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.

A Game of Thrones: Genesis gets release date, new screenshots

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Are you like me, and foolishly thought A Game of Thrones: Genesis was still months away from release? Well, the dude in that new screenshot above is here to tell you that the game will launch for PC on September 29. As though this month wasn’t crowded enough already…

A little more information about the game has been revealed over at Focus Home Interactive’s official website:

Faithful to the world imagined by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones – Genesis emphasizes the backstabbing and political intrigues which are common in Westeros and the fight for the Iron Throne. Command the assassination of an opponent’s Great Lord, set up secret alliances, send a spy to take the place of the opponent’s unit, or harass his trade routes to weaken his economy. Treasons, espionage, kidnapping and ransoms… treachery is everywhere, so always watch your back!

It is also very possible, by cleverly using all the low blows the game allows you to use, to earn victory without ever entering an open war or recruiting any army. A real first in a real-time strategy game!

Damn. This game just keeps sounding better and better. Hit the jump for all of the brand new screenshots. (more…)

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Rage system requirements revealed

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Rage will be out in just a few short weeks, and Bethesda has finally announced the PC specs for it, both minimum and recommended:

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Win XP SP3, Vista, Win 7
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or Equivalent AMD
  • Memory: 2GB
  • Hard Disk Space: 25GB
  • Video Card: GeForce 8800, Radeon HD 4200

Recommended:

  • OS: Win XP SP3, Vista, Win 7
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad or Equivalent AMD
  • Memory: 4GB
  • Hard Disk Space: 25GB
  • Video Card: GeForce 9800 GTX, ATI Radeon HD 5550

If you’re looking for an excuse to upgrade your rig, I’m pretty sure Bethesda just gave you one.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Daily Scoop: September 7, 2011 – Over the hump!

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Yay, Wednesday! Truth be told, I’m about to spend the rest of this morning – err, going into afternoon – running errands, and picking up the copy of Resistance 3 I didn’t go out and get yesterday. Bad Nicole!

Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games today is a $50 promotional credit when you buy the Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect. While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out their list of bonus offers, and if you’ve been really itching to get a copy of Disney’s Epic Mickey, you can get another Disney game free right now as well. Scoopity :)

No gaming shirts today, but the “Dire Brew” over at Tee Fury is tempting me mightily: (more…)

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

Want this cool Uncharted 3 controller? Hope you live in Japan!

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Poor PlayStation 3 owners. They’re always getting the short end of the stick when it comes to cool controllers and add-ons for the system. Our DualShocks came in black only until very recently, and we never have anything cooler than pink (no, seriously – the pink one is the best. Trust me.).

But check out this awesome Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception controller. Can’t you just feel it now, rumbling in your hands as Drake dives to get out of the way of an enemy’s grenade? Well, you could, if you lived in Japan. The controller won’t be available here in the US, according to G4.

What a bummer. I’d absolutely add in some extra money to the already ridiculously overpriced collector’s edition just to get that controller. I guess my wallet says thank you, Naughty Dog.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Halo 4 Narrative Designer leaves 343 Industries

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Ryan Payton, Narrative Designer on Halo 4, left 343 Industries, according to Kotaku. Payton – formerly of Kojima Productions, where he worked on Metal Gear Solid 4 – was diagnosed with severe depression a few months ago. “I had a great run at Microsoft,” Payton said. “I don’t regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn’t creatively excited about the project anymore… The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don’t think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavor through.”

The split is amicable – Payton has said that he doesn’t think Halo 4 is a bad game, and 343 Industries wishes him the best of luck in his new endeavors. What are those new endeavors? He wanted to start up his own game studio and do something less constraining than work on triple A titles, and so he has started up his own studio, Camouflaj. Two new titles are already in development. Payton said, “I think time is the most valuable thing we have, and I’ve decided that I’m not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn’t speak to my values.”

Payton has been replaced by Armando Troisi, Lead Cinematic Designer on Mass Effect 2, as the Halo 4 Narrative Director. I have to say that what Payton did took a lot of courage, and I look forward to seeing what kind of games he can create in this new atmosphere.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: September 6, 2011 – Rainy Tuesday

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Nicole Kline

It’s a rainy Tuesday here in Philadelphia. After a long day spent playing board games, writing, and watching people play Warhammer, it’s nice to lounge around and do nothing… but write, that is!

Today’s Deal of the Day in video games is Disney’s Cars Toon: Mater’s Tall Tales for the Wii. It’s just $14.99, and boasts both cooperative and competitive play for up to four players. But the real question is: does it have Bruce Campbell?

Today’s gaming apparel is brought to you by High Score Society, and features several well-known video game characters rendered in 16 bits: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: September 5, 2011 – Day of Laborin’

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Nicole Kline

So, it’s an American holiday, which means I’m awake and doing laundry. Something about that doesn’t seem quite right, but hey – sometimes you just gotta wash the towels, if you know what I’m sayin’! It’s made better by this amazing Zelda Reorchestrated website Ryan Littlefield found. Zomg.

Amazon doesn’t have any daily deals today, but they do have their new weekly deals up:

Ript‘s “See Transylvania First” is severely testing my willpower right now: (more…)

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

Daily Scoop: September 2, 2011 – Holiday weekend!

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Yay! The holiday weekend is upon us! I’m looking forward to doing a lot of reading and gaming and sleeping, as well as cuddling with my kitties. Oh, and of course, obsessively playing all the NES games I just got on my 3DS! Ambassador status FTW!

Today’s Deal of the Day in video games over at Amazon is the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR Gaming Headset with Dolby Headphone Technology for XBox 360/PS3/PC. Amazon’s also got some more lightning deals up again:

  • 11 AM PDT: Take to the rooftops of Italy with this limited edition
  • 11 AM PDT: Ryu vs. Thor
  • 1 PM PDT: Wage war from the remains of Russia and the ruins of Berlin
  • 1 PM PDT: Hear the Call of Duty
  • 3 PM PDT: Solve puzzles using your mind and body
  • 3 PM PDT: Hit the lanes with your Kinect

Oh, and speaking of Call of Duty, it’s Double XP weekend in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Nuketown 24/7 = <3.

On the t-shirt tip, “Barrel Chucker” over at Ript is pretty cool: (more…)

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