Augmented reality isn’t a new technology by any means -- football fans experience it whenever they see the yellow first-down line drawn on their televisions. It’s only logical, then, that video games have wholeheartedly embraced the concept of juxtaposing virtual elements within the real world. And even though developers haven’t quite gotten to the point of tinkering with the safety protocols of the nearest holodeck, they've still accomplished a remarkable feat of progress.

While the glasses-free 3DS handheld from Nintendo certainly packs the necessary punch to blur the line between virtual and reality, you don’t need to wait around for its impending release to mix the two. Here are four games on the iPhone to check out if you ever feel the need to bend reality a bit to get your game on.

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In typical RPG fare, character building usually amounts to selecting a few skills and allocating points on a sheet full of abstract statistics. While these choices generally have a direct impact on the strength and abilities of your character, this tends to draw you out of the world by turning this process into a pure numbers game.

In Faery: Legends of Avalon (an RPG recently released on Xbox Live Arcade), the designers took a markedly different approach. While you do receive a set amount of skill points when you level up, you apply these points towards upgrading and changing various parts of your body. Each of these changes does offer a new skill or an increase in an existing ability, but they also make real, graphically-represented changes to your on-screen appearance.

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"hey yoshis my favorite charaacter so? shut ur face" -SUPERSONICFLIPPY

Movie buffs and music snobs don't need to convince you to like something. In fact, they're probably more likely to scoff if you don't and walk away of the mind that you'll never really get it. So what makes us video-game enthusiasts feel the need to defend the honor of things we enjoy, and is it poisoning the hobby's credibility?

Everyone from the media, politicians, and our parents, to the experts on other forms of entertainment that don't consider our industry of choice "art worthy," have beaten down the avid gamer over the years. We've had to fight for what we love our entire lives. Maybe we've just become a jumpy bunch, ready to brawl at a moment's notice, but there is a good chance it is hurting our eventual acceptance by the mainstream.

A while back I did a mock video review of Super Mario Galaxy 2 for a video-game satire blog that I started. It was purposely over-the-top, full of outlandish claims, and made as little sense as possible. I ended it with a score of zero out of 10 and then admitted that I hadn't even played the game. The concept just upset me so much that it deserved that low of a score. Now sure, this approach was never going to attract any well-thought-out responses, but the amount of replies I got to this verbal diarrhea with absolutely no grounds for an argument was kind of surprising.

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Maury Povich stares suspiciously at his guest. “So let me get this straight,” he says, his distinguished features furrowed in a frown. “You’re telling me that your husband was in the Wild West for the better part of two months, and you believe he was sleeping around?”

“Yes Maury!” Abigail Marston says, fighting back tears. “I use to run with his gang, and I know what it’s like. I just know he’s gone back to his womanizing ways. He's been sleeping with cheap whores and fast women, I just know it. He came back with over 10 outfits! He was disguising himself and sleeping around.” The audience boos riotously.

“And you never even got a telegram? Two months and no telegram?” Maury asks, his hand on Abigail’s knee to comfort her. She shakes her head sobbing.

“Well, let’s bring John Marston out!” cries Maury, to the uproarious disapproval of the audience. John Marston enters the soundstage sheepishly and sits down amidst the catcalling.

“John, you had quite the adventure,” says Maury, his eyebrow cocked.

“I did, sir.”

“But you say you remained faithful to your wife?”

“I do, sir.”

“And you didn’t even send a telegram? And you were gone two full months?!?”

“My wife can’t read. I thought it would be an insult.”

Maury turns to the camera. “We submitted John to a lie detector test, and the results are in! We’ll be back after these messages.”

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The Geekbox — Episode 93 (2010-11-24)
Wherein we discuss Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (spoiler warning!), Donkey Kong Country Returns, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Xbox Live politics, The Walking Dead (spoiler warning #2!), Doctor Who, Netflix’s content-streaming strategy, the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer film reboot, and weird Mario games. Starring Ryan Scott, Karen Chu, Ryan Higgins, and Alice Liang.
Running Time: 1h 14m 31s

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Sssh.

No, really: Be quiet. I’m trying to concentrate. Yeah, you can watch -- just keep very still. I think he’s following me. The tall one in green. See him? 

Watch: If I go left here, he follows me around the corner. It’s him. He’s after me. 

Right, stay calm. Think. If we can lose him, we can--

Oh. He’s gone. 

Don’t breathe a sigh of relief, because you're playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's multiplayer. You might find he’s flanked you, stabbing you quicker than you can think. You might have in fact got the wrong man entirely -- you should have been watching the Courtesan, the one coming towards you right now. It does things to your head, this game. 

People say that the multiplayer modes in Halo and Call of Duty are about skill. They may be right, but it is nonetheless skill modified by explosions, luck, or speed. The multiplayer element of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is sheer cunning distilled into 10 minutes of fear. 

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Except for those of you in Canada who cheated and gave thanks earlier in the year, prematurely.

In next week's Mobcast, we discuss what we're most thankful for as far as gaming goes (me: wireless technology...specifically untethered controllers).

How about you? Big or small (small's probably funnier), what are you most thankful for? Don't give us any cheesy nonsense about your family, health, etc. We're talking about gaming here!

Please comment below and enjoy the long weekend.

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Even though I received The Saboteur as a gift, I immediately had snobby thoughts about it. How good could it possibly be with the middling reviews critics gave it? I put it in my PlayStation 3 fully expecting to give up long before finishing it.

To my surprise, the game slowly grew on me the more I played it, even though I'm not a big fan of open-world games. Most of the time, their endless side missions, fetch quests, backtracking, and overall repetition grate on me quickly and I throw in the towel well before I ever complete them. The Saboteur was much more straight to the point, with very few side missions to distract me from the main story, and I was engrossed enough to actually complete it -- something I don't believe I've ever done in an open-world game.

Upon finishing the game, I decided to set out on a mission to figure out why I perceived the game so differently than the media's general indifference to it. Before I read began analyzing other reviews, I penned my own review, and as I wrote, it became more and more positive -- I ended up with a five out of five (not perfect, but still "excellent" according to my own review scale). I just couldn't justify anything lower based on the primarily glowing review I had written.

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The last News Blips before Thanksgiving, which mean it's time for extreme shopping deals, four straight days of gaming, and football. Now, time to find my comfy pants and dig into this stuffing. 

News Blips:

Mark Wahlberg is your Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie. The Max Payne actor confirmed to MTV Multiplayer Blog that David O. Russell -- who is most famous for not being a fan of Lily Tomlin -- had begun writing the script. If a brother of a New Kid on the Block isn't enough star power to give you faith in this video-game adaptation, then maybe the fact that Russell wants to cast Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro in the film will. "That's who [Russell] wants to write the parts for. I talked to Pesci about it and I know David's people have talked to [Robert De Niro]," said Wahlberg. Does this cast mesh with the one that has been starring in your dreams?

Minecraft is getting a "Hardcore Mode" where the world ends when you die. That should add a lot more intensity to keeping those creepers out of your mountain cave. This news comes from Markus Persson (aka Notch), Minecraft's creator, who was inspired by a series on PC Gamer where a player would immediately delete his world if he died. "I’m definitely going to add hardcore mode to the game where dying will destroy the world. I’m not sure how it would work in multiplayer, though.... Perhaps you could get 'banned' from the server until the world resets if you die on a server running hardcore mode," wrote Persson. [The Word of Notch]

Steam is holding daily deals from November 24 to November 29 in celebration of Thanksgiving and wallet destruction. Get yourself on over to the Steam Store and prepare your stack of cash to be thinner just in time for Black Friday. Today's deals include Alpha Protocol for $7.50 and Borderlands for $9.99. Steam is also providing "Give & Get" deals where customers can buy six copies of Borderlands, keep one for themselves and gift the rest to friends, family, and nemeses. Finally, Steam will be randomly choosing 30 people each day to get the top five games on their wish list. Better update that wish list. 

Activision will "never ever" charge for Call of Duty multiplayer. In an interview, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg responded to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's prediction that Call of Duty would be going to a subscription-based model in 2011. "Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no. The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience and we'll never charge for that. It's not going to be something we'll attempt to monetize; it's part of the package," said Hirshberg. [IndustryGamers]

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The first official piece of business during my tour of Disneyland was to watch a presentation by Warren Spector, famed game creator and the man behind Epic Mickey, at the Lincoln Theater. I was...enthusiastic.

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Black Friday is a ridiculous time of year. Otherwise normal and mild-mannered people turn into deal-hungry trample machines the moment stores unlock their doors. While other sites are dedicated to offering a comprehensive list of deals, we here at Bitmob want to help you make the most of those precious pre-dawn hours.

The following is an analysis of the biggest sales happening November 26. 

Main Game Retailers:

Walmart - (electronics sale 5-11 a.m.)

If you want a tailored list of Walmart's deals, you can find region-specific advertising on their website. They aren't offering the biggest selection of discounted games, but hopefully you'll find something you want. 

Check the listing

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The best advice I can give to aspiring game designers is to get really good at making mini-games and levels in LittleBigPlanet 2...and to do a lot of coding.

