TheAngrySpark

Protect your iOS Web Surfing With PassTouch

2012-02-16T15:46:00.001-05:00

Worried about your passwords, search history (ahem), and other online stuffs being discovered and otherwise ogled? PassTouch has a nice little solution for you.

Passtouch is introducing a new universally accepted “signature type” password alternative and web browser for touch screen devices like the iPad. Passtouch works a lot like a signature, but offers even more creative freedom. Users create their own Passtouch design by drawing a single continuous line over an interface provided on the company’s app. Unlike anything else that has been previously created, Passtouch is truly intuitive and takes advantage of the iPad’s highly responsive touch screen. Free and paid versions of the app are available in the iTunes App store.

Apparently, there's quite a bit you can do with the feature as it allows for a lot of freedom in creating your own unique 'PassTouch'. After you've drawn your scribble, PassTouch unlocks everything you do online by remembering and storing all of your bookmarks, codes, and passwords... so this is something that you probably don't want anyone else having access to.

The Passtouch web browser allows multiple users to create private profiles, each with their own history and bookmarks. Profiles are protected by a single Passtouch signature, no typing required. While browsing, website log-in details can be saved as bookmarks, which provide one-touch access to password protected sites.

Pretty cool idea. The company is also touting the ease of use that PassTouch offers to those with limited dexterity and the disabled. It also can support multiple users (each with their own 'signature') and is so easy "We even have a four-year-old using it" according to company CEO Jason Boger.

PassTouch is available now on the iPad App Store with both free and paid versions ($1.99 for the ad free paid one)

Country Dance All Stars Trailer Shows off New Deets

2012-02-09T12:18:00.001-05:00

A few more details today for all you roadhouse dancers out there from Gamemill about they're upcoming Kinect powered dancer- Country Dance All Stars.

Country Dance All Stars, the next iteration in the top-selling Country Dance video game franchise, brings a whole new hands-free experience to the dance party. Your body becomes the controller as you kick up your boots and dance your way through over 30 hot routines and songs. Challenge a friend to a dance off with simultaneous competitive play or work together to pull off the moves and collectively build a top score. Boost your boot-scootin’ skills with all new line-dancing routines, and don’t be afraid to belt it out with scrolling sing-a-long lyrics. Share the fun with friends as the Kinect sensor snaps photos throughout each routine. Plus, all new DLC support allows you to keep the party going with downloadable song packs featuring new choreography that will be released post launch.

Dark Horse Presents: Concrete Park

2012-02-08T18:12:00.001-05:00

Remember Eraser? The 1996 blockbusters was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's last big huge hits before taking office as CA's gov. It was also written by Tony Puryear, author of the upcoming 'Concrete Park'.

Dark Horse Presents #8 will play host to Puryear's first comic book foray, and boy does it sound like a winner:

Concrete Park is a dark and provocative near-future story. It takes place in a turbulent mega-city on a distant desert planet (think Cairo or Rio in space). Young human exiles from Earth must fight to make a new world there. They are “young, violent and ten billion miles from home.” In its ambitious scope, it resembles nothing so much as George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, but with favelas and aliens, cops and cyborgs, ghettos and gangs, instead of castles and armies.

Even more awesome is that Puryear did the pencils too. Now that's a talented guy. DHP#8 is coming to shops very soon but if you're looking for more from Tony, stay tuned for the big screen re-do of the literary classic- Farenheit 451. He penned the script for that one too.

Grand Slam Tennis 2 Brings the ESPN in New Trailer

2012-02-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

ESPN is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) sports networks in the world, and EA's upcoming Grand Slam Tennis 2 is going to take full advantage of that.

The tennis title (say that three times fast) features an ESPN 'Grand Slam Classics' mode that gives users the chance to replay classic matchups from year's gone by. Given the game's roster, there are some real classics that'll be playable. Grand Slam also showcases a two man announce booth that features John McEnroe and Pat Cash.

Even though Johnny Mac isn't sporting the massive hair anymore, so disappointing, it should be mildly entertaining nonetheless to hear what he has to say about himself.

Country Dance All Stars Gets Down with Full Track List

2012-02-08T14:15:00.000-05:00

In the mood for a little square dancin' at the local waterin' hole? No? Well maybe you'd rather just dance it out in your living room with Gamemill Entertainment's Country Dance All Stars for the Xbox Kinect.

Click on through pard for a full set list of the music and a launch trailer-

Gamemill might be a relatively small publisher, but they actually have a really impressive list of tunes for you to shake your spurs at:

COUNTRY DANCE ALL STARS SETLIST:

Alan Jackson – “Good Time”
Ashton Shepherd – “Look It Up”
Billy Currington – “People Are Crazy”
Blake Shelton – “All About Tonight”
Brad Paisley – “Water”
Brooks & Dunn – “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Carrie Underwood – “Cowboy Casanova”
Chad Brownlee – “Carried Away”
Chris Heers – “Dirt Rich”
Dierks Bentley – “What Was I Thinkin’”
Easton Corbin – “Roll With It”
Eric Church – “Hell On The Heart”
Gwyneth Paltrow – “Shake That Thing”
Hayley Mclean – “Good Time Bone”
Jake Owen – “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”
Johnny Cash – “Ring of Fire”
Josh Kelley – “Georgia Clay”
Josh Thompson – “Beer on the Table”
Josh Turner – “Why Don’t We Just Dance”
Katie Armiger – “Best Song Ever”
Keith Urban – “Better Life”
Kellie Pickler – “Tough”
Lady Antebellum – “Lookin’ For A Good Time”
Laura Bell Bundy – “Giddy On Up”
Little Big Town – “Little White Church”
Luke Bryan – “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”
Miley Cyrus – “Hoedown Throwdown”
Miranda Lambert – “White Liar”
Rascal Flatts – “Life Is A Highway”
Sugarland – “Stuck Like Glue”
The Last Ride – “Take You Down”
Tim McGraw – “Felt Good on My Lips”
Trace Adkins – “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”
Zac Brown Band – “Chicken Fried”

EA Nabs Licensing Agreement with Czech National Team

2012-02-08T14:03:00.002-05:00

EA Sports FIFA titles are about to get an infusion of Czech National Team Football (soccer to you westerners).

Wrapping up the four year agreement, EA will be including the newly available team in the next edition of FIFA. A fact that has the President of the Czech Republic's Football Association very happy.

“Having the full national team, in the hugely popular FIFA series, with authentic jerseys and players, is a big win for Czech fans,” said Miroslav Pelta, President of the Football Association of the Czech Republic. “Seeing the team in the world’s most popular sports videogame in the coming years is something that will definitely build the connection between our team and our fans.”

Said Matt Bilbey of EA:

“We’re very excited to bring stars of the Czech National Team into our games,” said Matt Bilbey, Vice President and GM of Soccer, EA SPORTS. “For all our fans that support and love Czech soccer, this will only add to the authentic FIFA experience they enjoy.”

SSX Goes Big with Soundtrack

2012-02-08T12:43:00.002-05:00

EA's upcoming reinvention of the classic extreme sports title SSX is almost upon us- and it's bringing a pretty big name soundtrack with it.

“SSX has always been one of EA’s most music intensive, genre diverse and sonically adventurous titles,” says Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music & Music Marketing. “The songs on this new soundtrack cover ground from indie rock, dub step, hip-hop, drum + bass and beyond. As fans of the ultimate snowboarding franchise have come to expect, our artists range from top cutting-edge stars to tomorrow’s hottest underground acts. Ultimately, it’s a soundtrack full of next-level music that is totally ripe for discovery.”

Probably could have done without the dub step, but if you don't care for something on the packed in playlist, you can add in your own tunes. That's always an appreciated feature. There's also something called a 'dynamic music remix' tool happening here. What's that do?

SSX also features a dynamic music remix tool that will automatically remix licensed tracks and custom music based on the player’s actions and performance in-game.

Sounds like some cool stuff- getting a true dynamic and changing background score might be a little bit of a challenge considering we're not just talking about orchestral tracks here. Switching things up in a piece of music that has vocals in it might be somewhat dicey. We shall see.

While we all wait for the game to drop into stores at the end of this month, why not peruse the complete track list? There's bound to be something you'll like... or not. Who can tell anymore, you're so picky.

Artist	Track
Camo & Krooked	Breezeblock
Camo & Krooked	Portal
Dels	Capsize ft. Joe Goddard & Roots Manuva
Digitalism	Blitz
DJ Shadow	I Gotta Rock (Irn Mnky Swagger Mix)
Felguk ft. Example	Plastic Smile
Flux Pavilion	I Can't Stop
Foster the People	Houdini
Handsome Furs	Damage
Hyper	Accelerate
J Boogie's Dubtronic Science	Magik (Egyptian Lover Remix) ft. Aima the Dream, Cait La Dee & Raashan Ahmad
Kid Digital	Done With That ft. Profit
Konrad Old Money	Big Error
Lateef the Truthspeaker	Oakland ft. Del the Funky Homosapien & The Grouch
Nero	Scorpions
Noisia	Could this Be
Noisia	Machine Gun
Pretty Lights	Hot Like Dimes
Raffertie	Twitch (It Grows and Grows: SSX Version)
Run-DMC	It’s Tricky (SSX Pretty Lights Remix)
Skrillex	Scatta ft. Foreign Beggers & Bare Noize
Styrofoam Ones	Better
The Big Pink	Stay Gold
The Herbaliser	What You Asked For
The Hives	1000 Answers
The Naked and Famous	Young Blood
The Prototypes	Your Future
The Qemists	Bones ft. Kellermensch
The Qemists	Stompbox
The Qemists	Lifeline
Theophilus London	I Stand Alone (Ocelot Mix)
TRS-80	Mirage
Turbowolf	A Rose for the Crows
Two Door Cinema Club	Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix)
Wretch 32	Traktor
Zion I and the Grouch	Drop It on the 1

Ready for Kingdoms of Amalur?

2012-02-07T13:45:00.002-05:00

Dropping into retail stores everywhere today, EA's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning represents a pretty big new IP. The game boasts art and design by comic book legend (Spidey FTW!) Todd McFarlane, a script by R.A. Salvatore, and is the long awaited first effort from Curt Shilling's development house- 38 studios.

“This is a momentous occasion for the entire team at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games. I could not be more proud of all of the heart, passion and talent the team has poured into creating the first title in the world of Amalur,” said Curt Schilling, Founder and Chairman of 38 Studios. “This is the beginning of a long and fantastic journey. We are deeply committed to the RPG community and plan to continue to serve up a lot more story-based and action-packed content in the near and long term.”

Considering the void left by the disappearance of the Dragon Age series, not to mention it's disappointing sequel, the market is decidedly ripe for a high fantasy romp like KoAR. If slaying the minions of evil is your deal you can dig in right now on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC as the title drops this very day.

Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition Now Available

2012-02-07T10:43:00.002-05:00

Are you guilty of skipping one of the biggest titles of last year? Well don't fret friends, because Fallout: New Vegas' Ultimate Edition is now available on retail shelves everywhere.

For holdouts that didn't pick up the game when it was released (and anyone who hasn't been keeping up with the dlc) the UE has a load of new content.

All of the downloadable mission packs are included in the box as well as a new level cap of 50. There's also a bunch of new weapons, ammunition types and recipes for cooking up your own stuff. I'll also go ahead and assume (at the great risk that that implies) that the majority of the bugs that were present when the open world action/adventure title first released are dead and gone at this point.

So, lots of extra's and a more stable experience. What's not to like?

With the release of the Ultimate Edition Bethesda Softworks presents the definitive edition of Fallout: New Vegas®. This complete package, which includes the full version of Fallout: New Vegas as well as the Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road add-on packs, allows you to experience everything that New Vegas has to offer. Each of these four main add-on packs combined ultimately raise the level cap to 50. To sweeten the pot, you’ll be armed with the latest cache of unique weapons, ammo types and recipes from the most recent add-on packs Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners Arsenal.

