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.

Justin Bieber is playable in NBA 2K13, god help us all

Posted on October 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Having celebrities mix it up with NBA players is nothing new in the world of video games. Way back in 1993 Bill Clinton, the Beastie Boys, and George Clinton schooled Scottie Pippen nightly in NBA Jam. But I think 2K Sports might have gone too far with the Celebrity All-Stars team included in NBA 2K13… because they put Justin Bieber on the team. Observe:

Pauly D and Vinny from Jersey Shore, Mac Miller, Bow Wow, JB Smoove, Wale, Sean Kingston, Meek Mill, and Brian Baumgartner make up the rest of the Celebrity All-Stars team. If you so desire to see Bieber dunk on Team USA (to his hit song “Baby,” no less), you’re in luck, it’s already on YouTube.

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

PSN Today: Resident Evil 6, NBA 2K13, New Little King’s Story, more

Posted on October 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sony’s Day 1 Digital initiative begins today with two awesome PS3 Full Game releases: Resident Evil 6 and NBA 2K13. If zombified Presidents and basketball simulations aren’t your thing, the budget-priced Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 has also been added to the PlayStation Store.

Sega has added a pair of classic titles to the PSN Games section: Sonic Adventure 2 and Nights Into Dreams (which also include Christmas Nights!). A pair of PS2 Classics are also now available on the Store as well: Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon – Special Edition and Ruff Trigger: The Vanocore Conspiracy.

Finally, on the Vita side of the Store is New Little King’s Story.

Hit the jump for more information on all of these titles and for the lowdown on all of this week’s new game add-ons, hit up the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged , , , , ,

Namco wants you to pick the art style for a Pac-Man casual game

Posted on October 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Pac-Man Facebook page is home to a questionnaire asking fans about the future of the ghost-hungry yellow circle.

The survey gives fans a choice of four different art styles and asks which one they’d prefer Namco Bandai to use in the next Pac-Man game. The game is currently untitled, but according to Namco Bandai, it’ll be a “casual game” that may appear on mobile devices, handhelds, consoles, or the PC.

I really like C as it has a similar look to the 80s animated series, but the original arcade art of B is also interesting.

Posted in News |

Star Wars: First Assault for XBLA discovered on Xbox.com servers

Posted on October 2, 2012 by John Scalzo

Yesterday, a NeoGAF user pulled box art image links for every Xbox Live Arcade game from the Xbox.com servers (the resulting collage is actually pretty awesome). In the process of this undertaking, they discovered several unannounced games, including Star Wars: First Assault.

So what is Star Wars: First Assault? Going by the image alone, it appears to be a game where rebel squads take on Imperial Stormtroopers with guns… lots of guns. And there’s nary a Lightsaber in sight. So, in other words, it looks a lot like Star Wars: Battlefront.

Is this what the long-awaited Battlefront III has morphed into? Or is it an entirely new game? I guess we’ll find out soon, but for now, LucasArts isn’t talking.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Spend $100 at PlayStation Store in October, receive $20 credit

Posted on October 1, 2012 by John Scalzo

Part two of Sony’s freakin’ diabolical push to get PS3/PSP/Vita gamers interested in digital downloads goes live today. The new promotion doesn’t have a fancy name like PSN Play or Summer of Arcade, but it’s a much simpler way to pry money from my wallet…

If you spend $100 at the PlayStation Store during the month of October, Sony will email you a $20 PSN Credit in November.

The freakin’ diabolical part is that Day 1 Digital, another PSN promotion that promotes the day-and-date addition of eight retail games to the PS Store, is also scheduled to run its course this October. So if you drop $120 on, for example, the downloadable versions of Assassin’s Creed III and Resident Evil 6, you’ll already cross the $100 threshold and receive $20 in November.

But the “Spend $100, Get $20” promotion isn’t limited to Day 1 Digital games. Any combination of PSN purchases, including a PlayStation Plus subscription sign-up, will count towards the $100 barrier.

Sadly, the credit only applies to the first $100 you spend. So, again for example, spending $200 won’t net you $40 in PSN Credit. Still, quite the deal.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP, Vita |

Double Dragon: Neon Review: WayForward Has The Touch

Posted on October 1, 2012 by John Scalzo

The developers at WayForward have built a career out of resurrecting old franchises and giving them a new coat of paint for these modern times. A Boy and His Blob, BloodRayne: Betrayal (that one didn’t turn out so great), Contra 4… the list goes on and on. They’ve taken another stab at it with Double Dragon: Neon, an I Love the 80s-worthy compilation of the franchise’s best moments. (more…)

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

Not all DLC included with Mass Effect Trilogy

Posted on October 1, 2012 by John Scalzo

Those of you hoping to obtain the complete Mass Effect trilogy (including DLC) by purchasing the Mass Effect Trilogy are going to be out of luck. An FAQ on BioWare’s website has confirmed that most of the DLC expansions from the three games will not be included in the compilation.

The PC edition of the Mass Effect Trilogy will include Mass Effect‘s DLC expansions, “Bring Down the Sky” and “Pinnacle Station,” on the disc. The Xbox 360 edition will not include these expansions but players will be able to purchase them from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Both editions of the Trilogy will include Mass Effect 2‘s Cerberus Network, which grants access to “Zaeed: The Price of Revenge,” the “Firewalker Pack,” “Cerberus Assault Gear,” the “Arc Projector” weapon, and the “Normandy Crash Site” mission. The game’s many other DLC expansions, including “Arrival,” will not be included in the Mass Effect Trilogy.

Finally, Mass Effect 3‘s Online Pass for online multiplayer will be included in both the PC and Xbox 360 packages, but all other DLC will have to be purchased separately.

Any decisions on which DLC expansions will be included with the PS3 edition have yet to be made.

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

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition: Over four million served

Posted on October 1, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Minecraft train just keeps rolling. Over the weekend, 4J Studios announced that over four million copies of the Xbox 360 Edition have been sold since its release in May:

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition players can expect more good news from the developer very soon as work on the “Adventure Update” is almost complete.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged