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: September 5, 2012 – More games, more problems

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Nicole Kline

I love games. Video games, board games, card games… it’s becoming kind of a problem, if you know what I’m saying. If I had more time to play them, it might be alleviated a bit. But I cram all my free time with them. Last night, it was Cards Against Humanity (with the new expansion!) and Super Dungeon Explore, with just a pinch of Ascension. Tonight? Dungeons and Dragons and Rainbow Moon, and maybe Chrono Trigger if I’m lucky. My heart is not complaining. My classwork and wallet are.

Anyway! A big thanks to Mike Ryan for his Bonus Scoop he wrote yesterday about Kid Icarus: Uprising. Way to keep a sharp eye out!

What have we got for you today? Well, Best Buy is having a buy two, get one free sale on 3DS games, including Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. I started buying some of them until I remembered I’m supposed to stop buying games for real, and then I had an argument with myself while holding my wallet and staring at the computer screen.

This is really what my life is like.

Amazon is still having their back to school sale, including Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for $39.99, the ultimate edition of Fallout: New Vegas for $29.99, and Max Payne 3 for $39.99. Scoop ’em up, folks!

Just one cool t-shirt for you today… (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PS3, Xbox 360 |

Splice: Tree of Life Review: Tricking You Into Liking Science

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Splice is another addition to the growing list of unique and interesting games by Philadelphia-based Cipher Prime. The player must solve puzzles using molecules to build DNA strands. Each level adds another layer of complexity to the puzzles. The game was released on the PC initially, but was added to the App Store for the iPad just as PAX Prime opened its doors. In fact, Splice was chosen as one of the PAX 10 this year, on the show floor for both PC and iPad. Does the conversion to iPad work for this clever puzzler? (more…)

Posted in Mobile, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: September 4, 2012 – Hiatus over!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Hi there! Did you miss me? I was on vacation for the last 10 days, and it was amazing. I’m sure that you were sad and missed me, but fear not! I have returned, to bring you the best deals and the cutest game-related t-shirts on the Internet.

It’s been a really busy week for me. I did a lot of homework, played a lot of video games, read some books, played some board games and Dungeons and Dragons, and, oh yeah: my friend launched the Kickstarter I’m involved in. He’s making a game and I’m writing the story. Get in on the magic!

First up: Toys R Us is having a sale on some new and new-ish games. The sale is two for $60, which is pretty darn good for some of these titles. Take a look:

  • Prototype 2 for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $49.99)
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is still $59.99)
  • Max Payne 3 for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $59.99)
  • Darksiders II for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $59.99)
  • Mass Effect 3 for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $39.99)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $59.99)
  • NCAA Football 13 for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $59.99)
  • Sleeping Dogs for PS3 and Xbox 360 (retail is $59.99)

Those are some pretty amazing savings. I want Darksiders II and Max Payne 3, but I also want to catch up on my ludicrously huge backlog, so go figure.

Next up: today’s awesome t-shirts! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PS3, Xbox 360 |

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Review: My Interest Is In Another Castle

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Most of the time, Nintendo knocks it out of the park when it comes to great ideas and innovation. From game systems to fun and entertaining franchises, the brains at Nintendo know what people like. But other times, they fall flat, regurgitating overused gameplay elements and stale characters. Sadly, New Super Mario Bros. 2 falls into the latter category. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Sleeping Dogs Review: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wei

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Some people like to refer to Sleeping Dogs as “Grand Theft Auto: Hong Kong.” While that’s close to being true – you do steal and drive a lot of cars, and there’s a huge amount of missions you can take on – there’s far more to the game than just a reskinned GTA in a new location. There’s the undercover cop trope, giving it a detective feel. There’s the constant and very robust melee system, bringing in a lot of fun combat. And, of course, there’s fantastic character development, from Uncle Po to Broken Nose Jang to Wei Shen himself. No, this isn’t just GTA in Hong Kong. This is Sleeping Dogs, and it’s an animal all its own. (more…)

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

Daily Scoop: August 28, 2012 – Gold Box Event!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Whoops! I’m a little late to the Gold Box party happening over at Amazon. The Deal of the Day is Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 in a PC download bundle for $24.99. If only I had a better computer, I’d buy that in a heartbeat!

The rest of the Gold Box deals to come are:

  • Right now: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Pro Gamepad Controller for $19.99
  • 12 PM PST/3 PM EST: The ultimate Dark Knight experience! – I’m guessing Batman: Arkham City
  • 2 PM PST/5 PM EST: Get your PS3 moving with this deal! – Something with the PlayStation Move controller
  • 4PM PST/7PM EST: Become a part of the Game of Thrones saga! – Could it be Game of Thrones
  • 6PM PST/9PM EST: Business is war. – I’m going to guess Spec Ops: The Line
  • 8 PM PST/11PM EST: Get back on the court as some of the greatest NBA players of all time! – NBA 2K12

Whew! That’s a lot of excitement.

Sadly, no t-shirts today. I guess you’ll just have to spend money tomorrow!

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: August 27, 2012 – Vacation GO!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Woohoo! My vacation is in full swing. What have I done so far? Well, I finished up Sleeping Dogs, worked on some Rainbow Moon, and got my hands on New Super Mario Bros. 2. I may never resurface. Oh, and I went to a dinner party, played some Dungeons and Dragons, and got to play the awesome new card game Smash Up, which is amazing! It’s been a busy couple of days. It’s going to be one of those vacations, I can tell already…

Let’s see, deals! Well, there’s a huge range of games in the Toys R Us clearance, everything from Skyward Sword with music CD to… well… a whole bunch of random stuff. Go check it out!

Amazon’s got some new weekly deals up as well. Here are the featured deals:

Whew. That’s a lot to look at. And there’s also a t-shirt, too! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: August 24, 2012 – Time for me to game

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Wow! My life has kind of been taken over by Sleeping Dogs. I am kind of getting used to being recognized as a big-time member of the Chinese mafia, which is probably not a good thing in real life. I don’t think it’s going to get me a free frappuccino or anything.

No deals today! Sorry. It’s Friday. No one cares. Everyone just wants to go home! Especially me, as I’ll be on vacation for 10 days straight once this day is over. Booya!

There is, however, a game-related t-shirt you can see after the jump… (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |