During yesterday night's Nintendo Direct conference, Nintendo revealed its new 2D Mario project for the Nintendo 3DS: New Super Mario Bros. 2!  Due to be released in both Japan and North America in August 2012, this new addition in the Mario series will be extremely fitting considering how successful its predecessor was on the Nintendo DS.  

This is it: today, is when the third annual Canadian Videogame Awards (CVAs) take place in Vancouver, BC. Future Shop is the title sponsor and is fortunate to be in close touch with the co-founder of the CVAs and producer/ host of Electric Playground, Victor Lucas.

Have you ever read a book, fell head-over-heels for the characters and plotline then heard it was being made into a movie or TV show, and instantly dreaded how they would adapt the elements you felt were most important to the story? More importantly, have you ever been truly blown away by the screenwriter, director and actors’ abilities to make your imagination and fantasies come to life? That’s what I’m here to celebrate today – the BEST in book-to-screen adaptations. My list is a little biased due to personal opinion and I know there are a few gems that I’m leaving off this list, so feel free to add any additional noteworthy films you feel I’ve missed.

Last week I looked at the JVC GZ-VX705, JVC’s tiny wonder of a camcorder that’s famous for being really darned small and for actually being an excellent camcorder–not just for its size, but overall. The JVC GZ-EX250 is a lot like the VX705; it’s a little bigger, a little heavier, and a touch less expensive, with a few nice additions that some users might really like.

The May 15th release of Diablo 3 draws ever nearer. Until now a lucky few have been able to check the game out first hand through the private beta test. Access was limited and extremely coveted for this hotly anticipated title. Do you want to try the beta out for yourself? Well don't abandon hope. You're in luck!

We're under a month away from the release of the much-hyped Diablo III, and to elevate fan excitement further, Blizzard has launched its new "Darkness Falls, Heroes Rise" mini-site. The promotional website, which kicked off early April, rewards fans for social sharing about the brewing demonic invasion of Sanctuary and the courageous heroes who stand against the Lord of Terror.

Earlier today, Bethesda announced that Prey 2 which was rumoured to be cancelled this March is, in fact, delayed until 2013.  A few weeks back a rumour began floating around that Zenimax had cancelled the first-person shooter, despite fairly high anticipation.  Luckily, that didn't happen but something serious certainly did. I'm not sure how many of you played or knew about the original game, but it was definitely something to appreciate and it showed in its universally solid scores.  A continuation of this series was inevitable and well deserving at that, so then what exactly happened in order for the sequel to be delayed on such short notice?

Few things get me as excited as a well designed and well executed notebook. The Envy 14 Spectre, ($1399.99 from Future Shop) which was first announced at CES 2012, is probably the best looking premium notebook to come out of HP in a long time. Targeting the Ultrabook segment, the Spectre uses copious amounts of Gorilla Glass, Aluminum and rubber in a notebook that stands out from the rest.

Canon has been making G-series cameras for a very long time, usually for very satisfied customers who wanted a camera that was better than the average point and shoot but not as pricey or complex as a DSLR. In fact, when the first Canon PowerShot G1 came out, the Digital Rebel was but a twinkle in their corporate eye, still three years on the horizon.

Since then the market has shifted dramatically. With DSLR prices plunging into the realm of everyday-affordable, and with the introduction of mirrorless hybrid cameras, the G-series has existed in a sort of limbo that led to questions about its future. Canon clearly had to do something to make this “third option” relevant again.

That’s where the G1 X comes in. While it looks a lot like previous G-series offerings, it’s a whole different beast inside. There’s a large (for a compact) 1.5” high-sensitivity 14.3 megapixel CMOS sensor for capturing even more light, a sturdy and utilitarian 28-112mm lens with a 4x optical zoom, and some pretty detailed manual controls.

Last week I told you about the exclusive Future Shop Limited Edition of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which is coming on May 22nd, and now I am going to fill you in on more Future Soldier news, and, hold on to your hats, there’s a lot of it (so much, in actual fact, that I am going to have to post it in two parts!).

It definitely seems that Ubisoft is doubling down on the Ghost Recon franchise – along with the actual Future Soldier game, they are putting out a mobile app, a Facebook game (Ghost Recon Commander, being developed by the John Romero's Loot Drop), AND a free-to-play, online-only PC game, Ghost Recon Online (apply for the beta now). Since the Ghost Recon franchise has been out of the limelight for a number of years now, in order to generate the level of excitement they would need for Future Soldier to be a huge-selling game, Ubisoft needs to pull out all the stops, and it looks like they are doing that as we speak, with almost daily announcements, updates, and trailers.

The feature I am most excited about so far is the Ghost Recon Network app. It is a ‘companion service’ that runs on smartphones, tablets, and web browsers that interacts with the main game.

Also, if you game on the 360 or PS3, you can also get a multiplayer head-start on your friends by participating in the beta, which runs from April 19^th to May 2^nd. You can read more about the beta and Ghost Recon Network after the jump.

Halo 4, one of this year’s most hotly anticipated games and the return of Master Chief has just been officially announced as releasing on the 6th of November, 2012. Taking place four years after the events of Halo 3, we see Master Chief confronting another ancient evil threatening the universe. The franchise has sold over forty million games to day so Halo 4 is sure to be a popular title this holiday season. You’ll want to be sure to pre-order it and mark your calendars.

But wait, there's more!....

It’s inevitable: you’ve just bought a new DSLR, you’re loving the addition of more autofocus points, the faster frames-per-second burst mode, the addition of GPS or some other whiz-bang feature, and you’re taking tons of new shots. After a friend or a relative sees your unending line of status updates on Flickr, Facebook, or 500px, the question comes:

“Hey, you’re a photographer, right? Can you shoot my wedding?”

Your first impulse may be to get excited and agree on the spot. DON’T. You need to think about this, both for you and for them.

Shooting a wedding isn’t easy, it isn’t fun, and it can be a make-or-break thing for friend/family relationships. If you’ve ever wandered into an online forum with the question “my friends just asked me to shoot their wedding, what do I need to know?” then this post is for you.

A strange sort of announcement, I suppose, but if you're hungry for Halo 4 details, as is highly likely, this choice morsel is certainly interesting. Yes, Microsoft and 343 Industries has announced that the team has enlisted Neil Davidge of Massive Attack fame to compose the score for Halo 4.

It’s been said that maintaining a fitness regimen requires plenty of motivation because starting a workout routine is one thing, but maintaining it is another. The other side of that equation is the results, which you’re supposed to see naturally with your mind and body. But what if you could keep a digital record of your progress as you go along? That’s what Motorola is looking to offer with MotoACTV, an all-in-one portable gadget meant to give you what you need when it comes to fitness and exercise.

Earlier today, Nintendo confirmed a Super Mario Bros. game for their upcoming system, Wii U (Eurogamer).This probably won't come as a big surprise for many of you, but it's nice to know the news is now official, and will be fully announced at E3 this June.  

Boston Red Sox first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez?  Let the MLB 12 The Show fans to the south have him.  For us living up here in Canada, we're treated to a separate cover athlete -- the extraordinary Toronto Blue Jays hitter, José Bautista -- marking the first time that Canada has received an exclusive cover athlete for the hit PlayStation baseball franchise.

Not a Star Wars or Kinect fan?  Aside from the fact that you're missing out on two of the greatest human creations (note: I'm a verifiable geek), you might be interested in a pair of Xbox 360 bundles on sale at Future Shop right now targeted squarely at the hardcore gamer crowd.

Did I mention both bundles pack-in some of the best games ever released on the Xbox 360?  I did now.

Camcorders are an interesting beast for camera companies; they give you a much better video recording experience with higher quality, better optics, and larger batteries than point and shoot cameras and smartphones, but they’re fighting hard against the “good enough” video that you can get from these other portable devices. 

The challenge is to show consumers something cool and interesting that can only be done on a camcorder to give people a reason to buy one. JVC’s new Everio HD GZ-VX705 has a neat hook, letting you connect in some pretty awesome ways using your home network or smartphone Wi-Fi, but is it enough?

In Star Wars, the Force has the ability to move just about anything.  It's a wonder then, if this fictional power that binds the galaxy together has ability to move real-world objects, like say the new Limited Edition Xbox 360 “Kinect Star Wars” console bundle?