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Laser Putting Machine »
Ever since Tiger Woods came out of his self-imposed retirement and announced his comeback at the US Masters, the game of golf has been growing in exponential leaps and bounds. Now everyone is dusting off their sets of clubs and hitting their local golf course for a quick round of nine. For those people who [...]
Gameboys New Makeover »
With all the competition stemming from new video gaming consoles, improving graphics and awesome gameplay on offer, the good old-fashioned Gameboy really has to do something out of left-field to get any attention these days. And, that is exactly what they have done!
Super Smash Bros. hits Wii Virtual Console »
For those of you who have graduated from college in the past decade, you may want to relive the glory days of playing Super Smash Bros. until 4AM, except this time you’ll just skip an entire day of work instead of a morning class or two. On the plus side, at least you live in a marginally cleaner apartment now. Yes, for many of us Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 was right up there with Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64 as far as massive time sinks are concerned. If you’ve got a Nintendo Wii, you can now download Super Smash Bros. for 1000 Wii points ($10). Go ahead, it’s not like you’re all that busy at work now anyway. Everyone’s already mentally checked out for the rest of the year. Super Smash Bros. [Nintendo.com] Press Release
Wii Maracas perfect for Maraca-based games »
The product description says it all. “With the Maracas for Wii you can enjoy those Maraca based video games as if you were actually celebrating a big fiesta!” Ah yes, all those Maraca based video games. Let’s see, there’s… Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Maraca Maraca Kart Resident Maraca 4 Maraca Band Maraca Hero World Tour Samba de Amigo (actually real) New Super Maraca Bros Maraca Sports Resort Maraca Fit Lego Maracas Call of Maraca: Modern Maraca Super Maraca Bros Brawl …and countless others I’m forgetting. Only $11, too! Wii Maracas [Amazon via Toys for Child ]
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks available today on Nintendo DS/DSi »
Fans of the Legend of Zelda games who happen to leave the house once in awhile don’t need to be told that today marks the newest installment of portable Zelda games, as The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks hits store shelves for the Nintendo DS and DSi for $34.99. Our favorite protagonist, Link, will have a traveling companion this time around. Princess Zelda, herself, will accompany Link “on an original quest to save Hyrule from ruin.” What’s not really talked about is that this is also a test of their relationship. If Link and Zelda can survive quests together, then maybe moving in together might be a logical next step. Perhaps a nice little loft in Hyrule’s up-and-coming section of Kakariko Village. If they’re able to really bear down and pocket enough Rupees along the way, they might even be able to put a down payment on a nice condo overlooking Lake Hylia. From the looks of the above photo, it appears that things might be moving a bit fast for both Zelda and Link. But you know what they say: there’s no better way to test a relationship than by traversing strange and wonderful lands together, killing things along the way. [ Press Release | Product Page ]
Finally, a professional alpine racing sled »
Are you a professional alpine sled racer? Bet you’ve been waiting a long time for something like this $900 Alpine Racing Sled to come along. Even if you’re just an amateur alpine sled racer looking to take your qualifying times to the next level and you’ve set aside a little over $1000 in your “Ultimate Sled Fund” (shipping adds $115 to the price of the sled) then it might be about time to put the wheels in motion. According to the product description: Designed in Germany, the sled’s corrosion-resistant, aircraft aluminum alloy frame uses a shrouded 6 1/2″ spring–the same used in off-road bicycles–to significantly reduce the effect of bumps on the lower back. The wide runners have polyethylene glide bars that provide superior gliding and tracking, and you can even use ski wax to optimize their performance. Turns are performed by leaning to either side or using one’s feet. The polycarbonate seat and footholds place riders 11″ above the ground. The handbrake located between the legs consists of an aluminum claw that grips the snow and ice directly beneath the center of mass of the sled without altering the direction of travel, enabling you to slough off speed, but also providing absolute, confident stops. Shock absorbers? Check. Claw-like handbrake? Check. Ski wax compatible? Check. Only kid on the sledding hill with a sled that costs $880 more than every other sled? Check – and that’s the gift that keeps on giving. The Alpine Racing Sled [Hammacher Schlemmer]
Review: Energizer Flat Panel 2X Charging System for Wii »
Available starting today, the $30 Energizer Flat Panel 2X Charging System from Performance Designed Products is an inexpensive, quick, and cool way to juice up your Wii remotes. This is an inductive charging system, meaning that there’s no need to connect any cables between the charging pad and the remote. The NiMH battery packs slips into the Wii controller and is magnetized to align with the special charging area on the black pad you see in the above photo. It’s a pretty neat feature that’ll add some much needed class to “Busch Light and Wii Bowling Thursdays” that have made your house so popular. Simply place the remote on the pad and watch it wiggle itself into the correct charging position like magic. At $30, the system is priced somewhere between entry-level and mid-range Wii remote chargers. I can tell you that without knowing the price beforehand, I assumed it’d retail for around $50 when I first took it out of the box and set it up. So there’s that. The battery packs are nice and hefty and hold a charge for about as long as standard AA batteries – maybe a tad shorter, but not enough to make a huge difference. If you’ve been using regular batteries for your Wii remotes up until now, you’ll definitely appreciate switching to rechargeable ones over the long haul. And with inductive charging, you’re able to charge your Wii remotes without taking off any protective silicone jackets or the MotionPlus add-on. Recharge time is refreshingly quick for an induction system. Inductive charging generally takes a bit longer than standard recharging systems but the technology has come a long way over the past year or so. The system I reviewed in March took a long time to recharge – overnight, pretty much — whereas this Energizer system takes about 3-4 hours. Overall, I can safely recommend this product as a solid purchase for anyone looking for an attractive induction charger at a decent price. Battery life is good, recharge time is quick, and the magnetized charging surface adds a touch of cool for good measure. Energizer Flat Panel 2X Charging System [PDP.com]
Celebrating Cyber Monday? Then join me in celebrating Awesome Tuesday tomorrow. »
Today is Cyber Monday , a fact you may have already noticed. Oh, and tomorrow, I hereby declare, is Awesome Tuesday. Because if you look at the history of Cyber Monday, then you realize that my creating Awesome Tuesday two seconds ago is just as valid and authentic as the existence of Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is fake. It was created only a few years ago to take advantage of the fact that, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, online retailers saw a huge increase in sales. So, if there’s already an organically created spending surge, why not make it an event? Let’s throw a few marketing dollars behind it, and turn it into a second Black Friday. (Black Friday, you’ll recall, is named thus because it was the day that retailers around the country got out of the “red” and into the “black.” Does that even happen anymore, when people have next to no money to spend on anything?) This isn’t to say that Cyber Monday is a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with buying a computer monitor for $40 less than it cost a month ago, or buying The Secret of Monkey Island for $2.50 from Steam. All I’m saying is that it’s complete, made-up nonsense. We benefit, yes, but at the same time we’re buying into marketing malarkey. So, seeing as though we’re all cool with today being Cyber Monday, then I ask you to join me in celebrating Awesome Tuesday, which is the Tuesday after Cyber Monday. What do you do on Awesome Tuesday? Be awesome, obviously. Eat some pretzel rods, drink pink lemonade till you pass out, then, when you wake up, play Super Nintendo emulators till the sun rises. And then you’re in Sucky Wednesday. That’s not a fun day. Besides, we all know that Cyber Monday is just a complete rip-off of ECW’s CyberSlam . “Cyber(Anything)” should be putting money in Paul Heyman ’s pockets.
Gift Guide 2009: Best Gifts for Nostalgic Gamers »
The nostalgic gamer — you know the type. Maybe you are the type (I’m definitely the type). The nostalgic gamer is in his or her late twenties to early thirties, was brought up on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and sometimes longs for the good old days when controllers featured only a few buttons (at most). Here’s a list of gift ideas for the nostalgic gamer. EA Sports Madden 95/NHL 95 Plug and Play TV Game: $16 ( Amazon.com ) I take this thing with me whenever I travel. It contains two of the greatest old-school Sega Genesis games of all time: Madden 95 and NHL 95. It plugs into any standard TV via white and yellow AV cables and this two-player version here is perfect for reliving the glory days of mid- to late-adolescence with an old buddy. For best results, have Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album playing in the background and sit on a beanbag if there’s one available. Product Page ExciteBike: World Rally: $10 ( Nintendo Wii/WiiWare ) Oh man, I downloaded this the other day and played it for about six hours straight. It’s ExciteBike, through and through, with the added bonus of online multiplayer and all new graphics. The game itself is still as simple-yet-addicting as ever, you can still build your own tracks, and the $10 price tag isn’t too bad considering the multiplayer feature augments the otherwise short single player mode with nearly infinite replay value. Product Page Portable Handheld Emulator: Starting at around $30 Nothing gets a nostalgic gamer excited like the idea of taking old school games everywhere and, thankfully, there are plenty of portable emulation machines on the market. From the very-reasonable NES emulator reviewed here , to the slightly-more-expensive Genesis emulator reviewed here , you should be able to find an emulator for most older systems for under $50. The ultimate portable, perhaps, would be the GP2X Wiz, a $180 handheld that runs just about every available retro system available and is backed by a vibrant community of users. Nobody beats the Wiz. Retro Duo Twin Video Game System: $43.99 ( Amazon.com ) If your favorite gamer hasn’t had the heart to sell, donate, or toss a single NES or SNES game cartridge despite numerous advancements in the magical field of PC-based emulation, then this Retro Duo console is a no-brainer. It’s cheap, too! Less than $50 for a console that plays NES and SNES games and includes two controllers? There’s not much to consider there – it’s pretty much an impulse buy. Product Page USB NES Controller: $29.99 ( ThinkGeek.com ) Playing old emulated NES games using anything other than an original controller just feels so… wrong. But if you don’t have the tinkering prowess to convert an original NES game pad into a USB version that can be used with your computer, you still have options. The $30 RetroLink USB gamepad takes care of the dirty work for you, allowing you to play those old NES games the way the gaming gods intended. Product Page
Steam to come pre-installed on Alienware PCs »
After a clean OS install, Steam is the third thing I load on the PC, after only Chrome and Photoshop. It has became the center of my gaming life and now Dell has worked a dell with the company to have the digital delivery manager pre-installed on all Alienware systems. Just think, Steam is non-spyware or bloatware software pack that will probably be installed on the Alienware rig anyway. Maybe Dell is starting to get it. The software will come ready to use and preloaded with Portal to sweeten the deal. I’m sure this move will expose Steam to some new gamers, but chances are that if you’re buying an Alienware, you already know about Steam. Maybe Steam will eventually work its way onto standard Dell Inspiron and Studio lines for real exposure.