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.

Sucker Punch web game battles orcs and samurais

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sucker Punch has taken the geek world by storm and its March 25th theatrical debut will likely be the film event of the Spring. And why not? The movie’s world is a modern riff on Alice in Wonderland that pits Babydoll (and four of her friends) against armies of Nazis, samurais, orcs, Terminators, Transformers and one fire-breathing dragon. Just look at the latest trailer, it’s distilled awesome.

To go along with the movie’s impending release, Warner Bros. has posted a very impressive third-person action game, Sucker Punch: Annihilation, on the film’s website. In Annihilation, players can control any of the film’s five femme fatales – Babydoll (Emily Browning), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Amber (Jamie Chung) or Rocket (Jena Malone) – as they fight wave after wave of samurais, orcs and other assorted monsters.

The game includes three areas (Feudal Warriors, Castle Siege, Distant Planet) and allows players to earn achievements (that can be shared on Facebook) and experience points to make your chosen girl a more formidable fighter.

Sucker Punch: Annihilation is a great way to spend your Interwebbing time and it really makes me wonder what could have been if WB Games had decided to go around with a full-fledged Sucker Punch for the PS3 or Xbox 360.

Posted in News, PC |

Command & Conquer is reborn at Victory Games

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts relaunched the official Command & Conquer website and revealed that they’ve passed the development reins of the franchise to their latest internal studio, Victory Games.

Victory Games will be headed up by Jon Van Caneghem, the founder of New World Computing and creator of the Heroes of Might & Magic series. When asked about his role in creating a new Command & Conquer game, Caneghem had this to say:

I can tell you it’s a Command & Conquer game for the PC, but we’re not yet at a stage where I can go into any details—we’ll be prepared to make a more formal announcement later in the year. We’re not just working on a game, though. Our general focus is on the future of Command & Conquer. That means updating a lot of the core technology to create a stable base for future development, and leveraging that work on this first game.

As Caneghem doesn’t reveal many specifics about the next Command & Conquer game, I think it’s safe to assume we won’t be playing it in 2011.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Ubisoft wouldn’t dare bring We Dare to America

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

Man, if the people at Fox News thought Bulletstorm and Mass Effect were bad, something like We Dare would probably send them into convulsions. Published by Ubisoft, We Dare is the latest party game for the Wii and Move-enabled PS3s. But instead of cartoonish recreations of sporting events or backyard games, We Dare is a minigame collection for couples. It’ll also only be available in Europe (on March 11) and Ubisoft has no plans to bring it to America.

As you can see from the trailer above, the minigames included in the title have a rather social bent to them. Players are encouraged to nearly kiss as they bob for apples (with a dangling Wii Remote standing in for the apple) while another game requires spanking your partner (with the Remote hooked into their waistband) to make their on-screen avatar fly faster. The climax of the trailer involves a pole dancing minigame that fades out just as the whole exercise appears to descend into the beginnings of a porno film.

I don’t know about you, but I have NO idea why Ubisoft thinks We Dare wouldn’t fly in America.

Posted in News | Tagged ,

L.A. Noire pre-order bonuses, boxart detected

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

After years in development, L.A. Noire will finally arrive on the PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 17th. To gear up for the final pre-release push, Rockstar has released the game’s official boxart (which you can see to your left) and the game’s retailer-specific pre-order bonuses (which you can find below).

While most retailers plan to include in-game bonuses as part of their pre-order ploys, a few retailers plan to offer something a bit more tangible. The publisher’s own Rockstar Warehouse will include an official L.A. Noire t-shirt with every pre-order while Target is bundling a $5 gift card and a Rockstar Games t-shirt with every copy of L.A. Noire sold during the game’s launch week.

After the break you’ll find just the facts on the in-game bonuses being offered at GameStop, Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Gears of War 3 beta set for April

Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft held a press event in San Francisco today and dropped a few details about the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta.

The beta will begin sometime around mid-April and will include four new maps and three new Versus Multiplayer modes. But Epic Games is leaving the decision of which maps will appear in the beta up to the fans. If you head over to the Gears of War Facebook page, you can vote on which maps you think should be included in the beta. Your choices are: (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Whatcha gonna do when the complete WWE All-Stars roster runs wild on you?

Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

IGN has completed their two part unveiling of the complete WWE All-Stars roster with an additional seven Legends, eight Superstars and six more DLC wrestlers. These 15 wrestlers join the 15 wrestlers announced last week to give the full roster a grand total of 30 fighters.

As with last week’s reveal, IGN uploaded new screenshots and video of each wrestler, giving us a very in-depth look at the game.

So we know who made the final cut and we know that The Big Bossman, Chris Jericho, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Michael Hayes, Mark Henry and R-Truth will be added to WWE All-Stars at a future date through a DLC expansion pack. We also know that Howard Finkel and Paul Bearer will be included in the game as “non-wrestling talent.”

So with all out of the way, jump off the top rope for a look at the second half of the WWE All-Stars roster. (more…)

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Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon buzzes into stores July 5

Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

15 years ago Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum used a Mac to take down an alien invasion in Independence Day. This year, D3 Publisher will be asking gamers to take down another extraterrestrial threat during our nation’s birthday as Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon has been given a July 5th release date on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

While that doesn’t quite fall within the previously announced “Spring 2011” release window, gamers in the Boston area will get to take up arms with the EDF very soon. D3 Publisher is bringing a playable demo of the game to PAX East, which is scheduled for March 11th through the 13th.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to stock up on Raid.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

First Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gameplay trailer

Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

Did the Max Von Sydow-narrated teaser trailer for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim make you salivate for more information about Bethesda’s next epic adventure? Well you ain’t seen nothing yet. Check out the first gameplay trailer above and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor.

If all goes according to plan, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 11th.

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