Fanboy.com

I dare you to knock this battery off my shoulder! This Canadian fanboy took a bear suit and modified it for futuristic combat situations ala Halo. I have no idea if this invention would work, but man would he clean up with the cosplay awards at any convention!

Found via Yeah, It’s Pretty Cool

When you're mayor of New York City there are so many real things to worry about like terrorism, the economy, a deteriorating infrastructure, unaffordable housing for the middle class, improving our impoverished public school system and the recent disturbing Sean Bell case.

Q. So what does New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg worry about the most?

A. The videogame Grand Theft Auto IV!

Rants Begin Against Grand Theft Auto IV

"As was the case with the previous games in the series, activist groups, police, politicians, and surviving victims of violence criticized Grand Theft Auto IV last week, beginning shortly after the game was launched nationwide. Regarding the game's violence, the NYPD association president Pat Lynch told the New York Daily News on Wednesday that, "being involved in a shootout in a video game has no consequences and that is the wrong message to send to young people."

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the mother of a killed NYPD officer echoed similar sentiments in the same report, saying GTA IV "doesn't exactly teach the kind of things that you'd want to teach your kids," or more descriptively put, "teaches children to kill"."

It looks like Nintendo is ramping up to do a major push for the Wii Fit here in NYC. Shown above is a shot of an ad campaign that will be on top of cabs throughout the city. My gut feeling is that this product will continue to further push open the video game market, and my thinking is that in this case that's a very healthy thing for both my waistline and the industry.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Ultra Toukon Densetsu - 1993 - Branpresto

Ultra Toukon Densetsu is an SD version of the long running and wildly popular, not to mention highly influential, Ultraman series. The main gimmick of the game is that all the characters are super deformed, shrunk down to childlike proportions with stubby limbs and large heads.

There are three ultra fighters to choose from, Ultraman, Ultra Seven and XXXXXX. All three have slightly different powers and attack methods, but they all boil down to essentially the same thing. One would think that each ultra person would be more individualized to appease the rabid fans, but there is very little uniqueness to any character.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

The Amazing Adventures of Mr. F. Lea - Pacific Novelty - 1982

In the rather verbosely titled game The Amazing Adventures of Mr. F. Lea, you take on the humble role of the titular flea. The game itself in incredibly simple and straightforward. Perhaps this is because of the fact that it's based largely on other games.

The opening selection screen is a bit like that in Tron. You are faced with four possible paths, each one a different game. First, there's the Frogger clone. In this one you have to get Mr. F. Lea across a lawn filled with "Lawnmower Man" like self-propelled mowers. After that, there is a walkway full of various dogs, some very long, some short, some fast and some slow. All of this plays out exactly like Frogger, and the point is to fill the four houses at the top with Fleas. As you will see in the other stages, this is all very easy, mostly because all of the more lethal elements have been removed. The dogs never disappear, the traffic at the bottom is very regular and there are no crocs to gobble you up.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Tengai - 1996 - Psikyo

Side-scrolling shooters are certainly the bread and butter of arcade games. They are fast, simple, and eat quarters like Kirstie Alley on a Twinkie high. The only really thing separating one for another is the window dressing. The graphics and whatever plot they can loosely hang onto them.

Tengai is certainly just another shallow shooter, but damned if it doesn't look pretty. Plus, it's not often that you get to use the phrase "mid-evil Japanese steam punk," but that's exactly what Tengai is going for.

This trailer was made especially for the New York Comic Con by Sega.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Street Fighter: The Movie - 1995 - Capcom

For many a geeky gamer, the 1990's were the ear of the fighter. You were either a Mortal Kombat fan or a Street Fighter supporter. There could be only one.