You’ll find there are more friends – and enemies – to make whether you’re a seasoned explorer of the Mojave, or playing the game for the first time. You’ll be able to explore the Sierra Madre Casino, Zion National Park, Big MT research crater and the treacherous Divide – all of which are now open for exploring. On your journey you’ll discover there are also more consequences to be responsible for, and more opportunities to live in glory – or infamy – throughout the Wasteland. The choices you make will be as influential as ever.

Pick up New Vegas now for PC, Xbox 360, or PS3 pretty much everywhere games are stocked

New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Debuts

2012-02-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

You know, I have to admit that I had a lot of doubts about the new 're-boot that isn't a re-boot' Spidey flick- The Amazing Spider-Man. Despite the excellent title, there really wasn't anything else that appealed to me about the movie.

I was wrong.

It's not that I was so enamored with (former) director Sam Raimi's vision of the character, lets not forget the travesty that was Spider-Man 3, it's just that TASM looked like it might be just another half-hearted stab at the character.

With the debut of the newest trailer for the film though, it looks like that couldn't be further from the truth. Columbia might not want to call it a re-boot for the franchise, but it looks like that's exactly what this is. Aside from the different look to the costume, this is Spider-Man way more than the Toby McGuire version was.

Wisecracks! Gwen Stacy! Mechanical web-shooters! The Lizard! Yes- it's a different costume, but if it wasn't, it'd look exactly like the first films. Say what you want (and there's plenty you could) about Raimi's interpretation, but the Spidey suit was awesome. Everything else about TASM though, well, looks amazing. As a huge Spider-Man fan, I'm pretty pumped.

Also nice to see are the nods to Pete's parents, something that was totally missing from the prior trilogy aaaaand the fact that Norman Osborn is nowhere to be seen. Why waste your best (or 'one of' at any rate) villain in the first movie?

Can't wait to see how this one turns out and where the new film series heads afterwards. mark your calendars true-believers, The Amazing Spider-Man releases July 3rd everywhere.

It's a Dragon Age Valentine with Felicia Day

2012-02-06T14:32:00.001-05:00

Originally airing as a limited series on Machinima.com, all six episodes of Dragon Age: Redemption are about to hit home as a collected edition DVD.

Set in the same time period as the hit Role-Playing Game (RPG), Dragon Age II, DRAGON AGE: REDEMPTION stars Day as Tallis, an Elven assassin hired by the Qunari to capture a rogue mage intent on wreaking havoc throughout the world. In her quest to find this dangerous mage, Tallis is joined by other companions who are not always aligned in their beliefs and goals, but who band together to defeat their foe, in an attempt to restore peace and balance to this dark fantasy universe.

Originally airing in six parts on Michinima.com, Redemption was both written and produced by Ms.Day. Fans of the game (and/or Felicia fans) might still want to pick up the DVD (when it releases this February the 14th) even if they've already checked out the full series episodically, as the disc will ship with over 40 minutes of extra's.

You'll get 'making of' features (with costuming, stunts, and character creation), audio commentary, and the ever popular 'blooper' real. Also, you'll find out once and for all just what it's like to work with Felicia Day as BioWare TV explores "Working with Felicia". I'm sure they've got only nice things to say. Probably. Maybe...

Battleship Superbowl Trailer Goes Online

2012-02-06T14:01:00.000-05:00

Even though it might be a flick about a classic boardgame, the upcoming big budget blast-a-thon is anything but old school.

True- Battleship might be about an alien invasion, that's nothing new, but the whole feel of the trailer is amazingly video-gamey. It almost looks like it's meant to be played and not watched. So much so that it almost warrants a viewing just to see if producer/director Peter Hancock manages to pull this off.

Either way, this is one hell of a coming attraction-

Battleship sinks theater's everywhere on May 18th. Want more? Hit www.battleshipmovie.com

Facebook Timeline Not Proving too Popular

2012-02-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

The merry pollsters over at Sodahead.com polled their users about the 'Timeline' feature that Facebook (who recently announced their IPO) will be rolling out as a mandatory element to it's 800 some-odd million users this week. The results were... not too good to put it mildly.

