Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: PS2
No surprises in first round of Madden NFL 12 cover voting
The first round of the Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote has ended with few surprises. The higher ranked seed won in every matchup except for #7 Ray Rice (who lost to #10 Peyton Hillis) and #8 Julius Peppers (who lost to #9 Adrian Peterson).
Voting for the second round has begun today at ESPN.com/maddenvote and with it comes a few very interesting matchups:
Aaron Rodgers (#1) vs Sam Bradford (#8)
Danny Woodhead (#4) vs Hakeem Nicks (#5)
Maurice Jones-Drew (#3) vs Jamaal Charles (#6)
Matt Ryan (#2) vs Peyton Hillis (#10)
Phillip Rivers (#1) vs Adrian Peterson (#9)
Drew Brees (#4) vs Mark Sanchez (#5)
Michael Vick (#3) vs Andre Johnson (#6)
Hines Ward (#2) vs Patrick Willis (#10)
Voting for round two continues through April 3rd.
EA teases us with ‘First Look’ at Madden NFL 12
The show must go on. Lockouts can’t stop EA’s Madden NFL series as the latest entry is set to be released under every platform under the sun this August as usual. Today we get the first teaser trailer for Madden NFL 12, with those titillating menus, classic gameplay, and that sweet HD grass you just want to rip up and smell.
ANYWAY, don’t forget you can win your very own copy of Madden NFL 12 by making your own bracket for the cover athlete, and we strongly suggest joining the Warp Zoned group in EA’s bracket challenge.
Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers are top seeds in Madden NFL 12 bracket
It’s 4 PM and, as promised, EA Sports and ESPN have unveiled the bracket for the Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote. You can vote for the winners of the 16 initial matchups now at ESPN.com or fill out your own bracket using the Madden NFL Bracket Facebook bracket.
The five-week long tournament will choose the Madden NFL 12 curse victim cover athlete on April 27 with a new round commencing every week. Each team is represented in the bracket and the #1 seeds went to Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) and Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers). However, some of the choices are just baffling:
The Denver Broncos selection is Tim Tebow, who spent most of the season as the third-string quarterback. Tom Brady and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots were passed over for running back Danny Woodhead. No player from the Seattle Seahawks was deemed worthy with EA choosing The 12th Man instead.
You can click on the bracket to get a larger picture of the matchups and remember to vote early and vote daily for your favorites.
EA applies bracketology to Madden NFL 12 cover athlete
Did Marquette kill your Final Four bracket yesterday? Or maybe it was Florida State. Or maybe, like President Obama, your bracket is still relatively pristine.
Whatever your bracket looks like, EA Sports is giving gamers a second chance to prove their bracket prowess with the Madden NFL 12 Bracket Challenge. EA has selected 32 players (one from each team) to compete in a single elimination tournament to determine the cover athlete of Madden NFL 12. That’s right, the recipient of the curse is on us now.
EA will reveal the full bracket on ESPN’s “SportsNation” today at 4 PM (Eastern Time) today. But they did say that Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers, Madden NFL 11 cover athlete Drew Brees (who won a three-way fan vote), Madden NFL 2004 cover athlete Michael Vick, Maurice Jones-Drew, Adrian Peterson and Julius Peppers are among the finalists.
Madden fans can create their own bracket by using the Madden NFL Bracket application on Facebook. The winners of each matchup will be chosen through daily voting at ESPN.com/maddenvote.
The top two bracketologists will win the Grand Prize of $2,000 and two tickets to Super Bowl XLVI. Eight 1st Place winners will receive four tickets to an NFL game of their choice. “Group Winners” will receive a copy of Madden NFL 12 when it’s released in August.
We’ll be back with the full bracket later today.
WWE All-Stars roster rumbles onto the web
Well, half of it anyway.
IGN has managed to wrestle the full roster to the upcoming WWE All-Stars away from THQ and they plan on publishing it in two parts. Part one appeared today, revealing eight legends, seven present-day superstars and five fighters that’ll only be available as downloadable content. IGN also revealed that Larry “The King” Lawler and Jim Ross will be providing the color commentary.
Screenshots and video of each wrestler were also included, giving us our most in-depth look at WWE All-Stars yet.
So, let me ring the bell and reveal (after the break) the first 15 wrestlers in WWE All-Stars… (more…)
PlayStation 2: 150 million served
With all the fanboy fighting over the “console war” of the current generation of systems, it’s easy to forget how utterly dominant the PlayStation 2 was from 2000-2006. And Sony’s second console is still racking up sales at an astonishing rate.
According to sales figures released today by Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony has sold 150 million PS2 systems to retailers as of January 31, 2011. Even more astonishingly, the console has survived for over almost 11 years, it made its Japanese debut in March of 2000.
A few other amazing numbers of note include the 10,828 PS2 games released across the world (which is comprised of over 2,000 unique titles) and the 1.52 billion copies (yes, billion with a B) those games have sold.
Say what you will about the relative success of the PSP and PS3, but the PS2 will go down in history as one of the greatest consoles of all time.
First Madden NFL 12 details emerge
While most of us were pulling our hair out at how atrociously bad the Black Eyed Peas were last night, Ian Cummings, Creative Director of Madden NFL 12 (yes, Madden games have those) took some time out for the fans during half time to blog about some of the game’s new features. One was the input shown above where A, A, B on the 360 controller executes a surprise onside kick. The other major feature is “Tuner Sets” – gameplay balances that were previously featured in past NHL and NCAA games that allows the developers to tweak the gameplay without the cumbersome process of getting Sony and Microsoft to approve a patch. This will probably save all of us a lot of time and go a long way in keeping online play fun and free from exploits.
More Madden NFL 12 information can be found at the Madden NFL developer’s blog.
With the exception of the NBA Elite debacle last year, EA Sports has really been impressing game critics with their last few rounds of iterations. Expect Madden NFL 12 to do the same when it releases later this year.
Ico novel, Castle of the Mist, finally coming to America
Ico fans rejoice: Miyuki Miyabe’s Ico novel, Castle of the Mist, is at last being translated into English and is coming to America July 19th, according to Anime News Network (although the publisher’s website actually says on or around August 16th). According to the blurb, “Based on the video game filmmaker Guillemo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) called a ‘masterpiece,’ Japan’s leading fantasist Miyuki Miyabe has crafted a tale of magic, loss, and love that will never be forgotten.” Miyabe is known in America for her novel Brave Story, which was made into an animated film, manga series, and several video games.
Wow. Just. Seriously. I am nearly speechless. Two years ago I read – and re-read – and re-read again – the first two chapters of this novel. I found a fanslation somewhere on the Internet and inhaled it over and over, eager for more Ico. Like the game, it’s charming and haunting, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the story. For those of you who haven’t played the game yet, you’re in luck – the game will be re-released in HD and full 3D with Shadow of the Colossus on March 31. I’ve been having sweet dreams of sitting with Yorda on the couch, with that delightful music playing in the background. In the meantime, I’m still playing LittleBigPlanet 2 as Ico, and I’ve been listening to the soundtrack. I’m trying to be patient. Really.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Ico, LittleBigPlanet 2, PS2, PS3, Shadow of the Colossus