Both games spawned equally heinous films, but fanboy being fanboys, they have both gone on to find their respective cult followings. In 1995, Capcom released their game based on the film based on the game, appropriately titled Street Fighter: The Movie. The game replaced the usual cartoony character models with the real-world actors from the film. Such luminaries as Ming-Na, Kylis Minogue, Raul Julia and star Jean-Claude Van Damme were digitized and placed into the roles of fan favorites.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom - 1993 - Capcom

While the table-top pen and paper world of Dungeons & Dragons has certainly seen a successful adaptation in the world of computer gaming, it's had a much tougher time making it into the arcades. It should be obvious but the slow moving, story drivin gaming system just can't keep up with the quarter swallowing demands of the arcade. That doesn't mean people haven't tried.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Dangun Feveron - 1998 - Cave

I sometimes find it interesting to see what lengths a developer will go to in order to get a gamer to play the same old games over and over again. Usually it's just something like tacking a 2 or III at the end of a popular name and sprucing up the old graphics. Sometime it's adding a new character or plot line. It's not often that it's disco:

The Third Relay Space Station: Tokio is a new Japanese point-and-click game created by Bianco-Bianco, who is also created Dreamland and Ranch Escape. The game is set in the space station Tokio where you play the chef of the Casablanca Restaurant. When you wake up, you realize that you are locked in your room and have to escape by solving a series of puzzles.

Found via zaeega.com and escapegames24.com.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Chiller - 1986 - Exidy Inc.

Brought to us by the team that did similar light-gun shooters like "Crossbow" and "Crackshot", "Chiller" takes a major right-turn down the path to hell. Set in the bowels of some sort of castle/mansion/yermom'sbasement environment, "Chiller" runs through four stages featuring various degrees of torture and man's inhumanity to man...and woman.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Capcom - 1992

Even before you know anything about the game, the title Cadillacs and Dinosaurs makes an impact. It screams B-movie hokeyness, two extremes that should never be combined.

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Blocken - 1994 - Kid/Visco

Sometimes simply mashing two good ideas together is enough to bring the fun back to otherwise tired modes of play. Take the block breaking action of "Breakout," add the vertical down-scroll of "Tetris," some head-to-head action and sprinkle it with lots of pink and blue glitter and a stereotypical anime school-girl, and you have "Blocken."

In this series retro game expert Zac Bentz picks his top ten MAME games. If you're a casual gaming fanboy MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator and is a software emulator that allows you to play ancient arcade games on modern hardware.

Akkanvader - 1995 - Taito

It's no surprise that there are exactly 1,035,648,399 different clones of the original Space Invaders. Today, I'm taking a look at one of them, Taito's Akkanvader from 1995. It's colorful, cute, and best of all, fun!

Now you're playing with power! This 1985 commercial for Nintendo seems to be inspired by films like Blade Runner and Alien. What's funny about the commercial is that the set design has a very bleak cyberpunk look, yet when the game displays pop up you get the sharp visual contrast of kid friendly candy colored 8 bit graphics.

Shown above are screen shots from RoboCop 2, F-1 Race, Hello Kitty no Ohanabatake and James Bond Jr. which I found at Nintendo8.com an entertaining website which allows you to play dozens of classic 8-bit games online.

Click on the image to view at full size...

I'm so burned out when it comes to seeing yet another cool gamer themed t-shirt which is why the Pac-Man Maze Hoodie above caught my eye. 'Cause I've got Pac-Man fever...

Found via likecool.com.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Gammarauders

Released by TSR in 1987, Gammarauders is a crazy hodgepodge of post-apocalypticism, table-top role-playing and sci-fi comedy. From the game's World Book:

"It was a time of peace and plenty. Men flew in multicolored suits. Women worked magic by wiggling their noses. Vehicles talked. Blond genies lived in bottles. Hillbillies invaded a land called Beverly..."

And it goes on like that. For twenty pages.

