One the more fun gadgets I've tested lately is Gear4's PocketLoops. With the portable keyboard and free companion app, users can create and remix loops. Gear4 is known for its variety of idevice accessories including cases, speakers and its UnityRemote universal remote.

A new lottery game introduced Tuesday aims to put stock-car racing fans in the winner's circle.

With 125 million viewers watching more than 1 billion of its videos a month, Machinima may be the most-watched channel that's not on TV.

In the first year of the Wii's release, there were a lot of games released that felt a little like tech demos; underfeatured, underdeveloped games that took advantage of the new control mechanic but didn't offer the replay value normally associated with console gaming.

The "Rayman" franchise has been so dominated by the "Raving Rabbids" name that has made itself a yearly presence since the launch of Nintendo's Wii console that it's almost hard to remember that once, long ago, it was a respected series of platformers.

Nintendo Co.'s upcoming Wii U game console will come with a controller that has a big, touch-enabled screen. At first glance, that seems like an obstacle to the kind of casual multiplayer gaming that made the first Wii console such a breakout hit.

Video game developers are still figuring out new ways to use the Xbox 360 Kinect system, which uses a camera and microphone to do away with the game controller entirely. Via Kinect, your body and voice become the game controllers.

It's no secret that Nintendo has been getting by on its marquee franchises since, oh, 1985 or so, but the company also has a small pile of lesser franchises that function something like secret weapons for every Nintendo system that comes out.

Remastering PlayStation 2 games is a somewhat risky proposition for Sony. For one thing, the PlayStation 3 was originally built to play PlayStation 2 games, a feature whose eventual removal is being exploited for these re-releases.

The swords-and-sorcery RPG video game has changed radically over the years.

It started with "Just Dance," a sleeper hit on the Wii that just never stopped selling copies. While dance games have been around for a long time, it was that 2009 game that proved that we were ready to accept them into our homes.

For eight entire worlds, which encompass around 40 levels of the familiar action-filled platforming that Mario fans have come to love, "Super Mario 3D Land" (3DS; $39.99; Rated E) is an excellent game.

One of the most unexpected genre success stories in console gaming is the specimen known as the carnival game collection.

Cary-based Epic Games' new sequel to its best-selling "Infinity Blade" game for Apple mobile devices is getting a huge thumbs-up from gaming sites.

The video game truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Find the right one, and your loved ones will still be on the couch months from now, trying to outrace cartoon villains, defeat the Chromatic Dragon or what-have-you.

There is a strange push and pull to " El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron" (Xbox 360; Rated T; $49.99).

Oh, I know. I know I'm not supposed to pay any specific attention to the campaign mode of a "Battlefield" game.