Author: John Scalzo

John Scalzo is Warp Zoned's Editor-In-Chief and resident retro gaming expert. You can email him at john AT warpzoned DOT com.

I Am Alive, Wheels of Destruction, Price Is Right added to PS Store

Posted on April 4, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sony updated the PlayStation Store last night with a trio of new titles. Highlighting this week’s update is Ubisoft’s survival sim I Am Alive. It’s joined by the vehicular combat of Wheels of Destruction and midmorning game show fun of The Price Is Right Decades.

More info on all of these games can be found below. If you’re looking for discounts on Mortal Kombat DLC or want a complete list of this week’s game add-ons, head over to the PlayStation Blog.

PSN Games

Wheels of Destruction ($9.99)
In a lawless, post-apocalyptic world, Wheels of Destruction pits you in a kill-or-be-killed competition of extreme four-wheel wreckage. From death matches to flag capturing, slay everything in your path of relentless devastation.

The Price Is Right Decades ($9.99)
Come On Down! Take A Trip Back To Memory Lane with The Price Is Right Decades! The Price Is Right Decades retains all of the treasured game play elements found in previous versions, including classics such as Plinko and The Big Wheel.

I Am Alive ($14.99)
One year after a worldwide cataclysmic event that wiped out most of the human race, a man struggles for survival in a desolate city as he tries to reunite with his long lost family. In this post-apocalyptical tale, there are no supernatural threats, just an everyman who faces a decaying and hazardous world.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends will include 50 cars you’ll never own

Posted on April 3, 2012 by John Scalzo

Do you want to own a Ferrari? How about 50 of them? Just outside your price range, right? Don’t worry, Atari’s got you covered.

Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends will be available this May for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and it’ll be packed with Ferraris, 50 of them in fact, in three different classes. Hey… look at that!

Want to know which specific Italian road machines made the cut for Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends? Check out the complete list after the break(s). (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Sine Mora Review: Bullet Time, Meet Bullet Hell

Posted on April 3, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sine Mora is the product of a very unlikely union: Hungarian developer Digital Reality and the Suda 51-led Grasshopper Manufacture. Digital Reality is best known as the developers of several obscure strategy games for the PC while Grasshopper has made a name for itself by fitting more crazy into a game than any developer working today. With all that working against them, their partnership has resulted in an absolutely excellent game. (more…)

Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Rumor: Wii U will launch on November 18

Posted on April 3, 2012 by John Scalzo

It’s probably best not to consider this a rumor. Instead, look at it as a really obvious prediction.

Wii U Daily is reporting that the Wii U will launch on November 18, 2012. The site claims that they’re in possession of an internal email from Japanese retailer Media Land that confirmed the North American launch date as well as a November 25 launch for Japan.

The questions start piling up when you read some of the site’s other highlighted stories, such as Grand Theft Auto 5 coming to Wii U in 2013. In that article, Wii U Daily cites a “Rockstar financial report” that not only confirms a Wii U version of Grand Theft Auto V, but a 2013 release date. Needless to say, no financial report was issued by Rockstar (or parent company Take-Two) recently and no release date for GTA5 was announced.

But the Wii U launch date might not be bogus. The Wii launched on November 19, 2006 and the GameCube launched on November 18, 2001. Nintendo just loves that weekend for launching new consoles in North America.

So whether or not the email exists, November 18 is probably the real launch date for the Wii U.

Posted in News, Wii U |

Capcom won’t apologize for Street Fighter X Tekken “on-disc DLC”

Posted on April 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Watch a company lose whatever good will they’ve built up over 30 years in three easy steps…

  • Step 1: Capcom began selling “DLC” for Street Fighter X Tekken that was completed before the game shipped and was included on the disc.
  • Step 2: Several Street Fighter X Tekken players then filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau over the unethical nature of this practice.
  • Step 3: Capcom replies, in essence, “DLC included on the disc and DLC available to download from a server are exactly the same.”

Really? I’m not one of those people who believe “on-disc DLC” is inherently evil as long as the gamemaker is upfront with everything before the sale. But this is just too much. Bad form Capcom. Gamers may constantly crack jokes about the “evil empire” tactics of Activision and EA, but neither one has ever said anything that over-the-top evil.

You can read the publisher’s full response to the BBB after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Xbox 360 Transforming D-Pad controllers get shiny in May

Posted on April 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Xbox 360 controller with the Transforming D-Pad is going to get a bit more affordable, and a bit shinier, this May. Priced at $54.99, Microsoft will release the red, blue, and silver “Chrome Special Edition” controllers you see above next month. The lower price is due to the exclusion of the Play and Charge Kit that’s included in the current Transforming D-Pad package.

As a big fan of the Transforming D-Pad (I never play without it anymore), this is great news for those looking to upgrade their Xbox 360 controller.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Lick Lollipop Chainsaw, Mortal Kombat Vita at PAX East 2012

Posted on April 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Gimme a W! Gimme a B! What’s that spell!?!… You know, that kind of thing doesn’t work when what you’re trying to spell is just initials.

Anyway, Lollipop Chainsaw and its gory school bus full of gore and guts will be making a stop at this weekend’s PAX East expo. The game, which is scheduled for a June 12 release on the PS3 and Xbox 360, will be available in playable form to fulfill all your fantasies of cheerleaders, chainsaws, and doing the splits to decapitate a zombie.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will also be showcasing playable versions of Mortal Kombat for the portable PlayStation Vita, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for the Xbox 360, The Lord of the Rings Online, and Dungeons & Dragon Online: Menace of the Underdark in booth #424.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,

PAX East 2012: Play Mario Tennis Open, Spirit Camera, more with Nintendo

Posted on April 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Are you planning on attending PAX East 2012 this weekend? If so, then be sure to stop by the Nintendo booth where you’ll get a chance to try out Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir and Mario Tennis Open for the 3DS before you can buy them.

The Big N is also bringing a bunch of copies of Kid Icarus: Uprising for players to try as well as hosting a scavenger hunt for select Uprising AR Cards.

Finally, playable demos of Mario Kart 7 and a smattering of 3DS eShop titles (Ketzal’s Corridors, Dillon’s Rolling Western, Pushmo, and Sakurai Samurai: The Art of the Sword) will be available at the Nintendo booth (#412) all weekend long.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged ,