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.

Call of Duty XP 2011 “fan experience” set for September 2-3

Posted on July 1, 2011 by John Scalzo

The Call of Duty franchise is Activision’s billion-dollar baby and it’ll be celebrated this September in the very first CoD “fan experience.” Call of Duty XP 2011 will be held on Labor Day Weekend, September 2nd and 3rd, in Los Angeles. For two days, the festival will immerse 6,000 fans in all things Call of Duty, including an announcement of the full feature for Call of Duty Elite and the world premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer mode.

“From the high production values of our live, immersive events – all the way to the smallest details in every design and activity – we’re pulling out all the stops to make Call of Duty XP the ultimate gathering for the global community of Call of Duty fans,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “The celebration will immerse attendees in a Call of Duty experience unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. Over the course of two days, gamers can trade Call of Duty war stories, experience the official unveiling of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer and the full feature functionality of Call of Duty Elite, as well as enjoy world-class entertainment and compete head-to-head for some serious cash prizes.”

Attendees at Call of Duty XP 2011 will experience a ton of other exciting events as well:

  • $1 million Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament
  • Discussion panels and Q&A with Call of Duty developers
  • Onsite Call of Duty armory and museum
  • Paintball matches on a life-sized Call of Duty multiplayer map
  • Speed-run attempts for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2‘s legendary “The Pit”
  • More attractions to be announced

Tickets for Call of Duty XP 2011 will be available July 19 for $150 apiece. All proceeds will benefit The Call of Duty Endowment, Activision’s organization that helps soldiers transition to civilian life.

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

Limbo dancing onto PSN, Steam very soon

Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

Developer Playdead likely had to build a whole new wing in their headquarters to hold all the awards Limbo won last year. Now, it looks like the XBLA hit will soon be heading to the PC (via Steam) and the PlayStation Network.

Playdead CEO and co-founder Dino Patti confirmed the good news to Joystiq earlier today:

“This might be the second time around we have been waiting for,” Patti said, referencing his quote from last May in which he said, “You won’t see a PS3 or PC version this time around.” Patti said that “Limbo is in production for Steam and PSN, and is coming very soon.” With a release date of “very soon” he predictably said more details would be coming shortly.

Playdead is also hard at work on an original game, but they’re still not ready to talk about it just yet.

Posted in News, PC, PS3 | Tagged

Nintendo has “no plans” to bring Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora’s Tower to America

Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

Bad news, Operation Rainfall supporters: Nintendo has announced they have “no plans” to bring Xenoblade, The Last Story or Pandora’s Tower to North America. Posting on the company’s Facebook page, a spokesman wrote:

Thank you for your enthusiasm. We promised an update, so here it is. We never say “never,” but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games to the Americas at this time. Thanks so much for your passion, and for being such great fans!

I’m not sure what else needs to be said. Nintendo continues to ignore their most hardcore fans and refuses to localize their new and exciting franchises.

Wait, one other thing needs to be said… this sucks!

Posted in News, Wii | Tagged , ,

Respawn gives us a glimpse of their first game

Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

There it is. Truly a marvel of modern game design… What? The headline doesn’t say anything about a clear glimpse at Respawn’s first game.

This image comes from Respawn Entertainment’s newly launched website, Respawn.com. It’s the virtual home of the development team started by Jason West and Vince Zampella, former co-founders of Infinity Ward and creators of the Call of Duty franchise. It has tons of details about the teams’s office space, employees and Community Manager Abbie Heppe. But if you’re looking for more details about the team’s top secret project for EA, well, I refer you to that blurry picture above.

Looks a little like a burnt out wasteland… or possibly a pastoral meadow. Hmm, I think I had better luck with those Magic Eye books.

Posted in News |

This week’s Nintendo Download includes Final Fantasy III, Kirby’s Dream Land

Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

Are you ready to play one of the greatest RPGs of all-time in this week’s Nintendo Download?

The Wii’s Virtual Console plays host to Final Fantasy III (in actuality, the sixth game in the series) this week. The Super NES classic will be joined by the WiiWare release Big Town Shoot Out, a light gun western.

The 3DS’ eShop will receive a single game this week, Kirby’s Dream Land. Believe it or not, this Game Boy title was gaming’s introduction to the pink puffball.

DSi owners will receive a quartet of new games this week (which are also available on the 3DS eShop) including Moto eXtreme, a motorcycle racing game; Hearts Spades Euchre, a card game collection; Boardwalk Ball Toss, a bottle smashing game that’s not rigged; and The Lost Town: The Dust, an overhead zombie shooter.

More information on all of these titles can be found in Nintendo’s weekly newsletter.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii | Tagged

Dungeon Siege III Review: An Elegant RPG For a More Civilized Age

Posted on June 29, 2011 by John Scalzo

In a lot of ways, Dungeon Siege III can be considered a “first” for the franchise. It’s the first game in the series published by Square Enix, and the first developed by Obsidian Entertainment. It’s the first Dungeon Siege game to appear on a console, and the first new game in the series in five years. With this new beginning at hand, I dove into the Dungeon Siege series myself for the first time and came away with a pretty good RPG experience. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Bodycount tags August 30 release date

Posted on June 29, 2011 by John Scalzo

Codemasters has announced an August 30th release date for Bodycount, the wild new first person shooter from the creators of Black. In Bodycount, players will be tasked with tracking down the mysterious “Target,” a terrorist mastermind that makes other terrorist masterminds look downright cuddly.

However, cuddly is not the word I would use to describe the game’s seemingly neverending arsenal of killing implements:

Equipped with a mouth-watering arsenal of weapons, grenades, mines and airstrikes players rip through cover and enemies as they leave no man standing. By performing skill kills, chaining kills and collecting intel dropped by downed enemies, players can unlock a series of upgrades and abilities, including an adrenaline shot, explosive bullets and radar. Every bullet and every body counts, with replayability extended by the scoring of a player’s skill in each level which can be compared against online leaderboards in the game’s Bodycount Mode.

Bodycount will also include online co-op and competitive modes when it’s released in August for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Posted in News | Tagged , ,

WB Games reveals official Batman: Arkham City box art… again

Posted on June 29, 2011 by John Scalzo

Two weeks ago, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment revealed the final cover design for Batman: Arkham City. Apparently, someone at the company was less than pleased with the final selection as the publisher has unveiled a new cover design for the game today.

As you can see, Batman is standing in a similar pose in both box shots, but the new design showcases his profile instead of the head-on view of the previous design.

Whichever image makes it onto store shelves, Batman: Arkham City will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 18. The game will also be available for the Wii U next year.

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