Blizzard has set up a teaser site for a Diablo III expansion, apparently named Reaper of Souls. While there hasn't been any actual announcement yet, it appears on the official Blizzard servers, and the image displayed has the filename d3x_teaser-en-us.jpg, so it seems fairly obvious what we're dealing with here.

We all knew an expansion was coming, but hopefully we'll be getting some info to drool over soon!

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/reaper-of-souls/

Or should that be "blow" some new life... get it?

And therein lies the problem. We all had that shiny new NES that could do no wrong for a while, but then things started to go south. You'd get that telltale blinking blue screen, letting you know that something was amiss.

Somewhere along the way everyone somehow knew to blow in the cartridge, try again, and it would work. We shouldn't have done that, we were only making things worse, but the promise of playing Mario now was too tempting for our childhood minds. But even that would fail you eventually, and some of you may have an NES that just stopped working.

Here's what actually happened: The 72-pin connector in your NES that the cartridges connect into wasn't made well. Over time the contacts loosened their grip and spread out. When you blew into the cartridge, you weren't cleaning out dust-- you were depositing some moisture from your breath, which would help complete the circuit on the contacts. Unfortunately, it also corroded the contacts on the games and the connector, which only compounded the problem.

You hear that? YOU BROKE IT! That's OK, though. We can fix it. It should be obvious, but I'll just say here that you do this at your own risk, and I take no responsibility for your NES becoming irreparably damaged or setting your mother on fire.

You can try to clean and reposition the pins on the connector, but that's tedious and may not work. It's possible, I've done it, but do yourself a favor and just buy a new one: http://www.amazon.com/NES-Connector-Packaging-Nintendo-8-Bit/dp/B000A3IA0Y

Rather than typing out all the steps, this guide on iFixIt is the best I could come across. I think this is the one I followed the first time. Don't be intimidated-- this is easier than it looks. Plus, if your NES isn't working, you have nothing to lose: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+Nintendo+Entertainment+System+72-PIN+Connector/3822/1

Beware, after the new connector is installed, it's going to be a tight fit getting your games in for a little while. Don't force them! Just slowly apply firm and even pressure. This goes away after you use it a few times.

While you're DIYing already, you may as well clean your games of all that spit corrosion you've given them. This video describes it well, however, I would skip the part about the brass cleaner. Some people swear by it, but some others say it can cause damage. The eraser method works, just dust the eraser flakes off well before you use the game: http://bcove.me/8z24oz93

There are many other ways to do this, just search around for them. Be sure you confirm any how-to's you read. Check the comments sections and make sure the methods show up in other how-to's. There are some bad methods mentioned in some places that can do more damage to your games. You don't need to take your cartridges apart, but it does make it easier. To do so, you'll need a "gamebit" screwdriver: http://www.amazon.com/Steel-3-8mm-Screwdriver-Security-Nintendo-Games/dp/B000F8GWH2/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_text_y

Now, you should be able to play your NES like new, assuming the connection was the problem. Now stop blowing spit into your games, and start playing them!

Further reading:

If you want to get crazy and try some other repairs, IFixIt has a whole section on this: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Nintendo_Entertainment_System

An easier, yet not as thorough way to clean cartridges: http://retrowaretv.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-game-cartridge-cleaning/

Replace the batteries in those games like The Legend of Zelda that save your game: http://www.thejobbitt.com/nes-guides/nintendo-nes-cart-battery-replacement-guide/

Another method to replace the battery, solderless: http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/916386-nes/faqs/41464

The "Sprint" game mode is 40 lines as fast as you can clear them. The video is using a tournament-specific version of Tetris that accounts for different modes and different block spawning algorithms.

This is the first time anyone has cleared a Sprint in under 20 seconds. It's amazing to think that there are human hands controlling this.

Blizzard has started rolling out beta invites for Hearthstone to press and people who opted into the beta. Hearthstone is Blizzard's new trading card game based on the Warcraft universe.

You can buy cards in the beta, though you won't be able to keep them when the game goes live. However, you will be given a credit equal to the amount you paid for the cards.

Read more here:
http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/faq/

You can sign up for the beta by checking the box next to Hearthstone here: https://us.battle.net/account/management/beta-profile.html

I used the image above because I found it funny, not because I agree with it :)

Aliens: Colonial Marines came out the gate mired in muck. I had high hopes for this game. Great source material, developed by Gearbox using the Borderlands 2 engine, it just seemed destined for awesomeness. But then the prerelease reviews started flowing in and it became clear that buying this game was not in your best interests. Sloppy alien AI preventing them from even reacting to your presence, save-wiping bugs, texture issues, the list goes on. It was cheap a few weeks back so I grabbed it and put a few hours into it. So-- is it really that bad?

No, definitely not. At least not anymore.

I generally don't pay much attention to reviews when deciding to buy a game or not, because more often than not I feel like the emphasis is on the wrong things. This time, though, I listened. Technical issues aren't a matter of opinion. But since then there have been a couple of massive patches, one of them 5GB, big enough to be a game itself. Most of the technical issues have been fixed, which lets us evaluate the game based on what it was meant to be.

The graphics are good enough, but not great. The voice acting is good enough, but not great. The plot is good enough, but not great. See the pattern? The friendly AI is still not perfect. Your teammates will sometimes get a little stuck. Sometimes the difficulty curve is wonky, throwing you at a brick wall when you aren't expecting it.

A minor problem I have is with the concept itself. If I, a lone marine with a machine gun, can take down wave after wave of aliens, then it significantly diminishes the danger level in the movies. Ripley is deservedly known as a badass for taking down one in the first movie, but I just took out like 80 in 5 minutes. I'm aware that you can't really make a game in this franchise without that, but it's still a bit of a disconnect for me. One that I can luckily ignore.

