Hallmark News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Wolverine and Colossus first performed their signature 'Fastball Special' move - in which Colossus hurls Wolverine at a target with his claws unsheathed - all the way back in 1976's Uncanny X-Men #100. Now, almost 50 years later in January 3's Fall of the House of X #1, they've innovated a brutal new twist on their classic combo maneuver. 

M. Night Shyamalan has long been known for his twists, but those twists are normally reserved for the ends of his movies, not the trailers. But it seems like he’s branching out into unexplored territory with his new thriller Trap, which has a first trailer that feels worthy of the Shyamalan name.

Hallmark will release an awesome Xbox ornament this July. First released in 2001, the Xbox is one of the most recognizable console brands on the market.

Haier Appliances India unveiled its latest line of "super heavy-duty" air conditioners, incorporating its Hexa Inverter and Supersonic cooling technologies. NS Satish, President of Haier Appliances India, emphasized the company's commitment to crafting innovative products aimed at enhancing customers' comfort and convenience, particularly in India's challenging climate.

Anthropic, a major player in generative artificial intelligence, announced new models to fuel its Claude AI chatbot, the company said on Monday, as ChatGPT faces more rivals.

While it’s more commonly accepted now than it once was, the idea of the ‘Pay to Win’ (P2W) game remains controversial even in 2024. Playbest Limited is mounting a full-on assault on the concept with Twinworld Survivor, its upcoming Android title described as an “Anti-P2W game.”

Marvel Studios has finally revealed the cast of its new Fantastic Four movie.

Things are looking bleak for artists at the moment, and a situation unfolding over at Magic: The Gathering‘s parent company Wizards of the Coast is a solid example of why.

Lift, the new Netflix action caper starring Kevin Hart, is a roguish, high-tech heist movie about an unlikely band of desperadoes using their thieving skills to save the world. Its makers, led by director F. Gary Gray and Hart as a producer, are clearly trying to triangulate a spot somewhere between the Ocean’s movies, the Fast and Furious franchise, and Mission: Impossible. It’s tempting to say it gets about as close to those as a Hallmark movie does to a classic Meg Ryan romantic comedy, but that would be unfair to Hallmark movies. Hallmark movies have their own vibe, a soothing blandness that’s at least partially the point. Lift, like so much of Netflix’s action output, is a characterless, garish simulacrum that isn’t satisfying on any level.

It’s been more than a decade since Crystal Dynamics, the developer best known for the Tomb Raider series, first introduced players to its reimagined take on Lara Croft. 2013’s Tomb Raider painted Lara as someone capable of adapting and overcoming nearly any situation while maintaining a level of emotional depth and self-awareness, a quality the game’s sequels would go on to further explore.

Between the Hallmark rom-coms, the litany of Peanuts specials, and all those films with a goofy guy who must do something to save Christmas, media becomes inundated with fluff as we enter the holiday season. Sifting through the stew can be difficult when not limited by the confines of television schedules. Before, a somewhat unknown IP would be discovered simply because it was what was on TV.

There is an entire universe of beats out there on YouTube, low-fi or otherwise, that you can relax/study to, but I'm a big fan of «videogame ambience» videos. It's not just a soundtrack rip, but long cuts of actual in game footage with all the other assorted sights and sounds adding to the experience.

Long time RPG developer Tim Cain (Fallout, The Outer Worlds, Troika Games) has revealed another surprising fact about the Fallout series via his excellent YouTube channel. The games are known for their open-ended RPG gameplay and allowing player freedom, but according to Cain, one of their hallmarks, the so-called pacifist run where you don't directly kill enemies, was originally an accident.

The time of the Winter Convergence is near. Where the sky lights up in brilliant colors, mysterious rocks fall to the ground, and people spread presents and cheer across the island. But alas, this is also when dark creatures and wicked spirits of the season look to bring an Eternal Winter upon all of Aeternum, encasing everything in ice and snow.

Adrian Monk has always been consistent. He’s never been a fan of germs, heights, loud noises, crowds, elevators, milk, or plenty of other things. But he knows how to solve a murder. Monk, the 2000s USA Network procedural centered around the fictional detective played by Tony Shalhoub, was not as consistent; after a few seasons, the show seemed to reverse-engineer its mysteries from the most uncomfortable situations they could put Monk in for an episode. The quality of the show suffered for it, but Shalhoub’s compassion and meticulous care always tethered the show to something.

