Guitar Hero World Tour played on a bike?

No, really. This has got to be the most awesome and well planned out thing I have ever seen. Last week, I picked up the new Guitar Hero World Tour for the Wii and have been having fun with it with the kids. Introducing them to drums, singing (or just random sound effects during a song) and guitar on the new beginner level has been a blast, as well as all the new songs since we’ve really been stuck with the ones on GH3 for a while now with no downloadable content on the Wii (and, no, GH: Aerosmith doesn’t count…). Anyway, someone took one of the better songs included and through some creative and well coordinated and timed help from some friends, rode his bike through the note chart for “Prisoner of Society” by The Living End. I don’t even want to know how many times they had to try this before they pulled it off. Full video after the jump. Read more

Which candidate gets the World of Warcraft vote?

This being a technology-based blog, I usually steer away from politics. Too messy, and very passionate viewpoints from both sides. I wanted to pass on a great non-partisan video found today based around a machinma (or basically artistic gameplay) video done out of World of Warcraft, interviewing actual gamers on their political preferences in hopes of seeing which way Azeroth would go if they were included in the election. Great video, funny but also interesting to see the diverse views even of the gaming community. Video after the break. Read more

Portal: Prelude - will there be cake this time?

Portal has to be one of my all time favorite games. It was such a simple concept, and was so well executed in both gameplay, puzzles, mind-bending interpretations of the laws of physics, and a slowly unfolding backstory revolving around A.I. going mad, it’s hard to imagine any other game being able to hit on all cylinders like that again. Well, it appears that lightning might just be striking twice in the form of a game mod using the Portal engine called “Portal: Prelude”. Teaser trailer and some newly released gameplay video after the break. Read more

Zero Punctuation - Yatzee reviews “The Force Unleashed”

Since I did a review of The Force Unleashed earlier, I took some interest in hearing Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw’s take on the game. For those of you who haven’t seen he’s previous game reviews, he’s a maniac with a unique style for his reviews. First off, he’s British, but don’t let that scare you. Second, he talks fast than most New Yorkers that I know, and coupled with the accent might make it a little hard to follow. But it’s the fast delivery (hence, the name “Zero Punctuation”) and his incredibly dry and brutal wit that makes his reviews so great. When he likes a game (which, honestly, is rare), he gives some great insight into the great things about a game and gaming in general. When he doesn’t like a game, watch out. Needless to say, he didn’t like The Force Unleashed on the Wii, and for some reasons I agree with and some I have to take some issue with. His geek rant on George Lucas, however, is spot on and certainly delivered with the ferocity of a long time Star Wars fan betrayed by Lucas one too many times. Embedded video after the jump. Read more

Site redesign coming

Well, I’ve got about 6 weeks of blogging under my belt now and getting the hang of it. I even have my first official sci-fi book review coming in the next couple of weeks (being shipped to me now, will need a week or so to read it and write my impressions) so it appears I am officially entering the professional blogosphere. To that end, I’m going to be undergoing a pretty substantial site redesign in the coming weeks to give this blog a little more of a professional sheen to it. The podcast is still on the horizon, but I want to get my core blog set up first before I start trying to add my voice to the equation. For all of you that have stopped by and liked what you have seen so far, this is only the beginning. Keep coming back for more developments, and some of the best takes on tech news, new gadgets, and sci-fi topics on the web. Thanks for your support, and Namaste.

What’s that again about video games helping you in real life?

Chalk this one up to someone putting too much credence into video game ability translating to real life ability. You know all those arguments out there that flight simulators can help you learn to fly? Rock Band 2 drum trainer can help you learn to play real drums? Grand Theft Auto games can help you carjack more successfully? Well, Carl Edwards of NASCAR fame learned the hard way that racing tricks in video games don’t always translate to the real world laws of physics. Details on the race and quotes after the jump. Read more

Introducing a new feature

I couldn’t help but notice in going through some of the web stats, especially yesterday and even so far today, that a lot of you coming here hit the articles through Google searches looking for help. Specifically, around my review of “The Force Unleashed”, I’ve gotten a good number of search hits on “how do I defeat rogue jedi” and “rogue jedi help”, thing like that. So, I’ve decided to add a new category and occasional posting topic called “Tips and Tricks”, where I can answer questions that readers send in. How it works, after the jump. Read more

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is . . . well . . . unleashed on my Wii

UPS showed up today around 3:00pm with my copy of “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” for the Wii. I’ve managed to get in around two hours of gameplay today, having to relinquish my lightsaber to my young padawans for a time so that they could go through the training modes and have some fun. But when Daddy took over, I had to show the Rebellion and Imperial Troopers alike the business end of my lightsaber. Read more

“Still Alive” in typography

Portal - Still Alive typography from Trickster on Vimeo.
I know, I know, I already did a little bit on the “Still Alive” in typography. The dry geeky humor in the song made me want to play “Portal”, and I’m so glad I did as it was a mind-bendingly awesome game. Another thing I’ve liked to watch are the recent experiments in typography, or the creation of animated text to convey the meaning and feel of a song, movie scene, etc. Imagine my surprise when I see this in my feed reader this morning, coming from Kotaku, the great gaming blog. The utilization of graphics from the game along with the text was a great touch, overall a wonderful job. One spelling error (there’s a “your” instead of “you’re”), but overall it’s a great example of typography. I’ve embedded another couple of my favorite examples after the break. Read more

With “All-Play”, you too can be Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods All-Play 209 is the latest entry into the Tiger Woods franchise from EA Sports. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago and have been playing it as life, and the kids, allowed (my daughter was fighting an addiction to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so I was lucky to get much time in for this). Pretty fun game overall, an a worthy entry into the series with a few game modes exclusive to the Wii. Full thoughts after the jump. Read more

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