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: June 27, 2013 – Humble deals

Good afternoon, from the strange world of Philadelphia! This summer weather has been truly bizarre… we’ve had sweltering days with random thunderstorms touching down each day. I was soaking wet waiting for a bus when it stopped last night, and then a lightning/thunder combo scared the crap out of me! Good times, all right.

What’s the best deal right now? Without a doubt, it’s the Borderlands Bundleganza. This PC download includes Borderlands, all of the game’s downloadable expansions, Borderlands 2, and the Borderlands 2 Season Pass, all for just $21.99. What are you waiting for? Scoop it up!!

There’s also a new Humble Weekly Sale, featuring Klei Entertainment. It includes Shank, Shank 2, and Eets, as well as both Shank soundtracks. And you’ve still got five days to get the awesome Humble Indie Bundle, featuring Cipher Prime’s Fractal and Pulse. Pay what you want, while supporting charity and indie games!

And now, time for t-shirts! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Daily Scoop: June 25, 2013 – Gold Box Event

Daily Scoop? More like a Weekly Scoop at this point, am I right? I’ve been trying so hard to keep up with everything, but this move has totally wiped me out. Now that it’s officially over (just need to drop the old keys off to the former landlord!), I can start getting back into some semblance of a normal life. I can start doing things like going to board game night on Tuesdays… well, except not today, because the new Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, is out today. Woo!! I can’t wait to get home and start playing!

I’m happy to report that there’s a video game Gold Box Event happening over at Amazon right now! The Deal of the Day is the PS3 320GB Uncharted 3 Bundle for just $250, which is a great price. The rest of the deals are:

  • 12:00AM PDT/3:00AM EST: 007 Legends Wii U for $14.99
  • 6:00AM PDT/9:00AM EST: Black Ops II Hardened Edition PS3 for $59.99
  • 7:00AM PDT/10:00AM EST: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for $9.99
  • 10:00AM PDT/1:00PM EST: Dead Island Riptide for $24.99-47.99 (depending on edition)
  • 12:00PM PDT/3:00PM EST: “Hit this deal out of the park!” (We’re guessing MLB The Show 13)
  • 2:00PM PST/5:00PM EST: Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi for the PSP
  • 3:00PM PST/6:00PM EST: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
  • 5:00PM PST/8:00PM EST: Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 headset
  • 7:00PM PST/10:00PM EST: “Bring your summer vacation gaming to a new level!” (Not sure about this one – the hints vary from too specific to too vague!)
  • 9:00PM PST/12:00AM EST: “Fight aliens” (Hopefully this one is XCOM: Enemy Unknown!)
  • I’ve got a few sweet t-shirts for you today as well: (more…)

    Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

    Pandora’s Tower Review: An Exquisite Passage

    pandorastower-header

    Pandora’s Tower is the third game published by Nintendo in Japan that has made it to North America thanks to the activist efforts of Operation Rainfall. It is also the one I was most excited for of the three. The strange, beautiful trailers filtering here from Japan intrigued me, and the combat system looked refreshing and different. While the graphics are limited on the Wii, the strength of both the gameplay and the narrative drew me in. When I finally played the game, it was even weirder than I’d expected, but even with the weaknesses, I felt my 25 hours were well spent. (more…)

    Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Wii | Tagged

    Daily Scoop – June 18, 2013 – Sales galore

    Another day, another rainstorm here in Philadelphia! It has been pouring on and off all day. Luckily, the Internet is full of great articles and great deals to help me get through this dreariness!

    Let’s see, what’s up first? GOG.com is having a huge summer sale, aptly titled the “2013 #NoDRM Sale.” It includes Torchlight for free (for the next 48 hours), Alan Wake for 90% off, and lots, lots more, like, I don’t know, a million Dungeons & Dragons games for 80% off.

    Not for you? Well, how about Gamefly’s Under $20 Blowout Sale? Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and Just Dance 4 are $14.99, Halo 4 and The Walking Dead are $12.99, and Hitman: Absolution and Max Payne 3 are $9.99. And those are just the first games that caught my eye.

