Sprint Announces HTC Evo 4G, World’s First 3G/4G Phone

At its CTIA 2010 press conference, Sprint announced that it will be aggressively expanding its WiMax coverage this year and offering its customers the HTC Evo 4G. The company claims that it’s the world’s first 3G/4G phone. Here are some specs on the Evo 4G:

  • Google Android 2.1 with HTC Sense UI
  • 1GHz Snapdragon processor
  • 4.3-inch screen capable of 720p playback
  • 1GB of internal storage
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 8 megapixel outer camera and 1.3 megapixel inner camera (for video conferencing)
  • WiFi, WiMax, and CDMA radios

The HTC Evo 4G will be out this summer.

I left Sprint last summer because I thought it was the biggest loser out of the four major American carriers. Although its network and coverage are great (partially due to a roaming agreement with Verizon), I was disappointed in the company’s phone selection and (especially) customer service. Also, I wasn’t confident in Sprint’s future; it spent a ton of money on WiMax, while the rest of the world seems to be going with LTE for 4G technology.

All that aside, the phone looks pretty damn sweet. I’m not going to do it, but a small part of me is tempted to return to Sprint for two years and rock the HTC Evo 4G. By the time my contact is up, LTE should be mature (enough) and widely deployed. Nah, that’s a bad idea. It would take more than that for me to go back to Sprint. Besides, there will be numerous “awesome” phones announced before the Evo 4G comes out.

What do you ladies and gents think of the HTC Evo 4G?

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Coffee Talk #112: When Do You Play Online Multiplayer Games?

When do you play online multiplayer games? My friend asked me this the other week and I replied, “Whenever I feel like it.” He continued to ask me questions and we discovered that my initial response wasn’t true. There are a number of factors that go into when I play multiplayer games and today I wanted to see if you have similar considerations.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, American Idol Fantasia singing the American national anthem at WrestleMania 26, Joe Mauer being a Twin for life, or mobile phone news from CTIA, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

New coffee: Intelligentsia Papua New Guinea Agoga

When do you play online multiplayer games? My friend asked me this the other week and I replied, “Whenever I feel like it.” He continued to ask me questions and we discovered that my initial response wasn’t true. There are a number of factors that go into when I play multiplayer games and today I wanted to see if you have similar considerations.

For example, I hate playing with mouthy 13-year olds. There are several nights when TV comes before gaming (WWE Raw, American Idol, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc.). With all of that in mind, I tend to play online multiplayer games past 10PM. My favorite shows are over and the children are in bed for school.

Do you player online whenever the mood strikes? Or do you have certain conditions that impact when you play?

Chris Evans (Human Torch) to Play Captain America

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Evans has signed to play Captain America in the upcoming Captain America and Avengers movies. Moviegoers will remember Evans as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies. Evans is will have to ditch the “Flame on!” catchphrase for the “Avengers assemble!” battle cry.

I’m not sold on Evans’ casting just yet. He’s 27, which is slightly too young to play the patriarch of the Marvel Universe. Yes, he has the Super Soldier Serum maintaining his youth, but Cap is a man out of time from World War II. Evans was great as the Human Torch, bringing out the character’s cockiness and recklessness. Can he play someone that’s supposed to be a little grizzled, naive to the modern world, a father figure to other Marvel heroes, and totally kick-ass? I’m not so sure.

Let me know what you think of Chris Evans as Captain America (please)!

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Nintendo Will Show “3DS” Handheld System at E3 2010

Nintendo of Japan has announced that it will release the Nintendo 3DS portable 3D gaming system before the end of its fiscal year ending March 2011. The 3DS will be shown at E3 2011. In addition to 3D graphics that can be viewed without special glasses, the 3DS will play Nintendo DS and DSi games.

At GDC 2010, my developer sources told me that the dev kits for Nintendo’s next handheld were similar to GameCube dev kits. According to The Wall Street Journal, the 3D technology used in the 3DS comes from experiments on the GameCube:

Nintendo has been working on 3-D technology for years, secretly adding a feature into the GameCube, the predecessor to the Nintendo Wii, to display graphics separately for the right and left eye for the possibility of 3-D gaming. It was never introduced as a feature in the GameCube.

What do you guys and dolls think of the 3DS so far? Is it something you’re interested in? Or are you taking the wait-and-see approach?

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Se7en Done Heavy Rain Style

This excellent YouTube video shows clips from the movie Se7en (Seven for normal people) done up Heavy Rain style. If you’ve played the game or the demo, you’ll absolutely get a kick out of it. It’s the best thing I’ve seen on the Internet this month I highly recommend watching it.

[Thanks to Brad Shoemaker for tweeting this!]

Today’s Poll: Final Fantasy XIII vs. Heavy Rain

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII and Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain are two of the most polarizing games released in years. FFXIII is a drastic departure from the traditional JRPG style of the series and fans are torn over the gameplay style. It’s definitely different, but the production values are insanely good (minus Reona Rewis). Heavy Rain also has gamers split. Some can’t stand its gameplay style, while others view it as a landmark in interactive storytelling.

Today I wanted to see which game is more polarizing to you. Make your choice in the poll and explain your answer in the comments section if you have time.

[poll id=”32″]

Coffee Talk #111: Songs You Love Thanks to Music Games

In the last few years, a lot of music artists have told stories that went a little something like this: “These kids came up to me and I said that they never heard of the band until Guitar Hero III. They dug our music in the game, went out and bought our music, and now they’re coming to our shows. It’s amazing!”

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Tiger Woods’ latest “apology”, why America doesn’t care about Wladimir Klitschko, or the countdown to opening day, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In the last few years, a lot of music artists have told stories that went a little something like this: “These kids came up to me and said that they never heard of the band until Guitar Hero III. They dug our music in the game, went out and bought our CD, and now they’re coming to our shows. It’s amazing!”

My friend Paul and I were talking about this the other day and couldn’t come up with a similar situation from our experiences. I guess the closest I can get to it is “Godzilla” by Blue Oyster Cult. I’ve heard of the band and enjoyed some of their music, but I’ve never heard that particular song (which is odd, because I was a huge Godzilla mark as a kid). I heard it in the game and loved it!

Today I wanted to see if there are any songs, bands, or solo artists that you’ve come to love thanks to music games. Share your stories in the comments section (please)!

Binary Thoughts (Not a Review!) on Dragon Age: Origins Awakening

As many of you know, I’ve been playing the Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion pack for the last week…sometimes at the expense of sleep. Most Dragon Age fans will love it, but newcomers should stick to the original. While I had loads of fun playing it and enjoyed it so much that I decided to give it a second run instead of getting back to Final Fantasy XIII, it definitely had some issues. Using Augustine’s binary system, here are some thoughts (not a review!) on Dragon Age: Origins Awakening.

Good: That characters are fantastic. Oghren steals the show with some outstanding humor. I also enjoyed what Anders, Justice, Nathaniel, and Sigrun brought to the table from a storytelling perspective. The only character I didn’t care for was Velanna. She trumped Morrigan in the “angry magic bitch” department, but didn’t possess any of her sultry charm. For the most part, the writing and voice acting behind the companion characters was extremely well done.

Bad: There are no romances for you to enjoy in the game! Courting Leliana and Morrigan was so much fun in the original Dragon Age. If you’re into bisexual elf assassins or bastard nobles, you could get with Zevran or Alistair. I was extremely disappointed that there are no romances available in Awakening. Perhaps “taming” Velanna would have made her more interesting.

Good: The new specializations, skills, and talents are fun to play around with. While I didn’t think much of keeper and legionnaire scout specializations, the rest were pretty fun and useful. As for skills, being able to craft runes is pretty cool and I like that there were some quests that required rune crafting/potion making. All in all, the expansion added plenty of great ways to expand your characters. Oh yeah, the new “flicker” talent for rogues is totally boss.

Good: The “Manual of Focus” item is a godsend. At the end of Dragon Age, I was just picking skills and talents I didn’t really want because I maxed out on all the ones I needed. With a bunch of new ways to develop your character, being able to totally redo all of your specs is just awesome. It lets you correct any mistakes you made while leveling up or totally change your character’s focus. It’s perfect for players that started the game haphazardly assigning skill points and talents, but really got into the system later and regretted their leveling decisions.

Bad: From what I understand, the dagger/dexterity issue has not been fixed, even though I was told it would be when I saw the game at GDC. Thankfully, my rogues (Raymond and Keebler) are cunning based, but it’s still annoying that this longstanding problem persists.

Bad: The expansion pack is full of bugs. In my first run in Awakening, I encountered more bugs and glitches than in all five of my original DS playthroughs. Some of the bugs are pretty bad — certain quests disappearing, armor not appearing properly, etc.

Good: Sir Pounce-a-lot!

Bad: No Sandal (Enchantment!).

Good: Managing Vigil’s Keep adds a new layer to the game. Deciding on what part of the land to defend and settling domestic disputes brought something new to the DA experience. The cool part is that if you’re not into tasks like that, you can let your seneschal take care of them.

Good: There are some nice cameos by Alistair, Wynne, Herren, and Wade.

Bad: There were not enough cameos. I especially missed Leliana and Shale. It would have been nice to have seen them again.

Bad: Aside from items from the Return to Ostagar DLC, you can’t use DLC items in Awakening. That just sucks. I really wanted to import stuff like blood dragon armor, the Helm of Honnleath, etc.

Even though this expansion pack has some warts, I still loved it. While I was impressed with the originality, graphics, music, and storytelling in Heavy Rain, I enjoyed my time with Dragon Age: Origins Awakening more. If any of you are playing it or considering picking it up, I’d love to hear what you think!

The Genius of Nick Pantazis

Ah, the story that keeps on…irritating. Remember those two kids from VGChartz that pissed me off? Aside from insulting my web site, my story, and me, one of them has started spreading false information. So in addition to making libelous statements, senior editor Nick Pantazis is lying to sites like Southern Fried Gamer where he’s quoted as saying:

The way he obtained his information, as he explained it to me, was that he walked around the show floor and asked people in booths what they knew about it. I’m not privy to all embargoed information nor all information under NDA, but in my experience at the events I’ve gone to (including this one), people you are able to talk to by simply walking up to booths are generally PR reps, and not developers as he claimed.

The funny part is that I never said anything to Pantazis about getting my information from company booths at GDC. For someone that accused me of making up a story, it’s funny that he made one up himself. It’s especially hilarious when you consider that I spent less than an hour on the GDC show floor. Most of my time at the show was spent in private meetings and informal networking chats.

I just rechecked my email exchange with Pantazis. I made it very clear that I got my information from developers. I said nothing about asking people in booths anything. I just don’t get this kid. What’s wrong with him? Is he crazy? Is he slow? Should I call up RPadholic jpkmets and sue VGChartz/Pantazis/Zucker for libel? Or maybe I should just take an Advil.

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