Awesome Software

Despite its simple appearance, IncrediBots is surprisingly addictive: use three basic joints and shapes to build everything from Rube Goldberg machines and rag dolls to catapults.

Coded in C++ by a 21 y/o Irish Ph.D. student, Skyrails is a social network visualization system; using scripts, it’s heavily customizable and will even take live data. Download it here.

Simultaneously a hottie and a novel gameplay concept, Prince of Persia’s Elika gets shown off in this new trailer; in many ways, she and the prince use each other as human slingshots.

Megalomaniacs can get their game on with Mastermind: the game lets you put your nefarious plans to work with minions and a secret base; too bad it’s not hidden within a volcano.

Tower Defense fanatics should check out this trailer for Defense Grid: The Awakening; it’s a bit pricey at $20 but if the game is as addictive as it is gorgeous, it will be worth every cent.

It’s a bit lacking in action, but this trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum does a good job at showing off the game’s creepy environments; it doesn’t get much funkier than a mental hospital.

Video game versions of movies usually leave much to be desired, but this trailer for Wanted looks promising; you’ll get to use the movie’s signature curvy bullet effect. Note: mild f-bomb.

Elven Legacy looked like yet another (albeit good-looking) fantasy game, at least until we saw hexes: we’re big turn-based gamers, so we’re eagerly awaiting its Q1 ’09 release.

Even if witches and fantasy gaming aren’t your thing, Oxeye’s Agatha Ragata is worth a look for its immersive music and sound effects; we think the laughtrack is particularly effective.

After last Friday’s false start, Google’s iPhone Voice Search app is finally available in the iTunes store; this intuitive app ditches typing altogether and lets you search via voice commands.

Taking its cell-shaded anime style to the console, we have high hopes for Afro Samurai; it’s coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3 in January. And yes, Samuel L. Jackson will be lending his voice.

We nearly overlooked this idyllic suburbia-style trailer for Resistance 2; it starts off innocuously enough, at least until Chimera crash a grad party and start tearing up the lawn.

Ever since Deus Ex hooked us with its cyberpunk gameplay we’ve been hankering for more; this latest concept art for Deus Ex 3 is promising with a heavy whiff of Blade Runner.

Always a conspicuous omission from Apple’s laptops, the Numberkey iPhone App just makes perfect sense: for $2, it’ll use WiFi and turn your iPhone into a virtual 18-key numpad.

We love GameTrailer’s retrospectives (watch Fallout here), but this WoW video is our favorite; it actually covers everything from Kesmai, UO and Everquest to the Lich King expansion.

Bargain hunters, rejoice: Steam is offering the Valve Complete Pack for $99; it includes every Valve game ever made, from Counter-Strike and Half Life to Portal and Left 4 Dead.