Google's Tuesday launch of its new social network Google+ has had the Internet abuzz (not to be confused with the clunky Google Buzz communication platform that never really took off, was pretty much forgotten about, and apparently still exists).

Buzz didn't turn out to be the Twitter-killer some initially hailed it as, and its precursor Google Wave didn't really do much other than confuse people

It's Boston. We know a little bit about revolution here. We've also got a pretty good handle on innovation, meaning we know that whole "tea-in-the-harbor" thing probably won't work more than once. So how can you get people talking?

Enter TEDxBoston, a conference that brings local luminaries to the stage for a chance to share their revolutionary ideas and inspire others.

No one is playing Hunted: The Demon's Forge. No one has heard of Hunted: The Demon's Forge. It's a forgettable, poorly made co-op game that tries to put a Gears of War-inspired cover system in a fantasy RPG. I have nothing but pity for anyone who bought and played Hunted: The Demon's Forge.

I'm saying that I feel very sorry for myself for having bought and played Hunted: The Demon's Forge.

We have finally reached that point in the summer where all the local schools are out. Swarms of children roam free; already, their vacation-slackened brains have started atrophying, their feral instincts taking over. Ice-cream-truck drivers patrol the streets with caution, fearing the packs of errant urchins who might ambush them.

Do you ever wonder how a video game company feels about their own game? Meet Eitan Glinert of Fire Hose Games, the Cambridge-based developer that made the PSN game Slam Bolt Scrappers. Last Tuesday at The Skellig in Waltham, as part of the monthly Boston Post Mortem series, the beer-wielding Glinert revealed how the local company screwed up, got lucky, and made really difficult decisions in their two-and-a-half years making the multiplayer puzzle/brawler.

Everything I thought I knew about TV is wrong. Seriously. On Sunday, the two-hour premiere of Falling Skies aired, and an alien apocalypse descended upon the fair city of Boston; I didn't notice, but apparently 5.9 million viewers did. It's not hard for me to think of reasons why this show was so off my radar.

Neil Gaiman is about as ubiquitous as a modern fantasy writer can be. He's written comic books, and an impressive stack of novels for kids, teens and grown-ups alike. Then there are his screenplays: he wrote the scripts for the film adaptations of Stardust and Coraline, adapted Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke into English and penned a recent episode of Doctor Who

Unmitigated crapfest that was Green Lantern got you down? Worry not, because we've got plenty to tide you over until Cars 2. That includes fantasy films, classics, and free TV preview screenings right here in Boston, plus a great film festival in Nantucket. For the more esoteric, there is also a film about a rubber tire that comes to life and kills people.

It's been a long, arduous 14 years since the aptly-named Duke Nukem Forever was first announced, but congratulations, we've made it! After nearly a decade and a half in the development cycle, Gearbox Studios finally released the game last week... and it was totally not worth the wait.

J.J. Abrams made a lovely movie about coming of age in a small Ohio town, and stuck an alien invasion in the middle of it. Because everything's better with an alien invasion ... right? Well, these films sure would be. Here are a few Abrams-helmed movies we'd like to see.

1) Super 8 Mile [original]
Eminem plays a young factory worker who just wants to rhyme his way out of poverty.

Prepare to ride the waves of nostalgia! Two weekends ago, the Phoenix made the trek up to Funspot in Laconia, NH, for a day of retro gaming at the International Classic Video Game Tournament at the American Classic Arcade Museum (which you may remember from indie doc The King of Kong). In these days of sleek white nunchuks and motion-sensor controls, it's easy to forget the unique aesthetic of an old-timey videogame console.

Much of the publicity for Catwoman's inclusion in Arkham City, the sequel to Rocksteady's hit Batman game Arkham Asylum, has revolved around her sex appeal. The new Arkham City trailer above features the pounding drums of Lykke Li's "Get Some" while Catwoman does some unforgettable Bayonetta-esque acrobatics.

So since the weather looks absolutely atrocious today through Wednesday and completely uncertain thereafter, Laser Orgy has provided you with a variety of indoor-outdoor events. And they're kind of all over the place. Art enthusiasts, Repo devotees, water-gun warriors, puppet fanatics, political satirists, and bacon lovers rejoice -- this week, we've got something for you.

This year's E3 has come and gone, but I can still barely keep up with all the news that has come out since Monday: new games, new consoles and -- since this is the video game industry, after all -- tons of new sequels. The three juiciest pieces of gaming goodness this week were Nintendo's big reveal of the Wii U; Sony's announcement of its new handheld, the Playstation Vita, and the debut trailer for Halo 4