epic

Just when I thought the white smartphone craze had died down, Samsung says it plans to bring a pearly version of the Galaxy S II to Sprint for $199 on January 8.

Of course I should have known that milky-hued handsets are here to stay. First popularized by Apple's iPhone and then adopted by its Android competition, many of this winter's mobile devices sport a frosty skin. Motorola's Droid Razr and the Galaxy S II on T-Mobile are a few examples. … Read more

Does adding a "2" to one of the most popular titles in the App Store make it better? Much like the iPad 2 itself, Infinity Blade II is a refinement and an improvement on its predecessor. As a result, it's better. Does that make Infinity Blade II a must-have game? Most definitely, especially for its $6.99 price. Is it revolutionary? Well, not exactly.

Epic and Chair Entertainment's follow-up to last year's Infinity Blade has garnered as much front-row attention as the original, largely due to its prominent mention during Apple's recent keynotes. Those hoping for a true console-style RPG were let down by the simple, linear-path-based story and Punch-Out-esque gameplay, but most people quickly got over that when they found out how addictive the hack-and-slash/leveling experience was. A sword-and-sorcery version of Fruit Ninja, in a way, but that's hardly a bad thing.… Read more

The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are close to finalizing a settlement over a complaint about deceptive privacy practices on the social network from nearly two years ago.

The proposed settlement, which awaits final approval from FTC commissioners, would require Facebook to let users opt in to changes in the way their information is shared, rather than forcing them to "opt out" of changes Facebook imposes on them, The Wall Street Journal reported. Put formally, that would require Facebook to get "express affirmative consent" if it makes "material retroactive changes."

The agreement also calls … Read more

With the iPhone picking up steam as a gaming platform, one of the biggest announcements for gamers was that the iPhone 4S' graphics would be seven times faster than its predecessor's. Even though no developers have released a game optimized for the device so far (Infinity Blade II is set to launch December 1), I decided to put some of the more high-quality current games side by side on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S to see if we could spot any difference.

The reason for all the extra speed is the iPhone 4S' dual-core A5 processor, which supposedly has enough horsepower to render complex 3D graphics with significantly high frame rates. This bump in processor power should become particularly apparent once we see some of the new games being developed for the device, but I simply didn't want to wait that long.… Read more

DeLorean Motor Company showed off a prototype of an electrically driven DMC-12, which it promises to put into production in 2013.

You won't need a bolt of lightning to charge it up, and you won't be able to run it on eggshells and coffee grounds. Unlike the "Back to the Future" time machine, this DMC-12 electric conversion gets its electricity from the grid.

The DeLorean Motor Company (yes, it still exists), showed off the prototype at an owners' event last week. … Read more

An internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security document indicates that a controversial program designed to predict whether a person will commit a crime is already being tested on some members of the public voluntarily, CNET has learned.

If this sounds a bit like the Tom Cruise movie called "Minority Report," or the CBS drama "Person of Interest," it is. But where "Minority Report" author Philip K. Dick enlisted psychics to predict crimes, DHS is betting on algorithms: it's building a "prototype screening facility" that it hopes will use factors such … Read more

A collection of advocacy groups today asked the Federal Trade Commission to ban Facebook's recently announced feature that allows automatic sharing of news articles and other information if users choose to enable it.

In a letter sent to the FTC, the groups allege that Facebook's automatic sharing feature announced last week at the F8 developer conference is an "unfair and deceptive trade practice" that violates federal law. The letter also raised concerns about Facebook's practice of collecting data about users even if they're logged out. (See CNET's F8 coverage.)

"Facebook's frictionless … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--If you're a Facebook user eager for Netflix integration, you'll likely have to wait for Congress to act before getting your wish.

It turns out, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said Thursday at F8, Facebook's developers conference here, that of the 45 countries where the troubled movie rentals service is offered, integration with the world's leading social network will be available in 44. Facebook users in the United States won't have access to Netflix.

How could that be, especially given that both Netflix and Facebook are U.S.-based companies that have giant user bases … Read more

Next to Halo, the Gears of War series is the most popular Xbox 360 exclusive title. Following in the footsteps of the 2006 original and its 2008 sequel, the inevitable Gears of War 3 is finally here. The third-person "duck and cover" shooter doles another healthy heaping of single and multiplayer chainsaw and machine gun ultraviolent action, as supersolider Marcus Fenix and his COG army are once again fighting to rid planet Sera of the murderous Locust Horde.

How does the third installment of the trilogy compare to its predecessors? And is this one worth your $60 (or even more, if you're opting for the Epic or Limited Editions)?

Jeff:I'll admit I wasn't initially excited to get back into Marcus Fenix's boots for a third (and possibly last) time. The Gears of War franchise was beginning to smell like Halo to me; a handful of games that, for the most part, all play and look the same.

But Gears of War 3 makes some significant evolutionary steps, well beyond the game's face-lift that reassures it as one of, if not the, best-looking game on Xbox 360. Rest assured, Gears fans: Gears of War 3 is the most brutal game of them all, with a long campaign littered with plenty of jaw-dropping moments and a multiplayer component that has the polish and accessibility to stand on its own.

While Gears' basic gameplay remains untouched, there are few changes worth mentioning. In addition to a general fine-tuning that makes aiming, shooting, and reloading smoother than ever, there are a few new melee animations and abilities as well as new weapons.

But where I was really floored came in the form of Gears of War 3's fantastic multiplayer effort. Matchmaking implementation is tremendous, and players easily slide in and out of co-op in real time. It's also much simpler to set parties up, something past Gears games struggled with. Of course I've been playing without hiccups the entire week before public launch, so I'll be interested to see if the silky smooth performance continues on Tuesday.… Read more