    STILL not good enough? Well then, the only thing I have left to offer you is the latest Humble Bundle, which is another great Android package. It’s got Fractal and Pulse from one of the best game studios in Philadelphia, Cipher Prime. What more could you ask for?

    Whew. I’m tired just thinking about all the money I want to spend. And that doesn’t even include today’s t-shirts: (more…)

    Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

    You Review: A Book I Wanted to Like

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    Austin Grossman’s latest novel, You, is a fictional story of video game developers set on solving a mystery embedded within their engine by their deceased friend. Grossman (who also wrote Soon I Will Be Invincible) has been a game designer for over 20 years, and gives readers a unique glimpse inside the world of the game developer. As Russell starts his new job at Black Arts, we get insight on the lives of developers, from how each game is developed (start to finish) to the relationships between those who create it. But in this story, we get even more – as Russell races against the clock to fix the bug that could potentially destroy the company, he goes back and forth from past to present and back, detailing his relationships with his current co-workers – and former friends. (more…)

    Posted in Etcetera, Reviews, Top Story |

    Daily Scoop: June 17, 2013 – Moving is hard work

    Hello, friends of Warp Zoned! I’m sorry I’ve missed so many scoops, but I’ve been crazy amounts of busy lately. I had to miss much of E3 because we didn’t have Internet yet at our new place, which made me a sad panda! But I was able to read up on it a day later here at WZ, and boy was I even sadder after the fact about not having any ability to watch the stuff live! I mean, there have been some fantastic announcements, am I right? It’s a great time to be a gamer.

    So, what deals are going on today? Well, there’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle happening right now, featuring games by 11 bit studios. You can pick up Anomaly Warzone Earth, Anomaly Warzone Earth: Mobile Campaign, Sleepwalker’s Journey, Funky Smugglers, and, if you pay more than the average (currently $3.02), you can also get Anomaly Korea, and the bonus content, Hell Hound.

    There are also some new deals going on at Amazon right now as well. If you’re looking to grab up a PS3 or an Xbox 360 before the new consoles come out, there are some bundle deals available. The Xbox 360 250GB Spring Value Bundle is $299.00 and has the added bonus of $50 in Amazon credit, while the PS3 God of War Ascension Legacy Bundle is $299.99.

    Not too many game-ish shirts up today: (more…)

    Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

    Daily Scoop: June 6, 2013 – Happy birthday, Anthony!

    It’s my boyfriend Anthony’s birthday today, hooray! To celebrate, we’re going out to dinner, then playing Borderlands 2 all night. What better way is there to spend a birthday, anyway?

    There are some really good digital deals at Amazon right now. Bastion is on sale for $7.49, in case you are the only person on Earth who has’t played it yet (AKA me). You can get the Batman Arkham GOTY Pack, which has the Game of the Year editions of both Batman games for just $11.99 – or you can get them separately if you just need one (Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY is $9.99, and Batman Arkham City GOTY is $14.99). And you should absolutely consider paying $17.99 for the F.E.A.R Ultimate Pack, which includes all three of the F.E.A.R. games. F.3.A.R. is one of my all-time favorite co-op experiences, and worth the price alone!

    I’ve only got two shirts for you today, sadly! (more…)

    Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

    Daily Scoop: June 5, 2013 – Sleepy Wednesday

    Welcome, dear readers, to another exciting Daily Scoop! It’s brought to you by very little sleep, on account of us finally getting our crucial furniture into the new apartment last night around 2AM. I haven’t brought over my PlayStation 3 yet (blasphemy!), but it will certainly be in the next trip.

    In case you hadn’t noticed, there are two great Humble Bundles happening right now. There’s the Humble Weekly Sale, which features Telltale Games this week. No better time than now to pick up The Walking Dead if you haven’t played it yet, or all their other games if you have! And The Humble Indie Bundle 8 is chock full of awesome games, including Thomas Was Alone and Hotline Miami, among others.

    Also, today’s PS3 Daily Deal at Play-Asia is Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, which is on sale for $26.90. Scoop ’em up!

    Just three shirts today: (more…)

    Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |