Until now, one of the cooler premiums available from Club Nintendo, at least in my opinion, was a DS game that featured recreations of all their classic Game & Watch titles. But Japanese Club Nintendo members who’ve reached the Platinum level will now be rewarded with an actual Game & Watch handheld game allowing them to enjoy all the excitement of Ball which was Nintendo’s very first G&W title released way back in 1980 according to Kotaku. And here’s to hoping this is the first in a series of Game & Watch re-releases, and not the last.

[ Club Nintendo - Game & Watch: Ball ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

By John Beck

I usually consider myself to be a bit of a tech head, but now and again something comes along which makes me realise how low I really rate on the universal scale of geekery.

The latest blow to my sense of nerdy self worth is SurfaceScapes, a project dreamt up by students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Centre, which aims to create a proof-of-concept for playing tabletop role-playing games on Microsoft’s Surface Table.

Basically, this provides players with a digital environment, which they can interact with using real objects (such as painstakingly detailed miniatures), and also provides automated calculations and visual and audio feedback for actions performed by characters in the game. If that takes your fancy, then watch the video and allow the nasal voiceover to explain things far better than I ever could.

So far, only Dungeons and Dragons is up and running on the prototype system, but fortunately for those whose proverbial boat is not floated by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson’s magnum opus, the team say it could be expanded to other games in the future.

[ SurfaceScapes ]

Any time I’ve enjoyed a game of air hockey on a real table, the puck still manages to find it’s way off the table on many occasions. So while I applaud the clever design of this portable version of air hockey, where the fan is integrated into the puck itself allowing it to float across a table or any flat surface, I can see it losing its novelty when you have to go pick it up for the 37th time in the first 3 minutes of a game.

But for just $14.99 from Urban Outfitters you get the puck, 2 paddles and a set of nets making it a cheap and easy gift. Just don’t let the giftee rope you into playing.

[ Portable Air Hockey ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

I’ve played a number of PSP titles, and it’s always interesting to see how a developer gets around the limitation of having only a single analog stick to work with. It can provide some significant obstacles, but generally they overcome them. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for LucasArts and Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron.

This latest installment in the Battlefront series places you in the boots of a clone trooper who was created from the DNA of a Jedi Master. I’ll admit that playing a cloned Jedi does have its appeals, but the game never really follows through on this. You’re simply another trooper with skills moderately better than the rest. There’s also a story of two brothers on separate sides of the battlefield, which doesn’t end up being nearly as interesting as one would hope.

The game takes you through a number of battles seen in the movies and other Star Wars canon. Yet again you’ll see battles from a slightly different point of view. This time you’ll be rotating through a series of scenarios that include a ground battle, space battle and firing some sort of large gun at the surface of the planet, or a ship. At first this seems to liven up the gameplay, however, you quickly realize that every single level will have you doing these exact same things. Give it three or four levels and you’ll have pretty much played the entire game. The rest is just a re-hashing of the early levels with a new face painted on them.

Speaking of the missions themselves, most of them are a complete joke. You’ll have a number of objectives to complete before you progress. Usually they consist of going to a location, sometimes an action has to be carried out once you get there (pull a lever, blow something up, etc.). The funny thing is that if you aren’t specifically ordered to kill anyone, you can breeze through many parts of the game by running past all of the enemies until you hit the next checkpoint. Talk about taking the ‘battle’ out of Battlefront.

I would usually be disappointed to find out that I can simply run past all of the enemies. Unfortunately the controls are so abysmal in this game that I found it to be a saving grace. With your single analog stick you control player movement, camera and aiming. I don’t mean to say that the stick controls these things individually in combination with another button. No, it does all of these things at the same time, which makes it difficult to do anything at all.

Movement is clunky at best, since the camera is situated directly behind you at all times. There is no strafing, so if you want to shoot an enemy around a corner, you have to walk out there, slowly turn, lock on to them, wait for the auto-aim to kick in, then fire. I say that the auto-aim is a necessity because it truly is. Your crosshairs remain in the same spot on the screen at all times. It is a rare occurrence indeed when an enemy is squarely in your sights. You can zoom in with your weapons, at which time you are free to aim, but I rarely recommend this. It takes a precious few seconds to pull it up, then even longer to actually move the crosshairs where you want them. Oh, and don’t worry about targeting a specific enemy. Even if there’s someone right in front of you, there’s no guarantee that it will be the one you’ll end up targeting.

You do have a variety of weapons to choose from, unfortunately these are restricted to a few predefined sets. You can stop at stations setup throughout the game and switch these out, and occasionally you are forced to do so. For instance, you need to equip the ‘Pilot’ loadout so that you can use the fusion cutter to repair a turret. (How cutting at a pile of rubble turns it into a fully-functional turret is beyond me, but that’s another matter entirely.) Thankfully you can switch loadouts as often as you like, so when you’re done, you can equip something useful.

The storyline had some potential, but overall the game felt clunky and uninspired. The controls were miserable and the gameplay too repetitive. If you’re looking for your next Star Wars fix, I wouldn’t suggest picking this one up.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is currently available for the PSP and DS.

[ LucasArts ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

You don’t have to be a smoker who grew up gobbling white dots and ghosts to appreciate these retro gaming themed Zippo lighters. You could also be a pyromaniac who really enjoyed Dig Dug as a kid, or someone who can never get enough Galaxian who also happens to prepare a lot of birthday cakes. The Zippos are available in four different versions including Pac-Man, Xevious and the aforementioned Dig Dug and Galaxian, and can be pre-ordered from NCSX for a mere $108.90.

[ Namco Classic Game Zippo Lighters ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

Article courtesy of John Beck, from The Processor.

Good news for sedentary sports fans with frustrated aspirations of grandeur. Thanks to the wonders of technology (and UK-based firm Real Time Race) they should now be able to take part in some of the worlds biggest sporting spectacles. Well, kind of.

The basic concept is designed to allow gamers to take a virtual place in real environments and events – all with naught but an internet and web browser enabled device.

Real Time Race says the technology could be applied to “skiing, mountain biking, equine eventing and water sports etc,” but that sounds a bit pants, and fortunately they’ve been focusing on motor racing so far.

Prior to a big race, the track environment will be captured by a Google Streetcar-alike vehicle, which along with 360 degree cameras sports a gizmo on the back which fires lasers all over the place to work out how far away everything is. The data is then processed and makes its way to a browser where it should play something like a conventional video game map.   

The (real) cars participating in the race will also be captured, as well as fitted with navigation systems which transmit their position on the track, allowing couch-bound speed freaks to test themselves against the best in the world. 

The technology still appears to be in the proof of concept rather than “actually fun” stage, and the car handling and physics are woeful, but it does seem rather promising all the same. 

If you can stand the massive and utterly gratuitous use of exclamation marks and apostrophes, you can read more and download a demo here.

[ Real Time Race ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

Borderlands sets you down on the desolate planet of Pandora. Here is a world that few people would ever want to set foot on, save for the prospect of treasure. It has been rumored that a vault lie hidden somewhere in the vast wasteland which contains riches beyond measure. Treasure hunters, mercenaries  and even large corporations want to get their hands on whatever is contained within.

The world of Pandora seems like a barren wasteland, yet the art styling makes the landscape seem rich and exciting. The prominent black lines and shading remind me very much of a comic book, while at the same time it feels like something entirely different. The overall landscape doesn’t change much from zone to zone, but each has its own characteristics that makes it seem unique.

You start out the game as one of four mercenaries hoping to strike it rich. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, along with special abilities and weapon proficiencies. What really makes each stand out is their singular action skill. This is a special ability that you can trigger when you need to kick a little more ass. At their very basic, the action skills are thus:

• Soldier – Can drop an automated turret that takes down baddies while also protecting you.
• Siren – Can briefly turn invisible and move with increased speed. Also does damage when phasing in and out.
• Hunter – Releases his bird of prey to attack nearby enemies.
• Berserker – Becomes temporarily invulnerable while dealing extra melee damage.

As you level up, you earn skill points which are spent on your skill tree. Each character has three branches on the tree. The abilities unlocked generally revolve around your action skill. How you spend your points can also help determine your role when you’re playing with friends. One tree might make you better equipped for healing, while another could give you the tools you need for maximum destruction.

The game starts off with an awesome opening scene featuring a great song from Cage the Elephant. You then select your character and begin making friends with the locals (mostly by killing bandits and such). You’ll take on quests from various NPC’s which take you all over the world. Along the way you’ll slowly find out more and more about this mysterious vault which you are searching for.

The quests usually take the form of “kill someone”, “kill a bunch of someones” or “find these things”. As basic as these are each quest did feel somewhat unique, and you rarely had the feeling that you were simply grinding for XP. Your main quest line flows rather naturally, while the optional sidequests have enough background flavor to keep your interest. You are rewarded with XP, cash and/or weapons/upgrades.

One of my favorite aspects of this game is your variety of weapons. The game’s case boasts “bazillions of guns,” and they aren’t kidding. Weapons are broken down into seven different categories. These include pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles and launchers. The more you use each type, the more proficient you become. As you level up a type of weapon you’ll get increased damage, faster reloading, etc.

Weapons have a number of different stats to be concerned with. Damage, Accuracy and Fire Rate are the major ones. You’ll also want to pay attention to how many shots are fired per round, and if it does elemental damage. Some guns also have special attributes like increased reload speed, higher accuracy and more zoom.

The more rare firearms will even have a small bit of red text, which alludes to a special ability. This is something that both intrigues and annoys me. To my knowledge, there is no official listing of what each piece of text means. I have found a decent fan-made list that gives a decent description of some red text abilities. However, most of the time I just have to experiment with the gun to figure out what is special about it.

Guns are found all over the place in this game. You’ll get them as rewards for a quest, off of corpses, in boxes and even in scrap piles. Guns can also be purchased from vendors, which unlike some games can actually be somewhat useful. Generally the good guns are very expensive, but at times worth the price.

When you come across weapons and upgrades on the ground (or in boxes) you’ll be greeted with a popup just above the item. This tells you all of the stats (including cash value) so that you can easily determine if it’s worth picking up.

Other important items are your personal shield, grenade modifier and class mod. The first two are fairly self-explanatory. The class mod will give you bonuses to various stats that compliment the class you have chosen. This might mean increasing your damage with a particular weapon, or adding to the abilities you have chosen in your skill tree. Changing one of these out before a battle can have a significant impact on the outcome, so I recommend holding onto a couple of different ones just in case.

Combat is a blast. The enemy AI is fairly adept, so you’re generally kept on your toes. Your foes come in a variety of forms (humanoid, insect-like, beastly and so-on) and even those have their own sub-categories. You might have a bandit that smartly takes cover and fires off a few shots when the time is right, or a large brute who walks confidently toward you while laying down a barrage of bullets. My favorites are the raving lunatics that will light themselves on fire and just run toward you in a frenzy. (Though the midgets with shotguns are a close second).

Since you spend a good deal of the game killing things, it’s only right that they should die in an interesting fashion. Body parts will get blown off, or an electrified show might make them convulse and fall over. If you’re using the right elemental weapon, you can even disintegrate the foe, leaving only their mask hanging in mid-air for a moment before it falls unceremoniously to the ground.

Travel is broken down into three things. You can hoof it, drive a bad-ass vehicle (armed with your choice of guns) or use the Fast Travel system. Vehicles are generated at various places throughout each zone. These places are plentiful enough that you don’t really have to walk a lot, except in areas that can’t be reached otherwise. Driving them can be tricky at first, but eventually you’ll be able to get around well enough. Each vehicle has room for two; a driver and a gunner. The weapons on these aren’t the most powerful, but they do the trick. Your best bet is to simply run over whatever enemy might be in your path. They make a wonderful squishing noise when you do, it’s rather addicting.

The Fast Travel system is simple enough. When you reach one of the stations, it can be used to instantly transport you to a different station that you have previously discovered. I use the term “instant” very loosely here. Loading times between zones are annoyingly long, taking anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. Even when are finally loaded into the zone, most of the objects are a little fuzzy for a few extra seconds before they become clear. This wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t jumping from zone to zone for your various quests. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it certainly doesn’t add to the excitement either.

I was disappointed by the overall lack of voice acting in this game. Only a handful of NPCs had any real dialogue and even that was forgettable, save one.  Scooter, the country bumpkin that supplies your vehicles is hilarious. Every time you approach one of his stations you’ll hear is redneck voice spouting of something like “This is where the cars live, git you one!” As for your own character, they will have little quips when they level up, enter a vehicle or occasionally when you kill an enemy.

Multiplayer is where most people are going to spend a considerable amount of time. Things go a lot quicker and are much more fun when you’ve got other people to run with. The enemies do a good job of scaling to larger groups, provided that you’re at least close to the same level. There are arenas setup for dueling, for those times when you’re convinced you can kick everyone’s ass. My biggest complaint here is the lack of a trading system. For a game that relies so heavily on loot, there is no way to trade items between two characters. One must simply drop an item that another player wants, so that it can be picked up by the right person.

Overall, Borderlands is a fun game. The pace is just right (maybe a touch slow for solo play, depending on your preference) and there are enough characters and weapons to warrant a considerable amount of replayability. This is definitely a game that’s going to be around for a while.

[ Borderlands ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

Well it’s officially official. The whole Wii accessories fiasco can now be upgraded to an epidemic with the release of the special edition of Baby and Me which comes with an actual doll. With the Wiimote strapped to the little plastic bundle of joy gamers will be able to interact with the baby’s on-screen counterpart in a variety of different ways including:

Your baby reacts by giggling, gurgling or crying through the Wii remote
Ten Baby Mode games including feed baby & send baby to sleep
Eight Play Mode games including rattle, catch, clap & balloons
Balance Board support: rock baby to sleep, burp baby, teach baby to walk
Customise baby with new clothes, accessories and playrooms

And if you can’t find the special edition, since they’ll no doubt be flying off the shelves, the standard version of the game includes a holster so you can strap a Wiimote to an existing doll of your choice.

[ Aussie-Nintendo - Baby and Me special edition puts everything else to shame ] VIA [ GoNintendo ]

By Chris Scott Barr

These days it seems like everything has a digital camera in it. Okay, maybe not everything, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t own at least one device that functions as a camera. Of course if you aren’t using a dedicated camera, the lack of an optical zoom can limit your shots. Then again, that’s what crazy accessories are for.

Nyko has announced that they will soon be offering cases for your DSi which will let you attach an 8x zoom lens. I suppose if you carry your DSi everywhere, and enjoy taking a lot of pictures, this might be worth looking into. Sure, you’ll look like a dork, but at least your snapshots will look a little better. Not to mention the $25 price tag certainly can’t be argued with.

[ Nyko ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

So it turns out that ’speculation’ about a newer, larger screened DSi was bang on, as Nintendo officially announced a new version of their dual-screened console this morning. The DSi LL will be available in Japan on November 21st for about $220, and will later be renamed the DSi XL for the Europe market when it’s available there in Q1 of 2010. As for availability in North America? Currently unknown.

The biggest improvement on the LL/XL is the 4.2 inch screens, a full inch larger than the ones the DSi sports. It’s also claimed to have about 1 to 3 hours more battery life than the DSi depending on screen brightness, but since the new model is considerably larger and about 50% heavier than the DSi, there’s plenty of space for a larger battery. And in addition to the standard DS stylus, the DSi LL/XL also appears to come with a larger “touch pen” that’s 4cm longer and considerably more ergonomic than the built-in one.

[ Nintendo DSi LL/XL ] VIA [ GoNintendo ]