Sonic the Hedgehog has been around for years now, entertaining us with his platforming adventures on the Genesis before moving on to other platforms and, eventually, multi-system success on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  But the ride hasn’t always been the greatest with him, thanks to lackluster efforts since Sonic Unleashed (seriously…a Werehog) and the iffy next-gen debut of Sonic the Hedgehog, where he fell for a…human girl.  Ick.  Anyway, that said, he did have some great games over the years…so why not count down the best?

Long before actor Masi Oka broke into Hollywood with the NBC TV hit, “Heroes,” his work had been seen by millions of people on the big screen. It’s just that they didn’t know it. Oka spent years as a programmer for George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) writing hundreds of thousands of lines of code. It was his programming that allowed ILM to bring the water effects to life in films like The Perfect Storm. In fact, even though he doesn’t actively write code for ILM any more, his technology can still be seen on the big screen in films like Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. While Oka is currently starring in the CBS hit, “Hawaii Five-0,” he’s using his programming background to actively develop original video games aimed at the Japanese audience. The tech guru and self-professed gamer talks about his latest projects in this exclusive interview.

According to Insights into the Freemium Games Market, the latest report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, 4 out of 10 of those who have played an upgradable freemium game report making an in-game payment to extend or enhance a game. A growing number of freemium, or free-to-play games are hitting the market, like Firefall, which can be seen in the exclusive video below.

A long time ago, before Rockstar Games got heavily involved with its Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises, there was Max Payne, an Xbox/PC release that really shook things up both emotionally and with its action.  The story, focusing on a cop who loses his family and goes all out to destroy enemies that get in his way, is one of the better ones in the last decade of gaming, really digging deep on the rage boiling inside him – to the point he needs painkillers just to get through each battle.  After a decade, Rockstar has opted to bring the game to the iOS front, for both newer iPad and iPhone devices.  And while it’s quite the technical achievement, clumsy controls will leave you raging in a slightly different way.

Epic Games and its award winning Salt Lake City-based development studio, ChAIR Entertainment released Infinity Blade II: ClashMob, a free content update for its Game of the Year Award-winning iOS blockbuster, Infinity Blade II. In support of the update, gamers can purchase the full version of Infinity Blade II for a limited-time promotional price of $4.99  (regularly $6.99) via the App Store.

PopCap Games is on a roll, aren’t they?  It seems no matter what they release as of late, it’s destined to suck up hours of your time without any hesitation.  That’s the way it was with Peggle, Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, etc. etc.  But one of the earlier games they got started with, Zuma, remains just as fresh as the day it came out, thanks to sharp ball-shooting physics and diverse levels.  So when we caught wind that the company was releasing a sequel, Zuma’s Revenge HD, for iOS devices, we – ahem – jumped at the chance to check it out.

Considering everything that Rovio has gone through with its multi-million selling Angry Birds franchise, it could’ve easily let success get to its head.  It could’ve sat back at all the cash raked in from the stuffed animals, fruit snacks and…sigh…upcoming CG movie and simply done nothing else for the rest of its career.  But no, like any intuitive game developer, it felt a challenge was necessary for its series, something new that would remind fans that they still gave a dang when it came to game development.  And say what you will about the company’s previous moves, but Angry Birds Space is that proof.

Apple has sold three million new iPads since launch on Friday, March 16 and that’s with many consumers still awaiting new product. Eager fans spent the night waiting in line for the new device and crowds stormed retail stores to be the first to buy the new tablet. The new iPad features a Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics, a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life while remaining thin and light. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G supports 4G LTE networks in the US and Canada, and fast networks around the world including those based on HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA.

Worldwide media tablet shipments into sales channels rose by 56.1% on a sequential basis in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011 (4Q11) to 28.2 million units worldwide, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker. That represents an increase of 155% from the fourth quarter of 2010. The market experienced stronger-than-expected growth across many regions and at many price points, leading to a full-year 2011 total of 68.7 million units. Based upon the markets' strong 2011 finish, and the clear demand expected in 2012, IDC has increased its 2012 forecast to 106.1 million units, up from its previous forecast of 87.7 million units.

Rovio could probably sit around and talk for hours on end about how much cash they’ve raked in with their Angry Birds franchise.  Between the games, the stuffed toys, the upcoming movie, the advertising tie-ins, the candy…yes, there’s Angry Birds candy…there’s literally no end to this cash cow.  But that doesn’t mean the team has forgotten how to make the games special.  And on March 22, it takes the next logical step in the series, by launching the Angry Birds into…well, outer space.

SAN FRANCISCO – Tablet games were everywhere at GDC 2012, which also marked the debut (next door) of Apple’s new iPad. On the show floor at the Game Developers Convention were plenty of new Google Android tablets. In a remarkably rapid ascension, media tablets in 2014 will become the world’s fourth-largest application for semiconductors, up from 35th in 2010, rising in just four short years from obscurity to a level rivaling the position of powerhouse chip markets like mobile handsets and PCs, according to the IHS iSuppli Application Market Forecast Tool  from information and analytics provider IHS.