Author: Nicole Kline

Nicole Kline is Warp Zoned's Senior Editor. She first began preparing for the job by climbing a milk crate to play Centipede in an arcade. You can find her on PSN under the name toitle or you can email her at nicole AT warpzoned DOT com.

Daily Scoop: February 4, 2014 – Saving the day

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Don’t worry, everyone! I just spent a lot of money on some brand new snow boots, which means it’s not going to snow for another three years. That’s just how my luck works: now that I’m prepared, I’ll never need to be prepared. So get ready for spring! (Take that, Phil!)

Just in case I’m wrong, though, you can still grab some deals for when you’re snowed in. Steam is having a few good sales, including Agarest: Generations of War for $9.99 (or $12.49 for the collector’s edition), Don’t Starve for $5.99, Metal Slug 3 for $5.99, and Octodad: Dadliest Catch for $11.99.

Not satisfied? Head over to the Humble Store for their Mid-Week Mega Sale featuring Paradox Interactive. You can get lots of great stuff, including the Crusader Kings II Collection for $19.99, the Magicka Collection for $8.99, and Knights of Pen and Paper for $2.49. Scoop ’em up!

Looking for some good t-shirts? Look no further than the jump! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

The Last of Us wins 2014 Writer’s Guild Award for Videogame Writing

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

thelastofus

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us won the 2014 Writer’s Guild Award for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing. The tale of Joel and Ellie was lauded all year as one of the best games, so this is unsurprising.

The Last of Us was up against some pretty stiff competition: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, God of War: Ascension, and Lost Planet 3. Personally, I’m shocked that BioShock Infinite wasn’t nominated.

It’s great to see video games up for major writer’s awards, but I think things will get much more interesting once indie games start getting nominated, or get their own category. Papers, Please and The Stanley Parable would have been hard pressed in a fight against each other for best writing.

You can find the rest of the 2014 Writers Guild Awards film and televeision winners at their website.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Hyper Light Drifter will be out by the end of the year

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

hyperlightdrifter

Hyper Light Drifter, the stunning indie game that took Kickstarter by storm last year, will not be coming out in July as estimated. Heart Machine, the developers, made an announcement on Friday, saying they were not going to “rush the project.”

The team had originally planned to make a much smaller game, but the amount of funding they received (they got $645,158, which destroyed their $27,000 goal) means they are making a much larger game. The plan is to have the beta available to backers in June, and to release the game “at the end of the year holiday season.” Steam and PC will be released first, with other platforms (including the PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Ouya) to follow.

Hit the jump for an amazing preview sprite that was also included in the update. (more…)

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U | Tagged

Here’s the Need For Speed movie Super Bowl trailer

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

The new Need For Speed movie trailer asks, “What drives you?” Well, I’ll tell you what drives me to the movie theater: the promise of seeing Aaron Paul on the big screen. Even though the video game franchise is in trouble, there’s some potential here for a movie franchise. And, even though the Fast and Furious movies may be without Paul Walker from now on (We miss you!), perhaps this is the start of a new racing series.

Need For Speed will open in theaters on March 14.

Posted in Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: February 3, 2014 – Here comes the snow

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

This week is supposed to be a non-stop snow-a-thon, which sounds really fun! I mean, it sounds really fun if we get some snow days. So far that’s not looking like it’s going to happen. All the snow is doing is making my commute three times as long as usual. Seriously, the city should be shut down today! It’s treacherous out there. Oh, and it’s Monday, too, which is a strike against it.

There are not too many deals happening today. The Humble Store has Bridge Constructor for $4.99, The Floor is Jelly for $8.99, and Octodad: Dadliest Catch for $11.99.

There’s one good deal happening at Steam, and that’s on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. You can get the Director’s Cut of the game for just $4.99. That’s a great deal!

There are some amazing t-shirts today. Hit the jump to see all of them! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Ace Combat: Infinity open beta begins February 4

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Are you ready to test your piloting skills? Then you should be excited about Ace Combat: Infinity, which will be running an open beta from February 4 to February 11 on the PlayStation Network. Not only will you have access to loads of amazing weapons and killer aircraft, but you’ll also have two game modes to choose from, as mentioned on their Facebook status:

  • Lone wolves will be immersed in a brand new story exclusively written for Ace Combat: Infinity in which they will have to use their pilot skills during perilous solo missions.
  • For those who prefer to team-up with their friends and to show off their talent as a pilot, aces will form two co-op teams of up to four aircrafts and will compete in incredible air fights in order to inflict the most damage on the NPC enemy forces.

The beta will be available everywhere except Japan, and everyone who plays the beta will get a special in-game emblem once the game launches.

Ace Combat: Infinity will be coming out on the PlayStation 3 later this year.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Breaking Madden: One man’s amazing destruction of the (digital) Super Bowl

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

I don’t know anything about sports, which is why I’ve never visited SB Nation… until today, that is. Jon Bois does an amazing job of breaking Madden NFL 25 in his amazing article, The Breaking Madden Super Bowl: The Machine Is Bleeding to Death. While the writing is superb, it’s the GIFs of him humiliating the game that really make it.

Whether you’re a football fan, a player of the Madden series, or… OK, really, if you’re just a fan of video games in general, you will appreciate this gem. Get ready to laugh until it hurts.

Posted in Etcetera, News, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Plague Inc: Evolved infects Steam on February 20

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Plague Inc., the popular mobile game that simulates the spread of diseases, is graduating from the mobile realm and coming to the PC (via Steam) in the form of Plague Inc: Evolved. The evolution has tons of new features, including:

  • Infectious Multiplayer – Cooperative and competitive gameplay modes let you team up to fight the cure with friends, or compete in a race to kill the world.
  • Contagious Content Creator – Hit the lab and develop your own custom scenarios – creating new plague types and worlds. Bring your deadliest ideas to life and share them with Steam Workshop.
  • Blinding Graphics – Including full 3D disease models taking you closer to your plague than ever before, city-cams showing humanity’s struggle at street level, and the body scanner highlighting the full effect of your mutations, organ by organ.
  • Deadly Data – Predict government responses with priority indicators, geek out with loads of new stats and graphs, and analyse your best strategies with end-of-game replays.

Plague Inc: Evolved will be available on Steam Early Access on February 20.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged