[Video] Some dude climbs a tree, Gets 10 copies of Mass Effect 3 Space Edition

Everybody knows we love us some Mass Effect 3, but this is an entirely new level of love. Bioware launched a bit of a marketing campaign which involved lauching several weather balloons in San Francisco with 10 copies of Mass Effect 3 attached to them.

Anyone who found the balloons then got an awesome surprise. The only problem is, things didn't quite go according to plan. The balloons ended up getting lost, so Bioware and EA canceled the search for them. Then a team of fans took matters in to their own hands.

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Marvel Recap: Venom and the Circle of Four

For Venom, it never gets easy. Well, for Flash Thompson as Venom, that is.

Flash takes on the Venom symbiote as a secret military operation. It restores his legs while in Venom form, as well as all of the other perks of being Venom. Unlike previous variations of Venom, Flash seems to mostly have full control of the symbiote as more of an extension of himself rather than a team that previous Venoms have shown. Flash even sports an arsenal of guns over relying on webbing and the famous Venom mouth and slimy tongue.

Issue number 13 does something that Marvel hasn't really done before- it just doesn't end. That is to say there's issue #13....then 13.1....13.2....13.3...and finally 13.4 Luckily, they make up for it as it was released every week in the month of February, including Leap Day. Usually Venom comes out once a month, so if you were expecting issue #13 in February and #14 in March, you won't be too upset; it'll still happen. Now this might also be a downfall, and I certainly feel it is, as you need the issues and you may not be prepared to do this financially. You're looking at $14.95 worth of books for these comics.

SPOILERS BELOW
This arc is titled "Circle of Four" which is enclosed in a satanic pentagram. Here's the 5 issues in one neat sentence: "Blackheart tries to make Earth into new Hell and the New Fantastic Four are involved." The four refer to the four characters of Venom, X-23, Red Hulk and Ghost Rider.

So what's the deal here? Well Ghost Rider accidentally allows Blackheart to begin transforming Earth into Hell. Meanwhile, Venom is being tracked by the Red Hulk. Additionally, X-23 is tracking her own blood. All four of them eventually end up together where all of this goes down and essentially form the New New Fantastic Four. If you haven't read comics, the "New Fantastic Four" was a temporary team of Spider-man, Wolverine, Joe Fixit (Grey Hulk), and Ghost Rider. See the resemblance? We have a Spider-man in Venom, a Wolverine in X-23, a Joe Fixit in Red Hulk, and a Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider.

So now this new team takes on Blackheart and dies.

Yes. Dead. They all died at the hands of some creatures that Blackheart conjured up to be the complete opposites of the heroes. Luckily (or unluckily) it's Hell on Earth (literally.) and dying there really doesn't do much in terms of your soul. At least Mephisto says so, and at the expense of a deal to help Mephisto later in time, he sends them back to the heat of the battle (pun intended).

After a full-on assault, we leave our last issue showing what looks like either the Red Hulk or Venom being possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance and driving a flaming motorcycle right back at Blackheart.

The arc itself finishes next month with Venom issue #14. If you've committed yourself to this arc so far, pick it up, as it comes out next week on March 7th. If I were to give an opinion to a new reader? Stay far away. Anytime a Marvel issue hits a "X.1" you know that it's generic filler to fill gaps in story down the road. This title does it FOUR TIMES. Don't do it. Of course if you collect the Venom series, it is a nice series collection. If you take the four covers create the mural you see at the top of this page.

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Marvel Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man 680

Anyone else want to just revert back to the days of Jim Henson's Muppets and say "SPIDERS.IN.SPAAAAACE!"? No? Just me? Alright then. Spider-man #680 starts off with a new arc for the webhead, after just having wrapped up the confirmed reveal of Morbius. Well, to Spider-man, at least. Consistent readers knew for a month or two now. So where does this new arc direct us?

SPOILERS BELOW

As far as comics go, we have a solid book. It's got a good intro, a decent plot, climax, and cliffhanger. We've been left with enough to want to grab the next issue and find out what happens next. Unless of course you don't like Johnny Storm AKA the Human Torch.

Let's recap- Johnny Storm was dead. He died sometime last year, sacrificing himself to save the rest of his family. If you read Spider-man regularly, you know this because he essentially gave him his current spot on the Fantastic Four in Amazing Spider-man 657. What you don't know is that he's back. He hasn't completely established his return, only that he's alive and helping the Earth fight off a cosmic battle in both the Fantastic Four and FF comic series. So, we can pretty much conclude that in those issues, Johnny Storm will make a decision to stay. Thank you ever so much Marvel for ruining that for your readers who read those books too..

Anyway, the issue starts off with a view of a space shuttle headed by John Jameson as he contacts his father J Jonah Jameson via skype. During the conversation, the screen goes blank, communication stops, and JJJ nearly explodes in anger. Of course Peter Parker is there on behalf of Horizon Labs, and makes a break for the crime scene. Mind you, it's in SPACE.

Enter Johnny Storm. Spider-man heads for the Baxter Building to find a way into space.  The Human Torch is the only one home, singing in a robe catching up on TV. After ruining the enjoyment of finding out the conclusion of Dancing With The Stars for Johnny, the two head into space.

On board the shuttle, they are attacked by Octobots (Little spider robots designed by Doctor Octopus) and Jameson saves the day. As the three converse about what's going on, Jameson explains that he's the only survivor, and as they approach the abandoned shuttle they see why. The crew begins crawling out towards them, controlled by the octobots all zombie-like, which ends the issue.

Do they survive? What do they do? It's what a cliffhanger does- leaves you with more questions than you started and none of the answers you were hoping for.

I give it a "meh". It's just an issue to me, and until the arc develops I can't be sure how it'll turn out. Pick it up in a week when the next one comes out, and read them together. The jokes were funny, but they can wait. There was nothing monumental in the world of Marvel in this issue (except the whole Johnny Storm spoiler), so just sit tight true believer. (Always wanted to do that!)

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[Video] Second Official Trailer for "The Avengers"



I want to say that's "Fin Fang Foom". Google it.



It seems that we finally get an action-packed Trailer showcasing the moves of all of the Avengers on screen- Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk (Both as Hulk and as Bruce Banner), Black Widow, and Hawkeye. We see a few extra shots of Loki, Nick Fury, and Agent Colson as well.

While not directly named, we do get to see parts of what they are fighting. It looks like an alien invasion, some sort of airborne fleet. The end of the trailer shows a fairly large eel-type creature or ship chasing after Iron Man.

From a comic perspective, I'm still waiting to see if we're getting perhaps a late announcement of Ant-man/Hank Pym, The Wasp/Janet Van Dyme, a living person taking the role of Jarvis, and any indication of a cameo by other Avengers favorites such as Ultron, Kang, Spider-man, Wolverine, or the Skrulls.

If you can't wait for this movie's release, this will do more than suffice for the time being.

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Thoughts On Act of Valor

So, here we are my friends, at long last. I have been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw the first poster and read about the fact that this movie was to feature active duty U.S. Navy SEALS. I was, however, a bit skeptical that if they are indeed featuring real life military personnel, the acting can't really be that top notch. I really don't want to be that a-hole that is going to give this movie a bad review, and be declared all but treasonous toward this great nation of ours. I am glad to say that I will not need to be that treasonous a-hole today, as I very much enjoyed Act of Valor.

I'm just going to get this out of the way right now and say that I think this film sounds exactly how a first person shooter video game title would sound like, I.E Call of Duty or Medal of Honor. You can fight it all you want, but the title “Act of Valor” does fit right in there with the others. To be perfectly honest with you, the entire film kind of felt like a video game as well. As bad as that may sound, this actually helps the films more then it hurts it.

I can quite literally pick out a scene that, with a few exceptions, resembles a level from the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare almost exactly, and the strange part is, it was actually done the way I would want to see it done. Many of the things that you would witness your digital brothers in arms doing (like, the motion of taking cover, breaching a room and the way they would actually hold and fire their weapon) are all actually done and performed in the same fashion in this film. With that kind of-gripe aside lets move on, shall we?

The film centers around an elite SEAL team who are tasked with going behind enemy lines and rescuing a captured CIA agent who is being tortured without mercy for information that she may or may not even have. Right off the bat we get the impression that these guys are trained, and ready to handle any situation that is thrown at them.