The game is played with large cardboard hexagonal areas á la Settlers of Catan, much smaller cardboard token pieces representing troops, various action cards and, the main attraction, sheets featuring the Bioborgs. Bioborgs are huge mutated animals ranging from a t-rex to a kangaroo to a penguin and more, all massive and outfitted with lethal weaponry. The players assume the role of one of the various wacky groups and gangs ranging from hippies to gangsters to samurai. The whole thing has a very over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek tone, but in fact little of the back story has much effect on the actual game play. The main appeal is the ever changing battlefield and the crazy visuals. For example, the weapon cards all feature unique designs and crazy names like the Helio-Conic Slugger, Neonuclear Flamer and Omni-Ionized Gas Emissions.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Solarquest

It is a rare thing to find a game that is not only a ton of fun, but also quietly educational. Built on Monopoly's core mechanics, Solarquest adds a bit of depth as well as a lot of polish and eye candy to the otherwise dry franchise.

The basic idea is that you're zooming around the solar system buying up every major rock (mostly moons) you can find. Instead of moving in a fixed path, players may choose to orbit around the home planets for as long as they wish, building up fuel and cash. Once a player has bought up a planet's surrounding moons they essentially have a monopoly and gain more money for rent and fuel when another player lands there. There are also special rules to allow cutthroat laser battles that are sure to end friendships and destroy marriages.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Text Adventure

First off, no, I never got the Babel Fish. At least not on my own.

The text-adventure version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the most evil games ever created. It's also, as most inherently evil things tend to be, a huge amount of fun. Not surprising since the source material is brilliant and the game was adapted by author Douglas Adams himself. The game follows the plot of the book just about as much as the books themselves follow any sort of plot. Much like the book, the player is simply called to react to the events transpiring around him. From the bulldozing of the house to the trip to space and the travels of the Heart of Gold, everything just sort of happens. Naturally there are a lot of new bits and a lot of missing bits, but collectively all of the bits make for a great experience.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Mighty Men & Monster Maker

It has been said before, but memory is an odd thing. You can be minding your own business, idly cruising through the nether-regions of the intertoobes, when all-of-a-sudden you see something that instantly sends you through the looking glass. You're two feet shorter and [redacted] years younger. The light looks oddly diffuse, the walls tower over you at strange angles and you're laying on your grandmother's living room floor forming weird creatures and mental dreamscapes with Tomy's Mighty Men & Monster Maker.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Simon

Sure, it would be easy to wonder why this simple little kid's game of follow-the-leader should make it onto this list. To you, all I have to say is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Simon is obviously a pan-dimensional communications device sent to test the evolutionary progress of civilizations across the universe. To the casual observer it may seem like a simple match game. While most people think that "winning" is simply hitting every candy-colored note at the right time, most fail to realize that the way we lose is just as important. Our behavior is very closely monitored during this "play," while all of our vital statistics and higher brain functions are sent out at light speed every time our fingers touch the pads.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Metroid

Barren landscapes. Strange alien life-forms. A mysterious civilization. A harsh and minimal soundtrack. Absolutely no dialog. All of these things combined to make Nintendo's Metroid an immediate sci-fi stand-out on the system.

In the game, the player is thrust directly into a foreign land with very little explanation. The seemingly unending caves twist and turn like a maze, going both vertically as well as horizontally. The confusion is pushed even further with the several impenetrable doors and other seemingly impossible to reach areas. This was something new to many gamers. The idea of backtracking and unlocking secret areas all the way back where you started from was still a relatively new one for home-consoles. While these days it has come to be more of an annoyance to some gamers than a special feature, it certainly made for interesting, if not laborious, secret hunting as well as serving to extend the life of the game greatly.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Space Invaders

One of the great things about certain types of sci-fi is that they leave a lot up to your own imagination. Sometime the things that are left unexplained are the most intriguing. You can select the things you think are interesting and build them up in any way you see fit. I mean, this is exactly what the fan-fiction industry [community] is built upon.

Space Invaders is one of those less-is-more sorts of situations. The basic premise, heck, the only premise, is that the aliens are coming and they want us dead. Where are they from? How far have they traveled? What is it about us that they find so offensive as to throw literally everything they have at us? It's enough to paralyze even the most iron-clad ego. Fortunately, the game gives you exactly zero chance to ponder the finer points of pan-galactic diplomacy. Before you can even survey the playing field, the electric disintegrator rays are raining from the sky and it's time to boogie. You can try and hide behind your shields, but eventually those space bugs are going to crush you, so shut up and pull the trigger.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Star Wars (Arcade)

No list of great sci-fi anything could possibly be complete without the inclusion of something Star Wars related. Video games are no exception. While there have been loads of games bearing the distinctive logo, perhaps the best is also the first.

1983 saw an explosion of Star Wars video games across the board, but few would argue against the original arcade "cockpit" style cabinet being the best. First of all, the second you crawled in and sat down, you became Luke Skywalker. Visually cut off from the outside world, it was suddenly long ago and far away and you are flying around in space. Shot from a first person perspective, you could just see your X-Wing’s blasters pointing in from the edges of the screen. TIE fighters screamed toward you from all angles. The yoke controller was a dream to use and soon disappeared in your hands. And that wasn't even the best part.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Robotron: 2084

If there is one iron-clad sci-fi rule, it's that robots will always turn on their makers. It's "the fall" reduced to more mortal confines. If you build something in your image, it will eventually pitch a fit, take its ball and try and kill you with it.

In Robotron: 2084 (released in 1982), you are the last hope for human civilization. The title explains all you need to know about the setting; it's the year 2084 and robots with some twisted AI have overrun the word and are now killing and mutating the few remaining humans. For rather vague reasons (something about being a mutant yourself) you are the only person with any sort of retaliatory firepower. As usual, the human "family" is totally useless in trying to save itself and walks around aimlessly while hordes of boxy 'bots, flashing violent shades of oh-so-futuristic neon, seek them out. With the only motivation to save them being a few extra points, it may be tempting to just sit back and watch these idiots stagger to their doom, but then we wouldn't have a game then would we?

Amateur Surgeon is a cute Flash game which is some where between a horror movie and a comedy. You'll think twice before ordering in Pizza again...

Found via Nerdcore.de.

It seems almost impossible to fall over in a game store without knocking over a few dozen sci-fi themed games, so we wanted to take a look at the ten best examples of the genre. Our twist? Retro! So here's one glimpse of the future from the past:

Asteroids

Asteroids, released in 1979, plays upon our fears of doom raining down from the skies. Death from outer space is one of the cornerstones of sci-fi, as is the daring solo hero/star-fighter. Asteroids distills these themes down to the quantum level. It's simply you versus the rocks. Like the ur sci-fi game Spacewar! (later Computer Space) you have to use your thrust to avoid a deadly collision, but that will also send you careening around the board, possibly making things worse. If all else fails you can jump into hyperspace for a moment, blinking out of existence for a moment, but possibly reappearing back into hostile territory. Even blasting the asteroids into dust can get you into trouble, as they break up into smaller and faster balls of evil.

Added into the mix is the occasional flying saucer, which must have had some sort of special interest in mining the asteroid field. It wants nothing more than to blow you to smithereens.

Sadly Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax passed away today. In a world of slick video games it's easy to forget a time when every fanboy didn't have a computer, back in those days Gygax created a revolution in games by bringing in the genre of fantasy. Reading his bio on Wikipedia you can tell that he was a real fanboy at heart:

"In 1967, a 20-person gaming meet was organized by Gary Gygax. It was held in the basement of his home and later became known as "Gen Con 0" as this meet birthed the annual Gen Con gaming convention in 1968. Gen Con is now the world's largest annual hobby-game gathering. Gen Con is also where Gary Gygax would meet Brian Blume and Dave Arneson. Brian Blume would later enter into TSR as partner with Don Kaye and Gary."

A choice between good and evil! Shown above is the latest trailer for the Lego Batman game which will be out in September — it looks like fun...

I got a good laugh after watching the above trailer for the upcoming Ninjatown game on the Nintendo DS.

