Blog Posts by Mike Smith

Max Payne 3 (Rockstar Games)Still can't get Diablo III working? Sadly, you're not the only one, as the eagerly-awaited action/role-playing game's debut has been a mess of technical problems.

Good thing, then, that Diablo III isn't the only anticipated new game releasing this week. Eight years since his last game appearance, grumpy detective Max Payne is back at it in Max Payne 3. But isn't he getting a bit old for all this?

You could certainly be forgiven for making that assumption. The formula of the original Max Payne -- a bloody, gritty, noir-inspired shooter that saw the titular protagonist taking on room after room of baddies in glorious, slow motion "bullet time" -- isn't as fresh now as it was back then. But now the series is in the hands of a new team, and a new writer: none other than Dan Houser, fresh from penning award-winning Rockstar hits like Red Dead Redemption and a number of the Grand Theft Auto games.

Twister DanceTwister -- the elaborate adolescent courtship ritual that's all about contorting yourself into bizarre shapes -- is about to be revamped.

And instead of the familiar floor mat and spinner, the new version will be all about dance. You know, the elaborate adolescent courtship ritual that's all about contorting yourself into bizarre shapes TO MUSIC.

When the Lego designers came up with kit number 3367, a stubby model of the Space Shuttle from the Lego City series, they probably didn't intend it to actually fly.

But they didn't count on the efforts of Romanian tinkerer Raul Oaida, who tied one to a weather balloon and sent it to the very edge of space. With a camera attached, naturally.

The Lego shuttle reached an altitude of 35,000 meters -- over 20 miles -- and withstood temperatures as low as -58F. Not nearly as rough as the conditions real Shuttles have to endure, to be sure, but still way out of the design envelope for a Lego toy.

[ Related: Gingrich Space Plan Promises the Moon, Literally ]

Oaida's rig included a GoPro Hero

Temple Run (Imangi)Temple Run, an App Store release made on a meager budget by a husband-and-wife team, is giving iOS offerings from massive companies like EA and Zynga a serious run for their money.

In total, it's racked up over 40 million downloads since releasing last August, according to New York Times tech blog Bits, and is now played by nearly as many people as all Zynga mobile games combined.

The game sees players sprinting through an Aztec maze while being chased by hordes of evil monkeys. It's a sort of mashup of Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and Run, Lola, Run -- miss a jump, hit an obstacle, or plummet off the side, and you're done. Simple, adrenaline-pounding, and over in just a few minutes, it's the perfect recipe for a portable game.

Think today's video games are expensive?

(Photo credit: Kotaku)They've got nothing on this ordinary-looking mid-90s Neo Geo game. It just sold for a staggering $30,000, reports Kotaku, making it quite possibly the most valuable game on the platform.

The recipient of the $30,000 (or thereabouts; he's understandably reticent with the precise amount) was one Michael DiCioccio, a serious Neo Geo collector, and the game in question is Aero Fighters 3, the American-market version of Sonic Wings 3, a Japanese shooter released in 1995 in arcades and on the Neo Geo.

Now that hit video game Minecraft is about to become a Lego set, what's next for the growing world of Lego-game crossovers?

Here are a few awesome possibilities, courtesy of stop-motion animator and Lego enthusiast Alex Cobbs, who created this incredibly cool short film to open a video game industry awards presentation held a few weeks ago.

Yahoo! editors have selected this article as a favorite of 2012. It first appeared in Yahoo! Games in February, and turned out to be the most popular Games article promoted from the Yahoo! Front Page all year. Readers shared tips in the comments section like, "For me, the trick to winning was this: when you hit the drop button, the claw needs to hook either under the arm, in between the legs or in a ribbon of the toy you want." One commenter told a story about a generous arcade game vendor who lowered the difficulty level on his claw machine just to make kids happy. That got more responses, such as "Claw guy made me smile, nice story! THANKS for sharing!"

Squatting menacingly in the corner of your favorite restaurant, movie theater, supermarket or bowling alley, the claw machine is a harsh mistress. There's something unmistakably hostile about its steely, three- or four-fingered grip, and something immeasurably frustrating about the feeling of horror and loss you get as your prize slips from your tenuous grasp at the very last second.

Don't despair. Instead, even the odds a little. Follow these simple tips, and you can't lose. (OK, you can lose, but you'll lose a little less often.)

Zynga toys around.We've seen Legend of Zelda action figures. We've seen Cut the Rope plushes. We've even seen Angry Birds board games.

Next up: Farmville toys, games, and action figures, courtesy of a just-announced deal between social game maker Zynga and toy-world behemoth Hasbro.

The deal sees Hasbro picking up a license to produce toys and games based on Zynga's numerous properties, which include popular social network games Farmville, Cityville, and Words with Friends. Hasbro's products should start showing up in stores this fall, and with Zynga boasting a total active userbase well north of 200 million, it's safe to say they'll be hot property...even though your average Farmviller is probably far too