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.

EA @ E3 12: Crytek brings the awesome with Crysis 3 gameplay

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

It’s been a pretty good press conference day so far, with EA rounding out its conference with some sweet gameplay of Crysis 3. It’s time to slip back into your Nanosuit and get busy wrecking things! There’s no time for a manual override of a piece of equipment? Stomp it up – what else is your suit good for? Oh, right – turning invisible, jumping up onto a roof of a building, and just generally running around and blowing things up. Same old Crysis.

Of course, there’s the same old talk about the urban jungle, which comes out when Prophet pulls out his, um, insanely high tech bow and arrow and shoots down a helicopter. Wow. It’s still over a year away, but I have to say I’m pleased with what they’ve got so far.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

EA @ E3 12: Medal of Honor: Warfighter is slick, smooth, and super badass

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

EA had a live demo of Medal of Honor: Warfighter on the Frostbite 2 engine, and it was sexy and smooth. It started out with an intense firefight, with you and your team coming in from the water on a beach in Somalia. You get hit and fall under the water, but come back up ready to fight.

At one point, the player is given an option to open the door. A display opens, and you get to choose how you’re going to open the locked door – in this case, he had his buddy shoot the lock. A little while later, you control an RC tank that goes into a burning building and takes out some enemies, and then fights outside on the field with your allies. Everything looks very intense and beautifully and seamlessly integrated.

EA also discussed “Global Warfighters,” Medal of Honor’s multiplayer, which will be playable on the show floor, and it looks badass. Maybe this really will be the year a shooter usurps Call of Duty – but when don’t I say that? Medal of Honor: Warfighter will let you join the battle on October 23.

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

EA @ E3 12: Dead Space 3 with Isaac Clarke, co-op, MASSIVE NECROPMORPHS confirmed

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Dead Space 3 is already on my want list, and the EA press conference made it that much more painful. It’s got everything a successful survival horror game – hell, third-person shooter game – should have. Drop-in, drop-out co-op? Check. Massive Necromorphs? Check. Isaac Clarke??? Check plus. And apparently they’ve found “the source.”

EA showed off some gameplay, which was absolutely over-the-top – intense battle, new item display as you’re picking up ammo and switching guns, and a lot of cursing. They showed off the co-op option, with two players fighting some of the aforementioned massive Necromorphs. Player one had the regular blue green life bar on his back, while the drop-in second player had one that was slighter darker blue.

But the best news? The game will be out in February 2013 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. February! That’s nine months away. Bring it on, Visceral Games!

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MS @ E3 12: You are the new kid in South Park: The Stick of Truth

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Trey Parker and Matt Stone came out on stage at the Microsoft Press Conference to talk about South Park: The Stick of Truth. Approached to make a game a few years ago, they said they were excited to make the game, but only if they could make it feel like you were in an episode of South Park. They’ve had to do a lot of work with it, though – one of the things they had to work out was an actual map of the world. Before, they could just cut to Kyle’s house, but now that you have to walk there, they have to know where it is.

All of your favorite characters are present, and now you are a character as well. You have to work hard to become cool with the South Park boys, get accepted by them, and become the savior. Maybe then you can wear the Baratheon crown and take out some teenage vampires, too.

South Park: The Stick of Truth will be released on March 5, 2013.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

MS @ E3 12: New Tomb Raider will kick your butt

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Crystal Dynamics showed up at the Microsoft Press Conference to show off some of the new Lara Croft game, and Lara kicks some serious butt. At first, I was just sort of like, wow, Lara brought a bow and arrow to a gun fight, but then she proceeded to take out every enemy in sight with it, in true Lara style. She goes from enemy to Quick Time Event to wielding a shotgun to a brutal adventure down a river, ending up in a plane lodged on a waterfall.

Simply entitled Tomb Raider, this is an origin story for Lara, which explains why her breasts aren’t busting out all over the place and her pants are actually comfortable instead of fashionable. I guess she hasn’t gotten to that part of her character development yet.

Croft is definitely at her badass-est here, taking a headshot and walking it off. This game feels a lot like Uncharted 2, and it’s funny to watch everything come full circle – all the Tomb Raider fans out there are probably grateful now that Naughty Dog raised the bar and Crystal Dynamics is answering the challenge.

In true Microsoft style, the first piece of DLC will be available exclusively on Xbox 360.

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MS @ E3 12: Xbox SmartGlass will make your life better

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Can you imagine your life without your smart phone or tablet? Neither can anyone at Microsoft. They’ve developed Xbox SmartGlass, which will marry your smart devices to your television in a way that’s almost uncomfortably intimate. Watching a movie on your tablet or phone but you’re home now and want to switch it to your television? Just one button press will do it. Your device now has information about the movie, such as the cast and crew and other details.

Going even further, you can watch “Game of Thrones” on your television while you follow the characters on a map of Westeros on your smart phone or tablet. That’s a level of intimacy I’m not sure I’m ready for.

On top of that, game developers showed what they would do with this kind of technology, including a neat program that lets you draw out plays for Madden NFL 13.

“Everything is better with SmartGlass,” which will be ready this Fall, compatible with “the TV, phone, and tablet you already own.” Now your TV can be smart, too!

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

MS @ E3 12: Your Xbox is about to get more bro-friendly with new sports options

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Now, Microsoft is rolling out even more Xbox “entertainment” features, like a new Kinect-enabled voice-activated search option with Bing. You can even search in multiple languages, as Spencer showed us by searching genres and films in both English and Spanish.

They’ve also added more content, with Nickelodeon, Paramount, Spanish-speaking Univision shows, and, “for the core gamers,” Machinima. Sports is also getting better on the Xbox (thank goodness!): the Xbox will have the NBA and the NHL Game Center, and will also have more ESPN than ever before with 24/7 access to live games via ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3, and ESPN U.

Microsoft is also changing the way you exercise with a new fitness option, Nike+ Kinect Training. Congratulations, Xbox! You are now one step closer to being the Wii.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

MS @ E3 12: Forza Horizon will blow your mind

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Microsoft showed off the latest in the Forza racing franchise, Forza Horizon. It’s ludicrously gorgeous. The cars are beautiful and smooth, the backgrounds are breathtaking, and while it’s not yet showing off the lighting and weather effects of Gran Turismo 5, it was just a quick trailer. Add in some dubstep and any game instantly becomes more appealing, making this trailer one of the best we’ve seen so far.

Forza Horizon will be released on October 23.

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