Shown above is the 3D work of talented interactive media pioneer Larry Rosenthal. Larry has just opened his own 3C Skybase (shown above) and Star Trek Tribute Lounge in Second Life:

Cube3 Opens New C3 Skybase and Star Trek Tribute Lounge with the SFCSLQ

"Second Life, Jan 21, 2008: Cube3 the creators of the Starbase C3 Online World and RPG, has created with the sponsorship of the StarFleet Command Second Life Quadrant Roleplayers ( SFCSLQ) a new multilevel floating outpost at the groups sim at Sovereign. The Outpost , named the C3 Skybase Sovereign is now open and all aliens, avatars , etc, are welcome to attend.

Chris is a videogame fanboy who made the above documentary on The Top Ten Worst Mistakes by Sega, even though the production values are crude his insights into the game industry of the 90s are great. I found myself laughing a few times watching this, it's amazing to think how many times Sega would become their own worst enemy. Part two is below:

Shown above are just two examples from an amazing collection of Atari game manuals and other associated items collected by designer Joe Kral. I have to say that I was blown away with the quality of the print design work associated with Atari in the 80s, I tend to associate good taste from that era with IBM and Apple but their taste wasn't too shabby.

If you're an animation fanboy (or fangurl) who owns a Nintendo DS you should check out the the American website for Professor Layton and the Curious Village which just launched (nicely designed by POP Multimedia in Seattle). A friend showed me the Japanese version of the game a few months ago which features Hayao Miyazaki inspired animation set in a charming Victorian world. The gameplay features characters that you would find in a Charles Dickens novel solving a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Here's the game trailer to give you a taste:

Shown above is a TV commercial for the Magnavox Star System color television set. Below is a 1981 spot for the Magnavox Odyssey which features the voice of Mr. Spock:

No this isn't a joke! 3D Realms claims they are working away at Duke Nukem Forever, however they won't mention a release date.

Shown above is page 482 from a Montgomery Wards Christmas catalog from the early 80s (click on the image to see it at full size). This catalog page features the following retro-gamer goodies:

A. MB Electronics/Milton Bradley Microvision

B. Mattel Electronics Computer Backgammon

C. MB Electronics/Milton Bradley Light Fight

D. Parker Brothers Bank Shot Electronic Pool

E. Entex Galaxian 2

F. Parker Brothers Wildfire Pinball Arcade

What's interesting to me about these games is that they're all handheld devices in a pre-Game Boy era. If you account for inflation at $40 to $80 the toys are on the higher end of the scale of what tween or teen might expect to get for Christmas in 1981 (which is my guess when the page was published). One thing that caught my eye is that the backgammon game seems to be more aimed at young professional adults (known as yuppies in that era) rather than kids. From a fanboy point of view it's interesting to note that for $17.77 you could get a Star Trek cartridge for the Microvision! Although looking at the crude game play of the device (there's no video) I'm somewhat pleased that was never under my Christmas tree. Ah the good olde days, I'm so happy they're gone...

Found via myconfinedspace.com.

If you're a Namco fanboy you'll get a kick out of this officially licensed Pac-Man Belt Buckle which has the Pac-Man's Ghost image on it.

I found this Flash game from New Zealand to be quite entertaining:

Anika's Odyssey

"Anika’s Odyssey is a magical adventure deep into a lush and enchanted land. Break away from reality to enter a mystical world inspired by Aotearoa, New Zealand, as you meet the curious spirits and exotic creatures that inhabit this wondrous wilderness. Anika’s Odyssey is an enchanting point-and-click adventure game, full of a surprises and charm. Help Anika explore her colorful landscape as she journeys to reclaim her beloved friend."

Cosmic Fantasy was a NEC PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 role playing video game from 1989. The game featured a futuristic science fiction/Fantasy theme with some humor. The game series did pretty well in the early 90s and even managed to inspire a OVA (Original Video Animation) anime title in 1994. You can also find some great screenshots of the follow up game Cosmic Fantasy II at this website here.

Chasing Ghosts is a film that takes a look at the video arcade scene in the early 80s. It's funny I remember finding arcade centers from everyplace from my hometown to my local shopping mall. If you're near New York City on Saturday, December 15th at 6 p.m. you may want to catch the film at the New York United Film Festival.

Found via Christian Liendo!

Shown above is teaser video of the new LEGO Batman game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games.

What do you do when you run out of old movies to remake? You make movies out of old videogames:

Disney, Bruckheimer talking 'Prince'
Newell in negotiations to direct live action film

"Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have made an offer to Mike Newell to direct "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," a live-action feature based on the videogame. Newell, who last ventured into franchise fare with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," met execs at the studio to discuss the project this week, and negotiations are expected to begin shortly."

This collection of Japanese video game commercials is amazing! It's like getting a compressed overview of the history of video games. Here's part two:

Shown above is a clip from the upcoming Simspson game which is a parody of Japanese role playing adventure video games. I love how they renamed each character!

Shown above is a level from the upcoming The Simpsons Game which is based on Grand Theft Auto. I love the fact that instead of just doing a lame port that EA is using the medium of video games to make fun of other video games.

By chance I came across the following video on YouTube which shows the Atari 2600 game based on the classic movie E.T.:

But what's funny is that I don't recall seeing this game when it came out, but my first reaction looking at the video was "that looks horrid!" So I knew there had to be a good story behind the game, and it turns out that E.T. was the start-of-the-end for the golden age of Atari:

This hand woven Pac Man carpet can be added to your fanboy collection for just $2031. The carpet was designed by the Swedish design company Our Children's Gorilla. I was also impressed with their vintage robot which had a nice sene of whimsy to it.

Found via GeekAlert.

At first this "face training" game sounds silly, but I quite impressed by it. You see about ten years ago as the era of multimedia CD-ROMs was coming to an end I was lamenting that interactive media had so much potential to be more than just shooter games like Doom. So it's nice for me to see Nintendo reinventing the entire notion of what a game platform should be. I hope this out of the box (or X-box?) thinking comes here:

Faces get muscular exercise with new Nintendo DS game

"A new game for the Nintendo DS handheld machine helps players exercise their facial muscles to have nicer smiles and livelier expressions. "Face Training" comes with a digital camera that fits into the dual-screen machine to show live video of the player's own face on the right screen while an animation of a woman's face illustrates exercises on the left screen.

The 16 types of exercises called "facening," designed by beauty expert Fumiko Inudo, take about two to 10 minutes each to complete. Nintendo Co., the Kyoto-based maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games, recommends playing no longer than 15 minutes at a time. In addition to the animation that serves as a model for players, an electronic voice like an aerobics instructor guides you to twist your mouth, drop your jaw, wink, glare at the ceiling and do other moves to tighten flabby cheeks and develop that bright-eyed look.

Company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa says the game is also entertaining because players end up making funny faces in the name of a better-toned countenance. Overseas sales plans are still undecided, he said."

This game will be based on the movie (not to be confused with the previous game shown above):

WB gears up ' Speed Racer' game
Studio to self-publish day-and-date release

"Continuing to expand its inhouse videogame work, Warner Bros. will self-publish the game based on next summer's tentpole "Speed Racer." Versions of the game playable on Nintendo's Wii and DS will launch day-and-date with the pic's theatrical release in May. A version for Sony's PlayStation 2 comes out in the fall along with the DVD. Given the short development schedule, Warner Bros. apparently decided not to invest in "Speed Racer" games for the high-powered PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles."

The Pachimon Game Museum is an online Japanese website that shows off gaming rip-offs from China from the PolyStation II (shown above) to the Jank Box 36X.

Distraction Game (also known as Pyo Pyo Fruits) is a fun Flash game from Japan. What nice about it is that as you play characters outside the frame of the game (shown above) nudge the creen to distract you. My hat is off to whomever cam eup with the design...

Found via Metafilter.

Not to toot my own horn, but my design firm just finished up work on a sneak preview site for I Spy Fun House, an upcoming game for the Nintendo DS platform. The game looks pretty neat as it's packed with levels of cool brain teaser puzzles.