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.

CoD Black Ops Escalation map pack coming to PS3 on June 10; available on PC today

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

PC owners who want to escalate their Call of Duty: Black Ops experience will be pleased to know that Activision has released the second Black Ops map pack, Escalation, today. The pack will be priced at $15 and includes four maps: “Zoo,” “Convoy,” “Hotel” and “Stockpile.”

I’ve used this paragraph before, but here goes again… Also available in the Escalation pack is the awesome “Call of the Dead” (check out the trailer above), an expanded Zombies map that stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Danny “Machete” Trejo, Robert Englund and the Godfather of all Zombies himself, George Romero.

PS3 owners won’t have much longer as Activision also announced that the Escalation map pack would be added to the newly reopened PlayStation Store on June 10. It’ll be paired with a Double XP Weekend that starts on the 10th and ends on Sunday, June 12.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

PSN “Welcome Back” content now available

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

After fully restoring the PlayStation Store on June 1st, the only thing left for Sony to put the PlayStation Network outage completely behind them is their promised “Welcome Back” program. Yes, after 45 days, the PSN debacle is finally over.

Today, the program was put into affect and gamers will be able to obtain all of their “Welcome Back” items including:

  • Two PlayStation 3 Games From this List:
    Dead Nation
    inFAMOUS
    LittleBigPlanet
    Super Stardust HD
    Wipeout HD + Fury

  • Two PSP Games From this List:
    LittleBigPlanet
    ModNation Racers
    Pursuit Force
    Killzone Liberation

  • PSN users will receive 100 virtual items for free in PlayStation Home.
  • A selection of “On Us” movie rentals this weekend only, where video services are available.
  • For PlayStation Plus subscribers, an additional 60 days of subscription time. Non-PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive a free 30-day subscription to try out the “free games and discounts” service.
  • Finally, Music Unlimited Premium subscribers will receive an additional 30 days of subscription time plus days lost due to the outage.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged

Dungeon Siege III Hands-On Preview: Swords, Sorcery… and Star Wars?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

The PC gaming world last saw an entry in the Dungeon Siege series back in 2005 when Dungeon Siege II was released. Since then, the rights to the franchise have bounced from publisher to publisher, finally landing on Square Enix’s doorstep. The Japanese megapublisher enlisted Obsidian Entertainment to developer Dungeon Siege III and made their mission for the game very clear: to introduce the series to a console audience while crafting an awesome action RPG experience. (more…)

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

Nikkei confirms touch screen for Wii 2 controller

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Holy massive leak Batman! The Nikkei, a leading Japanese newspaper, has posted a report concerning Nintendo’s Wii 2 controller, confirming most of the rumors we’ve been hearing for weeks.

Helpfully translated by Andriasang, the report confirms that the controller will include a six-inch touch screen that will feature customizable controls for each game. The controller will also include a camera and a rechargable battery.

Those details are all well and good, but the most amazing thing to come out of this report is the news that the controller can be operated on its own as a standalone handheld game machine. The report closed with a tentative “Q3/Q4 2012” release date for the system.

It all sounds pretty legit, but we’ll find out if this latest “confirmation” for the Wii 2 is real when Nintendo holds their E3 Press Conference on Tuesday, June 7.

Posted in News, Wii U |

Square Enix’s E3 lineup includes playable Final Fantasy XIII-2

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Final Fantasy XIII-2, which was first announced at Square Enix’s 1st Production Premier event back in January, will headline the publisher’s E3 slate.

The game will be playable for the first time on the E3 show floor, where it will be joined by other big titles like Hitman: Absolution, Tomb Raider and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Suffice it to say, Square Enix has hugely embraced the Eidos Interactive properties they acquired back in 2009. Square Enix will also be showcasing Deep Silver’s Dead Island at their booth, which they will distribute in North America.

Hit the jump for a ton of information on Square Enix’s E3 lineup straight from the publisher. (more…)

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

No surprises in THQ’s E3 lineup

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

After a flurry of announcements this week, THQ has finally unveiled their complete E3 lineup. Aside from the new stuff like Metro: Last Light, WWE ’12 and UFC Undisputed 3, this is the same lineup of games THQ talked about last year.

Sadly, there appears to be no mention of the publisher’s more distant projects like Darksiders II, Devil’s Third, Guillermo Del Toro’s Insane and the Turtle Rock-developed first person shooter.

You can check out THQ’s complete lineup after the break. (more…)

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Contra is coming back to consoles

Posted on June 2, 2011 by John Scalzo

Konami held their Pre-E3 Press Briefing today and one announcement stood out above all the rest (OK, for me, one announcement stood out above all the rest). And that announcement is a new Contra game for the current crop of consoles. The short teaser above just shows a fireball whipping its way across the screen until it morphs into the familar “C” logo with the tagline “They’re Coming”. Who? When? Where? Konami, I need to know!

Sadly, that’s all we know about the Contra reboot.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Dungeon Siege III gets Xbox 360 demo, new trailer

Posted on June 2, 2011 by John Scalzo

With E3 beginning in just a few days it’s easy to forget that there are still plenty of new releases planned for June. Square Enix’s Dungeon Siege III is one of them. The threequel is the first game in the action RPG series to make it to consoles and the publisher wants to introduce gamers to the world of Ehb with a new demo now available for the Xbox Live Marketplace. PC and PS3 users will be able to try their hand at the game on June 7 when the demo is added to Steam and the (now restored) PlayStation Store.

Also be sure to check out the new trailer above and remember that Dungeon Siege III will be available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on June 21.

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