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: Black Ops leads February sales, becomes bestselling game of all-time

Posted on March 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

After becoming the bestselling PS3 game, Call of Duty: Black Ops can now lay claim to just being the bestselling game, period.

According to the NPD Group, the Treyarch-developed game passed Wii Play in February to become the bestselling game of all-time. Exact sales figures weren’t released, but Wii Play is known to have sold over 13 million copies. So let’s call it 14 million. Of course, Wii Play is a Wii exclusive while the sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been split across the DS, PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

Not surprisingly, Black Ops was also the top-selling game in February, where it was joined by newcomers Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Killzone 3, Bulletstorm and Mario Sports Mix. The full top ten (which is still littered with dance games), can be seen right here:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
2. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
4. NBA 2K11 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PS2, PC)
5. Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3)
7. Bulletstorm (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Killzone 3 (PS3)
9. Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii, DS, PSP)
10. Mario Sports Mix (Wii)

Posted in DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

PlayStation Move: Ape Escape coming to PSN this Summer

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sony has announced they’ll be bringing the crazy antics of the Ape Escape crew to the PS3 for the first time this Summer in PlayStation Move: Ape Escape.

PlayStation Move: Ape Escape will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Network and it’ll transform your Move controller into a variety of gadgets to trap those invading monkeys. These gadgets will be controlled like a first person rail shooter across 15 new levels.

There’ll also be a “MonkeyPedia” to keep track of the captured simians and a series of minigames with names like Tag Rally, Slingsnipe! and Sprayzer Defense Force.

You can check out the first screenshots at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy prologue coming to PSN

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

The person at Square Enix who comes up with game titles must be stopped!

Today, the publisher announced Dissidia Duodecim Prologus: Final Fantasy, a PlayStation Network-exclusive downloadable prequel chapter to Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy. The ridiculously named PSP download will be released on March 15 and is similar to Capcom’s bite-sized Dead Rising 2 prequel, Case Zero. At $2.99, the game carries a bite-sized price to match.

Prologus will star Final Fantasy XIII‘s Lightning in her first apperance outside her original adventure. The events of Prologus will lead up to the beginning of Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy, which will be available for the PSP on March 22.

In addition to getting a taste of Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy, players will be able to unlock a variety of items in Prologus that’ll carry over into the full game. And everyone who purchases the prelude will unlock Aerith Gainsborough (from Final Fantasy VII) as an Assist Character in the full game.

You can check out a Lighting-centric trailer for Dissidia Duodecim Prologus: Final Fantasy after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PSP | Tagged ,

Microsoft sells 10 million Kinect sensors

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Gamers didn’t really know what to make of Microsoft’s Kinect in the run-up to the peripheral’s release. But it looks like John Q. Public knows exactly what to make of the motion control system as consumers have purchased ten million Kinect sensors worldwide as of January 3rd.

Each of those ten million consumers also weren’t shy about buying Kinect-enabled games as retailers also sold “ten million standalone Kinect games.” And that number doesn’t count the ten million copies of Kinect Adventures that were sold as a bundle with the sensor.

According to the people at Guinness World Records, this makes the Kinect the “fastest selling consumer electronics device” ever.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Rumor: Doom movie reboot looking for a script

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

It took 12 years to bring Doom to the big screen the first time around and, if the rumors are to be believed, Universal is planning to try again.

According to the rumor report from What’s Playing, Universal has begun the search for a script and ultimately plans to reboot the franchise, ignoring the events of the 2005 movie that starred The Rock and Karl Urban. Good thing too, as that movie had absolutely nothing to do with the Doom game series. But here’s hoping the new movie includes another badass first person sequence.

And as you may have guessed, the Doom reboot will be shot in 3D… which would make the first person sequence even more badass.

Hmm, maybe it’s time for me to dust off that Doom script I’ve had lying around since I was 14. It’s probably as good as anything Universal will find.

Id Software has been working on a fourth entry in the game franchise for a few years now. But it’s unlikely we’ll learn more about Doom 4 until after Rage is released this September.

Posted in Etcetera, News |

Kombat Kontinues in latest Mortal Kombat trailer

Posted on March 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

With the PS3 demo now available for PlayStation Plus subscribers, NetherRealm Studios has unleashed a new trailer for Mortal Kombat and it is brutally awesome.

The two-minute preview gives us our first look at Ermac, Shang Tsung, Stryker and Kano along with the return of The Krypt and another glimpse at Kratos. There’s also plenty of Fatalities, X-Ray moves and a few quick snippets of the title’s four minigames (Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, Test Your Strike and Test Your Luck).

If you call yourself a Mortal Kombat fan, you must watch this trailer.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Toy Soldiers recruit the Real American Hero

Posted on March 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

Toy Soldiers went marching home on the Xbox Live Arcade last March. Today, Signal Studios announced that the game will be all it can be on the PC this Summer as well as revealed an Xbox Live Arcade sequel, Toy Soldiers: Cold War.

As you may have guessed from the logo, Toy Soldiers: Cold War has been inspired by The Real American Hero, G.I. Joe. While the fight won’t involve laser rifles and a centuries old cult of snake worshipping mutants, the game will definitely harken back to Saturday morning fun for a lot of Xbox 360 owners:

The Cold War ignites when ‘80s era action toys come alive and wage war! Toy Soldiers: Cold War delivers hours of intense combat combined with addictive action strategy gameplay. Superpowers collide in this playful homage to ’80s action toys and films. Command the powerful Cold War arsenals of the USA or USSR armies! Control base turrets, modern combat vehicles, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and commando action figures. Whether lighting up the Toy Box alone or jumping into the fray with your friends, battle in campaign, co-op, or competitive modes. Fight for the high score in the addictive mini-games, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to BLOW EVERYTHING UP!

Toy Soldiers: Cold War doen’t have a release date yet, but Signal plans to bring a playable build of the game to this weekend’s PAX East.

If you can’t make it down to the show, hit the jump for a look at the first trailer and a Toy Soldiers: Cold War feature list. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Torchlight shines on XBLA today

Posted on March 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft’s House Party continues to shine on with the release of Runic Games’ Torchlight today. The Diablo-like game set the PC world on fire last year and now it’s available to download on the XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Although, considering the fact that Runic has quite a few former Blizzard staffers on their payroll, the Diablo comparisons seem more than fair:

Torchlight is an action-roleplaying game developed by the creators of popular games Diablo and Fate. Players will choose from among three character classes, and venture from the safety of the town of Torchlight into randomly generated dungeon levels, with a huge variety of creepy monsters, endless variations of loot to find, and quests to complete. Randomized levels and an ‘endless dungeon’ unlocked after completing the main game ensure a long-lived gameplay experience.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged