The story behind the creation, and even the funding, of Dungeon Hearts is quite amazing. Back at GDC this year, Devolver Digital held an open call of sorts to indie developers to pitch their ideas. Chris Pavia, Cube Roots independent developer was one of the participants, and that same night Dungeon Hearts was signed.

Dungeon Hearts is a mix of RPG and puzzle elements scheduled to hit PC and mobile devices next year. The game has players matching three gems of the same color to help their party unleash devastating attacks on various enemies that inhabit its 16 unique environments. Dungeon Hearts will feature various special abilities, unlockable heroes, and a level cap of 99 to keep players felling monsters and matching pieces for a long time.

“Dungeon Hearts has been a labor of love for a while now. As an indie it can be tough bringing your project to a publisher for fear they are going to strip away the developer’s personality from the final product,” said Cube Roots founder Chris Pavia. “It has been quite the opposite with the guys over at Devolver Digital, it’s been great working with people who embrace the weird and quirky.”

Dungeon Hearts didn’t start out as a puzzle/RPG hybrid either. Pavia first wanted to create a “brothel simulator,” but Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker recommended he shift visions a bit “because medieval brothel simulators just don’t sell anymore.”

The next game to join Google’s ever-growing store of Chrome-based  games is Ubisoft’s From Dust, a god game that first came out on consoles and PC last year.

From Dust gives players the task of helping a mysterious civilization find gates to other worlds and escape their demise by completing world-shaping tasks that unlock the way forward. Elements like water, earth, and rock can be vacuumed up and dropped onto different areas to alter a river’s path, protect a village from an eruption, or even build a bridge across a giant lake. The game offers various powers that help you control the elements and also offers challenge missions and collectibles.

Browser-based games are becoming more prominent as of late, and because games are linked to your Google account, a game like From Dust can be resumed from almost any computer that runs Chrome. For players who didn’t get a chance to play the game on consoles or on PC, or want to play the game from their offices while no one is watching, this Chrome version of From Dust should not be missed.

Ubisoft is currently offering the game for only $9.99 this week and will be priced at $14.99 the following week.

Marvel Studios and Gazillion Entertainment have officially let the lid off of their highly rumored and long in development Marvel Comics MMO: Marvel Heroes. The game, written by famed comic’s scribe Brian Michael Bendis and described as Marvel meets Diablo will reportedly feature a good portion of the 8,000 plus heroes and villains in the Marvel universe, from the hotly popular Avengers and Wolverine to the lesser known Squirrel Girl. I’m currently holding out hope for Spider-Ham.

Describing the game as a cross between the Marvel Universe and Diablo would may seem like a lofty claim, but remember that Gazillion Entertainment employs David Brevik, the creator of Diablo I and II as their president. “I’ve been a big Marvel fan for all of my life.Marvel Heroes represents the combination of Marvel IP with all of the knowledge and experience I gained creating Diablo,” brevik said in a recent press release announcing the game. “It is a dream come true.  I’m excited to unveil Marvel Heroes and share this revolutionary MMO with both gamers and Marvel fans.”

On top of the game’s combat missions, Marvel Heroes will reportedly also feature common areas like a Marvel inspired Manhattan and Xavier’s School for Mutant’s for players to converge, create storylines and swap items.

Of course, Marvel couldn’t let the press release end without taking a slight, if not subtle jab at rival comic publisher DC Comics and their MMO, DC Universe Online. “Marvel Heroes marks a new era in gaming for us,” stated TQ Jefferson, Vice President of Games at Marvel. “For fans to actually become their favorite heroes in an original storyline, explore iconic Marvel landscapes and combat some of the most dangerous villains in a shared experience is unbelievably compelling.” DC Universe does not let players assume the role of their favorite heroes, but rather create their own based on the look and abilities of DC classics like Superman and Batman.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, 2K Marin’s first-person-shooter reboot of the classic X-Com franchise has been delayed. Now, it looks like we won’t see it until sometime between April first of next year and March of 2014. yes, 2014.

The news came today in the form of Take-Two’s fourth quarter fiscal earnings report, where the studio listed the game, and it’s new release date very nonchalantly, saying “2K Games now expects to release XCOM, its shooter version of the franchise that is in development at 2K Marin, during fiscal year 2014.”

This, of course, isn’t the first time the game has been delayed. Officially announced at E3 2010, the game was first scheduled to release in 2011, before being pushed back to mid 2012. Earlier this year it was announced that the game would release in 2013, with the latest sending it to a ways off.

Sofia was still in her blue Harvard Maintenance uniform, her hair tied back, as we scuttled through the halls of an Emmanuel dorm in search of a private place to chat. She was unsure what the retaliation might be for speaking out. We settled for an empty kitchen where Sofia described what it’s like to clean up after college students, while not being paid enough to live without food stamps.

As an educated Nurse Practitioner in Central America, Sofia knew that immigrating would also mean shedding her service career. “I didn’t want to come to America,” she said. “I knew I would have to do manual labor.”

But, eventually she didn’t have a choice. “There was a war going on in my country,” Sofia said. “It was so dangerous.”

So her husband, who had been in the states for 30 years, helped her navigate the immigration process. It was an ironic gesture for a man who was living with his second wife in New York, something Sofia didn’t know about until she stepped off the plane.

Eight years later, Sofia has warmed up to America. Her constant smile widens when she shyly slips into the conversation that she passed her citizenship test last year.

But becoming a US citizen didn’t allow Sofia to reclaim her nursing credentials. Instead, she continues to work for Harvard Maintenance as part of the contracted cleaning staff at Emmanuel College. It’s the same job she’s had for seven years, but the work has increased recently.

“The cleaners [at Emmanuel] have too much work,” Sofia said. “We’re running. Especially when someone vomits, we have to work quickly.”

According to Sofia, the team that cleans Emmanuel has lost three workers recently. “Two of them got sick and had to leave and the third found another job,” she said. “But there are no other workers to replace them, they just add to our workload.”

Harvard Maintenance’s Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Duffy, wouldn’t confirm Sofia’s claim.

“I’m not aware of any issues with workload there,” Duffy said. “If that’s happening they should talk to their supervisor.”

The part-time cleaners at Emmanuel have from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm to wash away the remnants of a night, or sometimes a weekend’s worth of college shenanigans. It’s left Sofia with a collection of nose-wrinkling experiences.

“Let me tell you a story about hard work,” she said. “Someone smeared poopoo all over. It smelled very bad.”

Sofia chuckled as she described the image of herself cleaning human feces. “I had to wear a mask. I would spray disinfectant, then run away to take a breath, then come back to clean it.”

There are a few full-time cleaners working for Harvard Maintenance at Emmanuel, but most are part-time, which means minimal benefits.

“They give us small insurance,” Sofia said. “But it doesn’t cover anything.”

So, according to Sofia, many of her coworkers can’t have time off when the manual labor takes its toll. “All the women here are sick,” she said. “Many of them have arthritis because so much of the work is with their hands.”

Sofia and her daughter both work and take classes, making just enough to get by with the help of food stamps. Her other daughters are professionals in her home country; one is a lawyer and the other a college professor. Sofia is proud of their success, and feels lucky that she doesn’t need to send money home.

But, she was quick to recognize many of her colleagues who aren’t as lucky. “My friend has four young kids to support,” Sofia said. “But she has such a big heart, and is the best cleaner. She should be here to tell her story.”

Sofia says she is speaking up for her friends because they view her as the leader. “I want to fight for them,” she said. “We just want more hours and benefits.”

Sofia knows that what she’s fighting for is not an unreasonable request for college maintenance workers. In past conversations she pointed out that students at Harvard University worked with their cleaning staff to demand a transition from contracted to university employees. She envisions something similar at Emmanuel, where the security team recently made the same move.

But Emmanuel just renewed their contract with Harvard Maintenance last year.

“We had the option to go with a cheaper bid,” said Emmanuel’s Assistant Vice President of Operations, Kristen Conroy. “But we picked Harvard because they proposed the most fulltime workers. We don’t cut costs at the risk of human beings’ care.”

So, Sofia remains patient with the institution. “We like it here, the school isn’t bad,” she said. “And the union helps us a lot. Lately it’s just been a lot of work.”

Sofia’s name was changed and country-of-origin hidden to protect her identity.

Released back in 1967, Moonraker saw James Bond heading into outer space to foil the plans of a mad terrorist bent on poisoning the world. Fans of the film can now relive those moments including the many battles with Hugo Drax’s henchmen in the upcoming 007 Legends video game.

Releasing on October 16 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, 007 Legends will intertwine six separate Bond movies together into one game. Sticking true to tradition, the game will feature classic Bond gadgets, espionage missions, and an assortment of sleek vehicles and weapons.

Skyfall, the upcoming James Bond film out this November, is the other film revealed to be featured in the game, so that just leaves four more spots open.

Firaxis and 2K Games this morning announced the release dates for its upcoming real-time strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The game will be will be hitting US shores on October 9 and internationally on October 12.

While previously announced as an FPS title two years ago, 2K games decided to keep with the franchise’s traditional real-time strategy mechanics and give fans what they’ve been craving for years. We also ranked it one of our Top 10 Games of PAX East 2012.

“As we reimagine XCOM, one of our goals is to evolve the experience while recognising what made X-COM one of the greatest PC games to date,” said Sarah Anderson, senior vice president of marketing for 2K. “It’s important to create an experience that is appealing to both existing fans and newcomers to the world of XCOM, which is what we’re doing with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.”

XCOM fans who pre-order the game will receive an Elite Soldier pack containing several in-game extras like an original XCOM soldier recruit, a deco pack including a Hyperion and Reaper soldier armor kit, and color customizations for their squad. Participating retailers will also be selling a special edition of the game that comes with an art book, poster, XCOM insignia patch, and a collection of digital bonuses such as desktop wallpaper, soundtrack and more.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is headed to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this fall.

One of the biggest questions in the last year has been what Bungie, the studio behind the Halo franchise would do for their next game, the first since leaving Microsoft and the mega franchise they created behind for a new deal with Electronic Arts.  Now, it looks like we’re getting our first look at concrete details for the title, from the most unlikely of sources — court documents spotted by the L.A. Times.

Recently released documents from the upcoming Zampella/West VS Activision trial that resulted in the founders of Infinity Ward splitting from the publishing giant have emerged and confirmed that Bungie is currently developing four  “sci-fantasy, action shooter games” code-named “Destiny.” The first of these games is scheduled to come out in the fall of 2013, with subsequent releases in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Here’s the interesting part, the contract says that the first Destiny game will be released on the Xbox 360 and the “next successor console released by Microsoft” (referred to as the Xbox 720 in the documents), but will release on the PlayStation 3 in the fall of 2014 after a “joint technical feasibility analysis” that will determine whether the game “is able to be developed for the PS3 at quality and feature parity to the Xbox 360 version.”

The documents also refer to downloadable content, known as “comet,” which will release in the  fall of 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.

Reading through the documents, there are also a few interesting bits not about the Destiny project; like how Bungie stands to make a hefty $2.5 million bonus if the first Destiny game  receives an aggregate score of 90 or better on GameRankings.com. It also says that Bungie will use no more than 5% of its staff to create an updated version of their classic Marathon for E.A.

If the documents are to be believed, and the first game is due out in the fall of next year, an E3 reveal is looking likely. Blast will be bring you all of the up to date information from the Show of Shows as it hits next month.

Dante won’t be slaying any monsters this year. Capcom today announced that DmC Devil May Cry is hitting consoles on January 15, 2013.

The game gives the Devil May Cry franchise on a more contemporary feel and follows a younger Dante and his journey through Limbo City as he fights his way through the city’s dangerous monstrosities. Players can play as Dante’s human form but can also shift into his more demonic version granting him access to angel and demon powers.

A PC version is also scheduled for next year, but it is still in development.

Having broken records for the most units sold in a single day and being the highest rated Xbox 360 game on Metacritic this year, it’s no wonder Trials Evolution has already been played by over 500,000 players a month after launch.

One of the reasons the game has drawn so much attention (aside from its great reviews,) is that the game offers an engaging sharing system called Track Central that lets players upload their own custom levels and download new ones. The game’s leaderboards have also been keeping players busy.

“To date, players have created more than 60,000 custom tracks and skill games, using the exact same editor we used to build our own levels within the game,” said Tero Virtala, Managing Director of RedLynx. “Those same players have recorded more than one million entries on custom Leaderboards associated with user-created tracks, they have given more than 800,000 reviews of UGC within Track Central.”

Trials Evolution is out on Xbox Live Arcade. Check out our review for the game and find out why this game’s so popular.

The Radmanovic sisters.

Adults who want to be artistic but don’t want to color inside the lines of a Disney princess, look no further. The same San Francisco Bay-area sisters who published the fashion-themed adult coloring book “Color Me Trendy” in 2010 are publishing the book’s sequel, “Color Me Trendy: A Trip Through the Decades” this June.

For the sequel,  sisters Rada, Ljubica and Jasmina Radmanovic researched fashion from each decade, starting with the 1920s.

“It required a lot of research with events that happened in the decade and the important women in each decade, in addition to the textiles and fashion of that decade,” says Jasmina.

There were times during the research when Ljubica didn’t really want to relive outfits from the past. “My sisters had to convince me that it was just part of the decade, but it’s embarrassing!” she says.

The sisters focused on the empowerment of women during each time period and what historical occurrences were going on in each decade.

“We wanted to push the fashion that was happening at the time but also the mood and the feel about the women and history of that time,”  says Rada.  “We lose a little bit if we don’t know the history behind why people dress the way they did. We wanted the wording to connect to the fashion.”

The inspiration for the “Color Me Trendy” books came to the sisters as they wondered why there weren’t more sophisticated coloring books.

“We noticed that subjects were always superheroes or princesses, and we thought we should create a coloring book with a more mature theme,” says Jasmina.

Just a few months after “Color Me Trendy” was published, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton made an effort to bring the book into the spotlight. He featured “Color Me Trendy” on his fashion blog, www.CocoPerez.com, and wrote that he thought the idea was “pretty cool.” The coloring book was also featured on the “Today Show” segment “Bobby’s Buzz.”

“These were the first places that got us some exposure,” says Jasmina.

Each sister, in her own unique way, contributes to the coloring book. Rada is the poet of the family, and excerpts of her poems are scattered through the pages of “Color Me Trendy.”

“It’s a matter of all getting together and thinking what idea we want that matches up with the drawings, and I kind of put it together in words,” says Rada.

Ljubica, the youngest sister, designs the drawings for the coloring book. She studied at the Paris Fashion Institute and has a degree in apparel marketing and design at Sacramento State University. Jasmina is the creative director of the book, and says that they all “put it together and work on the marketing and distribution.”

While waiting for the publication of “Color Me Trendy: A Trip Through the Decades,” fans of coloring and fashion can download the iPhone/iPad app for the coloring book, which was released in March.

Varys (Conleth Hill) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) plan for the impending siege of King's Landing.

I recognize that the following critique may seem hypocritical, considering I gave such high praise to last week’s “downtime.” But as much as the cunning and contemplation continues to enchant me, a consecutive week of the proverbial “calm before the storm” antics just didn’t cut it. The writers are stalling. Granted, it’s some of the most charismatic and enthralling diversion you will find on TV today, but when epic battles lurk in the shadows, my lust for blood grows.

Stannis is on the high seas about to thrash King’s Landing. Tywin hurries out of Winterfell’s gates to ride for Robb Stark’s camp. And Roose Bolton’s bastard Ramsay Snow, boldly approaches the Theon-occupied Winterfell. Last week had me licking my chops, awaiting the fall of these dominos. This week, I moaned and groaned as Daenerys dawdled outside the House of the Undying. Huge, seismic shifts in power and influence are dangling in front of us, it’s hard not to get stir crazy. To the show’s credit, “Prince of Winterfell” wasn’t just a cheap opening act, a place-filler. While some plots advanced at a snail’s pace (I’m looking at you Jon Snow and Daenerys), some story lines had startling shakeups—Cersei’s cruelty toward Tyrion and Robb’s romantic dalliance among them.

Part of my impatience might also come from the tonal shift. Ominous warnings of an otherworldly dark force descending upon Westeros to unleash chaos never came to fruition. My intuition insists it will, but when one’s hopes are launched into the sky, it’s hard to fall softly down to earth for an relaxed endeavor into stories and c-words. And that’s really what this episode came down to. Chiefly our new arrivals, sat back and told us their sob stories, and some familiar faces dropped c-bombs in frustration concerning the deception and ruthlessness that surrounds them. I’m not one to be squeamish about vulgarities, but it was odd to hear three different characters curse their loved ones and the gods above for being stupid and vicious Cs.

At any rate, while any time spent in this world with these tragic pawns on the “Game of Thrones” chessboard is splendid, I felt the foot easing off the gas when last week suggested that steel and sorcery alike would strike down the weak-hearted and the feeble-minded. There’s still that gloomy fog threatening, but the quiet hum of the thick air almost lulled me into a peaceful slumber before the booming drums of war.

Winterfell

C-word #1 is Theon Greyjoy, a dumb C according to his sister, Yara. She arrives at the Northern capital he conquered and berates him for his slew of decisions. First, Winterfell is too far from the sea. They are an island people, what purpose would land 100 miles in have for them? Also, now that she presumes he’s charred up the princes of Winterfell, he’s the most wanted man in the North. She mocks him and calls him out as a petulant child, branding him as weak and stupid. When he tries to “warn her,” she doesn’t flinch. She has many brutish Iron Islanders who would gladly dispense of the twerp if need be.

Yara takes some pity on him though when she dismisses her soldiers and speaks freely, not putting on assertive airs for the troops. She implores Theon to come home or he will die alone when the Northern bannermen come for vengeance. But stubborn and prideful as he is, he wants to stay and stake his claim as the new lord of Winterfell. He did a sloppy job acquiring the land, clinging to excess and showmanship instead of taking what he needed and commanding respect. His sister leaves him with a touching anecdote about how he was a terrible baby, bawling all the time. But one night when his screams made her want to strangle him, she stood over his crib and he looked up, and stopped. The metaphor is a delicate one, and I believe received it. When you were small, you respected me and knew I was looking out for you. You didn’t make a fuss, you listened. Do the same now. Know that I want you safe, that’s the only reason I’m standing over you. This is an instance where the sharing of stories between characters illuminated the situation. We learn more about the dynamic of the Greyjoy family, and his internal conflict is further elucidated.

Just as this location kicks off the proceedings, it wraps them. As Maester Luwin wanders the grounds, overhearing Theon and his first mate discuss paying the farmer for his “troubles,” he witnesses Osha smuggling food. He follows her into the underground crypts. They discuss never telling Bran about how Theon killed the farmer’s two boys to make the townspeople believe he’d been brutally murdered. Cut to an awake Bran absorbing the whole conversation, likely torn up about how his royalty has endangered others. This is supposed to be a big reveal no doubt, one the episode hinges on, BUT I was sure those were the farmer’s kids from the jump. Therefore while it’s a somber scene, it’s not one that made my heart leap to see Bran alive. Truthfully, Bran’s survival solves nothing. Youthful lives were still erased in the name of intimidation. Theon is still a sociopath who willingly had children burned alive to send a message. He’s a miserable leader, but he’s succeeded in proving he’s not beyond atrocity. And while I’m thrilled as a viewer to see Bran safe, I can’t help but mourn for the less fortunate, the non-Princes who were deemed a necessary expense for the security of the noble born. Doesn’t seem fair.

Beyond the Wall

One of the stagnancy victims this week is Jon Snow and his Night’s Watch brothers. As we know, he’s captured. Ygritte throws him before the feet of the Lord of Bones, who looked like the lovechild of an eskimo and a Juggalo. He wants to “chop his balls off,” since he already has a “crow” prisoner—I guess “crow” is a derogatory term for men of the Black? Ygritte has his life spared though by revealing that he is the son of Ned Stark and that Mance Rayder, King beyond the Wall, might be interested in speaking with him. Even in death, Ned Stark’s name has meaning.

Jon Snow is guilt-ridden to learn that the other men on their expedition were killed all because of his carelessness in not decapitating the gorgeous Ygritte. Halfhand tries to dispel that fault, but he does acknowledge he has a debt to pay, and that if he were to infiltrate the wildlings, that would be worth it. So as they trek along a mountain ledge he fakes an argument and pushes him off. The rest walk ahead and Ygritte falls behind to assist him. Is Halfhand suggesting that by getting in the girl’s pants he can attain vital intelligence? That sort of espionage doesn’t seem like Jon Snow’s forte, but I’m also shaky on what Halfhand’s plan after so little time beyond the wall.

We do get a brief scene, however, back at the main camp where Sam Tarly is digging a latrine pit. While shoveling, his pal (I believe named Grenn?) stumbles upon some markings that Sam suspects were made by The First Men. Underneath the markings, an assortment of ancient obsidian daggers is stowed away. Sam refers to as “dragonglass.” Intriguing, but I’m clueless since that’s the extent of our drop-in. It seems that because the writers wish to spread out all developments until the finale, so we only get this teaser. I’d rather do as they did earlier in the season, neglect a few locations an episode, and then come back there in a week or two. I won’t forget Jon Snow exists for a week, I swear.

Robb Stark’s camp

While not much happens in this episode, progress is made on a couple of loose ends. As Robb and Talisa stroll to whatever or wherever The Crag is, Robb mythologizes his father with a couple exceptional quotes: “He said being a Lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children to worry about” and “He woke up with fear in the morning and fell asleep with fear in the night. I asked him, ‘How can a man be brave if he’s afraid?’ That is the only time a man can be brave, he told me.” Ah, Ned. You were an extraordinary human being. Too good for this here game.

Suddenly, a messenger gallops toward them with the news that Jamie Lannister has escaped again. But this time, he was let out. It’s a heartbreaking scene when Robb learns it was his mother, Catelyn Stark who released him. She sent him off with Brienne to trade for her daughters’ lives. Robb knows this is foolish to expect a fair trade, and that with Jamie in custody they had the upper hand. He has her locked up so that there isn’t more dissension among his bannermen who wanted Jamie executed for his crimes.

Then we get a cut to possibly the greatest idea for a GoT spinoff besides the Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister talk show. Brienne and Jamie, on the road to King’s Landing. The comedy gods have smiled upon us. Brienne, is stoic and loyal and steadfast. Jamie is manipulative, selfish, and loudmouthed. But both are respected warriors. Jamie tries to goad Brienne with taunts that she is as boring as she is ugly, and he questions whether she could hold her own if she undid his chains. While Brienne is fierce, as a swordsman Jamie is among the best in Westeros. Brienne is not stupid. She tunes him out, throws him in a canoe and paddles out. This duo could provide multiple possibilities for tension in the remaining two episodes.

Another instance of stories as distractions from the impending war is provided courtesy of by the bombshell nurse, Talisa. But with her ethical fortitude and killer bod, she may have endangered the North. She tells Robb the story of how her brother drowned on her watch, on a hot day in Volantis. She had thought he was gone when a slave with a fish tattoo on his face (to distinguish him as a lower class member) pushed her aside—a crime worthy of death since she is a highborn girl—and performed CPR, reviving the young boy. This event made her realize two things. One, she wouldn’t waste her life planning masquerades like a typical lady. Two, she wouldn’t live in a slave city ever again. As mentioned this exhibited why Robb has been so drawn to her.

Her conceptions of justice and righteousness may sometimes rival his own, but her convictions are strong. And that turns him on. He blurts out that his doesn’t want to marry the Frey girl, the one he is betrothed to. Robb then rips her clothes off and they to the floor with her aggressively mounting him, geared up for a rigorous love-making session. This is a complication to say the least. A commander with his mind on a woman, one whom he cannot marry, is asking for trouble. Maybe the idea that much of this episode felt like a distraction from doom ahead is actually a commentary on the characters themselves. Robb doesn’t want to face battle anymore. He confides in Talisa that he wants to go home. Maybe, the writers aren’t wading in the shallow end, maybe it’s the warriors of Westeros who aren’t ready to take the plunge into bloodshed yet.

King’s Landing

Since Cersei and certainly Joffrey seem inept, the preparations for Stannis’ siege are left to Tyrion, Bronn and Varys. Bronn has rounded up all the known thieves, which appalls Tyrion, but Bronn cleverly persuades him that they are the greatest enemies in times of siege, where those who aren’t fighting are starving as thieves scrounge up all the food for themselves so they come out rich when the warring’s over. Tyrion the searches his books some more for a solution to their lack of strategy.

Then we get our obligatory face-off at the dinner table between Cersei and Tyrion. She corners Tyrion about Joffrey’s insistence that he will suit up, and Tyrion says he approves. Men will fight valiantly with their king beside them. But Cersei’s aware that Tyrion would love for the runt to be killed as a result. She insults him saying, “You know why Varys is so dangerous? Because he doesn’t have a cock. That little worm between your legs does half your thinking.” When Tyrion makes the smart remark that it’s not that little, Cersei smiles deviously (and man does Lena Headey do that so well). She proclaims that she has his whore. He tries to act unaffected, joking that he thought she preferred blondes (only in the family) and that whores are just for rent, but Cersei knows that he cares for this whore, maybe even loves her. She threatens that if Joffrey is hurt, she will suffer every wound he does. “And if he dies, there isn’t a man alive who can devise a more painful death for your little…” and there goes C-word #2!

Tyrion asks to see her, and thankfully it is Ros that is whisked out, not Shae. Tyrion doesn’t allow much relief on his face, and he even promises to free Ros. Then he turns to his sister and declares his own war. “I will hurt you for this. The day will come when you think you are happy, and your joy turns to ash in your mouth.” If this episode has one saving grace, it’s that the dialogue kicked serious ass. Tyrion then runs to his quarters to make sure Shae’s still there. When he sees her at the balcony his “You’re beautiful,” is genuine. He vows he would kill for her and has her promise she is his. She consents and we see that Tyrion, who we thought was the baddest mofo in Westeros, is just as vulnerable as Robb. As Arya would say, any man can be killed. And love will likely be his assassin.

Tyrion and Varys then spend another calm reflection scene looking out over the city. Joffrey appears to arrogantly dismiss Stannis by implying he’ll give the unsmiling man a red smile, slicing him from ear to ear. Tyrion is not impressed. Varys then compliments Tyrion by saying that he is a great Hand to the King. He adds that while Jon Arryn and Ned Stark despised the game, Tyrion enjoys it. Tyrion wholeheartedly agrees, and he wants to keep playing. This open talk among the characters about their lives being a game with rules fixed to struggle and ambition reminds me a lot of “The Wire.” Then he jokes that all they gods are “vicious…” c-word #3! He asks, where’s the god of tits and wine? Varys informs him that the Summer Isles worships a fertility god and Tyrions playfully commands they sail there immediately. Tyrion just wants to enjoy life, and live it to the fullest. But to love women and sip sweet nectars you must pay a hefty toll.

Harrenhal

Tywin looks to catch Robb off guard and marches for his last known settlement. Arya wants to kill Tywin to save her brother and searches for Jaqen, who owes her one more death. Unable to find him before Tywin rides off, she asks him hours later if he can still kill him. He says he cannot, and asks for another name. She goes cutthroat rogue (the Arya I love) and says his own name. He begs her to say another and she says she will if he helps her, Gendry, and some fat kid named Hot Pie (no joke) escape. He abides, by telling them to simply walk through the gates at a certain time and the path will be clear. Lo and behold, the guards are all brutally slain and Arya and the gang just mosey on through.

On the High Seas

In this inexact location we visit Stannis as he nears King’s Landing. He shoots the breeze with Davos who explains that he’s not ashamed of his history of an onion trader and a crabber’s son. Then Stannis describes how they met, a gruesome situation where his brother Robert had him hold Storm’s End, and he and his men nearly starved before Davos’ ship snuck through with sustenance that Stannis then promptly pilfered. He’s still disgruntled over Robert giving Storm’s End to a young Renly and feels his services were taken for granted. But this is his time. He’s got a hell of a fleet, the Lord of the Light in his corner, and a tattered opposition. He assures Davos the position of Hand to the King is his once he seizes the throne, which seems all but a formality at this point.

Qarth

Nothing really happens here. Honestly. Jorah says it is too dangerous to stay and rescue Daenery’s dragons when he has a ship now that can take them across the Narrow Sea. But she resists, saying they are her children, and she strokes Jorah’s cheek retelling the tale of the night she walked out of the fire. The lovestruck man submits and says he would die for her. Could you imagine if she spread her legs for him? He’s be a mess! So, there you have it. After a pointless argument, Daenerys has Jorah’s support to enter the House of the Undying, but we don’t see it nor venture in there yet.

This feeling of disappointment was palpable for the first time this season. The ending revelation was not one for most, and several strands were left undone, leaving room for an epic penultimate next week. And while looking forward and creating anticipation is admirable, any sign of a letdown does not result in a net gain. While I still fully support a show with characters this vibrant, and with dialogue this electric, swapping stories is not the substance this show is built on. This show is about living legends, about unraveling myths firsthand. I’m ready for a clash of kings to occur soon, as much as I revel in a war of words. A lower grade for “The Prince of Winterfell” does not mean marked decline  (like the one Bronn incited in crime at the capital). It means we’re a wandering horde of warriors, awaiting our fate on the battlefield, and instead we watched our fearless leader drag his feet and say, “Did I ever tell you about the time…?”

Remember, don’t discuss elements of the books that haven’t aired yet. Don’t spoil it for everyone else in the comments section!

Nintendo’s press conference is happening in just two weeks! We’ll be there covering it and live-blogging it as it happens, but if you’d also like to see all the action take place live on your screen, Nintendo has you covered too.

The all-access press conference begins Tuesday, June 5 at 9 a.m. PDT and will be streamed on Nintendo’s E3 website. It will also be televised on MTV2 and Spike TV networks. Throughout the week, Nintendo will also be updating its Facebook page with announcements and will be live tweeting via its @Nintendo Twitter account. Videos and trailers will be posted on Youtube as well.

While Nintendo will let you feel like you’re at E3, we’ll be there providing you previews and impressions of everything the big N announces that week. Have anything in particular you’d like coverage on? Let us know.

Source: Nintendo

We’ve all wanted it. The ability to use our computers with just hand gestures. Flip through our emails, photos or documents with a simple hand swipe motion. While Microsoft’s Kinect makes this possible, the precision is not quite there, anyone with a Kinect for their Xbox 360 will attest to that.

Startup company Leap Motion has announced their Leap motion control device. according to the company, they claim to offer controls 200 times more accurate than anything out on the market. How this device works is the usb thumbdrive sized device projects a 8 cubic feet of 3D interactive space that will recognize pretty much any motion. Scrolling with your index finger, zooming in on a photo with a pinch, even using a pen to draw or sign with the precision of doing the same action on a piece of paper.

Te fact that Leap can do all of this in such a small, portable package is amazing in its own right. To add the fact that the device is only $70 makes pretending to be Chief John Anderton a lot easier to do anywhere you go. At the very least, Leap will make it easier for people with arthritis or other ailments that prevent them from physically typing or clicking a mouse.

Leap Motion is taking pre-orders right now for Leap. They are limited, though, so if you really want one you better head over to their site and place your order before it is too late.

While you’ll need to wait just one more day until the launch of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Ubisoft is letting players partake in some of the action a bit early right on Facebook.

Announced last month, Ghost Recon: Commander is a game that made for both fans and newbies to the franchise. The game lets players create their own team of “Ghosts,” customize them, and train them enough to send on missions. The 10 replayable missions involve sending killing terrorists, retrieving information, or rescuing hostages by clicking targets and locations on-screen.

Ghost Recon: Commander lets players save their game anytime and also engage in “asynchronous” co-op missions. Playing the game also unlocks special content in Ghost Recon Online Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which hits consoles tomorrow.

Throughout gaming lore there have been certain games that come in and out of development and dodge deadlines to the dismay of their loyal fans. Starcraft Ghost, Half-Life 3, the mythical Duke Nukem Forever; all these titles have taken their fans heartstrings and thrown them across the room throughout development. Among these titles lies Max Payne 3. When its predecessor ended back in 2003, fans were expecting a swift turnaround for the sequel. However, problems with developer Remedy and publisher Rockstar eventually lead the two teams to split and for Max Payne 3 to be continually delayed. Thankfully, the release date was not a joke thistime around. Max Payne 3 is out and it delivers on the famed action, while providing a dark story sure to satisfy fans of the series.

The game picks up several years after the end of the last game. Max has fallen into a deep hole in his life and the only way to get out is to take on a private security job in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As one would expect, the 8-10 hour story has its share of backstabbing and vendettas, all narrated by Max himself in classic film noire fashion. While the writing is as strong as ever, the game switches between bad guys too quickly near the end of the game. By the time the person who you are really after is revealed, there isn’t that strong a connection or hatred for them considering they weren’t even important earlier in the game. Nonetheless, Max’s constant monologuing and heavy handed use of metaphors is much better penned than before, characterizing him as a much more cynical, yet likable character than in earlier games. His remarks are actually witty and longtime fans of the series are likely to chuckle when they hear Max’s comments on techno music or Facebook statuses. While the story does get needlessly complicated near the end game, Max’s reasons for mass murder are always clear and it delivers a satisfying conclusion to this new chapter in his life.

Either way, as it was in both games before hand, the meat and potatoes of the experience lies in the ridiculous gunplay. Rockstar has implemented a cover system to the game, leading to a more tactical approach than before. The patented Bullet Time system is back, allowing Max to fall into a trance where he is faster than his enemies and has the ability to dodge bullets with ease. Every bullet is individually modeled, leading to a much higher level of realism to this unrealistic mechanic. Unfortunately, the difficulty within the game cancels out some of the overpowering action many fans are used to. Enemies take cover intelligently and have deadly aim, even from long distance. Not to mention that near the end of the game most bad guys will be covering every inch of their body in body armor, turning them into frustrating bullet sponges. While bullet dodging out of cover and through a window is as awesome as it ever was, when it is over you find yourself awkwardly laying on the floor and struggling to get up with a middle aged groan as bullets smack you across the face. Throw in the fact that your health does not regenerate and you need to be in constant search for painkillers and it can seem unfair at times. It is a problem of new meets old that can hold the game back. Enemies have gotten smarter, and the reckless style of play so suited for this kind of game just does not fly anymore.

Yet, when breaking down the mechanics of the action, it is a beautifully made game. The transitions between animations are extremely smooth, such as when you are left on the ground after a bullet dodge and can rain hell on your enemies. Despite the sometimes frustrating painkiller health system, the game finds ways around it with style. If you have a painkiller on you when you are fatally shot, the game will slow down into Bullet Time and direct your aim towards the guilty goon. If you dispatch him then Max will take the painkiller and give you a second breath of health.

Max Payne 3 is powered by Rockstar’s Euphoria physics engine that mixes Havok-style physics with artificial intelligence. This makes empting a clip on someone more realistic than in any other game in recent memory. Add in the fact that bullets damage enemies without censor, making an entry wound that quickly fills with blood and stains anything it touches, and killing someone in Max Payne 3 looks alarmingly close to the real thing. While the game is not the best looking around, the small details are what sell you on the package. Painkillers will not just be littered around the level, you will have to look for them in logical places such as bathrooms and behind some depressed secretary’s desk. Even the fact that every weapon Max is carrying is shown on his person, and when you reload a side arm he will stick the two handed weapon in between his chest and arm so that it won’t fall on the ground, is enough to convince you of the attention to detail Rockstar has put into this. Cutscenes are all done on the game engine and will often lead directly into gameplay, never taking you out of the experience. Max is suffering from a heavy drug addiction and the game will use some distortion effect in the cutscenes to remind you of that. It can get old quickly, but it successfully captures just how out of whack Max’s life is.

In a first for the series, Rockstar has added a full multiplayer suite with a dozen different game modes and fully integrated character customization. Standard modes such as deathmatch and king of the hill serve their purpose but the real bones of the experience lies with the Gang Wars mode. Players are sorted into teams and dropped into scenes ripped from the single player story. The game mode is always random but it will evolve according to who won the last match, linking together each round with cutscenes and voice over. There are five rounds in each match and the variety of game modes makes this some of the most fun you can have with the game. Bullet time is integrated beautifully into the experience. When you activate it any player in your line of sight will slow down until they break that line of sight. This goes without mentioning the implementation of Bursts (read: COD perks) as little additions to your arsenal. Each burst has 3 levels that you build up the same as you would Bullet Time. If you hold off from using it, and can stay alive, long enough to reach level 3 then the payoff is more than worth the wait. Overall, the multiplayer suite is fully stocked and has just as much attention put into it as the single player story.

Blast Factor: What is probably Max Payne 3’s biggest problem is that it does not always feel like a Max Payne game. You will often be forced into cover and have to pick off enemies like in Gears of War or Uncharted. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is sure to strike a nerve for fans that have been waiting years for this sequel. Nonetheless, when it does feel and play like it should, the experience is bar none some of the best action you can find in a game this year. Throw in the fantastic multiplayer offering and the return of the high scoring arcade mode and the game comes stocked with quality features. Much like Max himself, this game can stumble out of the gate and many of its mechanics have not aged gracefully, but at the end of the night, it is one hell of a good time to hang out with.

A QA tester at TT Games, the makers of various Lego titles, tweeted a picture of a Wii U tablet controller that looks a whole lot different from what we saw at last year’s E3.

As you can see from the image to the right, the controller now has analog sticks that have replaced the 3DS Circle pads. The Select and Start buttons have been moved from the bottom of the controller to below the face buttons on the right side. There also now seems to be two additional square-shaped buttons below the D-pad and next to the power button. Click on the image for more detail and compare it to last year’s model below.

Source: Twitter

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I was a good attempt at giving players a continuation of the original Genesis titles, but its wonky physics and gimmicky stages kept it from achieving true potential. It looked like a classic 2D Sonic game, but the game lacked that special essence that made its 16-bit predecessors so much fun. Luckily, Episode II is the better of the two installments and gives fans a Sonic they’re more familiar with, even if does come with a few misses.

One of the biggest additions to Episode II is the inclusion of Tails, who now brings two-player co-op to the table. Like in the classic games, Tails can pick up and fly Sonic to places he can’t reach for a short amount of time, but players have a lot more control over him this time. By simply pressing a button, the action will pause, and Tails will teleport to where Sonic is and help him out. I found this too convenient sometimes because while it gets you out of sticky situations right away, after a while, it becomes too easy to press a button and save Sonic from a misstep. Tails and Sonic also have another combo ability that turns them into a giant ball, faster and stronger than the average spindash. The duo will always be joined by one another, so levels integrate these two abilities in unique ways that create a different experience. The game may feel like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but this is a new game, after all.

Co-op mode lets two people play together offline or online, but it does come across a few problems, one of them due to the game’s fast-paced action. If you fall behind your friend, the game will respawn you right behind him, but you’ll need to press a button to pop out of your protective “bubble” like in New Super Mario Bros. The problem here, though, is that this happens a lot when going down slopes or slides, even when you don’t intend to leave someone behind. Another thing I noticed is that the person playing as Tails will have an advantage and can easily exploit certain situations by flying; this is especially evident during boss fights. Let’s just say, playing with someone else is easier than playing solo.

Controlling Sonic and dashing through the many colorful worlds feels quite good. Episode I’s physics engine has been overhauled, and the blue hedgehog runs a bit more like he did back during his Genesis years. Sonic’s homing attack is back, but aiming feels more accurate and is easier to pull off. He is also less shiny and doesn’t look out-of-place amid his colorful backdrops, which have layered textures that often give the game a great pseudo 3D effect. Considering the game is supposed to feel like Sonic 2, it’s great that controls and graphics don’t distract you from the game’s speed, a problem that often plagued Episode I.

Stages, too, are a lot more reminiscent of the original games and are designed to keep you always in motion. While it’s a bit apparent that the themes of past stages have been recycled into “new” zones – expect to see a sky fortress and a snowy amusement park, for example – the game does have its unique charm that is complemented by its soundtrack reminiscent of Sonic’s 16-bit days. There is, however, one section of an underwater level that requires you to swim past enemies that freeze the way forward. If you’re too slow or your aiming is off, you’ll be blocked from all sides, and all you can do is wait until Sonic and Tails drown to try again. Frustrated, I tried (in vain) to find a solution, and can only wonder why the developers wouldn’t provide one that doesn’t require losing a life.

Like classic Sonic titles, Episode II is great the first time you play it, but you may question playing through it several times. To extend playtime even further, the game includes chaos emeralds and red rings to collect in each act. As expected, collecting these emeralds lets you turn into Super Sonic, but it doesn’t really affect the game’s ending that much. Also, while finding each act’s red ring is supposed to provide a challenge, they are simply in areas you’ll explore anyway, and their presence simply serves to unlock an achievement. The developers did include a score attack and time trial mode for each act, so players can at least compete with each other via the game’s leaderboards.

While I didn’t particularly enjoy Episode I that much, Episode II rewards players who played the first game and unlocks Episode I stages playable as Metal Sonic. This feels almost like an apologetic thank you to fans that played through the first game, but this expansion gives you some backstory to the character and lets you play through the first game in a whole new way. Plus, it’s great to see Sega implement a similar lock-on technology it did back when Sonic & Knuckles came out.

Episode II has some obvious gameplay issues and provides a lackluster ending, but the experience playing through each stage is very nostalgic of the fun I had playing through the Genesis games. I also appreciate the improvements the developers made to the game and that they listened to and fixed what fans disliked about the first one. At this rate, let’s hope Episode III is made and becomes something truly worth raving about.

The financial struggles of 38 Studios, the development house behind Kingdom’s of Amular has been well documented this week, but you couldn’t tell by the first look at their long in development title — a MMO dubbed Project Copernicus. 

“When you play single player games, you have to rely on computer programming and artificial intelligence, but when you add the human element to it, a lot of different things can happen and I think that that variable is what has made this space (online gaming) so big,” Shilling said in a recent interview. “We’re looking at a Hollywood Production here, roughly $60 million dollars to put this out and a multi-year development cycle.”

38 Studios, headed by former Redsox Pitcher unveiled a short fly over video of the project’s world today, and it’s impressive. Just today, the Governer of Rhode Island announced that the game would release in June of 2013.

Stay with Blast for more on 38 Studios, their financial situation and Project Copernicus as we approach this year’s E3.

Kim Raver, left, will not return next season

Full Disclosure: I quit on “Grey’s Anatomy” a few episodes into Season 7. While the gunman at the conclusion of Season 6 offered hope that the show was getting back onto the right track, it didn’t capitalize, and I finally gave up on a show that I loved.

To be fair though, “Grey’s Anatomy” quit on me years before that. Season 4 to be exact. Not suggesting correlations here, just offering up facts–the moment that Addison and Burke left and Lexie waltzed in, this show starting getting really bad. Remember Izzie operating on a deer? Yeh. It was a shame–this was THE BEST SHOW on television for a solid 2 years (during that crappy Sopranos Season 6 Part 1 plus break period); it was far better than 24 in 2006, and should have won Outstanding Drama instead of Jack Bauer’s really long day.

But since then, the show has had intermittent ups, with lots of downs. Season 4 closed out strong, and season five was a monumental back and forth, aided by Izzie’s cancer turn, Derek’s mom and the serial killer arc. Season 6 was mostly a mess, with the typically lovable Kim Raver offering nothing, and Arizona and Owen existing as purely dead weight, there for romantic intrigue of more interesting characters.

All of this said, I’m a thoroughly read guy, so I’ve been catching the highlights since I bailed on the show, and in recent weeks, I’d been turned onto Shonda Rhimes warning of a major shift ahead. She even tweeted yesterday, warning viewers it would not be a good night.

And she was right. It was a disturbing, maddeningly sad episode, that featured many unsightly surgical shots and some slit-your-wrists moments. But in many ways, it was a return to form for the uneven once-great soap.

Lexie’s death was not surprising, in that it had been predicted by many sites leading up to the episode. But boy was it shocking, whacking a character with the title in her last name. And what a number this one will do on the rest of the characters next season no?

Giving Teddy the boot was also startling, ending yet another cardio run that was less than favorable. While it opens Christina to take the position, giving the revolving door that one has been, I’m not sure she should want the job.

Which brings us back to the core group–mainly Derek, Meredeith, and Christina, out there trying not to die from their latest malady–a friggin plane crash! Christina, in a vintage performance by Sandra Oh, even lamented the constant misfortune that befalls her erstwhile family at Seattle-Grace-Mercy-Death.

And Meredith. Just when it seemed her life was getting cushy and dark twisty Meredith was gone, bam, it’s time for a reprise.

There were more shockers–it was a “Grey’s Anatomy” season finale afterall–but for me, I’m more concerned with what it means.

Lexie’s emergence coincided with the shows fall from grace (again, not suggesting correlation), and Teddy has been an awful presence on the show for years now. And with both of them exiting and the residents moving into legit surgeon status, it leaves me wondering if the show has the wherewithal within to return to prominence for what is likely to be two final seasons (the main cast signed two year deals, which would bring it to a nice, round, ten seasons).

Beyond that, Private Practice is looking to end its run next season, and there’s hope that Addison could return to the mothership for a final season.

So, believe it or not–through last night’s death and mayhem, is it possible that “Grey’s” has turned the corner of a very painful middle chapter in its history, and could be staring down a graceful final run, befitting the greatness of its early years?

Who knows. Time will tell–and I think I’ll be watching.

Google search has always relatively lead to the thing people look for on the first page results. After the announcement on Wednesday, Google would like to refine those results even more.

Knowledge Graph is said to help with this by understanding more about the relationships and deeper connections of search terms . For example, looking up “basketball” in Google sends back the traditional links to the generic term but now with Knowledge Graph, people, places or things that are closely associated with the search term will appear in a column on the right side. For basketball, we get back the people related to the term like Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, each with a little blurb about their bio.

In the blog posting, we also get info that Google’s Knowledge Graph pulls from sources such as Freebase, Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook and hints at another source but doesn’t say much about it. The easy guess would be the numerous amounts of data collected over the years from everyday usage of searching on Google. Impressive numbers such as Knowledge  Graph containing over 500 million objects and more than 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between those objects leads us to believe so.

Some U.S. English users should start seeing Knowledge Graph in action as early as today. More users and languages should be rolled out gradually although we don’t know how soon. It will also be available on smartphones and tablets.

Tehrene Firman is the editor in chief of the popular website Love Twenty. Here at Blast, we know a little something about 20-somethings who run websites and magazines. Get to know this editor’s hopes, dreams and goals for the future.

BLAST: Tell us about yourself.

TEHRENE FIRMAN: I’m a 22-year-old communication major and journalism minor at the University of Northern Iowa who’s pretty much a magazine fanatic. I’m the editor-in-chief of Love Twenty (www.lovetwenty.com), an online magazine for twenty-somethings, am the campus life editor of my college’s newspaper, and the president of She’s the First*{UNI}, a not-for-profit that raises money for girls’ education in the developing world.

