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It's amazing to think about how much technology has changed in the last 12 years. Marvels like high-definition mobile games, texting, video streaming, and even 100 GB hard drives were out of the question for most consumers.

But we had a hunger for wireless communication that demanded we get out of our MSN chat rooms and into the world! That's where the weird Cybiko portable communication device came in. It was basically a text messaging machine that you could upload with music and games before cell phone companies started making those features standard. 

As you probably guessed, the Cybiko was completely terrible with its black and white LCD screen and its impossible-to-use buttons. Internet comedian Stuart Ashen even went so far as to try and play games on the Cybiko and the Cybkio Xtreme:

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Why are all of the performers in this video dressed like little Marios? I don't really know, but who cares when they're playing a medley this awesome?

This song, arranged and performed by composer Diwa de Leon, features some of the best music from role-playing games, including (in order or appearance in the medley) Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Xenogears, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Mana, Mass Effect, Dragon Quest, and Grandia.

You can hear it for yourself after the break.

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One of the most uncanny moments of my young life was wandering through a dollar store and stumbling upon a rack of action figures with the most boring packaging imaginable. Each toy sat in its bubble pack on a red card that was completely blank except for the word "SPACE" written in bizarre cartoon letters.

It was pretty much the kind of thing one would expect to see in a dollar store, except that I immediately recognized the figures themselves as Zitz, Rash, and Pimple, the stars of the infamously difficult 8-bit classic Battletoads.

I never understood how those figures got there, or what was up with that packaging. My point, though, is that these Battletoads sculptures, courtesy of artist and toy designer Sam De Jesus, are cooler than those other ones in every possible way.

De Jesus crafted the Toads out of Super Sculpey modeling clay for a commission. You can see more of the making of these statues in this image gallery, and you can check out more cool gaming artwork at his website.

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I couldn’t help but feel really excited about Assassin’s Creed III release the moment I realized that it wasn’t that far off anymore.

Naturally, I had preordered the game, and I picked it up during its midnight release. I immediately started playing it as soon as I got home.

The next day, someone asked me what I thought about the title. Strangely, I didn’t have an answer yet. Even tough I had spent a considerable time with Ubisoft's latest assassin-themed adventure, I was still playing through its tutorial.

I know how important tutorials are, but we also know the importance of having a strong introduction to this type of game. Basically, I feel like Assassin’s Creed III isn’t trying to appeal to new audiences. I endured the painfully long tutorial because I, a long-time fan of the series, knew the "good things" were coming.

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Yes, you read that correctly. You can now buy cases for your 3DS that look an awful lot like T-shirts. Performance Designed Products (PDP) partnered with Marvel for this quirky Avengers-themed line of products. Look how cute that Iron Man is, seriously.

The other shirts have Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk on them and retail from $5.99-7.99 depending on where you find them. You can also order the color you want from PDP's website. 

Since I am on a quest to cover all my possessions with Iron Man, I'll definitely be tracking one of these down. 

[via Tiny Cartridge]

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Curiosity -- What's Inside the Cube has a better morality system than any other game this year, and you didn't even notice.

Like any title with a system based on moral choice, this game rewards and punishes you based on what side you pick. Good characters can't complete the evil quests. Bad characters may be attacked on sight by the local constabulary. Sometimes, evil characters can get more "stuff" by selfishly hoarding and stealing, while good characters can get more help from non-player characters because they’re more likable.

Due to balancing requirements, games with moral choices like that have to support all the possible moralities. When done well (like in Knights of the Old Republic), players receive very different experiences based on their choices that fit naturally to their chosen morality. When done poorly (the ending of Mass Effect 3), players receive the same experience with a different coat of paint .

So how does this apply to Curiosity?

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Niko Bellic had it all.

The expensive suits, a variety of apartments, a selection of carefully parked vehicles. OK, so he had to deal with the murder of his girlfriend, and he’d failed many, many times in getting revenge for it.

Besides all that, life was good.

And, within the blink of an eye, it was gone.

“Disc unreadable." Despite repeated attempts, my Xbox 360 refused to play the open-world crime fest known as Grand Theft Auto IV any longer. I needed to buy a replacement disc for Niko's life to continue. For various reasons, I ended up buying the game for my PlayStation 3 instead. I started Niko's journey once more from the beginning. Along the way, I got to experience some great moments again and also got to compare my newer journey to my first playthrough in 2008.

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LA Game Space wants to upgrade and democratize the creative video game community. The non-profit company is aiming to create a facility in downtown Los Angeles where people of different disciplines can come together to research, collaborate, and make new forms of interactive entertainment. The founders also envision it to be a place for workshops, lectures, and more.

They’re currently trying to collect enough coins from backers (via Kickstarter) to unlock this promising center. Some of the prizes for donating include 30 exclusive, independently developed games (including a collaboration from the creator of the animated series Adventure Time), founders credit, T-shirts, and even a cameo in the next Bit.Trip Runner title.  

I had a chance to talk with directors/co-founders Daniel Rehn and Adam Robezzoli, along with advisory board member Jeremy Douglass, about their objectives with LA/GS. Check out my interview to see why this just might be one of the most important new headquarters for the future of game theory, culture, and development.

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The Community Spotlight features some of the best unedited articles that didn't quite make the front page. This week, we ask if the upcoming Devil May Cry is crippled, call Microsoft out on a racial faux pas, search for a permanent multiplayer partner, and more. Join us!

Is Devil May Cry running on a game leg?
By William Franklin

The stylish action of the Devil May Cry series relies on fluid, high-quality graphics for its thrills. So what happens when you cap the framerate at 30 frames per second instead of 60? William explores the reasons and ramifications behind this technical decision.

Microsoft Hispanic culture flub
By Louie Castro

The Xbox Live video dashboard features a section devoted to Hispanic TV and video...but to promote it, they chose an image of the very not-Hispanic Tommy Chong. (Stoner buddy Cheech Marin would have been an appropriate choice.) "This is the kind of thing that makes me glad I never purchased an Xbox," Louie says. 

Video games: Children's heroes and role models
By Brielle Wesley

Video games have made a lot of strides over the years, but as far as protagonists go, it's still a boys club. Brielle says developers need to think more about how their characters will influence young people and gender roles.

The pursuit for Player Two
By Cassandra Brabon

Cassandra takes a look at a recent Kotaku article about how gaming affects personal lives, especially in romantic contexts. "As with any relationship, it all comes down to respect," she says. How open are you about your gaming with potential partners?

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French developer Gameloft looked at the rich character depth and cheerful world in My Little Pony: Frienship is Magic and decided "Yeah, that'd be a pretty good free-to-play game." I'm not sure why I'm surprised by that decision, since pony-themed microtransactions and hordes of bronies (serious adult fans) equals infinite financial gain for both Hasbro (the company that owns MLP) and Gameloft, but I am.

The whimical Ponyville is suddenly enveloped in darkness. All the citizens flee as thier homes and livelihoods vanish into nothingness. It's up to the player to lure the characters back by rebuilding all the homes and shops featured in Hasbro's Saturday morning cartoon show.

What this means is that you'll build a shop, wait 20 minutes to collect a meager amount of in-game currency, then start the process over again as you scramble to gather enough money to purchase increasingly over-priced characters and items. Sure, you could buy more gold and even progress gems (like action items in other city-building games) but spending your money wisely is next to impossible when some unlockables cost well over $50 that way.

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This year has been pretty amazing in terms of cinematic experiences for geeks and gamers. The Avengers was an epic melee of classic one-liners and superhero action, The Dark Knight Rises was a sound round-out to one of my favorite trilogies to date, and Wreck-It-Ralph plucked at my retro-loving heartstrings in clever, meaningful ways that resonated beautifully with its vibrant animation.

And yet, the most definitive experience this year for me came from an independent, two-person team delivering a deep and raw documentary that has been critically acclaimed by The New York Times and is the winner of the World Cinema Documentary Editing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

The documentary, Indie Game: The Movie, is an exceptional exploration of the struggles small-scale indie developers face, but more than that, it analyses creativity at its very core and examines what people will go through in order to realize their dreams. Indie Game: The Movie is a passion project about passion projects. And the struggle of creating indie games demonstrates that this is the toughest creative medium to commercialize out there.

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