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.

Sony admits hackers stole personal info, possibly credit card numbers as well

First, the good news. Sony has “a clear path” to bringing the PlayStation Network back online. The software giant expects some services to be back online within a week. It’s not much, but a preliminary timetable is more than we knew before.

Now the bad news… HACKERS HAVE STOLEN YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM SONY! According to Sony, during the intrusion, an outside party obtained the following information from PSN users:

[N]ame, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. […] If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

While Sony states they are still investigating the security breach, I can’t believe they just learned what personal information (and possible credit card information) the hackers gained access to today. Sony should have notified PS3 owners about this possibility a week ago and I’m shocked that they, quite literally, said nothing over the holiday weekend.

More information is available at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged

COD Black Ops goes grindhouse: Buffy, Freddy, Machete battle zombies

Treyarch promised “something special” for the new “Call of the Dead” mode included in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation Map Pack and they definitely made good on their promise.

Taking a page from Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse, the developer has enlisted a quartet of the biggest names from zombie films and television. Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Danny Trejo (Machete), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead”) have all performed voicework and supplied the use of their likenesses for the DLC pack. While they’re not officially playing Buffy, Machete, Freddy Krueger and Merle Dixon, they’ve definitely dressed the part.

The best part is who Treyarch got to play the leader of the Siberian zombies that the team encounters: George “The Godfather of the Zombie Movie” Romero! That’s just too awesome!

The Escalation Map Pack will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on May 3 with PC and PSN versions following soon after.

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

Star Fox 64 3D gets Arrange Mode; free 3D Excitebike download; Mario Kart 3DS in 2011

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed a little bit more about the upcoming 3DS remake Star Fox 64 3D during the publisher’s quarterly financial briefing.

According to Iwata, Star Fox 64 3D will include a new Arrange Mode to give gamers a new take on a classic game: “[W]e are planning to release […] a newly-arranged version of Star Fox 64, the most well-known game of all the 3D shooting games in the time of Nintendo 64.” He also revealed that the game will include motion controls for piloting an Arwing, though how this’ll square with the 3D display (which really needs to be steady) remains to be seen.

The President also revealed that Nintendo will have a free gift for gamers when the 3DS eShop opens in May, a downloadable “3D Classics” version of Excitebike.

Finally, Iwata reconfirmed that Mario Kart 3DS will be released in 2011. Presumably, we’ll learn more at E3.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged ,

Sony announces PlayStation Suite-certified tablets

Are you looking for an iPad alternative? Sony has announced that they’ll be releasing the “Sony Tablet” this Fall.

The Android 3.0-powered devices will come in two form factors: the 9.4-inch “S1” and the dual-screened “S2.” Both tablets have been certified as PlayStation Suite compatible, which you can see for yourself with the awesome Crash Bandicoot demo in the trailer above.

The dual-screened S2 is very clearly patterned after Nintendo’s DS design, with content-specific control buttons overlaid on the bottom screen while the action takes place on the top screen.

Sony didn’t announce a retail price for the S1 or the S2.

Posted in News | Tagged

Johnny Cage meets Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat: Legacy episode 3

The third episode of Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy is here and we get our first glimpse of Johnny Cage (Matt Mullins) as he is convinced by Shang Tsung (Johnson Phan) to enter the Mortal Kombat tournament. The “inside look” at Cage’s career is a hoot and this episode is as ball-punchingly fun as the previous two.

I especially loved the Ed Boon cameo and I can’t wait for part four (which will star Mileena and Kitana!). Though I could have done without the muted swear words (an “uncensored” version will be uploaded on Friday, April 29).

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

Mortal Kombat Review: Bone-Breakingly Fantastic

It has been a long, bloody road to bring Mortal Kombat to the PS3 and Xbox 360. After Midway’s bankruptcy, almost none of the company’s franchises were able to escape from the financial fatality unscathed. Even in the middle of the company’s financial woes, Ed Boon and his team at Midway Chicago (now NetherRealm Studios) continued to toil away on the next entry in the series. With Midway’s bankruptcy settled and the franchise now in the hands of WB Games, Mortal Kombat is ready to inflict its signature brand of mayhem onto the world once again. (more…)

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

Nintendo Download: 4/25/11

Did the Easter Bunny hippity hop his way to your house yesterday? It may be a day later, but Reggie Fils-Aime has donned his bunny ears and added three new games to the DSiWare Shop and one game to the WiiWare shop.

Hit the jump to learn more about Airport Mania: First Flight, Inchworm Animation, Ubongo and Word Searcher Deluxe. (more…)

Posted in News | Tagged ,

Nintendo confirms Wii 2 will launch in 2012

In a note to investors released this morning, Nintendo has confirmed that a “successor to the Wii” will launch in 2012.

The rumored code name of “Project Cafe” wasn’t mentioned in the statement, so it’s still just the “Wii 2” for now. But the publisher did confirm that we’ll all get our first look at the system (along with some hands-on time) at this year’s E3 expo, which will be held from June 7th through the 9th.

Nintendo didn’t narrow a release date down beyond “TBA 2012,” but they did say that “sales of this new system have not been included in the finanical forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012” so don’t expect the “Wii 2” to appear before April 2012.

Posted in News, Wii U |