They can adapt to the situation in a heart beat and be ready to shoot on target without even thinking about it. These boys are the best in the world at what they do. They are in the best shape of their lives and ready to kick some serious ass at a moments notice. Whether it be doing halo jumps out of a plane, going in from sea in a mini sub, or just through the thick jungle, these guys can get it done, no problem.

Throughout the entire length of the film the audience (myself included) gets the impression that at any given moment any one of the members of the SEAL team would give their own life in the blink of an eye to save one of their brethren. I can't even tell you how well this works in this film. The title of this film is “Act of Valor” for god sakes.

Before anybody goes on about how they though that the script was unoriginal in any way allow me to point out that this whole movie was based off of actual events that the men in this movie went through themselves. How much more original can you get!? From a hollywood stand point maybe not, however, these guys have actually been there, in the sh*^. They saw it happen, and were nice enough to bring the moments where they were stopping major terrorists attacks and risking their lives back to Hollywood.

 I am glad to have spent the 12 dollars to watch this film in its entirety. I would also like to add that I really hope that a Call of Duty movie is never brought into production, or Medal of Honor, or any other “Military Shooters” that are currently circulating their way through the video game market at this point. 

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Bees Knees Apps: NinJump DX

If you haven’t stumbled across NinJump DX in the App Store or Android Market then you need to click that little blue icon and search for it now. NinJump DX by Backflip Studios is a simple runner game that moves vertical instead of your standard left to right. You play as a small ninja warrior with a voice like a chipmunk that endlessly runs upward, crouching tiger, hidden dragon style. It isn’t as easy as it sounds though.

As you scale upward, they are obstacles that look to hunt you down and send you falling to your death. You can expect arrows, cannonballs, suicidal parrots, ninja stars and all other kinds of crazy shit. The deadliest obstacles of them all are the stationary barriers. Waiting still and silent for you to run right into them. Still and silent.

Your only method of attack is your jump that sends you to the other side of the game. Timing a hit in the air with an obstacle will grant you a power-up point that appears in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. Hit three of the same obstacles and you get a boost upward. Each type of obstacle you collect has a different graphical display and height boost. Do not hit another obstacle though. This will reset any current power up you are collecting.

Defense is even simpler. A shield. You gain a blue aura if you run through them in the game and it only grants you one folly. You can purchase additional shields with real cash if you really start to become addicted, or suck.

There are four levels in the game: Classic, Jungle, Pirates and Castle. Each level has its own unique art and music to take away from seeing the same old scenery every time.

Scoring is based on the distance you cover. Each map keeps its own high score too.

NinJump DX is only $0.99 in the App Store and scores are connected to the Game Center. Download and battle for the highest scores against your friends. If you don’t have any friends, you can beat your own high scores I guess.

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DC Comics Review: Aquaman #6

If you checked your store shelves for an image of Aquaman to be on the cover, you were probably having a rough time. That is because this issue has Mera on the cover, and the entire issue about Mera. That's right- Mera. Not Aquaman, but Mera.

And you know what? I'm okay with that.

Issue number 6 gives insight to what Mera can do as part of DC's new 52. Being a new DC comic reader, I don't know who Mera is or who she was. So as of the New 52, she's a certified bad-ass to me! So far, she's only followed Aquaman around like a dog, and aside from combat and some confusing action artwork, we really don't get a scope of what she can do that makes her impressive.

Or, maybe you're an excellent reader and you know her full arsenal. Regardless, I read this issue and I was impressed. Apparently, she has 100% control over sources of water. We're talking like a Water Magneto!

SPOILERS BELOW

The issue starts off  weird, and I say weird because she tells her father Aquaman will die. It gets you curious right away, because for the first five issues of this series the two have been a couple. When I read that, I was in awe. And mind you, she says this to her father in the tone that says she will be the cause of his death.

So if you read issue number 5, it left you with Aquaman finding out that Mera had left to get some dog food. At that point, you didn't know- was it an excuse? Was it their shadiness? Was she coming back? Well, now you know, she really was getting dog food.

This issue takes place over 3 locations, the store where the dog food is sold, a random civilian home, and the lighthouse.

At the store, Mera is introduced to an aggressive store owner who touches her inappropriately. She doesn't like it, in fact she finds it insulting. She had witnessed him inappropriately touching his employee and has a thing for the mistreatment of women. She ends up breaking his arm. In addition to the chaos that erupts from other customers because of this, the cops arrive and make the mistake of raising a gun to her. Her first act of awesomeness comes up- she uses her power to pull the water from nearby water bottles and retaliate. After a small scuffle, she ends up going freely in their police vehicle.

As the vehicle drives, they drive past a hostage situation, where a man has been holding his daughter hostage. Upset at the mistreatment of women again, she gets out of the vehicle despite the cops' request not to, and approaches the man. She sticks her hands out, and controls the fluid in his body.

She begins torturing him, pulling the water out slowly, exclaiming that he will be feeling dry, followed by how it would feel after time had elapsed, and up until a point where dehydration would just outright kill him. The daughter stops Mera before this, telling her "It's still my dad".

Mera leaves the scene for the lighthouse, where the employee arrives. She brings Mera dog food for the dog, and Mera makes the decision that all humans aren't so bad after all.

Our final panel shows Aquaman finding Mera, and telling her that Dr Shin so he can tell them who sunk Atlantis.

Geoff Johns is an amazing writer, and I would pick this book up on principle. If you haven't grabbed the first 5 issues, grab them too. This is a great series, and the direction they're taking has so many routes available. I would highly suggest keeping on top of them.

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Marvel Comics Review: Ultimate Spider-man #7

Lucky number 7! Or is it?

If you've been keeping up with the new Spider-man of the Marvel Ultimates universe, you'd say so. Miles Morales is the new Spider-man, and so far we've gotten to see a wide variety of powers and abilities that just make your mouth water with excitement. He's got the respect of SHIELD, a bad-ass Red and Black suit, more powers that Peter Parker had in both comics and movies combined, and an amazing team of writers to keep em coming!

SPOILERS BELOW

We get to see a decent portion of home life for Miles in this issue. First we see him trying to keep the powers a secret from his mother. He's trying out things in his room, just as we saw Peter do in the first Spider-man movie. The second portion of home life is the usual opinions ordeal. Miles and family are discussing their own opinions of Spider-man, especially since one had been killed and the new one just kind of appeared.

Next we get to see Spider-man on patrol. He's still developing his powers, so despite the ability to do camouflage, he just doesn't know how to activate it. He also hasn't completely mastered web-slinging either, and that's only slightly less awkward than having to go through some guys apartment to get back to ground level.

As he zips through the city, he comes across a bridge battle with what I'm assuming is Omega Red. I've never picked up an Ultimate Comics book before Spider-man, so if that isn't Omega Red (White face, Red color scheme, tentacles, the Omega symbol...) please correct me. Anyway, pick up the issue- it's an interesting fight to say the least and I thought it was pretty impressive.

We also see Miles' uncle, AKA the Prowler, approaching (and killing) the Tinkerer for making him faulty equipment that ultimately caused his Mexican jail time. During the conversation though, we see that he begins to deduce that his nephew is Spider-man, which we can only assume as he approaches Miles directly at the end of the issue.

I'd pick this issue up; if nothing else you get the book plus a free digital copy too. It's fairly decent, and if you aren't too familiar with Miles' abilities, this is a decent showcase. I honestly don't know where this storyline could head, but I do like the idea that a criminal and Spider-man are in the same family, and I'm more than interested to see where they bring this plot. In case you didn't know, the next issue has the Scorpion on the cover, and if his looks aren't convincing enough, I can only imagine what the insides would be like.

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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Burns Out

Here's the basics of it all when it comes to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

1) Grab Spoon.

2) Gouge out own eyes.

3) Wanna see Ghost Rider?

Seriously, don't go see this movie. Do not be part of the group of people that Nicolas Cage can refer to when he says "But somebody must like my shit because people are still watching it."