BLAST: You have a personal blog called Crazy Stupid Love — where did that come from?

TF: Crazy Stupid Love is the place where I write about everything from style to relationships to my personal adventures. I’m also really into web design so it’s also a fun outlet to try new things and let loose some creativity throughout the week.

Having a personal blog is nice because it’s an outlet where I’m able to write about whatever topic I want to write about. If I want to write something about a certain celebrity relationship, I can do just that. Or, maybe one day I feel like posting a make-up tutorial. Having a blog allows me to take something I’m passionate about writing about and run with it.

BLAST: When you’re blogging, how do you know what will make an interesting post?

TF: If I’m interested in it, I figure there will be someone out in the blogosphere that will be interested in it as well. I enjoy writing about current trends and pop culture, so those who like to keep up on all of the latest will definitely enjoy the posts I put up.

BLAST: So you’re a blogger, you are editor-in-chief of the Gen-Y girls magazine, Love Twenty, and a student? How do you manage all of this?

TF: It’s tough! It’s hard having a full load of classes and also having the time to run Love Twenty, do everything else I’m involved with, and still be social. Although I am very busy, the experience I’ve gained from not only running an online magazine and working with people from all over the world, but also learning to manage my time, has been so beneficial. It’s taught me so much.

BLAST: How did Love Twenty come to be?

TF I was lounging around at home during Spring Break last year when the idea came to me. I had been investing a lot of my time writing for numerous other online magazines, so I figured why not start one myself? I came up with the name, what I wanted it to be, created the design of the website, and built it that weekend. The following week, Love Twenty launched and has been becoming increasingly popular since! It’s really been a dream come true. I never expected it to go as far as it has.

BLAST: What is it like to be an editor in chief?

TF: It’s amazing. It’s hard work managing all of the writers, interns, and our partnerships, but it’s so worth it. I’ve met so many wonderful people, have gotten to gain an unbelievable amount of experience, and have gotten to see just how much Love Twenty has changed twenty-something’s lives, as well as my own.

BLAST: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

TF: I see myself working as an editor at a popular women’s or teen’s magazine in the Big Apple. It’s been my dream for a very long time now and I can’t see myself doing anything else.

Happy weekend Blast community! Friday brings fun,  sleeping in and of course — Free Games!

This week, we’re bringing you a classic with a new twist. Arcade classic Dragon’s Lair launches today on the Xbox 360 and this time features full Kinect support. Want to play it for free? Here’s what you’ll have to do:

-Follow Blast Magazine on Twitter @BlastMagazine

-Mention us in a Follow Friday (#FF) post

-Use the hashtag #FGF

That’s it! We’ll pick one random winner later on in the day, and who knows — we may have some extra goodies to give out during the weekend too.

REVERE — Comedy came instinctively to Jennifer Zigrino when she was a kid.

“I was the overweight chubby girl. My only defense was to make people laugh,” she said. “People tend not to pick on you if you can make them laugh.”

The now 25-year-old recently won a Community Auditions comedy competition and a chance to perform at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York.

“It’s great. I’m really excited about it,” she said about her win.

Zigrino started performing comedy when she was a teenager and started to take it seriously when she was in her early 20s.

“I always like making people laugh so it was sort of a natural progression for me,” she said.

She took a comedy class when she was a teenager and her first performance was the at the completion of the class and her teacher made her the headliner.

“I guess my teacher really liked me,” she said modestly.

Her first performance was certainly a memorable one.

“It went great. However, my dad’s friend’s wife got really drunk and started heckling everyone else. She eventually got kicked out,” she joked.

The young comedian described her comedy as “observational story telling.”

“I tell stories about my life and the funny things that happen to me,” she said.

While a date hasn’t been set yet for her Gotham Comedy Club debut, she is still excited about the opportunity.

“It’s a great comedy. There have been so many famous people that have performed there,” she said.

She also feels this is the right step for her comedy career.

“I think this is the right direction for breaking into New York. All you need is for one person to see you and everything can change,” she said.

Zigrino would eventually like to move to Los Angeles and be doing sketch comedy as well as starring in some independent films.

“Saturday Night Live is the ultimate dream,” she said.

When she is not performing, she works as Boston Freedom Trail tour guide and sells her own line of jewelry.

“I do a little bit of everything,” she said.

Zigrino moved to Revere after her parents divorce and credits the city for being an inspiration.

“Revere gives me endless material,” she joked.

It appears that 38 Studios didn’t make payroll this week, but is in the process of making its late loan payment of $1.125 to the state of Rhode Island this week, confirmed a spokesperson for the state’s Economic Development Corporation.

Keith Stokes, EDC’s executive director who was involved in devising the $75 million loan the state granted 38 Studios also resigned last night. Former Gov. Donald Carcieri who was also responsible for the loan during his term in office has not responded to comments, but House Speaker Gordon Fox states “he has no regrets.” Taxpayers could end up paying over $100 million dollars to make up for the loan.

A source also told Joystiq that Curt Schilling’s company has fired all of its temps and contractors this week.

We have contacted 38 Studios for more comment, but the company has not responded to our questions.

Update: The check that was hand-delivered to the EDC has bounced because “there were insufficient funds to cover it.” The check was returned.

Source: WPRI, Joystiq

You can now add “renounce my U.S. citizenship” to the list of ways to avoid paying taxes but maybe not for long.

Reuters is reporting that Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has two US senators accusing him of dodging taxes on Facebook stock-market profits. With the plans that Facebook has to raise billions of dollars in an initial public offering on Friday, Saverin would have to pay a hefty sum estimated to be $67 million.

Saverin relocated to Singapore for “business reasons” (Singapore has no capital gains tax)

We’re sure once we hear Saverin’s side, through his spokesman of course, we will still find that he is avoiding taxes, plain and simple. Even if he is being truthful about all of this, everything points to Saverin wanting to avoid cutting a multi-million dollar check to the US government.

One could say that since he was given a college education here and that he would have never meet Mark Zuckerburg if it wasn’t for the government letting him become a citizen here, thus having the good life with his millions billions. One could also say that the government is too hard on its citizens and taxes are too high. Either way, Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) said Thursday, “We simply cannot allow the ultra-wealthy to write their own rules.”

Not to be outdone, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “It’s infuriating to see someone sell out the country that welcomed him and kept him safe, educated him and helped him become a billionaire.”

Of course that says nothing about the banks that took taxpayer bailouts so they could lay off workers and levy new fees against account holders. We’ll leave that one alone, right senator?

I seem to know a lot of people that send me cute pictures of cats with a funny caption or some new recipe that I will end up ruining in the kitchen anyhow. All of these come from the site Pinterest.com. Apparently, numerous people love the cat pics so much that Rakuten, a company that has the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales has raised $100 million in a funding round that had existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, and FirstMark Capital and a number of other angel investors participating as well.

Over at AllthingsD, they’re reporting that Rakuten will invest upwards of $50 million and that this funding will bring Pinterest’s value to $1.5 billion.

That is a huge step up from $200 million the company was worth last October.

“Our goal is to help people discover things they love, by connecting people through their shared interests. Bringing Rakuten on board gives us an amazing opportunity to move a step closer to this goal.” co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, Ben Silbermann, said in a statement.

Having the backing of an e-commerce company as large as Rakuten, we will likely see monetization of most functions of Pinterest, which is good for me since I can finally purchase a frameable picture of the cat who loves his couch.

While most simulation video games strap you behind the cockpit of military fighter jets or even high-speed race cars, TML Studios wants you to ease into the world of a professional bus driver in its upcoming title European Bus Simulator.

European Bus Simulator recreates all the miniscule tasks bus drivers need to be mindful of during their workday and brings it to you on the PC. These include preparing the day’s schedule, monitoring your fuel and engine levels, and even clearing up those steamy windshields. Because the game captures things in crisp detail, the passengers you pick up and drop off will range in appearance and personality and the city you drive through will be bustling with life. When you’re done driving people around, you can also walk around and explore the city you so enthusiastically serve.

This isn’t the first time TML Studios has decided to make a game about driving jobs. The studio also released New York City Bus Simulator and even Tow Truck and Delivery Truck titles.

These games are great when you want to get a glimpse at the daily lives of many citizens. Just take a look at the trailer to see how a bus driver’s life isn’t as easy as it looks.

Ever dream of being a bus driver when you were little? European Bus Simulator is available worldwide on May 31.

As the economic recovery slogs from the worst recession since the Great Depression, businesses struggle to innovate, or else risk bankruptcy. Case in point: The Fawlty Towers Motel in Cocoa Beach, Fla. allowed its guests to take it all as of May 1.

After years of declining revenues, owner Paul Hodge was in a “make-or-break situation,” he told Florida Today. Rather than lose his motel, he was able to convince his wife that going nude was the best option.

Hodge hired a lawyer and consulted the American Association of Nude Recreation. He found nothing prohibitive in his state’s laws. In Texas, however, a nudist maid service had to reclassify the business as “sexually oriented,” which requires a permit.

“Nudity offers a potentially lucrative edge for several types of businesses trying to tough out the anemic market,” says historian Mike Foster, co-author with his wife, Barbara, of the biography, A Dangerous Woman: The Life, Loves, and Scandals of Adah Isaacs Menken (www.TheGreatBare.com). “Recession has people rethinking some of their long-held prejudices.”

Nudity is not the only issue being reconsidered, he says. To ease government spending and increase tax revenue, some conservative pundits, including broadcaster Pat Robinson, are reconsidering their stance on marijuana’s illegality.

