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'The Gadget Blog' trailer
You know, our readers are really awesome. Super awesome. Not only are you guys really smart and funny, but you're wildly creative -- and there's no more compelling evidence for that argument than the video in this post. Based on nothing more than an Engadget Podcast rant, commenter (and podcast listener) Michael Jacob created an amazing parody trailer for the non-existent film The Gadget Blog. And that image up top? Created by commenter AWartinger! If you're not familiar with the source material, go back and take a listen to our most recent 'cast, but for the rest of you, enjoy the hilarity below.
Windows Phone 7 beats iPhone 4 and Android ... in a grilling contest (video)
Let's face it, it's a question the world's been dying to know the answer to: which of the T-Mobile G2, HTC Surround and iPhone 4 will withstand a (literal) grilling the longest? Well, just in time for a mildly singed breakfast today, we have the answer. As you might have surmised from the title, HTC's WP7-equipped Surround showed the most endurance, though in the end it too cashed out its Earthly credits and moved on to that great scrapyard in the sky. Video of its final moments awaits after the break.
T-Mobile starts up 4G ad campaign by poking a stiletto into AT&T's network (video)
We suspected T-Mobile's new advertising campaign would ruffle some feathers, but we weren't ready for quite such brazen trash-talking right off the bat. Of course, it's trash talk dressed up in a pretty white and Magenta dress and delivered in the most angelic of voices, but T-Mobile makes its point to AT&T subscribers loud and clear: we got 4G, you don't. Whether you consider the network's current 21Mbps theoretical max a true representation of 4G or not, we'll leave up to you; just make sure to join us past the break for the Apple-scented commercial, which also teases the myTouch 4G, a HSPA+ handset that T-Mobile happens to be launching today. Update: AT&T isn't taking this one lying down. It countered with the following statement this afternoon: "T-Mobile's claims about 4G are based on the same HSPA+ technology we have deployed to 180 million people today, more than T-Mobile's reported 140 million, and we'll have it rolled out to 250 million people by the end of this month, substantially more than the 200 million T-Mobile says it will have by year-end."
Mega64 tickles Dracula's rib with Simon's Quest parody
As Castlevania: Lords of Shadow approaches, Mega64 celebrates the series with a tribute to the crystal-tradingest, corpse-huntingest game in the series, Simon's Quest. The "villagers" are as incomprehensible in real life as in the game, but one "extra" still manages to steal the show.
Steve Young Football for iPad ads spoof 90s commercials
Apparently there is an iPad game behind these crazy commercials, but we posted them mainly because they're hilarious. The spot above will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the '90s as a spoof of the old Crossfire commercials that took a mechanical board game way too seriously. You'd probably be forgiven for noticing that the game, Steve Young Football, which is an over the top wacky version of the sport itself, actually has a feature where you can network two iPads together for multiplayer. Pretty cool. The second spot, after the break, is just as hilarious, this time spoofing the old My Buddy commercials (oh man, the memories). Steve Young Football is available for $4.99 on the iPad, and just 99 cents on the iPhone, and no matter what the game is like, it's pretty much worth giving them the buck for the entertainment you'll get from these videos. [via Joystiq]
Ubisoft's movie parody posters look like a Bloody Good Time
Ubisoft sent out a series of three parody movie posters (and Tweeted another), featuring an overlapping group of characters. The publisher didn't explain what these posters related to, only saying "YOU MAY NOT KNOW IT.. BUT EVERYONE CAN MAKE IT BIG IN HOLLYWOOD.. WITH A GLIMPSE OF CRUELTY!" The posters all feature the same fake-name credits, though they all strangely list Robbie Coltrane as one of the stars. Ubisoft happens to have a Hollywood- and cruelty-themed game in its lineup: the PC/XBLA game Bloody Good Time, about teenage actors competing violently for a movie role. That was supposed to have been released by the end of June, so it's long past bloody time we heard something. The timing of these posters' release suggests we'll see more (and find out if these really do relate to Bloody Good Time) this weekend at PAX. Hopefully, we'll find that the game is funnier than the posters.%Gallery-100901%