But the gameplay, the gameplay is quite good. If you've handled a gun in Borderlands 2, you know what to expect. Fighting off waves of xenomorphs is damn fun.

But was it too little, too late? By the time the massive patch came along to fix the most egregious bugs, public opinion had already turned against A:CM, and for good reason. It definitely won't be the success that it could have been, but the good news is that you can get your hands on it for cheaper, sooner.

A:CM also raises some questions about how games should be reviewed. Even after the patch, there are still a lot of flaws. In fact, I spent most of my time in this post writing about the flaws. But the game is fun despite itself, and fun is what we play for. This is why I don't like the number rating system. If I was rating this purely on fun, based on what I've played so far I'd probably give it around an 8, but would feel the need to subtract from that due to the problems still present. The truth of the quality of this game is more complex than a number can represent.

I'd just say, give it a shot when you can find it for a good price, just go into it expecting some issues and try to look past them. If you can, you might just have a lot of fun.

Now this one is interesting and somewhat unexpected.

Pay under $5 (as of this writing) and get:

* Dead Space 1 and 3 (2 will probably be unlocked later)
* Burnout Paradise
* Crysis 2
* Mirror's Edge
* Medal of Honor
* Battlefield 3
* Sims 3

All of these games unlock on Origin, but the games that are available on Steam will also be redeemable there.

Another important piece of info to point out: EA gets none of the money. So if you want to play these games but don't like supporting EA, here's your chance.

What do you think about this one?

I've been doing a bit of an experiment over the past week, playing games that have been pretty severely panned to see if I can find the positives. So is Duke Nukem Forever as bad as everyone says it is?

It's not great. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad game, though. It's a good game that got bogged down over 12 years of development, ideas that nobody seemed to want to cut, a switch in development teams, and a change in the climate of games.

Really, it's the most disappointing kind of game. All the elements are there, the mechanics are good, the level design is at least acceptable, nothing is broken, but it's just kinda boring.

The game starts you off fighting the final boss from DN3D, and while I can remember the adrenaline flowing when I fought that boss years ago, I really felt nothing in Forever-- you just run around in a circle waiting for ammo drops, then shoot the boss while continuing to strafe in a circle. But, it was meant as an intro level, so I can cut it some slack.

What happens afterwards is less slack-cuttable. What little the intro did to build up momentum is totally lost in the boring 30 minutes to follow: It's 12 years later. Duke is a hero, and has a massive tower-mansion where he has shrines to himself all over the place, and two twins to service him (and yes, I mean "service" in that way). As expected, the aliens show up again. So what does Duke do? Heads to a talk show appearance. Signs an autograph. Punches an asshole stage manager. Has a conference call with the president and a general where he's instructed not to fight. Only then does the fighting actually start.

The shooting mechanics are good enough, even the driving mechanics are serviceable, but the pacing never seems to get back on track and never begs you to keep playing. The graphics are decent enough, but were definitely showing their age by the time the game was released. The voice acting is good, or I guess as good as it can be when you're dealing with this script. There's some humor to be found, but most of it is just juvenile.

Maybe it's because I was in high school, and I'm blinded by the nostalgia, but even playing DN3D now, the humor and crass jokes seemed to be handled better. In Forever, it seems that 3D Realms was trying to make a more offensive parody of the Duke that was. "Let's take Duke Nukem 3D and make everything more over-the-top!" Maybe I've just grown up, and can see things more realistically now, but this game is seriously trying too hard.

Serious Sam has taken over in Duke's years off to be the over-the-top action hero who protects the Earth from aliens while dropping one-liners. Sam has grown with the times and fares better than Duke. Sam takes cues from Duke, for sure, but has shown that one-liners don't have to be dick and fart jokes, women don't have to be objects, and action heroes don't have to be jackasses. Serious Sam has improved on the formula that Duke Nukem started. Duke Nukem Forever just can't seem to move on.

And that's basically the problem. Duke Nukem Forever is Al Bundy. A shoe salesman who can't move past his glory days as a high school football star. You'll get some enjoyment in listening to Duke Nukem Forever tell stories of the glory days, but it's a better use of your money to find a game living in the moment.

It appears Amazon will be entering the console market, and the rumors are flying about what exactly it will be.

It looks like it will probably be powered by a Qualcomm chip that is normally used in set-top boxes and TV's. Rumors also came about recently about Amazon making its own set-top box to stream media, so this is probably all the same thing.

This, combined with rumors that Google is doing the same, the GamePop subscription-based Android console, and the already present but struggling Ouya... the market is getting a little crowded for this type of console.

Full story on TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/09/amazon-could-launch-qualcomm-powered-games-console-and-media-box-by-end-of-year/

Read more about Google's rumored console: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689204578571992848684764.html
And find all the details of the GamePop here: http://www.bluestacks.com/

On September 10, Bethesda will get $80 from me. That's the day the Elder Scrolls Anthology releases.

This collection has all the Elder Scrolls games, from Arena to Skyrim. Sure, they released the first two for free, and I already have 3, 4, and 5 in Steam, but *look at it!*

It comes with some maps for all the various regions you'll be traveling through as well, and the packaging is begging to be on my shelf.

I'm a fanboy, yeah. :)

http://www.bethblog.com/2013/08/01/the-complete-elder-scrolls-collection-comes-to-pc-this-september/

This is a show of great skill and patience. Every pixel in this Donkey Kong recreation is a perler bead. I don't imagine there are many positions of each character to create, but the stop-motion is near-perfect.

I don't think that's the best response to your NES not working though. And that's a classic game, don't just throw it around like that! :)