If you have any thoughts about going to see this movie without the full intent of cuddling with your boyfriend/girlfriend in an empty theater, you're supporting the wrong cause. You're not getting that hour and thirty-five minutes back. It's not even worth watching Regal's "First Look", or the trailers. FYI, here were mine:

The Raven

G I Joe: Retaliation

Battleship

Wrath of the Titans

The Amazing Spider-man

21 Jump Street

So unless you're looking forward to seeing these trailers on a big screen, save your money. Save your time. Save your relationship. Seriously, you're risking a lot. Let me go into the movie itself though, just so you know what you're getting yourself into. I'm not going to warn you about spoilers, I'm saving you don't forget.

First, the story was really choppy. The basic plot was...not so basic. A boy, Danny, is being chased by some guys apparently associated with the devil. Danny is the son of the devil, apparently. Ghost Rider is hired to protect Danny at the deal of having his curse removed. Of course the Ghost Rider is still doing his punishing sinners thing too. 

The devil wants his kid, stuff happens, and you have over 90 minutes of revelation into just how bad Nicolas Cage is in front of a camera. So there you have it, the Spirit of Vengeance is still doing his thing, but protecting the little Devil. Which is funny to me because I seem to recall the point of the first movie being to stop the Devil's other son. Also, not once did the movie refer to the Devil as "Mephisto", and this makes me sad.

 

Yea Nic, we sort of felt the same way about the movie

Secondly, you had a lot of elements that didn't make sense. I know, it's a fiction movie, and logic just walks out the door in a pair of Air Jordans nobody wanted, but still- there was no sense. I mean, you had one guy whose touch decayed things, but he was able to drive. His touched decayed EVERYTHING; you can't even claim it only decayed things he wanted decay because his first experiments with the power revealed he was decaying all the food he wanted to eat except for the Twinkies (I see what they did there...) while driving the vehicle. 

You also run into that whole weapons training thing. You know, it's when the trained mercenaries can't hit a damn thing but the dumb broad that picks up a pistol gets a one-bullet bullseye. That happens frequently. You also had SUVs that can rear-end multiple vehicles at high speeds and never get more than headlight damage.

Lastly, the effects- Oh my were they beautiful. I think this falls under "Wasted Talent". They had amazing effects. Not just the fire, everything. From decaying bodies, to stunts, to explosions, this movie hit the mark. If nothing else, if you can somehow get past Mr Cage, enjoy the effects and hope to whatever God you believe in that these guys get hired again.

I wouldn't recommend this movie. I wouldn't even Redbox it. Netflix is a no-no. Don't even ask your best buddy to burn you a copy.  Avoid the movie at all costs, unless you need a school project on Nicolas Cage or something.

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[Video] Skyrim: Modern Dovahkiin---So Metal Your Face Will Melt

Leave it to the fans to come up with some amazingly creative ways to show their love and adoration of Skyrim. There are a lot of things I'm not proud of, like crying at the end of Homeward Bound, or putting 77 hours into Skyrim. The obsession continues with Skyrim: Modern Dovahkiin, an ode to the metal of yore. This slice of brilliance is brought to you by Warialasky, of YouTube fame. The video also features the BYU mens choir, which makes this even more METAL. Check their page out for the an equally impressive line-up of original videos.

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Kickstarting Creativity: A Double Fine Adventure

We’re tired of paying for games that promise so much, but after we’ve spent our $65, we’re left empty, unsatisfied, and broke. Yes, I’m still talking about videogames. But what if you could guarantee that you’d be spending your hard earned money on a game that not only is incredible, but that you helped build from start to finish without ever leaving your room? No, you wouldn’t have to know anything about graphic design, C++ or HTML coding. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a collaboration of Double Fine Productions, 2 Player Productions, and the reason for this project - you.

In the Beginning…

Tim Schafer, former writer and programmer for LucasArts in the 1990’s, started Double Fine Productions in 2000 and had a vision - a vision where honesty and integrity was the foundation of who they were and where games would be original and fun again. Name doesn’t sound familiar? You might know of their games Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, and Costume Quest, which won Best Downloadable Game of the Year by Spike TV’s VGA and PSN Game of the Year by Playstation Magazine in 2010.