StarCraft 2 spoofs Apple with the iPistol
I'm going to guess that if you had any interest in StarCraft 2 at all, you probably spent the better part of last week playing it, as Blizzard Entertainment finally released their sequel to one of the most popular real-time strategy games of all time, and according to the critics, it's just as good as it was a decade ago. Just like all of Blizzard's games, StarCraft 2's Mac version actually comes shipped on the same DVD that the PC version comes on, which means that day, date and version are all available for us Mac gamers. Even in the days of Steam on the Mac, that's going above and beyond the call for those of us who like to do our gaming on the Mac. But Blizzard's got another little bonus for us Mac fans -- the game contains the parody ad above, presenting the iPistol, complete with a dancing Space Marine showing off the personal weapon unit. Funny. Of course the reference is a little dated -- we haven't seen those dancing ads on TV in years. But this game's been in development for a while, and seeing that Marine break it down is pretty funny, so we'll give them an iBreak on this one. [via Engadget]
Oregon Trail: The Movie has given us dysentery
If Asteroids is deserving of a movie adaptation, then no video game in all of creation is off the table -- a maxim proven by Half Day Today's inspiring trailer for The Oregon Trail: The Movie, which you'll find after the jump. (And yes, before you ask, there's dysentery.)
Retro City Rampage parodies sandbox games, everything else
If you're not familiar with Retro City Rampage, you'll at least be familiar with the references contained within VBlank's WiiWare game. The retro-style open-world game is filled with jokes about DuckTales, Back to the Future, TMNT Contra, and even the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" video. And that's just what can be seen in these screenshots! You might, in fact, be more familiar with the PAX 10 winner than you think. Retro City Rampage began its life as Grand Theftendo, a faithful NES remake of Grand Theft Auto III, back in 2004. Since then, it's become less "faithful" and more "original," and it's moved from the NES to WiiWare, but creator Brian Provinciano has kept the irresistible central idea of a GTA-style game rendered with NES-style visuals. %Gallery-97765%
iPhone 3G stars in parody
The sad thing? The video might be a parody of iOS4 on the iPhone 3G, but it's definitely the truth on my end as well. Still tethered to an iPhone 3G at the moment, utilizing basic services such Maps requires a good minute of finger tapping and waiting for the OS to decide if it wants to launch the app or not. Video creator adamburtle lamented on the same thing. He writes, "... it's not because my needs have grown. It's not because I've installed a bunch of laggy software. It's because Apple's firmware has become bloated, with respect to the processing power of the 3G iPhone." Adam, I couldn't have said it better myself. Of course, there's the easy answer -- upgrade to an iPhone 4. Then again, it may not be worth it. Let's see what Steve has to say on that tomorrow first. Otherwise, it might be worth just getting a cheap 3GS. [Via MacStories]
College Humor reveals the 'super easy' modes of classic games
You might find College Humor's latest video game parody clip, posted just past the jump, a hilarious look at what might have been had classic games been laughably more accessible. We see it as a haunting vision of things to come. That easy mode included in Mega Man 10? That's how it all starts.
Apple 'Friend Bar' will coddle and nourish your inner fanboy (video)
Do you find there aren't enough hours in the day to sing Apple's praises to the fullest? Does your list of deities begin with Steve and end with Mr. Jobs? If so, you'll want to make your way to your nearest Apple Store nice and quickly. That most reliable source of news before they happen, The Onion, reports Apple is about to open up a Friend Bar, where folks with AppleCare warranties and an unhealthy devotion to The Fruit can spout off about anything to employees trained to handle their inanity. Genius Bar productivity is said to have skyrocketed since the introduction of the new Friend staff, but don't take our word for it, skip past the break to see the 100 percent genuine news report in full.
Will the iPhone 4 blend? What do you think?
Oh come on. You knew it was coming, ever since the iPhone 4 was announced. And here it is. There's not much to say -- you know what's going to happen. Just watch and enjoy. And kudos, BlendTec. It's even cornier (and more surreal) than usual, but pays off nicely. One question: who is that dude, really? Michael Dell?
World of WarCrafts: School's out, crafting's in
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself; email lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations. School's out! Busy hands are happy hands, so get those crafts started now. We want to share what you're making: artwork, knitting, music, crafts, fan fic ... Let us know what sparks your imagination! First up this week: The Horde scarf shown above is no ordinary Horde scarf. This Horde scarf was created to be equipped during rare-spawn, cold weather action in Costa Rica. "It all started when there was a cold wave a few months back in my country (Costa Rica; such cold waves are actually very rare), and my only scarf was actually a keffiyeh I'd wrap around my neck," writes Cambalache of Ragnaros (US-H). "So, since my wife's hobby is knitting on various styles ... she offered to knit me a scarf of my choosing, and as a true Horde player, I went for the symbol." A tauren after our own heart! Join us after he break for an update to the WoW tattoo gallery, plus a small collection of music by and for WoW fans.
Opera parodies Google's Chrome speed tests mercilessly (video)
This, dear friends, is the height of comedy. Opera's pair of Scandinavian browser testers are back, this time applying some extremely high-tech speed tests to determine whether the Norwegian browser is faster than boiling a potato. Seriously, if you're not laughing at this, you either work for Google or you have a funny bone missing. In more concrete news, the acceptance of Opera Mini to the iPhone has accounted for a cool 70 percent of the Mini's growth over the month of April, with 2.6 million Apple users downloading the software worldwide. But that's not what you're here for, you're here to see the epic video, which awaits after the break along with Google's original. [Thanks, Ian G.]
We really wish 8-bit StarCraft was a thing we could play
StarCraft 2 may be one of the most anticipated titles of this year, but after checking out this 8-bit recreation of the game that started it all, we're inclined to cancel our pre-order and spend the rest of our days praying for a playable version. It takes us back to our elementary school days, when we thought getting to play Oregon Trail in school was about the best thing ever. Can you imagine if we had this instead? Zerg rushing would be at, like, a whole 'nother level. But we digress. Instead of pining for what could've been, you should head past the break to watch the game in action and hope for what could be: an actual playable release of this charming 8-bit recreation. What else could you possibly want in life?
The Onion: Google 'whisper ads' detect keywords in phone calls (video)
Oh man, The Onion really outdid itself this time. Its latest tech parody takes on ad-supported phones from Google meant to drive down the device's cost. Funny, because it's true. Users won't even remember a time when they didn't have a second voice whispered in their ear. P.S. The Yahoo dig at the end is classic.
Naughty Bear's cannibalistic, Jaws-inspired trailer
The parodies keep coming for Naughty Bear, as this latest trailer takes a bite out of Steven Spielberg's horror hit, Jaws. While we definitely enjoy the spirited homage, we do have one issue: it's straight-up cannibalism. We don't care if these bears are full of fluffy cotton -- seeing one bear consume another is terrifying. You can get in on our own personal nightmare by clicking the play button after the break. Just don't say we didn't warn you.
'Koopa Hell' may change our Super Mario Bros. strategy forever
We were pretty sure that, after 25 years of practice, our tried-and-true strategy for the original Super Mario Bros. would be fairly set in stone. Little did we know that CollegeHumor (of all websites!) would be the one to show us the cruelty of one of our most basic in-game maneuvers: the Koopa Bounce Pipe Trap. What happens to that poor creature after you've left him bouncing between two pipes? Thanks to the Mushroom Kingdom's lack of inertial dissipation, he stays that way for all eternity. Watch the video after the break to see how your thoughtless actions might have sent countless Koopas spiraling into a nightmarish realm of Lovecraftian horrors. You monster.
Master Chief Sings: a 19-disc set of John 117's best
With all of that space travel going on, there's got to be plenty of downtime for the last Spartan in existence. Sure, Master Chief can just hop into a cryo-chamber and saw some wood between Halo games -- but every now and then, when nobody's around, MC likes to exercise the old pipes. You would not believe how dynamic his range is, clearly exhibited in the video past the break from IGN. Oh, and before you watch the video (and inevitably call that number to order your own set), know that we think we've finally figured out John 117's identity: Michael McDonald. [Via LazyGamer]