Arkane has announced that it's jumping into the Marvel universe by announcing a video game based on Blade.

2023 isn't over yet, and neither are the game industry layoffs that have been such an ugly hallmark of the year. Electronic Arts has confirmed with IGN that it has laid off an unspecified number of employees from Codemasters, the developer of the Grid, F1, and EA Sports WRC racing games.

By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.

Last week, a job listing for a lead software engineer on Monolith's Wonder Woman game popped up, with requirements like «Knowledge of 3D math commonly used in game development» and «Prior experience working in a 3D game engine (Unreal, Unity, etc.)» Among the non-essential «Nice to Haves» was «Experience helping maintain a live software product or game».

The first Pokemon TCG release of each year is usually a special one, designed as much for collectors as it is players. This year, it is Crown Zenith to say goodbye to the Galar Region. Next year, though, we’re celebrating Paldea with over 100 new shiny Pokemon in Paldean Fates.

Replai, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, has unveiled its tech for combining AI with mobile game advertising to make much more effective ads in a very short time. The company has also raised $8 million to date.

The winter holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier every year. The moment Halloween is over, holly springs up, lights adorn houses, and Mariah Carey belts loudly for all to hear! And, of course, the Christmas specials come rolling out.

PreviewLabs has built a business helping game companies and other startups build their prototypes quickly.

We all remember that one escort mission that made us want to pull our hair out. Maybe the target was too slow, kept failing to defend themselves, or got stuck on the geometry and started running into walls (here’s looking at you, Max Payne 2). There are exceptions to the rule — holding Yorda’s hand through Ico and getting everyone to a safe room in Left 4 Dead 2, for example — but broadly, I’ve learned to dread the appearance of an escort mission, lest it spoil the luster of an otherwise brilliant game.

Are you ready for a reborn adventure among the stars? Square Enix has been diving back into its history to bring back games from the past and give them new life. The 2.5HD style has granted them new styles to work with, and the next game to get that treatment is Star Ocean The Second Story R. The game won’t just get the visual upgrades that past titles have, but updated battle mechanics, the choice to listen to Japanese or English voice actors, and more. The title is arguably the most beloved entry in the RPG franchise, so seeing it reborn for modern consoles will be quite a treat.

Codec calls have become a hallmark of the Metal Gear Solid series since their introduction on the NES. In this case, there’s a specific solider named Meryl who likes to play keep away when it comes to her personal frequency.

‘Tis the season to bust out all of your grodiest games and get to bloody work. One of October’s haunting hallmarks is Namco’s Splatterhouse series, from the 1988 arcade classic to the overlooked 2010 reboot. Don’t let one of the series’ most charming entries pass you by, though. Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is a chibi-style take on the gore-soaked side-scroller, and it’s the perfect game to blaze through at devilishly fast speeds this Halloween. 

It’s hard to think of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas or edgy retail chain Hot Topic without thinking of the other.

Horror has played a key part in my upbringing (“that explains a lot,” says the funniest person in the room). These days, it’s mainly through games that I get my scares, which is why I was quite excited when Steam Next Fest rolled around again.

In the past few years, the Assassin's Creed franchise has abandoned its stealthy roots and veered into more epic and RPG-based territory; 2020's Valhalla took about 61 hours to beat, and had a vast map of almost 100 square kilometres.

If you thought the regular version of Among Us could get intense, Among Us VR looks to be adding a whole new dimension. This virtual reality version of the hit game is coming to PSVR2 «soon», setting you back $9.99 / £9.99.

Hallmark’s Keepsake lineup of holiday ornaments is not playing around this season. One of the many new ornaments in its catalog just went up for pre-order, and it’s a mini replica of the Sega Dreamcast console that lights up and makes sounds. There’s a controller plugged into it, and displayed on the tiny VMU screen is an equally adorable Sonic The Hedgehog. To light up and play tunes from Sonic Adventure (what a nice touch), you’ll need to install the three LR44 batteries that are included in the box.

Cash or a check in a card is an easy gift for shoppers short on time or imagination, but who has cash or a checkbook these days? Before you go in search of ATM, consider Hallmark + Venmo Cards, which let you include digital funds inside your Hallmark greeting card.