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.

Blizzard revamps Diablo III endgame with “Paragon” system

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Nicole Kline

For people who are still playing Diablo III – not just playing it, but grinding themselves into dust by leveling up half a dozen characters to level 60 – is there any hope for you once you hit that ceiling? Do you find yourselves kicking the dust around, wishing you could increase your Magic Find to 300% without swapping gear mid-fight?

First of all, I didn’t even know people did that until I read about the new Paragon system. But how does the new Paragon system – which goes 100 levels past level 60 – work, exactly?

Well, first of all, any experience gained past level 60 counts towards Paragon levels, each of which will reward you with “Core stats such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level” as well as “3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find.” In case you didn’t feel like doing the math, that caps you off at 300% Magic Find and Gold Find.

For all the gruesome details, check this blog post at Battle.net. If you’re not a hardcore Diablo III player, most of it will seem like jargon. But if you are, and 60 levels wasn’t enough for you, you just hit the jackpot.

Blizzard plans to reveal more about the Paragon system, including a launch date, soon.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

CoD: Black Ops II for Wii U appears on developer resume

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Nicole Kline

It comes as no surprise that Call of Duty: Black Ops II is being tested on the Wii U. According to Activision employee Randall H.’s LinkedIn page, the quality assurance tester has been doing multiplayer testing for Black Ops II since May on both the PlayStation 3 and the Wii U.

Seeing as Black Ops II will be coming out on November 13 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, it seems like there’s a pretty good chance that it will be one of the Wii U’s biggest and baddest launch titles. It wouldn’t be the first Call of Duty game on a Nintendo system, but with the Wii U’s beefed up hardware and impressive controller, it’s sure to be a killer.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Daily Scoop: August 20, 2012 – Weekends are never long enough

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Nicole Kline

If my life were a James Bond film, that would be the title: Weekends are never long enough. It’s the sad truth, friends! They’re always packed to the gill these days, with awards ceremonies, and family stuff, and Sleeping Dogs, and homework. I can’t wait for this term to be over! Oh, and also, mega huge congratulations goes out to Tristin Hightower for winning Geek of the Year at Friday’s Philly Geek Awards! She deserved every moment of that standing ovation.

Amazon’s having a deal right now on Lego games – get up to 25% off Lego Batman, Lego Batman 2, Lego Battles Ninjago, Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7, and Lego Battles. They’re available across multiple platforms, so you can take your pick!

A few game-related t-shirts for you today… (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, DS, Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Daily Scoop: August 17, 2012 – Philly Geek Awards

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Nicole Kline

And the day has finally arrived! It’s the day of the Philly Geek Awards, for which the town is very excited. I even got a fancy new haircut for it! It should be an exciting night – a few very good friends are up for awards, and I’m hoping they win them all! Especially the awesome Tristin Hightower, who is up for Geek of the Year. It’s a great night to be a geek in this awesome town!

No deals, I’m afraid, but there are some sweet t-shirts you might want to consider picking up, as always! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

This is the complete Just Dance 4 soundtrack

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Nicole Kline

The full track list for Just Dance 4 has been revealed, and I have a feeling people are going to be excited that it’s a boatload of songs that are impossible to get out of your head once you’ve heard them. “Call Me Maybe” will be in it, and I sincerely hope the dude in this Chat Roulette video has the game on pre-order as a result of that.

In addition to over 40 new songs, Just Dance 4 has a Battle Mode, unlockable Alternate Choreographies, and an expanded “Just Sweat” Mode. The Wii U version also has exclusive features, including Puppet Master Mode, which allows the player with the Wii U GamePad to switch up the routines on the other players. Sounds slightly sadistic!

Just Dance 4 will be out on October 9 for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360, with a planned launch release on the Wii U. Hit the jump for the complete song list. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

DayZ developer wants to bring it to consoles

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Dean Hall, the project lead on DayZ, is trying to take his dream even further: he was meeting with console developers at Gamescom to discuss the possibility of bringing his mod to consoles.

The main problem is that he’s not sure if a console port would be justifiable. “You’re not going to put it on the consoles if you’re only going to sell 100,000 units or something like that,” said Hall. “DayZ will be driven by its PC development and it will innovative on that. And, once we’re at a point, we’ll take it and do a Mac version, 360 and PS3.”

Hall has experience on producing console games, saying he knows about the “pitfalls and horrors” involved. Hopefully he’ll be able to bring his dream to consoles, so I’ll get a chance to play it.

[Source: Joystiq]

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

Daily Scoop: August 16, 2012 – What’s the deal?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Hey there, friends! It’s a beautiful day here in Philadelphia. It’s not supposed to rain, or so I’ve been told, so here’s hoping it doesn’t. But it is supposed to rain tomorrow, when the geeks take over the Academy of Natural Sciences for the Philly Geek Awards. It rained last year, so maybe that’s the theme, or something! Who knows. Either way, rained-on geeks are still happy geeks!

What’s going on in the world of deals today? Amazon’s got a great deal on PSP games, which includes Final Fantasy II for $5.25. I don’t think you heard me. I said FF II for $5.25! That’s an amazing deal. Please scoop that up!

Quite a few game-related shirts out there today! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PSP |

First Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified trailer released

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Nicole Kline

It’s time for PlayStation Vita owners to get excited: Call of Duty is coming for you. Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified, a Vita exclusive, is set to bridge the gap between the stories of Call of Duty: Black Ops (there was a story there?) and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It’s got “familiar elements like Create-a-Class, Perks, Prestige Levels, and of course, dual analog stick controls,” according to the PlayStation Blog.

It wouldn’t be a CoD game without multiplayer: Declassified’s “multiplayer game modes include 4v4 Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Drop Zone,” according to Neven Dravinski, the game’s producer at Activision, who says there will also be other modes.

Not only that, there’s also some touchscreen integration as well. You’ll be able to make melee attacks and throw grenades using the touchscreen, as well as use Near technology to share your loadouts with other players.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is due out this November. If you haven’t picked up your Vita yet, you might want to start saving up for one.

Posted in News, Vita | Tagged ,