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.

Brink Hands-On Preview: Bringing the Customizable Fun

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Brink was playable at PAX East this weekend, and it was fun. Not that I’m surprised – I’ve been kind of keeping myself out of the loop for this one on purpose because everything I hear is more of what I want, and that makes me want to remain spoiler-free. But being in the media makes it impossible to do that, and I was excited to get some hands-on time with the game. Brink is being developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, and focuses on the acrobatic parkour style that’s becoming more common in games (see also Mirror’s Edge). There are two factions, the Resistance and Security, who are vying for control of a city called the Ark. The Ark is a floating city, built to house 5,000 people – but now, Earth has been flooded, and tens of thousands more fight to take control of the city, which is now on the “brink” (see what they did there?) of a civil war. (more…)

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

Rooster Teeth announces ninth season of Red vs. Blue coming this summer, geeks rejoice

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Some of the amazing guys (and gal!) from Rooster Teeth had their usual panel at PAX East this past weekend, and it was a doozy. Not only did they air an episode of Immersion that will probably never be available, but they also formally announced season nine of Red vs. Blue, which will be a prequel focusing on Project Freelancer. Although they did say there would be another season – the website areyoumakingmoreredvsblue.com simply says “yes” in large letters – there was no indication of when or what it would be.

I, for one, am massively pleased. I’ve been a huge fan of Rooster Teeth since first seeing this show back in 2003, and I’ve seen all of their panels since my first PAX in 2008. For anyone living under a rock for the past eight years, Red vs. Blue is the awesome machinima show based on the Halo series, and Immersion is their new live-action show that brings absurd video game scenarios to life.

Rooster Teeth is an incredible group of people who are talented, dedicated, and absolutely in love with their fans. The panel was comprised of Gustavo Sorola, Jack Pattillo, Burnie Burns, Monty Oum, and Geoff and Griffon Ramsey. As always, the panel was one of my favorite parts of PAX. Look for the trailer going up on the site on their anniversary, April 1st (no, that’s not a joke). The show will be coming this summer.

Posted in Etcetera, News | Tagged

Daily Scoop: March 15, 2011 – PAX hangover

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Well, PAX East 2011 is over, and I’ve got a massive gaming hangover. Is it crazy that I spent three straight days doing nothing but gaming and writing and all I wanted to do when I got home yesterday was game and write? I think it might be crazy. But either way, this was one of the best PAX experiences yet, and we’ll have lots more articles up this week, so keep checking :).

But for now, it’s back to reality. Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Activision’s Guitar Hero: Van Halen for the Xbox 360. It’s $24.99 down from $39.99, so you might as well jump (JUMP!) at this deal. Go ahead, jump.

Amazon’s also offering a deal on the Xbox 360 4 GB console with Kinect. If you order it right now, you’ll get a free copy of Dance Central as well. I’m about to make the plunge and buy my very first Xbox, and I’m trying to decide if I’m going to get that one or splurge and get the 250 GB one. I plan on downloading a lot of games, so I’m thinking the 250 might be a better match for me.

No game-related t-shirts today, but there’s a grab bag going on over at Tee Fury – they’re $6 a pop, from over 97 possible designs. This is way too tempting for me, especially after looking at this image:

Yusssssss.

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Radiant Historia Review: An RPG Renaissance

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Radiant Historia is a steampunk, time-travelling RPG created by Atlus. At least, that’s how it’s marketed. But deeper than the gearpunk, deeper than travelling through the timelines, there’s that traditional Japanese story of environmentalism mixed in with sentiments of loyalty and the general idea of good versus evil. And beyond the depth and immersion of the story is even more: brilliant character development, a challenging and satisfying battle system, a plethora of sidequests, and a gorgeous soundtrack. This is not just a successful game; this is a game that should be used as an example for what a successful RPG is really all about. (more…)

Posted in DS, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: March 8, 2011 – Celebrate good times!

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Nicole Kline

It’s the eighth day of March, and you know what that means…it’s my birthday! I’m going to celebrate it like any normal gamer – by spending the entire day at work and then going home to try to wrap up my PAX appointments and squeeze in as much gaming and cake (which is not a lie today) as humanly possible before passing out far too late. And I heard a rumor that Mike Gutierrez was planning on some sort of dinner surprise for me as well – my guess is he’s either going to make one of his famous (and awesome!) meals from scratch or we’re going to order a pizza. Both of those options sound amazing.

Anyway, enough about me! Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Atari’s Test Drive Unlimited 2, which we recently reviewed. It’s $34.99 down from $49.99 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and $27.99 down from $39.99 for the PC.

No game-related shirts today, but I love this one from Ript Apparel, because it makes me think of the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival:

So pretty.

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Daily Scoop: March 7, 2011 – Skillshots FTW

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Bad news: it’s Monday again. Good news: Amazon has an awesome Deal of the Day in video games today, which is Bulletstorm. EA’s controversial, nut-shot-oriented FPS is just $39.99 today on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and $39.95 on PC. Considering the game is less than two weeks old, I’d say a $20 discount is a pretty good deal. If I didn’t already have a massive backlog, I might consider buying it myself! It also seems to be a lot like a rip-off of Borderlands, which I’ve already spent over 50 hours in, so I could instead spend that money on DLC and extend that experience. Decisions, decisions…

The only other thing I have to report on is that today’s Qwertee shirt is too cute:

I wonder what he’s playing?

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: March 6, 2011 – Special Pokemon edition!

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Pokemon Black and White are out today!! It’s a rainy Sunday morning here in Philadelphia, but all that means is that if you’re using Fire-type Pokemon, their abilities are weakened! This may mean that you decided against choosing Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon, as your starter, but with that little corkscrew tail, how could you resist??? If you haven’t picked up the games yet, Amazon is still offering a $10 bonus for each, and if you are the kind of player who likes strategy guides, the official volume one is only $11.10 on Amazon as well. And don’t forget – you have until April 10th to get the special Psychic- and Fire-type Pokemon Victini!

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is CTA Digital’s Wii Sports Resort 8-in-1 Sports Pack. This collection of plastic add-ons for your Wiimote is 50% off today at $14.99, so if you don’t have enough junk cluttering your controller area, feel free to add to it today!

To round out this amazing special edition of the Daily Scoop, I have not one, but TWO awesome t-shirts for you. The first one comes from Tee Fury and is for Chocobo lovers of all shapes and sizes:

As far as I’m concerned, it is the perfect t-shirt for a Sunday morning.

The other comes from Ript Apparel, and is a delightful mash-up of games close to the hearts of both the casual and retro gamers:

I hope these clever kids never stop making t-shirts.

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Daily Scoop: March 4, 2011 – Let the PAX countdown begin!

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Nicole Kline

It’s Friday! It’s one week until PAX East! You know what that means, right? It means my weekend is going to be full of laundry and packing and planning and scheming. It also means this is going to be one of the longest weeks of the year, because the week before PAX is always the longest week of the year. Whatever, time! You can’t stop the FUN!

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Fable III for the Xbox 360. It’s $28.06 today, which seems completely and totally arbitrary, but whatever. That’s a good deal down from $59.99! So gobble this one up while you can.

Also, I am completely freaking out right now, because ThinkGeek is selling PixelJunk Shooter 2 t-shirts!! AIEEEEEEEE!!

This is amazing. They have this shirt (called “Ship It“) and another called “Acid Test.” So. Cool. As soon as these t-shirts are available as babydolls, I’m buying them both. Do you hear me, Timmy??? BOTH OF THEM!!

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |