The first thing self-respecting nerds should do after powering on their smartphones, downloading apps, and obtaining geeky ringtones is to pimp out their handsets with some kickin’ wallpaper. If you have a relative small cell, say under 4 inches, wallpaper may not be of high importance. But as smartphones steadily increase in size — it’s tough to find a flagship phone that doesn’t pack roughly a five-inch screen — the extra real estate lets you truly appreciate wallpaper artwork.

[How To is a recurring feature in which we demonstrate techniques designed to improve your game, and make your skill set more than a little bit awesome. This time out, we’ll help you create iPhone ringtones.]

So you’re tired of that really annoying generic ringtone that comes with your iPhone? Do you want to express your love of gaming through your text message notification? It’s not as easy as dragging-and-dropping. Here are the steps to create iPhone ringtones.

Comics have become a mainstay in geek culture. In their infancy, they were tools to capture children’s imaginations, and featured little depth or character development. As such, comics were dismissed and labeled immature entertainment. But as the people who read those stories grew older, the complexity and depth grew as well. Superheroes went from being simple crime fighters to complex characters with realistic issues like drug addiction, depression, and marital issues. Today, readers can relate to a broken Batman who mourns the losing a sidekick, or an alienated Bruce Banner who’s constantly torn apart by his inner monster, the Hulk. Today’s comics are respected and revered, but with so much history where does someone unfamiliar with these characters begin?

PlayStation 3 — along with the Xbox 360 — pushed home video game consoles into the digital download era. As a result, you can download titles like Journey, Flower, and the upcoming FarCry 3: Blood Dragon without putting on your pants and taking a stroll to the local game store. I’ll leave it to you to debate the merits of that.

Let’s suppose you win a digital copy of Super Hedgehog Cousins Adventure 3 on Developer X’s official forums. You’re e-mailed a 12-character redemption code — but where to put it? The PS3 XcrossMediaBar is pretty sweet, but may have trouble tracking down the code redemption area.

You won’t have that problem after reading this.

The Xbox 360 — along with the PlayStation 3 — pushed home video game consoles into the digital download era. As a result, you can download titles like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, Shank 2, and the upcoming FarCry 3: Blood Dragon without putting on your pants.

Let’s suppose you a digital copy of Super Hedgehog Cousins Adventure 3 on Developer X’s official forums. You’re e-mailed a 25-character redemption code — but where to put it? The Xbox 360 dashboard exists somewhere between awesome and an utter mess, so it comes as no surprise that many people may have trouble finding the redemption area.

You won’t have that problem after reading this.

Hello, interwebs. It’s been awhile since we showed you how to build an entry-level gaming PC for under $600. Hopefully, it was a great introduction. But what if you’re looking for a more powerful build — a dream machine, even? Maybe you’re interested in a high-end build and cash isn’t an issue. Maybe you just love drooling over specs. Regardless, this setup will let you run games on maximum settings without hiccup.

Parrying is nothing new to the Devil May Cry series. It is a gameplay mechanic that has existed since the original Devil May Cry was released back in 2001, which allowed protagonist Dante to deflect certain projectiles and melee attacks with well-timed sword strikes. All future Devil May Cry titles implement this type of weapon-parry, in some form or another. DMC3 introduced a dedicated block/parry ability with its “Royal Guard” play style. This style allowed Dante to enter a defensive stance, reducing the damage he took from attacks. Timing a block in sync with an enemy’s attack resulted in a “just” block, which deflected all damage directed at Dante and stunned the attacking opponent. DmC: Devil May Cry, Capcom’s reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise developed in collaboration with Ninja Theory, reworks the style abilities introduced in DMC3 and unfortunately, Royal Guard didn’t make the final cut. What it does instead is expand on the weapon-parry system that has been an underlying part of the combat in all previous games.

There are very misleading misconceptions among gamers that have kept many from venturing into the amazing and liberating world of PC gaming. I’ve heard them all, from the very common “it’s too expensive,” to the more understandable “it’s complicated to start.” Well, we’re here to dispel the misleading and guide you in building a very reliable and inexpensive gaming PC.

Hopefully, you’ve become familiar with our PC terminologies. If not, I suggest that you do so. Don’t let the terminology discourage you; anyone can build a PC that caters to their needs. It simply takes time and dedication.

Ready to dive into PC gaming, but don’t know where to start? No worries, I’ve been in that seat before. If you have little to no computer experience, PC gaming can appear quite the daunting task.

There are dozens of misconceptions that keep many from experiencing PC gaming. The most common complaints are that it’s brutally expensive to build a machine that can play current generation games (which is easily disputable!), and playing games with a mouse and keyboard detracts from immersion (gamepads are supported by many games!). Another misconception, perhaps the worst of the bunch, is that you have to be technologically savvy in order to even think about building a gaming PC. Well that’s where 2D-X steps in and offers you this detailed guide to get you started.

I have a new favorite sports game. It’s Death Ball.

Never heard of it? Not surprising. Death Ball isn’t an annual, big budget licensed release that aims to be the digital representation of a real life competition. No, Death Ball is the very opposite of that. It’s one of Anarchy Reign’s many multiplayer modes and it’s a decidedly Platinum Games spin on hockey and American football.

And it’s grand.