Rockets' Red Glare | It's crazy how elaborate home fireworks are getting. (Photo: Brian Crecente)

The Archbishop of Denver Tells You about Violent Video Games and the Rights of Parents

In this essay originally penned for First Things, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput discusses the recent Supreme Court decision that granted video games First Amendment protection. More »

Kiss Your Life Goodbye With Tiny Tower

On the one hand, Tiny Tower is like so many countless iPhone games before it. Lure you in with a free game, then charge you real money as you tap, tap tap away at a menial and pointless task.
On the other hand, Tiny Tower is freaking amazing.
In the game, you take control of a tower block, and by... More »

Kinect Tech Inspires Glasses That Could Help "the Blind See"

A clinical neurologist at the University of Oxford is working on a pair of glasses that is meant to help the near blind better see shapes and people.
The glasses could be ready as early as 2014.
Dr. More »

A Storm of Swords, a Stronghold 3 Preview

I went to see Firefly's long-awaited strategy sequel Stronghold 3 two weeks ago. It's a game about constructing some castles and destroying others, and it looks rather jolly. More »

Is Valve Bringing DOTA 2 to Gamescom?

Gamescom, the biggest video game party in the world, strikes next month but it's not too soon to start digging in to what we might be seeing at the biggest blending of beer, sausage and video games in the world.
Over on Gamescom's official site they've got a list up of who's going and what they'll... More »

A Closer Look at Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed and Might & Magic Figures

Ubisoft's "limited-edition premium" UbiCollectibles are still only available to European customers, but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't have a close look at the Ezio and Michael figurines.
Only 2,000 Ezio's Fury figurines were produced and only 500 figurines of Might & Magic Heroes VI's... More »

This Thursday Retro Game Master Takes on Bonanza Brothers

This week on Retro Game Master The Kacho takes on Sega Mega Drive shooting platformer Bonanza Brothers as they loot banks, mansions and casinos.
Released in Japan in 1990 as an arcade game, Bonanza Brothers was later ported to a number of systems including the Sega Mega Drive. More »

Rumor: Sony To Introduce 'PSN Pass' for PlayStation Network, May Hit With Resistance 3

Is Sony following the trail blazed by Electronic Arts and other third-party publishers by limiting who has access to its online multiplayer? That's our best guess for what the new, still-unannounced PSN Pass is, a feature rumored to have made its first appearance on the Resistance 3 PS3 bundle.
The... More »

Maybe Al Gore Should Play a Video Game

I have not confirmed this, but I believe that you would not be allowed to keynote a climate change conference if you hadn't sweated in the past 25 years.
But a couple of weeks ago, former Vice President Al Gore keynoted the Games For Change conference—a conference about the potential for... More »

I had a wonderful 4th O' July yesterday. Took Tristan mountain biking, hung out at the pool and then watched a neighbor shoot off some major fireworks. It reminded me of the time I bought some of those pricey mortars and then, perhaps a bit too lit to care, I ignited one, dropped it in the provided reinforced cardboard tube and didn't quite back away in time. In fact I sort of just lingered, my head swaying in the calm of the desert night air until the serene peace afforded me by one too many Coronas was shattered by an exploding mortar firework. The next thing I remember was a big Texas night of velvet black sky and dots of white stars, smoke slowly curling away from my eyelashes. My brother and a few other buddies suddenly popped into view, leaning over my spread-eagle form laying in the sand and asking "Are you alive?" I was and also still the proud owner of two functioning eyes. That last thanks to a bit of fortunate timing and aim that had the rocketing mortar slip from its tube, directly into my forehead, between my eyes, and then out across the empty desert in a perfect ricochet shot. I can't help but think that as the small crowd of friends watched the trail of flame zip across the desert floor and out into the expanse of the wild, they paid more attention to the ground level explosion than my body falling away, as if in a dream, and landing on the ground, smoke drifting from my head. It must have been spectacular. –Brian Crecente
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