Schafer had a brilliant idea that started with Kickstarter - an online company that allows creative minds and their dreams to become realities with the help of others who believe in the project. For now, the project is called Double Fine Adventure - dubbed the name due to the fact that Schafer dreams of a day where old school, point-and-click adventure games are magical and possibilities are endless. Not only is DFA just another game to look forward to, but coupled with 2 Player Productions, it will also be a full documentary of the game’s development from beginning to end.

And that’s where you, the fan, comes into play.

The Game Without a Name

DFP and Tim Schafer originally was hoping for fans to raise a total of  $300,00-$400,000 for the game itself and $100,000 for the documentary. As of February 25^th of this year, they have raised $2,227,006 with 64,928 backers and 16 days until this project starts. They actually raised a million dollars in 24 hours from their start on February 10^th. First off, that gives me hope in today’s generation that appreciates the retro and the proverbial walk down memory lane. 

Secondly, that means that with that kind of funding, all of that extra money is going to go back into the game and documentary so it can be released on multiple platforms, extra music soundtracks, overall better quality of the game and documentary,  Things like that. but what they’re asking for isn’t just donations - there will be a private online community specifically for backers “to discuss the project with the devs and submit their thoughts and feelings about the game's content and direction, sometimes even voting on decisions when the dev team can't decide.” 

The Naked Truth

“The game will be either great or a spectacular failure caught on camera for everyone to see. Either way, you win,” Tim Schafer

If you haven’t heard of 2 Player Productions, here’s a fun fact - they’ve produced behind-the-scenes footage for the Infamous games, Uncharted 3, and 27 episodes in the first season of Penny Arcade.

Double Fine doesn‘t want you to just see the pretty images, the comical panels and get-togethers. They want all to be revealed. 

"They’ll get to see our brainstorming sessions. We’re going to get people together and do like we did in the old days, just sit in a room and talk about anything we want to talk about until we come up with a couple of puzzles each day. We’ll let people see that. And they’ll see what the artists are drawing, the kind of thought process we go into when we’re shooting, what character designs we like. We want to make them feel as much as possible like they’re here in the office sharing in the game development process with us." Schafer on the documentary

Cameras will be following the crew everywhere. It will be paparazzi in their faces at almost all time, I mean, you can’t be followed into the bathroom. That’s a little creepy. Nevertheless, this is their plan come approximately 2 weeks from now. This isn’t the first time they’ve done something like this though, however, it will be the first time that anyone will be able to see a complete start-to-finish of a game’s development without any idea of whether the game will be a failure or success. 

Psychonauts is one of the most notable games by Double Fine.

The team isn’t nervous about doing this, being that they’ve taped an episode of G4 TV’s Icons while creating Psychonauts in 2005. That isn’t to say that it’s not hard work, though. It’s not just about calling the filming crew in to film for X amount of hours and then they go home. 

When they filmed the episode for Icons, workers were far from having it easy. While the work is hard, the result, whether good or bad, will be worth everything. They’re looking to finish in October 2012, but who knows? With all the money that they raised, that means they have more funds to put extra content into the project, but as we all know from our Troll friends in World of Warcraft, “Time is money, friend.”

Oh, the Rewards!

So okay, you donate, you collaborate with the developers, and all you have left is bragging rights, correct? Wrong. Saving the best for last, there are rewards. You have to give your fans some sort of incentive. For a solid $15 donation, you get the finished game on the platform of your choice, access to the Beta on Steam and the video series, as well as the private discussion community. For $30, you get an HD download of the documentary with extra features, digital game and documentary soundtracks, plus the previous $15 reward tier. The rewards go up - and for those that go beyond the call, there are super premium rewards. Visit their website to learn more about all that.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The project will begin on March 10^th at 8pm EDT and continue until somewhere around October. Inspired? Visit www.doublefine.com to learn more about the project, to donate to DFP, updates, rewards, and anything about the company you’d like to know. You can also visit www.2playerproductions.com to check out what’s going on with Double Fine Adventure on their end, plus anything that they’re up to. Have an idea? Check out www.kickstarter.com to learn how your dreams can be a reality.

Sources and quotes from: www.doublefine.com, www.2playerproductions.com, www.kickstarter.com, www.venturebeat.com

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