Although the App Store, Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade are great ways for smaller games to get noticed, the truth is, there are so many other great indie games that no one ever sees simply because they are stuck on the PC. It’s a shame because there’s some brilliant stuff out there, like Terry Cavanagh’s VVVVVV. I remember hearing about this game when it was first released back in January, but it wasn’t until it hit Steam and I found it bundled with the Indie Clever Pack that I finally loaded it up and became completely hooked. After being greeted with a wonderfully nostalgic Commodore 64 style presentation and soundtrack, I dove right into this manic platformer. I couldn’t believe how quickly the difficulty ramped up early on, but as I continued to play I found myself relishing the challenge.

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Well after recruiting the entire movie cast for the relatively successful Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Atari has decided to cheap out for the sequel and go the Xbox Live Arcade route with Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. Normally I wouldn’t be all that interested, but I’m a sucker for top-down dungeon crawlers, particularly those built for multiplayer co-op. It’s also being developed by Wanako Studios, the same people who did Assault Heroes, which is another selling point. On the other hand, this first trailer for the game isn’t particularly inspired.

It’s been five years since the last official Sufjan Stevens album, and as such I would have thought there’d be a little more hype for The Age of Adz. Personally I love the fact that it’s merging his folksy stuff with his earlier electronic work, and this seizure-inducing video for “Too Much”, directed by Deborah Johnson, is fantastic.

When I read that the release of a new PSN game called Explodemon was getting pushed back to January, my first question was, “How is this not just a shameless rip off ‘Splosion Man?”. Then I watched the trailer, and the obvious Mega Man influence got me pretty excited. So yeah, I’m totally on board for this.

The latest video from their new album Business Casual features P-Thugg and Dave 1 as cops who relax after their shift in some sort of sexy steam room. These guys make law enforcement look pretty damn smooth. Directed by Jeremie Rozen.

The folks over at ThinkGeek have made a lot of amusing novelty items over the years (some of which turned out to be fake), but every now and then they come up with something that is actually useful and actually real. Case in point: the TK-421 iPhone case. Not only does it protect your phone, but it also has a flip-out Bluetooth keyboard that makes fast typing a heck of a lot easier.

I’m a bit surprised no one else has come out with something similar yet, but it would appear that Apple has not been making it easy for people. I guess they don’t want to admit that there could possibly be any flaws with their oh-so-intuitive touch screen keyboard. Either way, good on ThinkGeek for stepping up and providing the perfect holiday gift for the geek in your life.

Source: ThinkGeek

Spike Jonze co-directed LCD Soundsystem’s “Drunk Girls” video earlier this year, and now he’s back with a new one for the title track from Arcade Fire’s latest album. Definitely a little darker than what we’re used to seeing from him, and a bit of an homage to the cult ’70s teen rebellion flick Over the Edge.

Judd Apatow put out his first book this month, a collection of short stories and essays entitled I Found This Funny: My Favorite Pieces of Humor and Some That May Not Be Funny At All. Although he did contribute a short piece himself, he mainly took on the role of editor, assembling a pretty impressive line-up of contemporary writers and comedians from his buddies Paul Feig and Adam Sandler to McSweeny’s regulars like Dave Eggers and Michael Chabon, to, yes even legends like Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Apparently Apatow has so much clout he was able to bring these guys back from the dead.

The truth is, a lot of the material in this book has been published previously, so if you’re a big fan of a lot of these writers you may find it fairly redundant. I was a little disappointed to find that contributions from people like Conan O’Brien and Adam McKay are actually just screenplays for TV pilots and SNL sketches. Fortunately, it’s the kind of book that you can read in five minute installments (ideal for an ADD reader like me), and the proceeds go to charity. So yeah, check it out.