Video Blips:

• The "Controlinator" makes piloting vehicles, caterpillars, rabbits, and more in LittleBigPlanet 2 a breeze. I know some of you think that you'd like that technology for your car, but I'm telling you right now: It's a terrible idea.

Continue after the break for a peek at Junction Point Studio's trip to the Disney Archives for Epic Mickey, a preview of Shift Extended for the PlayStation Network, and the latest trailer for Spelunker HD.

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As silly as an announcement announcing a further announcement sounds, that's exactly what Game Trailers TV host Geoff Keighly teased gamers with last Tuesday. Patrick Buechner, vice-president of marketing at Electronic Arts, tantalized us further with "Bioware fans, pay attention." The next day, Spike TV gave us this:

While we have to wait until Spike's Video Game Awards on December 11 for the official reveal, I can't find any reason not to engage in some good-natured speculation. Read on for the staff's thoughts and responses from the community!

Dan Hsu, Co-founder

A Baldur's Gate MMO. That's just complete, wild speculation on my part based on nothing at all.

Demian Linn, Co-founder

I'm holding out for a BioWare/Gearbox partnership for a Mass Effect/Borderlands MMOFPS mash-up. And Baldur's Gate 3. If this is all just a Mass Effect 3 announcement I'm going to be a little cranky.

Brett Bates, Managing Editor

Everything I've read so far points to it being related to Mass Effect and multiplayer. I'm guessing EA wants to do Call of Duty in space before Activision does. Look for something along the lines of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

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A couple of weeks ago, we put a call out for help to support Bitmob.com (thank you to those who responded!). Today, we need a  different type of assistance....

We could really use a developer or two who has a little extra time each week to help us with a few projects. Unfortunately, we can't pay you actual cash money at the moment (we're looking for funding to get Bitmob off the ground). But if you can stick with us for a bit and help us through these lean times, we can offer you some equity in the company.

Here's what we're looking for:

• Two+ years of experience with Ruby on Rails
• Strong HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills
• MySql, PostgreSQL, and Linux Sys Admin experience a plus

Please send your resume/CV to support[at]bitmob.com with the subject head Ruby on Rails developer, and we'll get back to you with more details about what we need. If you know someone else who may be interested, please pass this post along. We'd appreciate it!

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There has to be some sort of design mandate when it comes to first-party titles on the Wii. Nintendo must have it writ in the bible of motion-capable development that all titles, regardless of their core mechanics, must make use of wiggle and waggle.

In the same bible, it must also be written that developers may not give players the opportunity to forgo this motion-based impasse. No, they’ll need to shake what their higher ups gave ‘em.

Fret not -- it typically works. With games like Super Mario Galaxy, motion is peppered into the best spots. It becomes second nature for Wii users to flick their wrists as goombas approach. The controller configuration is tilted towards waggle, as players have independent control of movement and attack. The nunchuck handles moving Mario around, while the a shake of the Wii Remote activates his signature spin move. Movement isn’t compromised for combat. Perfect.

But then along comes the rebirth of side-scrolling platformers. Starting with the vastly underplayed Wario Land: Shake It!, Nintendo has been parading out a troupe of wonderful 2D adventures. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns followed the purple-trouser'd doppleganger. Each title sports the same default controller configuration: The remote is held horizontally.

And that's where the problems begin.

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With the final roster of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds still up in the air, Capcom announced that we’ll be paying for downloadable characters. The special edition will include a code for two characters that will come out a month after the game’s release: Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine and Marvel Comics’ Shuma-Gorath.

Adding new characters to a fighting game seems like a natural fit for downloadable content: If a shooter can add more multiplayer maps and a single player game can add more scenarios, then why shouldn’t fighting games expand their content with new characters? By announcing DLC so early, however, Capcom is going against the views of one of the company's own: Yoshinori Ono, producer of the Street Fighter 4 series.  

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I wonder if any of the 3D-hardware manufacturers would be up to creating a steampunk version of 3D glasses. I just might be interested enough to take the plunge into stereoscopic gaming then.

News Blips:

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Studio Director Mick Hocking reveals that over 50 3D PlayStation 3 games are in development. "We’re applying 3D to more than 20 internal games at Sony," Hocking said to Develop. "It’s a very positive thing to see the great level of interest in 3D from our development studios." Hocking also noted the rising level of interest in developing 3D games from third-party studios. "Overall we have more than 50 titles currently being converted into 3D, and this number is growing fast," he said. "Some of them are massive names. That’s a really, really good sign that the industry is behind our unique message that 3D is a key element in the future of home consoles." I'm sure the exclusive group of gamers who had enough cash to plunk down for a costly 3DTV are feeling pretty smug right about now.

Elder Scrolls 5 is rumored to be in the works at Bethesda Studios, according to a source speaking with Eurogamer Denmark. "This source not only confirmed that the game is in current production, but also spoke briefly about the content -- with fantasy-sounding phrases like Dragon Lord, something with The Blades -- and that voice acting for the characters in the game is currently happening in the weeks to follow," the website's report reads. "The same source confirmed, with official game documents in hand, that this will be the chronological sequel to what happened in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion." Based on this information, Eurogamer Denmark concluded it can "confirm without hesitation" that the game is indeed being made. If true, let's hope something is being done to replace the aging (and glitchy) Gamebryo engine.

The Xbox 360 turns five years old this week. Although it underwent significant hardware iterations and firmware updates (such as a fix for the notorious "red ring of death"), Microsoft's console remains largely unchanged and perseveres to maintain its lead in worldwide sales over the PlayStation 3, with 44.6 million units sold as of September. In a blog post, Xbox Live Director of Policy and Enforcement Stephen Toulouse called the establishment of Xbox Live and its status as the de facto console multiplayer service "a pretty watershed moment." Happy birthday, Xbox 360. Here's to many more years of being the bane of PlayStation 3 loyalists.

A survey conducted by investment research group Cowan and Company claims that console and motion-control peripheral sales would benefit from price cuts. The survey polled 2,301 respondents and marked the response of non-console owners to motion gaming as "tepid." "We believe that the hardware manufacturers have left unit sales on the table by not reducing price points from $199 to $179 and $299 to $249 for the applicable consoles, and that doing so would have driven a more significant boost to hardware sales for the release of new motion-sensing peripherals," the survey states. "We view continued stubbornly high hardware price points as one of the key factors dragging down software sales." I'm sure another contributing factor is that a bunch of non-gamers wouldn't be caught dead waving a wand topped with a colorful ping pong ball at their TVs. [GamesIndustry.biz]

Got any hot news tips? Send 'em over to [email protected].

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All the signs are here: The San Francisco Giants have won the World Series, a Treyarch Call of Duty game outsold an Infinity Ward game on release day, and Gran Turismo 5 will actually see the light of day. Nope, it’s not the apocalypse...Christmas is almost here!

That means we’re in the final stretch of this year’s ridiculous amount of releases. Thanksgiving is this week, and publishers are still shipping games like a bunch of crazy people. That’s OK, we can’t begrudge them for giving us great titles, even if there are way too many for even the most dedicated hardcore gamer to play.

That’s why we need your help in covering some of the biggest titles released in the past two weeks. Bitmob moderators and editors are searching for articles about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Gran Tursimo 5, and Donkey King Country Returns.

We're looking for front-page-worthy stories -- make them creative, insightful, and clever. If you want to do reviews, that's cool, too -- those get rounded up our Reviews Spotlights.

Don't forget to use the appropriate tags for your article (use the full game names as written above).
   
And try to get your article up as soon as you can. Timely articles really grab our attention, and are more likely to hit the front page.

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Gran Turismo 5 favors serious torque when sailing over hills or tearing through the woods. I wish I had one of these cars to drive like that to grandma's house.

Video Blips:

• Gran Turismo 5's title cinematic shows how a clod of dirt transforms into a sleek Nissan GT-R. The cyclical (and frantic) piano accompaniment befits the mechanical nature of the automobile industry. [GameTrailers]

Continue after the break for the corporatocracy of Mindjack, disembowelments by huge weapons in Lord of Arcana, and an escape from a mysterious facility in Project I/O.

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Today's games contain tons of terrifying situations: Aliens fire scorching bolts of plasma, hordes of zombies roam the streets in search of brains, and gargantuan beasts always crave a tasty snack.

Thankfully, many video-game protagonists seem to be made of sturdier stuff than I am. Their stoicism is beyond question because they never make so much as a peep about a hopeless battle or a horrifying enemy. Meanwhile, all of the characters around them lose their minds.

Years ago, the silent protagonist may have been a way to save a few bucks, but mostly, it was a method developers used to allow the player to pretend that they were the hero. Apparently, the idea behind this is that it puts the player in the main character's head and helps them to feel closer to the story.

Take Half-Life 2 for example: As long as Gordon Freeman doesn't share his thoughts or speak in a voice that doesn't match mine, I can fill his shoes. Since it's a two-way conversation, Alyx Vance is talking to me, right?

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