Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 19, 2010 in Videogames
Why is it that Wii’s accessories seem so much cooler than its actual games? Last week, I mentioned a nifty Lego Wiimote that recently went on sale over at ToysRUs. This week, we’re taking a look at Shinobii Technologies TT Champion Bat — a Wiimote fashioned after a real ping pong paddle. Suddenly, I find myself wanting to give one of these a try — even if I know I’ll be disappointed by the Wii itself. of course, there are those of us who still manage to find the Wii enjoyable, so I wouldn’t blame you guys for being excited about the prospect. So what’s so unique about this paddle? Well, aside from being compatible with Wii Motion Plus, it’ll feature “Xtra Motion Technology” that supposedly translates the torque, spin control and more. Oh, and it has a built-in rechargeable battery for added convenience. It sounds really promising, and for the $69.99 price tag, I really hope it delivers. While they’re not quite ready to ship, I imagine it’ll probably end up on Amazon at some point, so keep your eyes peeled. Read more…
As if on cue, StarWarsShop.com began listing their Christmas items in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. I’m sure everyone’s probably tired of hearing people gripe about seasonal merchandise hitting the shelves earlier and earlier each year, but I do kinda find it funny that Halloween hasn’t even passed and people can already order their R2D2 Christmas lights. Once you buy enough of those to decorate your tree and house, you can pick up one of these eight-and-a-half inch “Yodaclause” table pieces. Of course, if you’d rather dress up like Yodaclause yourself, they sell Santa hats with Yoda’s ears attached. Now, if only they had a lightsaber menorah.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 14, 2010 in Videogames
With Halloween creeping up on us, many of you probably have your costumes already picked out. Some of us, on the other hand, like to procrastinate till the last minute. Well, here’s your chance to be proactive and hilarious at the same time without having to rely on your wit. That’s right, not only does this awesome Pac-Man costume look fantastic, but I’m pretty sure everyone in your office will find it hilarious to some degree. Of course, if you’d rather go as something lame like a ghost, you may as well make it oneofthese. It’s way better than a bed sheet — just don’t get mad if someone tries to eat you.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 14, 2010 in Videogames
BDA Gamer recently teamed up with Lego to produce a line of customizable Wiimotes for the ever-so popular Nintendo Wii. It’s a shame that these controllers are being released now as I imagine they probably would have sold far more during the launch craze a few years back. If it weren’t for the fact that my Wii collects more dust than a swiffer, I might have even considered picking up a pair of them myself. Of course, I’m sure there are still plenty of gamers out there who will want one, even if the only thing they’ll ever be playing on that console are titles developed by Nintendo themselves. If you’re in the market for one, you can order them through Toys’R’Us and you’ll receive a free Lego Halloween bucket as well.
I had written that I wasn’t entirely sure how they’d go about creating a sequel to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but after viewing the trailer, I had a basic grasp of the premise. You play a clone of the previous hero who scrafices himself to save the rebellion. Subsequently, this extended production dairy delves a little deeper, giving us a better understanding of exactly what they have in mind for this upcoming sequel, from introducing narrative to characters we’ve seen before, such as Yoda and Boba Fett. If this piques your interest, the demo is now available for download on both Xbox Live! and Playstation Network.
There are those of us out there who can’t get enough Star Trek. We’ve seen every episode and own every film — even the director’s cut of The Motion Picture, don’t ask why — and yet we crave more. With J.J. Abrams running the show, god only knows how long it’ll be until we see the next film hit the big screen. On top of that, many of us, myself included are still coming to terms with his alternate universe and what that means for the future of the series we’ve all known and loved. Thankfully, a place still exists where we can hide from the changes that have warped our precious universe — the novels. Read more…
At first, I found myself wondering how they managed to create a sequel seeing as the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed had such a definitive pair of endings. Not to spoil anything — Episode IV pretty much does that for you, seeing as it takes place between episodes III and IV — but it’s either you or Vader at the end, and we all know how that turns out. So, naturally you’d think the game would be a sequel in name only — guess again. The game apparently takes place after the first, and as this trailer reveals, you play a clone of the previous hero. Again, you can probably guess the ending, but on the bright side, you’ll get more of that over-the-top gameplay we experienced the first time around. Of course, I don’t think anything is as over the top as using the force to crash a Star Destroyer, but who am I to judge.
Ever since the latest episode of The Simpsons aired this past Sunday, the Internet has been abuzz about British political activist and graffiti king Banksy’s contribution to the opening sequence — most notably its extended couch-gag. While I’m not able to actually post the couch-gag here, I can link to Fox who currently has the episode in question available for streaming free of charge.
Ever get that sinking feeling like you’re about to be devoured by a giant yellow ball but weren’t quite sure how to express it to others? Well, this shirt is the solution to that problem. ThinkGeek recently introduced this killer retro Pac-Man glow-in-the-dark ghost t-shirt. Obviously the ghost in question is about to become a snack, but that doesn’t make it any less cool. What’s more is that they’re giving the shirt away for free! What’s the catch you ask? ell, you have to add it to your cart, and spend $31 on other goods before they’ll toss it in free of charge. I guess that doesn’t really make it free, but $31 isn’t too much to ask, especially considering how many awesome products they carry. Besides, if you don’t want to drop the cash on other stuff, you can buy the shirt itself starting at $15.99, with XL and XXL costing a mere dollar or two extra. If you’re shooting for a free one though, I highly recommend a box of Stay Puft caffeinated gourmet marshmallows.
Universal Design, the guys who brought us those amazing custom Iron Man sneakers, are also known for their replicas — one of which just happens to be this awesome motorcycle outfit from Disney’s upcoming feature film Tron Legacy, set to release later this year. The outfit, which I can only imagine will be worn during a killer light-bike sequence, comes in two fits — the men’s Sam Flynn model and the women’s Quorra model. While each piece of the outfit — jacket, gloves, pants and boots — will be sold separately, each complete suit will run you $995 and $899 respectively. I know that seems a bit pricy, but you have to admit they both look awesome. If you’re interested check their official website for more information.
I love NASA, space exploration, and photoshop as much as anyone, but this official — yes, it’s official — poster for one of NASA recent trips to the International Space Station has got to be the most gaudy one I’ve seen since The Expendables. Of course, I’m not going to fault them for wanting to make routine supply and maintenance seem way cooler than it actually was, but I know I’m not the only one who thought it was a bit much. The guys over at titleofmagazine.com even tweeted that they must have “missed the memo” about Michael Bay running NASA , a jab that I have to give them credit for — after all, it certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?
I’m not entirely sure it was Keita Takahashi’s intent to revolutionize the game industry when he created Katamari Damacy, but somehow a concept as simple as rolling a ball managed to do just that. In fact, many often label his work as art — contrary to what Roger Ebert would have us believe — so it doesn’t surprise me that others would take notice. Having parted with his former employer, Namco Bandai, Takahashi has been forced move on to bigger and better things. Whether or not we see another title on par with Katamari’s success remains to be seen, but until then, Takahashi will be hard at work creating something a little bit different. Read more…
These days, it seems everyone thinks they can have a web comic. I’m sure that’s probably why I don’t often read them, at least, not the ones that lack art in favor of snark. I’m not sure why, but I suppose on some fundamental level, I just object to the idea of reading witty blocks of text that could have been blogged, or otherwise printed instead of uploaded as a JPEG. And then, to call it a comic on top of that just adds insult to injury — it’s not a comic, it’s lazy. Occasionally though, these “comics” hit the nail on the head. One such was The Oatmeal‘s recent rant about the various e-mails we deal with on a day to day basis. Read more…
If you had asked me a month or two ago, I probably would have told you that I couldn’t imagine a place like this existing. However, after my recent trip to Tokyo, I could believe anything — of course, that doesn’t change the fact that I totally regret missing this. Apparently, there’s a Dragon Quest-themed bar in Roppongi — Luida’s Bar. For those of you who aren’t big on Japanese RPGs, Dragon Quest , or Dragon Warrior, as it was once known in the states, is almost as popular as Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy here in the States, and even more so in Japan.
I can’t even count the ways I love this game. For those of you who may not have played the series, Dynasty WarriorsGundam combines the legendary anime with Koei’s Dynasty Warriors game mechanics. The end result? You control one of the enormous mechs as you fight through hordes of giant robots until you face off against other new-types in a bid to control the battlefield. Sure, the gameplay can seem a bit repetitive at times, but unlike the original Dynasty Warrior games, the Gundam series has always presented me with more of a challenge.
So you love One Piece, and you want to rock some nifty pirate attire but don’t want to bother with an eyepatch? Don’t worry, Japan has you covered. Check out these sweet One Piece sun glasses and frames. Sure, they’re not quite as fierce as an actual eye-patch, but I’m sure anyone who recognizes the logo will envy you. Everyone else? Well, at least they still look pretty classy. I suppose it depends on which color you end up getting. As much as I love Frankie, I’m not sure I’d look pretty good in baby blue shades, and I’m not sure many of you would either. Thankfully, there are plenty of others to choose from, with each color and design for each of your favorite characters. No word on when or if these will be available stateside, though I imagine that if anyone decides to carry them, it’ll be J-List. Until then, just stare in awe.
If you hurry, for the next 22 hours or so, TeeFury has these amazing Super Mario Bros/Star Wars cross-over tees. It’s been quite some time since anything they’ve decided to print has caught my eye, but this little gem is hard to pass up. In case, for whatever reason, you’re clueless about classic Nintendo games, the shirt depicts an 8-bit Bobba Fett in a parody of the original cover/cart art for Super Mario Brothers here in the US. Aside from being kind of awesome, owning this shirt definitely earns you some instant nerd cred. Besides, I can’t even think of a better way to determine who you’d want to socialize with or not, because either they’ll get it, or they won’t — and why would you want to socialize with anyone who doesn’t? As always, TeeFury keeps it reasonable at $9 per tee — and before that price scares you, don’t worry, they’re sturdy.
I actually didn’t think anyone would ever take the time to build a 1:1 scale replica of Star Trek‘s Enterprise 1701-D, but it looks as though someone decided to go for it. The video above depicts his attempt thus far, using the Minecraft development tools available here. It’s hard not to point out how enormous the vessel truly is — which seems like it would be obvious, but seeing it on television and seeing it from this perspective can be quite different. It blows my mind that he’s managed to get this far on his own, but I’m sure the process might speed up considerably once he has more people assisting him with the project. If you’re interested, he’s left details on the video’s YouTube page in case you want to contact him and offer your support. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 28, 2010 in Comic Books
I’ve seen Camilla D’Errico everywhere these last few years, and she’s been doing quite well for herself. Aside from simply being an amazing artist, she’s been marketing everything from plushies and clothing, to iPhone cases, and more. While I had been more familiar with her own creations, such as the Tanpopo and Burn, it hasn’t surprised me that her latest work, Sky Pirates of Neo Terra, has managed to turn a few heads. With her Japanese-inspired aesthetic, Camilla’s art is a perfect fit for the series, captured in the upcoming graphic novel. If you’re curious, it’ll contain the first five issues. The release date has yet to be announced, but you can pre-order a copy from Amazon by clicking here, and check her official site for updates.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 28, 2010 in Videogames
I had heard about this awhile back, and I can’t believe I had forgotten about it until recently, but one of our favorite starship captains will be lending his voice to the upcoming Castlevania title, Lords of Shadow, that should be hitting stores next week. It’s not Shatner — though that’d probably be just as awesome — but rather, Patrick Stewart will be joined by Robert Carlyle and Jason Issacs and a host of other well-known stars. In recent years, Stewart has provided voice work for a variety of media, often causing me to pause and wonder just how awesome his life must be. Needless to say, I doubt he’ll ever be unemployed. Read more…
I can’t help but feel that the guys over at ThinkGeek are traveling back in time and asking our teenage selves for ideas on how to create awesome products. Either that, or they’ve been actively reading our minds since we were kids and waiting for just the right moment to introduce these awesome inventions knowing full well that we’ll end up buying each every one of them. Case and point? This fantastic pizza cutter modeled after none other than Kirk’s original Enterprise.
I love Calvin and Hobbes, and I’m sure by now you’ve probably seen every Calvin and Hobbes crossover your mind could dream up, but none of the ones I’ve seen to date have really felt as perfect as this illustration, and t-shirt by artist Chris Wahl. Not to imply that Chewbacca’s a devious prankster who takes pleasure in occasionally tormenting Han, at least, as far as I know, but they certainly share a friendship that only the two of them really understand. Either way, it’s easily one of the coolest crossover t-shirts I’ve seen in a long time. If you’re interested in picking one up, head over to Redbubble and order yours for a mere $22.
Much like Eddie LeBron with his recent MegaMan film, a fan has taken it upon himself to create his own live-action adaption of one of their favorite video games having been failed repeatedly by Hollywood. This time, it’s none other than Nintendo’s kid-friendly Pokémon, entitled Pokémon Apokélypse. Natrually, you’d expect the film to share much of that same aesthetic, however this time, that’s not the case. Instead, we’re given a gritty — almost humorously so — realistic depiction of the original story complete with over-the-top villains, torture, violence, and more. Of course, I can only speculate on just how gritty the film is based on the trailer above, but I’m sure you’ll probably agree when I say that it was probably the last thing I would expect from a Pokémon film — fan-made or otherwise. For more information, including an interview with the film’s creators, click here.
Like so many of you, I spent a good portion of my youth collecting Lego sets. While the little blocks once allowed me fancy myself an amateur architect — though, I realize now that I was far from one — it wasn’t until recently that I discovered my love for photography. Of course, it wasn’t simply that I came across a lovely photo, I had to introduced to field it by a friend who shoots professionally. It was very much a case of “Where has this been my whole life?” and “Why couldn’t something bring it to my attention sooner?” Well, it would seem Pentax has a unique idea that might help solve that problem.