Whether in recent or not-so-recent history, nudity can make people rich. Foster gives the following examples:

• Hugh Hefner: The founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises was worth $43 million in 2009, according to divorce papers filed that year.
• Lindsay Lohan: She earned $1 million for a nude spread in Playboy.
• Janet Jackson: Now synonymous with terms like “wardrobe malfunction” and “nipplegate,” Jackson’s flashed breast earned her an incalculable amount of free press.
• Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus: Although often valued as priceless, some estimate the most iconographic nude portrait to be worth half a billion dollars.
• Adah Menken: dubbed “The Great Bare” by writer/admirer Mark Twain, Foster says Menken single-handedly created the first celebrity bombshell in the Civil War era, earning her fame and money.

Menken was a singer and actress who became famous as “The Naked Lady” for her starring role in “Mazeppa.” In this drama she rode a stallion up a four-story stage mountain, apparently in the buff. She actually wore a flesh-colored body stocking, but audiences were shocked, horrified and intrigued by this blend of danger and sex appeal, Foster says.

“If you were a young woman and didn’t have a father or a husband to take care of your cost of living, then times were always rough back then,” Foster says. “She used her body for independence, ambition and money.”

To this day, part of the appeal of nudity is the fact that it’s still a salient taboo in our society – a relic from the Victorian era, Foster says.

“For the business owner struggling to keep his or her business afloat, going nude can be among the most cost-effective rebranding that comes to mind,” he says. “Besides a possible need for permitting, a nudist business simply needs some patrons to go semi-nude or nude, which is after all our most natural state.”

Starting today, CCP games is letting players sign up for open beta access to its upcoming free-to-play first person shooter DUST 514. Players looking to participate can sign up on the game’s website and cross their fingers they get an acceptance email.

Releasing exclusively on PlayStation 3, DUST 514 combines the world of EVE Online with large-scale warfare and intense military combat. Select EVE Online players will also be selected to join in on the beta this week.

The game was announced at last year’s E3, so expect to see more news and our preview of the game next month. Dust 514 is expected to release later this year.

When Microsoft made Forza Horizon official earlier this year, all we got was a trailer of people and cars — not in game cars mind you. But now hey — look an in game screen shot — and there’s a car!

We’re expecting to hear more about Forza Horizon at this year’s E3 convention in L.A., which is less than three weeks away.

Also, I’d just like to point out, the screen looks awfully familiar to a certain automobile themed Disney movie…I’m just going to leave this right here…

Donna Summer, known by many as the “Queen of Disco,” died this morning following a battle with cancer, TMZ reports. She was 63.

The 5-time Grammy winner was best known for her ‘70s and ‘80s hits “She Works Hard for the Money”, “Last Dance,” and “Hot Stuff,” among others. Her work with producer Giorgio Moroder helped shape the dance music of the era and proved influential on many artists, electronic and otherwise, who came after her.

She was reportedly working on a new album at the time of her death.

This is a developing story, and details remain unconfirmed by those close to the singer.

The following is our list of the Top 20 episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” as of the end of the seventh
season. The list is chronological by season, starting with the first. Enjoy!

1.  Season 1, Episode 3:  Sweet Taste of Liberty

Ted: "Fine, we'll go lick the Liberty Bell"

Summary:

Barney convinces Ted that he needs to break his normal routine of going to the same bar
every night. He takes Ted to JFK to pick up girls, using a fake story about being businessmen
returning from a trip to Japan. They eventually end up in Philadelphia, where Barney persuades
a reluctant Ted to lick the Liberty Bell.

Why it Made the List:

“Sweet Taste of Liberty” really sets up how crazy Barney is, how he has the ability to pull Ted
into his misadventures, and to what lengths Barney is willing to go to in order to get laid. The
episode explores the Ted / Barney relationship and helps explain why Ted keeps Barney around,
despite his various flaws.

2.  Season 1, Episode 14:  Zip, zip, zip

Robin teams up with Barney for some laser tag

Summary:

Ted and Victoria are hitting their stride as a couple. After initially waiting, Ted and Victoria
pick a night to have sex before she leaves town for awhile. They go to Ted’s apartment, which
is supposed to be empty, and get busy. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Ted, Lily and Marshall
bailed on their nine-month anniversary trip plans and stayed home instead. They hide in the
bathroom to avoid being found out, and must stay there while Ted and Victoria get hot-and-
heavy in the living room.

Meanwhile, Robin decides to be Barney’s “bro” for the night, joining him for a cigar and a drink
at a bar (suited up, nonetheless), and for a game of laser tag later on. When they head back to
Robin’s apartment, Barney mistakes Robin’s excitement for playing the board game “Battleship”
for a sexual euphemism and starts getting undressed. In the awkwardness that ensues, Robin
admits to Barney that she has feelings for Ted.

Why it Made the List:

“Zip, zip, zip” packed a whole lot of important material into one episode. First, we get to see
how great Robin and Barney are together (setting up their future relationship). Then, Robin
reveals that she actually does have feelings for Ted, which is sure to complicate his recently
blossoming relationship with Victoria. Plus, Lily and Marshall wrestle with the problem of
being out of “firsts” in their relationship – certainly something that every long-term couple can
relate to. Lily and Marshall being locked in the bathroom leads to some great comedy, as does
Robin being Barney’s “bro”. This one is an all-around solid episode.

3. Season 1, Episode 15: Game Night

Barney gets an origin story episode, and not all of it is pretty...

Summary:

The gang gets together for game night, in which Marshall introduces a new game that he created – Marshgammon. Marshall uses the game to find out more about Victoria, who Ted brought along. Lily reveals that someone gave her a tape to give to Barney, who tries to destroy it upon finding out who it’s from. Despite Barney’s protests, the group watches the tape, which reveals a long-haired, hippy-looking Barney crying into the camera.

Later, at MacLaren’s, Barney tells the sad tale behind the videotape, but only in sections as each friend reveals their most embarrassing stories. We find out that Barney became the playboy he is today because of a failed relationship with a girl named Shannon, who left him for a suited alpha-male named Greg. Also, just recently Barney reunited with Sharon, who is now raising Greg’s kid on her own. In an ending fit for Barney’s character, he gets closure on the whole tragic storyline by having sex with Shannon.

Why it Made the List:

“Game Night” was the episode that really turned Barney into a dynamic character. Up to this point, he’d been a monotonous player who only had one agenda – to get laid as much as possible. But here we find out that there is actually a reason for the way he is, and that he wasn’t always how he is now. Seeing the way that Barney was with Shannon gives us hope that someday he may be able to ditch his womanizing ways and settle down with the right girl.

Another reason “Game Night” made the list: Marshgammon. Marshall’s complex creation has the entire group confused, and to make matters worse, one of the rules is that a player has to drink if they ask, “What?” Hilarious.

4. Season 2, Episode 9: Slap Bet

Barney reacts to being slapped across the face by Marshall

Summary:

When Robin makes it clear that she does not want to go to the mall, the rest of the gang try to figure out why. Marshall hypothesizes that she was married at a Mall in Canada, and Barney suggests that Robin did pornography in Canada. They agree to a Slap Bet, in which the winner of the bet gets to slap the loser, and appoint Lily as Slap Bet Commissioner.

Eventually, Robin admits that she did get married in a mall, so Marshall slaps Barney. But it is later revealed that Robin lied, so Lily awards Barney 3 slaps on Marshall (for being prematurely slapped). Barney gets a hold of a video of Robin who appears under the alias of Robin Sparkles. He plays the first few minutes of the video, which seems to suggest that it is a porno. Barney pauses the video before anything risqué can happen and slaps Marshall for having won the bet. But Robin continues playing the video, and it turns out that it is not porn but in fact an embarrassing music video. Due to Barney’s erroneous slap on Marshall, Lily gives him two choices: to be slapped 10 times in a row right now, or to be slapped 5 times from now until eternity at whatever time Marshall chooses. Barney chooses the latter, setting up the long-running Slap Bet joke for future episodes to come (in which it is wonderfully revisited).

Why it Made the List:

“Slap Bet” is easily one of HIMYM’s greatest episodes. The Slap Bet ends up being a long-running joke that they excellently revisit in future episodes with phenomenal timing. This episode gave birth to “Slapsgiving”, the Slap Countdown, Marshall’s “You Just Got Slapped” song, and many other well-placed slaps randomly scattered through the following seasons.

“Slap Bet” also introduced us to another HIMYM classic: Robin Sparkles, and her hit song, “Let’s Go to the Mall”. The show revisits the Robin Sparkles joke a number of times, most notably for her follow-up song, “Sandcastles in the Sand,” which appears in the Season 3 episode of the same name. “Let’s Go to the Mall” was so popular with the show’s viewers that it actually made it onto the real-life videogame “Just Dance 3”. Two classic HIMYM jokes in one episode means it has to make the Top 20 list.

5. Season 2, Episode 21: Something Borrowed

Barney finally weds Marshall and Lily after a long day of wedding disasters

Summary:

On Lily and Marshall’s wedding day, a number of unfortunate events occur that ruin any chance of having the perfect wedding. Lily’s problems include her ex-boyfriend, Scooter, showing up to the wedding (her family invited him), her veil being ruined, the flowers not showing up, and the harp player going into labor. Marshall’s mishaps include accidently getting his hair bleached (the tips) and then shaving off a long strip of his hair in a sudden panic.

Marshall and Lily are ready to call off the wedding, but Ted saves the day by suggesting they have the small ceremony they always wanted outside, away from all of their guests. Barney was recently licensed to marry people, so under a tree outside, Barney weds Lily and Marshall in front of just two people – Ted and Robin. The wedding reception at the very end of the episode carries into the season 2 finale, “Something Blue.”

Why it Made the List:

“Something Borrowed” marked the marriage of a legendary couple, one of the greatest TV has ever seen. I also liked that the episode redefined a “perfect wedding” to be a simple ceremony in front of best friends, minus all the commotion of the big event in front of the whole family.

“Something Borrowed” also established Ted’s leadership role, and how at the worst of times he has the ability to pick up the rest of the group and right the ship, which is seen in future episodes. All-in-all, this was just a feel-good episode that focused on Lily and Marshall and temporarily put aside the relationship drama of the other group members.

Not wanting to be overshadowed by two other special edition pre-orders announced this week, 2K Games has announced not one but two deluxe editions for Borderlands 2.

As of today, players can pre-order the Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collector’s Edition, which includes an authentic Marcus Kincaid bobble head, hardbound art book, map of Pandora, a comic book download, and a four sticker set. This set costs $99.

If you want to get an even better package, why not spend $50 more for the Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition, which comes in a replica loot chest and includes everything from the Deluxe version plus a SteelBook case, a creatures of Pandora identification chart, lithograph postcards, field notes from Sir Hammerlock, a cloth map of Pandora, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Even if you decide to forego the above sets and simply want the game, pre-ordering it from participating retailers will grant you access to the Borderlands 2 Premier Club, allowing them to download the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key to unlock an in-game race, the Vault Hunter’s Relic to boost your fortune, and an all-new fifth character class: the Mechromancer.

Borderlands 2 hits the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on September 18, 2012.

Vampires and Kirby. What do these two have in common? Well before you say they both have done their share of sucking in the past, how about also being the stars of this week’s Nintendo Downloads?

3DS eShop
Kirby’s Block Ball (Nintendo, $2.99)

Kirby’s Block Ball is one of those games that let players do something more than simply suck in their enemies with the pink puffball. Think of the game as Nintendo’s version of Breakout, so not only will you be moving a paddle around to bounce brick-breaking balls around, but you’ll also find Kirby-themed power-ups like Maxim Tomatoes and absorb enemy powers.

Rayman Origins (Ubisoft, DEMO)

If you haven’t tried out Ubisoft’s platforming gem, you can now download the game’s demo for free. With over 60 levels, nostalgic Rayman controls, and lush graphics, you just may be sold on adding this game to your collection.

DSiWare
Chronicles of Vampires: The Awakening (Teyon, $4.99/500 pts)

Vampires merely set the tone for this game, so don’t expect any gushy love story. In fact, this hidden object game will have you traveling to 20 different locations in order to stop a sinister plot from happening and destroying the living world.

One Trekkie who grew up to become a systems engineer is hoping to bring the Starship Enterprise into the 21st century.Through a website launched this week, a shadowy figure going by the name BTEDan has proposed a 20 year outline to build a full-sized, ion-powered version of the famed fictional ship complete with 1G of gravity on board.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that this “Gen1” Enterprise could get to Mars in 90 days, to the Moon in three, and “could hop from planet to planet dropping off robotic probes of all sorts en masse – rovers, special-built planes, and satellites.”

The site — buildtheenterprise.org — showcases conceptual designs, ship specs including a gravity wheel to retain the classic shape while making the craft functional,  and almost every other detail imaginable, the newspaper says, down to the rather important problem of how to fund such a project in an era where government officials are taking a “been there, done that” approach to funding NASA and space travel.

Though in a quick perusal this fangirl was surprised to find that the creators did not have a thorough editor. What I lack in engineering know-how I make up for in basic fan knowledge. “Live long and proper.” BTE Dan writes on the FAQ page. Come now, Dan. You can hatch an entire $1 trillion plan to build Scotty’s beloved ship, but you bungle Spock’s signature phrase?

Trying to get in shape isn’t the only reason to skip dessert: consuming high-fructose corn syrup is bad for your brain, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Physiology, the AFP reports.

In the six-week study, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup, an ingredient found in soft drinks, candies and other processed foods.

One of the groups was also fed omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in foods such as salmon and walnuts and which are known to promote heart and brain health. This group of rats was fed the fatty acids via flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The other group of rats did not consume omega-3s.

For five days before the study, both groups of rats practiced running through a maze. After the six-week study, both groups were observed in the maze again.

“The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. ”Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier.”

Scientists also discovered that the brains of the omega-3-deprived rats had begun to resist insulin, a hormone critical to brain function and to blood sugar regulation.

“Because insulin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss,” said Gomez-Pinilla. ”Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes upwards of 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup a year. But a diet rich in omega-3s can help keep your brain sharp, says Gomez-Pinilla.

“Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information,” said Gomez-Pinilla. ”But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”

38 Studios met today with Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to discuss its current financial situation, which at the moment isn’t looking so good. During the meeting, studio founder Curt Schilling asked the state for more money, even after his studio defaulted its latest loan payment this month, leaving many to wonder what will end up happening to the Providence-based company.

Attorney and Game of the Law Editor Mark Methenitis told Joystiq that based on documentation and information he has reviewed, the state’s $75 million loan was secured by studio assets including all of 38 Studios’ intellectual property. This includes rights to Kingdoms of Amalur and any other unannounced games currently being worked on.

“What that means, in brief, is if they default on their obligations to the RIEDC, then the RIEDC can turn around and take possession of as much of that as is necessary to pay off the debts owed, Methenitis told Joystiq.

Remember that Rhode Island taxpayers may end up paying upwards of $112.6 million to pay up the studio’s loan. The state could bring in more money by auctioning off rights to Kingdoms of Amalur to the highest bidder, though it’s not likely anyone will want to pay $100 million for a relatively new IP that has only seen one game so far.

Source: Joystiq

Sniping games seem to form their own sub-genre in the crowded first person market. From the disastrous Sniper:Ghost Warrior to the original Sniper Elite, it is a genre that does not seem to have too many supporters. Nonetheless, Rebellion Software has seen it fit to revive it’s cult classic series and bring it to the next generation. Unfortunately, despite the shiny new coat of paint, the game suffers  from a major identity crisis, leading the once promising series deep into the path of mediocrity. Sniper Elite V2 acts as a sort of “revamp” for the original game.

Once again, you take control of American OSS agent Karl Fairburne who has been sent deep into war torn Berlin in 1945 to single-handedly stop the German nuclear secrets from getting into Soviet hands. Predictably, the story has you track down the most evil fictional Nazi’s ever imagined, complete with scars and ugly snarls. There are no notable secondary characters and you are literally alone during every mission. The roughly six hour story does not do enough to satisfy any narrative nerve and only drives this game deeper into the mediocrity hole. The main problem with Sniper Elite V2 is that it completely misses the point of what a sniper game should be. Instead of creating a decent stealth game with some cool sniping opportunities, the game forces you to engage all enemies in the room in order to continue.

The average level will involve some sort of artificial hallway, be it a bombed out street in Berlin or a V2 rocket facility, littered with enemies and a sniper or two perched in a building. You would think that the best approach would be  to sneak your way around the patrol, by either not being noticed or quietly picking out enemies. However, the linearity of the game prevents you from taking any other routes other than where the patrol is. You cannot traverse through broken down buildings and flank you enemy, you cannot sneak your way into a sniper’s nest, or even find any alternate routes to your objectives. Sneaking past the patrols is out of the question since the enemy snipers are guaranteed to see you  and shooting them will get the attention of every enemy in the area. There are times where background noise can be used to cover the sound of your shot, but it is few and far between. The game is built so you have to become a one man army and dispatch all of the enemies as quickly as possible.

Now, to say that a game fails at one thing does not mean that it does not succeed at another. You would think that when taking away the useless stealth, Sniper Elive V2 would be a half decent action game, but it even fails at that. Bullets are realistically impacted by gravity and wind meaning lining up a shot can be more difficult than anticipated. There is a focus system that is activated by how calm the sniper’s heartbeat is, meaning that is you were sprinting to knee high wall you are using as cover you will have to wait a minute to have a super slowdown effect. One of the few redeeming features of Sniper Elite V2 are the gruesome killcams that follow the trajectory of your bullet and show an x-ray effect as it breaks bone and  pierces internal organs. It rarely gets old and can bring about a few macabre chuckles.

Not everything in Sniper Elite V2 is horrible. There are a few cool features in place that make setting up a good shot enjoyable. If you wound an enemy they will lay on the ground screaming for help until another enemy comes by and helps them up, in which case you can finish him as well. The game encourages you to lay traps, such as using a trip mine on a door or setting a landmine on a dead body, in order to make your escape easier. However, the game will often make you escape through a different path than the one you came from, making any premeditation useless.

The amount of complaints toward this game keep stacking up. There is no Nazi swastika in the game for whatever reason, making the red and black flags in its place stand out like a sore thumb. The graphics do not fare well, with character models in the Xbox 360 version looking like Ken dolls and a horrible draw distance that makes one wonder why Rebllion used such a limited engine for a game that requires a good draw distance. To add insult to injury, the enemy AI did not graduate from kindergarten, leading them to get stuck behind walls and unable to notice you when you are right next to them. Even more annoying is the fact that they seem to have ridiculously good aim while blindly shooting a fully automatic machine gun from behind cover, hitting you in the face when you are 500 meters away in a watchtower.

To put it simply, Sniper Elite V2 is a broken game. There are cool ideas in place but the game containing them is a waste of time. The poor game design completely misses the point of a sniper game and manages to make this a painful exercise in patience.