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: November 1, 2012 – After the Rain

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Hurricane Sandy sure left the East Coast in a daze. Philadelphia didn’t get too much damage – a few downed trees here and there – but all in all, we’re OK. My boyfriend and I had two days off, so we just played a boatload of Borderlands 2, watched some Venture Bros, and did some cleaning. It was pretty fantastic.

Oh, and speaking of Venture Bros, we were Hank and Dean for Halloween – pictures forthcoming.

Not a lot of deals going on today. There are some pre-order bonuses being advertised at Amazon, like Raul Mendez’s backstory and the new Nuketown map when you pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops II, or the customizable “Web” armor skin for Halo 4. Oh, and they’re also having a $50 sale on select Xbox 360 consoles, including the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 4 bundle. Scoop ’em up!

There are a couple of good t-shirts out there: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: October 29, 2012 – Sandy vs. the East Coast

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Nicole Kline

It’s been an exciting time here on the East Coast these last few days! Hurricane Sandy is here, and tonight, we’ll be getting the worst of her. In preparation, most places of business in the city of Philadelphia are closed, as is the public transportation system. My boyfriend and I decided to stay in and just play more Borderlands 2 all day. I’m a little nervous about the worst of this hurricane and what it’s going to do (which should happen in about 8 hours or so), but for the most part, it’s been a much-needed day of rest and relaxation. My cats are happy we’re home, too.

Not really many deals going on as far as I can see. Amazon’s still running some sweet Halloween Deals, so if you want some scary games, or just some recent games that are discounted, check it out. Other than that, there’s not much happening. Oh, except the new DLC for Sleeping Dogs is out tomorrow. That’s what I’m saving my dollars for!

Three sweet gaming shirts today, though one is a reprint! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Wreck-It Ralph Review: The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Nicole Kline

If you’re anything like me, you were smitten with Wreck-It Ralph when you saw its trailer for the first time. A Disney movie about a fictional video game, featuring characters from beloved games of our youth, made in an adorable style, with an amazing cast of voices? It was like a dream come true. Each additional trailer and a fantastic series of posters hyped me up more and more, and gave me butterflies in my stomach. And, as I found out in a special early screening of the movie, gaming has gone so mainstream that gamers are in for an awesome treat with Wreck-It Ralph. (more…)

Posted in Etcetera, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: October 26, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Anytime anyone says “Hurricane Sandy,” all I can think about are pecan sandies, and it makes me hungry. I don’t know if that’s the normal reaction – I guess most people think “get to the store for bread and milk!” But for me, it’s all about cookies. And besides, I prefer calling it the Frankenstorm, if I must refer to it.

Not much going on deals-wise, other than the 72 hour sale at Square Enix. They’ve discounted a bunch of games, including Final Fantasy XIII-2, Sleeping Dogs, and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. I’ve wanted that last game since PAX East but it’s always so darn expensive! Maybe this weekend I will cave and pick it up.

I’ve got a couple of cute game-related shirts for you today! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Borderlands 2 Review: There’s No Place Like Pandora

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Nicole Kline

When Borderlands came out in 2009, it blended together the perfect mix of role-playing elements with first-person shooter fare. Affectionately referred to as an FPSRPG, the game’s Diablo-style loot system had players upgrading their guns and shields while working their way up levels and through skill trees. Each of the four characters – Brick the Berserker, Lilith the Siren, Mordecai the Hunter, and Roland the Soldier – were enjoyable in their own way, adding some flavor to the somewhat utilitarian story. Gearbox Studios bragged that Borderlands 2 was going to take everything about the first game and made it bigger – bigger characters, deeper story, better loot. Do these ambitious changes work in the sequel? (more…)

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

Daily Scoop: October 25, 2012 – Post Office Brawls

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Do you know what I don’t do often? Mail packages. In fact, I use snail mail relatively infrequently these days. But I need to mail something to the UK, and guess what? It’s really expensive. I had no idea how much money it cost to physically get something across a giant ocean. It’s a dilly of a pickle!

In other news, our first session of the new D&D Encounters season was last night! This new season will be incorporating elements of D&D Next, the new edition of D&D. So far, it seems pretty interesting, but we’ll have to wait and see how the sessions pan out. I’ll be the DM again, which I’m a little nervous about, but I’m hoping it will be a learning experience!

And now, to the heart of the matter! Today’s deals are sort of just a rehash from earlier this week. Remember those sales I said Amazon was having on games? Well, they’ve added a boatload more to the sale, which they’re calling “Halloween Deals.” You can see the complete list here. Scoop ’em up!

Finally, there are a couple of good t-shirts up today for your perusal: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: October 24, 2012 – Ding! Level up

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Nicole Kline

We made it to Wednesday, everyone! Pretty sure that gives us enough experience to level. I might even get to learn the move “Relax.” But Nicole already knows four moves! What move do I get rid of? Sometimes, Pokemon eerily tells the story of my life…

Anyway, just one awesome deal today, and that’s over at Steam. You can get every Assassin’s Creed game on the PC right now for just $38.74. So that’s Assassin’s Creed: Director’s Cut Edition, Assassin’s Creed 2 Deluxe Edition, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations, along with some AC Revelations DLC. If you were waiting for a sale to get them all before the next round of games come out, this is your lucky day!

Two great t-shirts available today: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Here’s an 18-minute Fuse “Progress Update” hosted by Insomniac’s Ted Price

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Nicole Kline

From what Ted Price shows off in this video, Insomniac Games has been hard at work on Fuse. They give some background on the four main characters – Dalton Brooks, Izzy Sinclair, Jacob Kimble, and Naya Deveraux – as well as go into detail about the primary and secondary functions of their main weapons.

If you can last through the whole 18 minutes, you’ll get a lot of in-depth information on the progress, including information about the skill trees, an interesting concept called “Lethal Teamwork” in which you can build up points off of your teammates, and “Leap,” which allows you to switch which character you’re playing at any time – even mid-battle.

But there’s more to Fuse than just a pretty face. Price said the campaign is “heavily story driven with plenty of twists and turns to keep our players engaged.” This sounds awesome, but I’m still put off a bit by the massive change in art style that occurred with the game. I’m hoping the story is as compelling as some others Insomniac has put out.

Fuse is scheduled to be released in March 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged