T-Mobile Unveils Project Dark: Will You Make the Jump?

T-Mobile Project Dark pricing

T-Mobile unveiled its new pricing scheme, codenamed Project Dark, on Sunday. While a lot of current T-Mobile customers are underwhelmed by the new plans, there are a lot of people that could save a decent chunk of money every month with the new pricing. The most interesting plans fall under the “Even More Plus” category. These plans require no annual contract, include free nights and weekends, and free T-Mobile to T-Mobile calling. The customary phone subsidization is eschewed for the ability to pay for a new handset — interest free — over the cost of 20 months.

If you’re currently with Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T, there’s a good chance that one of the Even More Plus plans would save you money. T-Mobile has some interesting phones coming out before the end of the year (the BlackBerry 9700 and the Nokia N900), so it might be worth a look. I’m currently under a T-Mobile plan that I thought was a great deal: $74.98/month for 1,000 minutes and unlimited text/data. With Even More Plus I could either save $5/month or pay $5 more for unlimited voice. I’d also gain free T-Mobile to T-Mobile minutes.

While T-Mobile’s network is the smallest of the four major American carriers, its pricing makes it a compelling option. Features like UMA calling make it viable for those with spotty network coverage. With all of this in mind, are any of you going to make the jump to T-Mobile due to Project Dark?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

We’re smack dab in the middle of the Q4 release rush. There are lots of interesting games this week, including some excellent platform exclusives. Lots of PS3 gamers are high on Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, while Xbox 360 gamers will get their motors runnin’ with Forza Motorsport 3. Here are this week’s PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS releases…along with some brief commentary. I’ve taken out most of the garbage and kids games (unless I found them funny).

Let me know what games you plan on picking up this week (please)!

Forza Motorsport 3

Xbox 360
CSI Deadly Intent — You know Jim, sometimes the box exes you. (yooooowwwwww!)
DJ Hero — The reviews are good, but I wonder how many people are going to buy an expensive game in this economic climate.
Fairytale Fights — A lot of you probably haven’t been following this one, but it looks like fun.
Forza Motorsport 3 — Microsoft’s first-party racer makes its highly-anticipated return.
Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City
Jurassic the Hunted
Tekken 6 — I wonder if Tekken will do as well as or surpass Street Fighter IV.

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Raymond’s Random Rants

Yankee Stadium new

– I’m finally done with my “pay the bills” projects! One was charismatic and one was awesome. *snicker* The good news is that I’ll be able to sleep for more than four hours a night and next week I’ll be able to focus more time on the site.

– I hope the rain doesn’t drown out the Yankee game tonight. I’m kind of bummed that it won’t be Yankees/Dodgers in the World Series. That would have been a nice story — Joe Torre and Don Mattingly taking on their old team.

– John Morrison’s Starship Pain is such an awesome move. I love watching him perform it. That and Evan Bourne’s shooting star press are currently my two favorite finishers in WWE.

– I’m thrilled that Nigel McGuiness is getting a big push in TNA, but his new name (Desmond Wolfe) is stupid. Another brilliant idea from Vince Russo. Oy.

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Fat Princess Gets Patched and Porked

Fat Princess

Titan Studios has released patch 1.03 for Fat Princess, which includes the new Pork City map. Creative director Craig Leigh said:

Your faithful developers at Titan Studios and team at Sony Santa Monica Studio are extremely happy to announce that after careful thought and great labor, Patch 1.03 is complete and ready for imminent release.

Patch 1.03 contains the awesome New Pork city level, and due to the amazing support we have received from the community, we have decided to release the map for free! Yes you heard us right, for free!

While the new map is the most exciting and obvious feature of the patch, there are several stability enhancements that should improve the game’s overall experience. Full details can be found on Sony’s PlayStation Blog.

Would anyone be up for a Team RPad.tv session of Fat Princess? We could take over the world!!!

Source

Final Fantasy XIII Special Edition Soundtrack Detailed

FFXIII soundtrack

In addition to a soundtrack coming out in conjunction with Final Fantasy XIII’s December 2009 release, Square Enix will be releasing a super-duper special-edition soundtrack a month later. Andriasang has the details:

On top of the four music discs, the limited edition adds a bonus drama CD featuring a retelling of the Encounter volume of the Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero Promise web novel that’s currently being distributed at the FFXIII official site. The drama CD uses the same voice staff as the game.

Also included with the limited edition is a special box case, a special sleeve, and a 32 page visual book that’s also — you guessed it — special.

Look for the FFXIII soundtrack on January 27. Pricing is set at ¥3,990 for the standard version and ¥5,250 for the limited edition.

It’s expensive, excessive, and a little ridiculous…which means I’m probably going to buy it. *sigh* I love Japanese packaging.

Source

Sega Console Zippo Lighters Completely Rule!

Sega Genesis Lighter

Are you longing for the days when Sega was a major player in the console world? Do you also happen to need a lighter? Well you’re in luck! Andriasang has reported on two completely awesome Zippo lighters — one with a Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) design and the other shaped like a Sega Saturn!!! The site’s Anoop Gantayat wrote:

The lighters are officially known as the “Sega Memorial Hardware Zippo Lighter No.1 Mega Drive Model” and “Sega Memorial Hardware Zippo Lighter No. 2 Sega Saturn Model.” This seems to suggest that more variations are on the way.

You’re going to have to pay a bit to smoke so stylishly. Banpresto is charging ¥10,500 for each lighter. That’s the price of a later day Genesis, and you won’t get Sonic as a pack-in.

Even though these lighters cost over $100 each, I’m so tempted to pick one up. What’s cooler than lighting a girl’s cigarette and showing her how much you loved the 16-bit era? (Don’t answer that.)

Hit the break for a pic of the Sega Saturn lighter and lemme know what you think (please)!

Continue reading “Sega Console Zippo Lighters Completely Rule!”

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Although I plan to spend a good portion of my weekend celebrating the NY Yankees reaching another World Series when they beat up the Angels on Saturday, I’m going to make some time for SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. As many of you know, I contributed to the Shawn Michaels and Mickie James storylines. I want to see what was changed and what wasn’t. More importantly, I want to create some content!

Smackdown vs Raw 2010 c

In addition to creating a downloadable version of RPad (obviously a technical wrestler), I’m excited to create my own storylines. It’s going to be me and Claudio Castagnoli (my favorite indie wrestler) taking on the WWE! I’m half-thinking of including some lines that poke fun at my recent misfortunes. I can see it now:

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Coffee Talk #10: What’s Your Favorite Gaming Franchise?

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, Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Judas-like betrayal of Isiah Thomas, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s latest “oops” moment, or The Rock vs. The Miz, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I love Fridays…except for those following a NY Yankees ALCS loss in a perfectly winnable game. In order to stay positive, I’m going to think about a few of my favorite things. I’m not talking about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. I’m talking about the games that make up my favorite gaming franchise.

Final Fantasy Tactics

While I’ve enjoyed hundreds (thousands?) of games over the years, no series has entertained me as much as Final Fantasy Tactics. The games just work for me on so many levels. I’m addicted to the strategic gameplay. I love the art style. The world of Ivalice just fascinates me. The music, particularly from the first game, entrances me. And for some reason (that I’m still not sure of), I think Viera are sexy. Whether it was on my PSone, GBA, or PSP, the Final Fantasy Tactics titles works for me on every level.

To help you stay happy this Friday, I want to hear about your favorite gaming franchises. What’s your favorite series of all time? Why?