In a landslide, 70% of poll respondents stated that they did not like Timeline and hoped that Facebook would “lose it.” Only 20% indicated that they liked it, while 10% said that they were not Facebook users.

While 30% of users between ages 18 and 24 like Timeline, only 10% of those over 65 were happy with the new design. When broken down by gender, men and women had exactly the same opinion – 77% dislike Timeline, while 23% like it.

Ouch. With an initial reaction like that, it might be a hard sell for the social media giant to get the new feature to take off in any meaningful way. Although, just how many of the polled are actual Facebook users is an unknown too; and there's always the chance of the 'hater effect'.

2012-02-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 hits the PSV shortly after launch with what's shaping up to be a full on console experience. And a full on shopping cart full of junk.

There aren't a ton of characters shown off in the vid, but what is there looks pretty much on par with the game's big brother on the 360 and the PS3. That includes a nice looking Ghosts n Goblins-themed backdrop and all the special move bells and whistles.

So three points pretty much sum up my take on how things are shaping up for the first fighter on the Vita:

Number one- UMvC3 is looking fantastic.
Number two- There's still sadness in my heart that there aren't more X-Men in the game.
Number three- I had no idea what a badass Rocket Raccoon is.

*Note - Uh, yeah, you kind of have to watch the video/be familiar with Frank West to get the "shopping cart" reference.

Vybe is a Music Info Machine

2012-02-02T19:11:00.000-05:00

One of the latest 'New and Noteworthy' apps on the iOS App Store, Vybe is like a little news filter for all the bands you care about.

Basically, Vybe scans the vast (or teensy) library of installed tunes on your iDevice and then sifts through the wealth of info on the web about the artists behind said tunes. You then get all that good stuff downloaded, in real time, onto your device- but the fun doesn't stop there.

Want to find a concert for your group of choice? Vybe will have that for you and more, because it's also a storefront for pretty much anything you could want that's music related.

The reason for Vybe’s growing popularity is the app’s unique ability to keep users connected with the music they love. Vybe is a user’s one-stop-shop for new albums, singles, videos, and concerts. It creates comprehensive artist profiles by pulling real-time updates from across the internet. Created to be a “better platform for artists to connect with their fans and fans with the music they love,” Vybe provides a mobile space for users to effortlessly keep up.

Sound good? Check out the number 23 ranked (and climbing) app on the store right now by simply clicking here.

11th Annual NAVGTR Awards Coming Soon

2012-02-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

On February 15th, the NAVGTR (National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers) will be holding an event to officially unveil the nominations for the best in gaming art, production, and technology.

Hosted by Tom Sizemore (yes, that Tom Sizemore) and Tara Platt, the event will announce a list of the best of the best from 2011 across a whopping 53 categories. In a world of over the top award shows like the Spike Awards, it's nice to see something that actually takes the industry a little more seriously and treats it as a little less of a goofy spectacle.

More than any other professional group in the industry, testers spend the most time playing games and are therefore most apt to evaluate them on a technical level with intense detail or analysis.

Reviewers in the media also spend a great deal of time analyzing and writing about games from a creative perspective to aid consumers in their evaluations. The best reviewers sometimes parlay their reputation into industry jobs as producers or testers.

For these reasons, the recommendation of testers and reviewers serves as a special mark of quality that balances important creative and technical perspectives and represents the most hard-core enthusiasts from industry and media.

If you're interested in seeing what NAVGTR is all about (and booking a pretty nice vacation for yourself), there's an 'informal fan gathering' being held in the Dominican Republic this August. That little shindig will be at the Melia Caribe Tropical resort in Punta Cana, and will run from 8/9 through the 11th. Check out the booking links right here if you're interested.

Get Aquainted With the 608 Bull in Max Payne 3

2012-02-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

The newest trailer for Max Payne 3 showcases the 608 Bull revolver. If you don't know what that is- it's a very big, very bad, and very short range hand cannon.

Today also marks the debut of the official Max Payne 3 website. Eventually, you'll find all the videos lumped together there as well as tons of screens, info, and more.

Comic Books in a Digital Age

2012-02-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

Here's something cool and very near and dear to our hearts here at the Spark- digital comic books. 'Comics in a Digital Age' is the title of the newest episode of the Peter Biddle hosted 'MashUp' radio show and sounds like it's going to be a pretty cool listen for anyone who likes comics- digitized or physical.

Biddle's guest for the half-hour program will be the Editorial Director for Marvel Digital Media Group and Marvel.com, Ryan Penagos. The pair are set to discuss iPads, PCs, and just how digital distribution in general has affected comics books.

Hearing from an insider is always valuable and Penagos is just about as 'inside' as you can get without having to resort to fake names and blacked out silhouettes. This Marvel-ous episode will air this coming Friday (Feb 3) at noon Pacific. You can listen in by tweeting the hash #mashupradio and you can find out more about the bi-weekly show by clicking here.

Kaz Hirai Named Sony CEO

2012-02-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

No! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale! Kaz Hirai is... the CEO!!

If you'll remember, Kaz has been rumored to be the replacement for outgoing honcho Sir Howard Stringer (who's been oddly quiet over the last few years) for some time now.

Actually, there were non-announcements and a string of 'it's about to happen' rumors that were hitting the web on a weekly basis. Well, after several denials and not yet's, Sony has finally pulled the trigger.

Kaz is in and Howard is out... but not completely. Stringer will be staying on as President of the electronics and gaming giant for the foreseeable future, though it's pretty much a done deal that Hirai will also be taking that seat once the former CEO takes his complete leave.

Curt Shilling PItches Kingdoms of Amalur

2012-02-01T15:23:00.003-05:00

EA's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is getting ready to storm retail and digital store shelves worldwide. But before it does, 38 Studios head (and all time great ballplayer) Curt Shilling would like to share his thoughts on the game.

Amalur looks like a fantastic title and is getting a fare share of good word of mouth. I guess it should with the likes of Todd McFarlane (comic artist extraordinaire) and R.A. Salvatore (famed fantasy novel scribe) behind it. But it's just kind of cool to see a big videogame fan like Shilling getting ready to release a big time console/PC game. Here's what the main man had to say in the fourth installment of Reckoning Visionary Newsletter: (Fair warning- he's talkative)

For me, the launch of Reckoning is the realization of more than thirty years of gaming and dreaming. 38 Studios is the embodiment of that gaming life, and to finally see the results of the dedicated and passionate team at Big Huge Games is beyond words.

I started gaming on an Apple computer in 1981, and after doing some early coding in BASIC, I started to play games like the ASCII-based Star Trek and Wizardry. I was hooked from the outset. And like many of you, I‘ve played hundreds of games and thought “Wow, I could do that better” and asked “Why did they do that?” I imagine in most cases I was wrong. What I’ve come to realize is that often you can’t do it better and there are hundreds of reasons why they did that.

But, unlike most gamers, I also played professional baseball, and that afforded me the financial opportunity to act on those questions. That is where we are today. From a company perspective we have something we believe dearly in, that few others have, and it’s also something we never want to let go of. We are gamers who want to make awesome games for gamers. That might sound simplistic, but it’s far harder than it sounds. We are not publicly owned or traded, so our orders and direction are still entirely driven by the folks inside the company, us gamers. That’s huge, and also rare in game development these days.

But I would tell you this: ‘Making games’ is so vastly different than what I expected it to be. I do very little, if any, game making. There are actually some very good reasons why. First of all, I’m not all that good at it. Second and just as important, I looked far and wide and found people smarter and far more creative than I could ever be, and they’re the ones tasked with bringing Amalur to life.

This game, this world, is about the journey. 38 Studios’ moment of creation, believe it or not, happened over TeamSpeak during an EverQuest 2 raid. The first core group of employees, those folks here on day one, were mainly members of our guild in EQ2 who had spent months talking back and forth about making games. Many of them worked at Sony Online Entertainment in San Diego at the time, and we were all pretty hardcore MMO players. Many a night was spent talking about this feature and that one, and what our games would be like.

At some point as the months rolled by I began to sense a stirring, internally, that I couldn’t shake. I had spent about 25 years gaming; it was as much a part of me as baseball. What was the next logical (or illogical depending on your perspective) step for me to take? 38 Studios (formerly Green Monster Games, but that’s a story for another time) was it. So like 99% of gamers around the world I thought I could do it better, and I thought I knew what features would be cooler. But unlike that same 99%, I actually took the next step.

38 Studios was formed in October of 2006, and Amalur was born. Now gamers around the world are on the precipice of stepping into that world, and I can’t really pinpoint the overriding emotion. Fear? Anxiety? Excitement? Terror? It’s all of those things, and more. In my former job, I had an overwhelming amount control and responsibility -- until I let go of the ball. In a sense, the launch of Reckoning is me doing just that. It’s out of my hands now.

This team has done everything it could to make this game worthy of players’ time and hard-earned money, and I think players will feel the passion and love the Big Huge team has invested in this world. This is, and has always been, much bigger than any single game or piece of the Amalur universe. It’s always been about changing the way we are entertained.

Reckoning is the ‘kickoff’ so to speak. Starting with Reckoning, and heading down this path we’ve chosen to Project Copernicus, our MMO, we have grandiose visions of things we can and will do to try and create the next great fantasy world. Amalur began years ago (10,000 years ago, according to R. A. Salvatore), and we plan on living and breathing this universe for as long as you will let us.

AskMen Reveals Top Most Desirable 2011 Gals

2012-02-01T14:29:00.001-05:00

AskMen (the men's lifestyle site) asked it's readers to rank the most desirable females in film for this past year. Who they picked might surprise you...

Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) ranked the highest of the Oscar nominees on this year’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2012 list at No. 3. After more than 1 million votes, Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) placed at No. 63 and Jessica Chastain (The Help) was voted to No. 86.

…Other movie stars to make the list include: Scarlett Johansson (No. 7); Mila Kunis (No. 13); Natalie Portman (No. 21); Anne Hathaway (No. 37) and Demi Moore (No. 80).

That's... an amazingly high placing for Mara, who's character in Dragon Tattoo is certainly less that your typical beauty. Want to see the rest of the list and where your favorite (and not so favorite) females placed with the site's readers? Make with the clickin'.

If it's Super Bowl Time Then it's Madden Bowl Time

2012-02-01T13:36:00.001-05:00

The Madden Bowl is the biggest digital sporting event of the year, which is fitting since it takes place alongside the biggest real life sporting event of the year.

Even if you're not into the Giants or the Pats, chances are you're into Madden football if you're any kind of NFL fan. Apparently a lot of players like it too as the EA Madden Bowl will be featuring a lot of big time talent that won't be playing in the big game.

Madden Bowl XVIII is the quintessential players’ tournament that showcases NFL superstars and their gaming skills on the virtual gridiron as they face off on Madden NFL 12. NFL stars attending Madden Bowl XVIII include (subject to change): Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans Saints), Larry Fitzgerald (WR, Arizona Cardinals), Matt Forte (RB, Chicago Bears), Arian Foster (RB, Houston Texans), Antonio Gates (TE, San Diego Chargers), Jimmy Graham (TE, New Orleans Saints), DeSean Jackson (WR, Philadelphia Eagles), Von Miller (LB, Denver Broncos), Tim Tebow (QB, Denver Broncos), DeMarcus Ware (LB, Dallas Cowboys) and Patrick Willis (LB, San Francisco 49ers) among others.

The tourney features a three man team format and will consist of 2 teams of pros, a team of legends, and a team of upcoming 2012 draftees. They'll fight it out via Xbox Live with each player taking control of different parts of a team. Rosters are pretty impressive too:

· All-Madden Team: Arian Foster (RB, Houston Texans), Maurice Jones-Drew (RB, Jacksonville Jaguars), and Patrick Willis (LB, San Francisco 49ers)

· Madden Legends Team: Barry Sanders (Pro Football Hall of Fame), Deion Sanders (Pro Football Hall of Fame) and Warren Sapp (DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

· Madden “Clutch” Team: Drew Brees (QB, New Orleans Saints), Jimmy Graham (TE, New Orleans Saints), and Tim Tebow (QB, Denver Broncos)

· Rookie Team (2012 NFL Draft Eligible): Justin Blackmon (WR, Oklahoma State University),
Robert Griffin III (QB, Baylor University), LaMichael James (RB, University of Oregon)

If you'd like to get in on the festivities and do a little 'game with fame', just send a friend request on over to 'NFLBaller2012' and start up a game of Madden '12 around 5:30pm EST on February 2nd (tomorrow)- oh, and don't forget your headset, because if you get an invite you'd best be ready for some football.

But wait, there's more!! At the conclusion of the tournament, there's gonna be a webcast performance by the Roots and NAS. That show will be kicking off at 11pm (EST) If you want to watch, RSVP yourself at Madden NFL Facebook page

And... now we're done.

Grand Slam Tennis 2 Heads to France

2012-01-31T13:02:00.000-05:00

Take on the unforgiving clay of the French Open in the newest trailer for EA's Grand Slam Tennis 2.

Continuing to look like a very nice tennis sim, GST2 takes a little trip to the land of wine and cheese for it's newest gameplay trailer

New Comics-On Tees Set Launched

2012-01-30T13:00:00.001-05:00

Threadless, interwebs T-shirt giant, has had a pretty popular little series of Tee's called Comics-On going for a while now. If you're not familiar with it- it's exactly what the name implies.

Threadless, Chicago’s beloved international online community-based design platform, has partnered with four comic artist icons to create its fourth series of the Comics-On Tees line. With artwork by Mike Allred, Colleen Coover, Chris Samnee and Francesco Francavilla, this new t-shirt series depicts a storyline written by Chris Roberson and will be available for purchase individually or as a set exclusively at Threadless.com.

Comics-On Tees only started in 2010, but has been a big hit with comic fans and short-sleeved shirt aficionados everywhere. Volume 4 is entitled 'Monkey Around' and features mad scientist, romance comic, monkey superhero, and monster comic themed shirts.

Personally, I'm pretty pumped for the Allred 'issue', but they all sound pretty cool. Apparently, I'm not the only one up for the fourth set of books/shirts as series 4 writer Chris Robertson is itchin' to add them to his own collection.

"Years ago when I first discovered Threadless, and since then, easily half of my wardrobe at any given moment is made up of Threadless tees,” said Chris Roberson, iconic comic book author. “And when the first Comics-On Tees line was released in 2010, I bought every one and wore them to pieces. This year when I was approached by Threadless to do my own line of Comics-On Tees, I couldn’t possibly refuse! Now, I just can't wait to wear them!"

They retail for $24 each or $79 for the set of four- pick 'em up here.

TV Prices Tumble as 2012 Rolls on

2012-01-30T12:02:00.005-05:00

Forecasting mag Kiplinger is looking at the young year with an eye towards television pricing and it's continuing drop.
With a reported 60% plus US homes already in possession of an HDTV, there isn't all that much of a market for new sets. Apparently, 3D isn't really catching on either.

So far, 3D isn't the next big thing. Although many new sets are capable of displaying 3D shows, the technology hasn't caught on with buyers, probably due to the scarcity of 3D content and the fact that 3D TV viewers must wear special glasses. I think the 3D thing is still a work in progress, says (Ben) Arnold (of NPD Group)
Read more:http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/lower-prices-big-screen-television-HDTV.html#ixzz1kxedaKl4 Become a Fan of Kiplinger's on Facebook

It's honestly not hard to imaging why 3D hasn't grasped the public by the throat, but Mr.Arnold puts it pretty succinctly in Jeff Bertolucci's piece on Kip's website. I honestly think the biggest stumbling block is the 'glasses' thing. People flat out don't want to wear special anything just to watch TV (or a movie for that matter). Come on guys, we went through all this back in the '50s didn't we?

On the flip side, it's good to see Plasma sets making a comeback- and at some very consumer friendly prices. I've long thought plasma was the superior format to LCD or anything else for that matter just for it's range of color if nothing else. Now that the tired old argument of 'but it has burn in' is all but dead at this point, it's ripe for a comeback.

Read the full story here.