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.

Weekly Warp-Up: Happy E3 Eve!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

E3 is tomorrow! Have you brushed up on all the latest E3 happenings? Check out Warp Zoned’s E3 Central for all the latest news, including everything from the past week!

Get Warp Zoned!
Do you have a Nook or other type of eReader, then check out the first issue of Warp Zoned: The eMagazine. You’ll be glad you did.

We flipped the calendar this week so that means the latest Warpback column on What We Played in May 2011 is now available as is The Games of June 2011. Speaking of the games of June, we also had a chance to deliver a Hands-On Preview for Square Enix’s upcoming Dungeon Siege III .

Hit the jump for the rest of the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)

Posted in News |

First Soul Calibur V gameplay trailer

Posted on June 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

A few days ahead of the game’s E3 debut, Namco Bandai has unleashed the first gameplay trailer for Soul Calibur V. Get your first glimpse of the tale of swords in the trailer above!

Soul Calibur V will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Dark Souls dated for October 4, E3 trailer released

Posted on June 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

We knew it was coming in October, but now Namco Bandai has officially slapped an October 4 release date on Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to the award-winning Demon’s Souls. The publisher has also released a new story-focused trailer for the E3 Expo, which you can view above.

“With Dark Souls, we’re able to bring the uniquely challenging and rewarding style of gameplay popularized by From Software back to the PlayStation 3, as well as to the Xbox 360 platform for the first time,” says Carlson Choi, vice president of Marketing, Namco Bandai Games America. “With its massive, seamless open world design, deep exploration, tense dungeon crawling, extreme battles, and an innovative online component that allows gamers to draw from the collective experience of the community, Dark Souls provides a gameplay experience unlike any other.”

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Tekken added to PlayStation Store

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

As promised, Sony posted their second PlayStation Store update since bringing the shop back online on June 1st.

This update adds the original Tekken to the PSone Classics section. The class fighter (just check out that box art) can be had for $5.99. Also available to download is a large selection of PS3 and PSP downloads:

Downloadable PS3 Games
EA Sports MMA ($19.99)
Dungeon Explorer ($5.99)
Super Star Soldier ($5.99)
Victory Run ($5.99)
World Sports Competition ($5.99)
Armageddon Riders ($9.99)

Downloadable PSP Games
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II ($24.99)
Dungeon Explorer ($5.99)
Super Star Soldier ($5.99)
Victory Run ($5.99)
World Sports Competition ($5.99)

A complete list of the latest game downloads, game add-ons and themes can be found at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged

More from EA at E3 including Insomniac’s Xbox 360/PS3 game

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts already unveiled the majority of their E3 2011 lineup earlier this month. But the megapublisher wasn’t done and has a few more titles to add to their expanding slate of games.

The big news, confirmed by the developer’s Twitter feed, is that Insomniac’s PS3/Xbox 360 game will make its worldwide debut during EA’s E3 press conference (Monday, June 6 at 3:30 PM Eastern Time).

A trio of other games will also be on hand at this year’s E3 Expo including The Sims 3: Pets (3DS, PC, PS3, Xbox 360); Curt Schilling’s Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC, PS3, Xbox 360); and NHL 12 (PS3, Xbox 360).

More information on these games (and a full listing of EA’s E3 lineup) can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , ,

Sonic leads Sega’s E3 lineup… again

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It’s a popular phrase that goes back almost 200 years and Sega has certainly adopted it in their crusade to create another great Sonic the Hedgehog game on a console. The publisher will try again this year as Sonic Generations (3DS, PS3, Xbox 360) leads their E3 lineup. Sega is so sure they’ve got it right this time that they’re even giving the public a sneak peek at the game at the Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 8 at 6 PM (Pacific Time).

The remainder of Sega’s lineup is pretty diverse and seems to have a little bit of something for everyone:

  • The long-gestating squad-based shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines
  • Platinum Games’ latest brawler, Anarchy Reigns
  • The Terminator-esque Binary Domain
  • Movie-to-game adaptation Captain America: Super Soldier
  • The reborn puzzler Crush 3D
  • The XBLA debut of Treasure’s Guardian Heroes
  • The brilliant light gun shooter House of the Dead: Overkill, on the PS3 for the first time.
  • Downloadable action title Renegade Ops
  • The first M-rated Kinect game, Rise of Nightmares
  • The rally racer Sega Rally Online Arcade, which is available now
  • And Shinobi emerging from the shadows on the 3DS

Sega also has a few surprises in store for the E3 Expo as they’ve promised “more than 13 new games across all major platforms,” but they only listed 12 games. Considering the company’s close relationship with Nintendo, I’d bet good money that we’ll get a Wii 2 announcement or two.

More information on Sega’a announced E3 slate can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Releases: InFamous 2, Red Faction Armageddon, Green Lantern, More

Posted on June 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

This week’s E3 Expo will show the world everything about a ton of new games that’ll be available later this year and the next. But there are several games that’ll ship to stores this week and battle the big show for the gaming industry’s eyeballs.

The biggest new release is definitely Sony’s InFamous 2. The first game was a bit of a surprise hit, which has made the sequel one of 2011’s most anticipated games.

It’ll be joined by THQ’s latest trip to Mars, Red Faction: Armageddon (PC, PS3, Xbox 360); the movie-to-game adaptation Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (3DS, DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360); and Codemasters’ latest FPS, Operation Flashpoint: Red River (PC, PS3, Xbox 360).

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,

Official Call of Duty Elite FAQ confirms free multiplayer

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

With all the rumors flying around about what will and what won’t be included with Activision’s new Call of Duty Elite subscription service, the publisher took matters into their own hands and released an official FAQ detailing the service so far.

There’s plenty of talk about the statistical analysis options and the Groups feature, but no mention of the monthly cost or the more “advanced features” of the premium membership. Though as mentioned previously, all map packs will be included as part of the premium package.

Thankfully, Activision drew a line in the sand and confirmed that online multiplayer will remain free in a post-Call of Duty Elite world. The service also will not allow players to buy their way to better weapons or perks. So it sounds like the “not required” nature of the Elite service will be true.

But just what does Elite entail? Find out by reading the entire FAQ after the break. (more…)

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