arcades

When Josh Lowensohn bought and wrote about the TyPad--the Bluetooth keyboard and iPad case combo--I knew that I had to have it. Though it's a bit expensive for a case ($129), the included black keyboard and fold-over leather case just seemed too convenient and classy to pass up.

I just received mine today, and I'm already glad I bought it, but it does have some minor annoyances. There is no right-Shift key, for example, which will be tough for formally trained typists to get used to. It also makes it difficult to play a lot of games because with the added keyboard it can be pretty unwieldy. Still, the ability to quickly convert my iPad into a laptoplike experience will be better for working than using the onscreen keyboard, and the controls for music, cursor arrows, and tactile typing make the case worth it to me.

What do you think? Does the TyPad seem like a good deal to you or should I have just bought a laptop if that's what I wanted? Is there a better case/keyboard combo you know about? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps include an iPhone/iPad text editor that automatically syncs up with your desktop, and a game in which you control a man-eating giant worm.… Read more

The official Google blog on Tuesday posted a link to an experimental music video for the Arcade Fire song "We Used To Wait" that shows off the capabilities of HTML5 with Google's Chrome browser.

I gave it a run earlier this afternoon. After I followed the instructions to close other applications and enter my home address, the video took about 15 seconds to start. My first impression was a flashback of visiting shady Web sites back in the days before pop-up blockers existed: a cascade of no fewer than eight browser windows opened, and trying to close … Read more

BloodnGuns is a top-down, dual-stick arcade shooter with quick controls, a simple but fun set of power-ups and weapons, and an almost comically bloody backdrop.

The aptly named BloodnGuns has no back-story, but the quasi-apocalyptic setting has you running and gunning against huge hordes of skeletons and zombies--specifically, zombies wielding enormous Final Fantasy-style swords. Your weapons range from the nondescript but fantastic (e.g., fusion, plasma, and pulse rifles) to the mundane and weirdly specific (e.g., Benelli M4 shotguns and M4A1 carbines). The gameplay is as straightforward as the interface: a virtual joystick under your left thumb controls movement, … Read more

When Vevo launched in December, I wasn't very impressed. I wondered why the site needed to exist when it was mainly serving as a distribution point for the ever-popular YouTube.

Despite my skepticism, it has quickly become one of the most popular video properties in the United States, thanks to its large store of exclusive content. And artists and copyright owners, at least, are getting some money when their videos are distributed through Vevo, which often wasn't the case before.

Vevo on Wednesday launched its free iPhone app, which gives iPhone and iPod Touch users access to 20,… Read more

We almost lost Jeff last year to Batman: Arkham Asylum, the hugely popular video game based on the popular bat-mythology. Good news for gamers: The Dark Knight will return next year with a sequel called Batman: Arkham City. According to inside sources, Arkham City will debut on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC next fall, but you can watch the teaser trailer and even preorder the game right now!

Images of the next-generation Apple iPod Touch have been popping up on the Internet, and it looks like the next version will feature an updated camera with a LED flash … Read more

One of the first games I downloaded when I got my iPhone 3G was Let's Golf and I couldn't believe how good it looked on the small iPhone screen. I was a big fan of Hot Shots golf on PlayStation 2, the console game that Let's Golf seems to be largely based upon, so seeing the familiar graphics and gameplay on the iPhone screen was truly a delight.

About a week ago Gameloft released Let's Golf 2 ($4.99), and it is even more beautiful graphically (optimized for the iPhone 4's Retina display) and adds … Read more

With the summer gaming drought in full effect, we figured it was a perfect time to dive into the world of digital-downloadable games. On today's episode, we'll demo three download-only titles: Deathspank, Limbo, and Blacklight: Tango Down.

With a game drought also comes a news drought, but we were happy to hear about this morning's announcement of an official release date and price for Microsoft Kinect. The body motion-sensing attachment will ship November 3 for $150.

While we had a fairly good idea of how much Kinect would cost, we were happy to see the unveiling of … Read more

The rumors of a $149 price tag for Microsoft's Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360 were true.

Microsoft on Tuesday finally announced the pricing for both a standalone Kinect bundle, which will ship with the Kinect hardware and the Kinect Adventures game for $149, as well as a bundle of the Xbox 360 hardware, a Kinect unit, and Kinect Adventures for $299.

Rumors of the $149 price tag began circulating months ago, and were all but confirmed just a week after E3 when Microsoft's own online store listed the peripheral for that price, despite the company not yet … Read more

With the summer gaming drought in full swing, we turn to the digital download scene headlined by Limbo, the debut 2D platforming effort from PlayDead Studios. We can't deny the title looks fantastic, but does the gameplay live up to the hype?

Jeff:Limbo represents something in games we haven't seen in far too long of a time period. It's challenging, atmospheric, gorgeous, and, most importantly, totally original.

Perhaps it's the game's overwhelmingly simplistic presentation we fell in love with. Limbo is straightforward enough, a 2D side-scrolling quest that leads our young hero through a decaying and dreary world. There are only two control buttons, so anyone can pick the game up and start playing. Its artistic styling screams noir, with its two-tone grayscale, film grain, and blurry fore and backgrounds.

The sentiment during gameplay is almost always unsettling, with the title's fantastic sound design giving us the ominous feeling that something terrible could happen at any moment. It's true, a lot of the puzzles must be solved by trial and error, and you'll positively witness a fair share of brutal deaths that had us occasionally jumping out of our seat.

Limbo hits the Xbox Live Arcade at a perfect time during the industry's typical summer drought and needs to be experienced by anyone longing for an ultimately satisfying title that can be played in drips and drabs, rather than for hours at a time. Though it's bit on the short side, the campaign is meticulously crafted to such a high standard that we're not sure we'll see a better digital-only game this entire year.… Read more