2, Mass Effect 2, Mindjack, More
What this week’s new releases lacks in quantity, it makes up for it in quality.
Sony’s second Sackboy adventure on the PS3, LitleBigPlanet 2, will be released this week. The sequel will add even more level creation options as well as include an expanded single-player campaign.
As PS3 owners get their second crack at Sackboy, they’ll get their first chance to experience BioWare’s Mass Effect series with a PS3 port of Mass Effect 2. Sticking with the science fiction theme, Square Enix will be bringing their body-hopping shooter Mindjack to the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Finally, PopCap Games has shrunk down Plants vs Zombies for a DS release.
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found below. (more…)
Limbo, Red Dead Redemption lead 2011 Game Developers Choice nominees
The nominees for the 2011 Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be handed out on March 2 during the Game Developers Conference, have been announced.
The monochromatic XBLA puzzle-platformer Limbo took seven nominations, more than any other game. But Rockstar’s cowboy opus Red Dead Redeption was close behind with six while BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 received five.
Other big nominees include God of War III, Heavy Rain and Minecraft, all of which received three nominations. Minecraft’s inclusion among the nominees marks the first time a game has received a GDC Award nomination and was selected as a finalist in the Independent Games Festival.
Hit the jump for the full list of nominees. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged DS, God of War III, Heavy Rain, Limbo, Mass Effect 2, Minecraft, PC, PS3, PSP, Red Dead Redemption, Wii, Xbox 360
Pokémon Black and White U.S. mall tour urges players to ‘Catch a Mall’
Beginning on February 5th, 14 cities across America will be swarming with kids and college students alike. Why, you ask? Well, simply put: Pokémon is back.
For a full month, The Pokémon Company International will be hosting two-day events (on weekends) at various malls throughout the United States. At these events, players will be able to take part in mall-wide scavenger hunts, meet the three newest starter Pokémon from the Black and White games, and receive a special “event” Celebi through GameStop store distributions. Game demo areas will be available as well, where hands-on stations will allow players to explore the new world found in both Pokémon Black and White games. Every stop of the national tour will also be accompanied by a free screening of the newest movie in the franchise: Pokémon-Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
J.C. Smith, The Pokémon Company International’s director of marketing states: “We cannot wait to hit the road and give Pokémon fans an up-close and personal look at an all-new world of Pokémon in a fun, totally immersive environment.”
This year looks bright for the Pokémon franchise, promising a new step in the games’ series, a feature-length film, and new merchandise, including an expansion to the popular trading card game.
Hit the jump for the list of mall stops! (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged DS, Pokemon Black/White
Lego Battles: Ninjago whirling to your DS in Spring 2011
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games announced today the newest project in their LEGO Battles series with LEGO Battles: Ninjago. The game will allow players to hone their skills in the hidden art of “Spinjitzu,” becoming tornadoes and vanquishing enemies. Keeping alive the recent karma trend in gaming, players will have a choice between good and evil single player modes. Add in Battle Mode challenges and multiplayer showdowns and you have a healthy heaping of family friendly content for your DS.
The game complements the new Ninjago lineup of products LEGO released today, which they will be adding to throughout the new year. No firm release date has been set for the game, but expect it to drop sometime this Spring.
Posted in News
Tagged DS, Lego Battles: Ninjago
New Retail Releases – Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, DC Universe Online, Ghost Trick, More
Do you love RPGs? If you said yes, then you’ll definitely want to head to your favorite retailer this week.
On the DS, Square Enix plans to release the latest entry in the Kingdom Hearts series, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. And over on the PS3, Sony’s MMORPG DC Universe Online will cross over into stores (its coming to the PC as well).
Also available this week is Venetica (PS3, Xbox 360), an RPG where the Grim Reaper’s daughter hunts down a necromancer. And finally, there’s Prinny 2, the latest Disgaea spin-off from Atlus.
If RPGs aren’t your thing, Capcom will be releasing the latest game from the Phoenix Wright team, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, on the DS
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found below. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged DC Universe Online, DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Capcom releases details on upcoming titles
Ah, CES. We love you because you always bring us new information. Capcom has joined the legion of companies making major announcements about some of their most anticipated titles of 2011 – Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Mega Man Legends 3 Project, MotoGP 10/11, and my personal favorite: Okamiden.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 is coming to the North American PSN on February 1st for 14.99 and the XBLA on the 2nd for 1200 MS points. We also got some box art as well as some screen shots, which can all be found here.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will be released in North America for the DS on January 11th. Players take on the role of Sissel’s ghost to try to solve his murder. You can solve puzzles by possessing and manipulating items in the real world from the spirit world. Did I mention Sissel has amnesia? Part detective story, part soap opera.
Mega Man Legends 3 Project’s new female heroine, Aero, was created in the Dev Room by fans, who can contribute to multiple aspects of the game through its development. To get involved in this unique project and to read the latest news, click here.
MotoGP 10/11 has just introduced a new customizable player assist feature. This allows both simulation and arcade racing fans to play the game in the style they’re used to. Also announced was a new splitscreen co-op gameplay. Fans of the genre should be sure to check it out this coming March, when it releases for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. More details can be found here.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: information about Okamiden! Capcom announced a brand new Wind mini-game in which Chibiterasu can team up with a friend named Kurow. Together they will use the Galestorm brush technique to get to Thundercloud, where they can later learn another brush technique called Thunderstorm. Chibiterasu will need all the help he can get to bring color back into the world. March 15th is when Okamiden lands for the DS, so get your painting hand ready. More information on this story can be found here, and you can become a fan of Okami on Facebook here.
Posted in News
Tagged 3DS, Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Mega Man Legends 3, MotoGP 10/11, Okamiden, PS3, Xbox 360