Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m not entirely sure where the idea to develop a video game based around oral hygiene and dental care came from, but it almost seems like Commodore was trying to make up for the other… let’s say… ‘less educational’ titles available for the system. And this was 1982, well before video games became the scapegoat for the majority of society’s woes. As I recall, Tooth Invaders was included with certain Commodore 64 bundles since I’m sure it would have had a hard time competing with other more exciting titles on store shelves. I mean it’s hard enough to get kids to brush every day as it is, I can’t imagine too many would have been thrilled with the idea of doing the same thing in a video game.

But it turns out that Tooth Invaders was one of the first games my uncle actually had for his Commodore 64, and whenever I visited it was usually the best option. In the game you play a kind of an oral superhero who goes around brushing small parasites off a set of 8 teeth. You had to be fast though, as the parasites were spread by a small army of roaming green meanies who were quick to undo all the work you had done. Once you had a tooth completely cleaned you could call for a fluoride rinse which would permanently protect the tooth so you could concentrate on cleaning the others. Of course if you didn’t stay on top of things a tooth would quickly become so covered with parasites that it would basically fall out, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make an impression on a 5 year old kid who felt brushing was a waste of time. Though it did take our family dentist quite a few years to convince me that my mouth was free of those roaming green meanies.

[ C64.com - Tooth Invaders ]

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Sometimes I run across a product that I think would have been awesome, had it come out a decade earlier. Usually these are themed products, featuring a character that hasn’t been popular for years. Sure, the likes of Pac-Man, Mario and the Space Invaders can stand the test of time, Sonic The Hedgehog really hasn’t been cool for a while now.

I’ll admit that I had a bit of Sonic merchandise back in the day, and even watched the cartoon show (featuring the guy that played Steve Urkel), however, I just can’t get excited about this Reactor Mini Chair featuring The Fastest Thing Alive. Not to mention the promise of “a full-body sensory experience” from Sonic just creeps me out. If that’s your thing, then you’ll be able to experience such pleasures on November 21st for $69.99.

[ UltimateGameChair ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m going to file this one under ‘things I wish I’d thought of when I was in high school.’ I can’t tell you how often I relied on a graphing calculator to get me through a boring class, whether it was high school french, or even university-level script writing. But Mark Bowers has taken things one step further by sticking an old Game Boy Color into a broken Texas Instruments TI-83 calculator. (Even though that’s actually a TI-84 in the photo.)

What’s particularly cool is that he actually mapped the TI-83’s 4-way directional pad and various other keys to the directional pad and A, B, Start & Select buttons on the Game Boy Color. While the screen on the final product suffers from a bit of letterboxing on the sides because of the smaller GB display, and the underside features an unfortunate bulge because of the batteries, from the top I doubt of any of Mark’s teachers would discover his clever ruse.

[ MarkBowers.org - GameBoy Color inside a TI-83 series calculator ] VIA [ MAKE: Blog ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

One thing that I’ve disliked about my Wii is the lack of a controller modeled after either the GameCube or N64 controller. Sure, the Classic Controller does its job well enough, but I still just can’t get used to it when playing certain games. Luckily there are third-party manufacturers such as Hori to pick up the slack.

Later this month (November 27th to be precise) will bring us teh Hori Classic Controller, which very much reminds me of my old GameCube controller. My only complaint is that it will take some time to get used to the neatly-arranged A, B, X and Y buttons, since they chose to model them after the Classic Controller. If you’re wondering about those funny buttons in the middle, they are autofire switches for each of the other buttons.You can pre-order the controller now for $29.90.

[ PlayAsia ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

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You know that old saying about how if something sounds too good to be true, that it probably is? Well this also applies to Black Friday. I tend to keep my eyes out for the best deals in advance, then pick a store to camp out in front of for the night. This year I had decided upon Sam’s Club, due to their ridiculously priced Wii package. Unfortunately reality kicked in, and I’ll be spending a cold morning somewhere else.

Apparently whoever leaked the Black Friday circular for Sam’s Club decided to have a bit of fun at all of our expense. They seem to have photoshopped the price to be around $200 cheaper than it actually was. The price we’re seeing now (though it hasn’t been confirmed) is $425, which while it’s still a decent deal, doesn’t seem quite as grabbing. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when we have an actual circular in our hands (or an official announcement) for the exact price.

[ Walmart ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

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I’ve been impressed by Steam for a long time, and am always more than happy to purchase a new title via the service. I think Valve really found that balance between giving the customers the freedom to actually play their purchased games when and where they want, and still combating piracy. Honestly, in order for a service like this to work, it not only has to be something people don’t mind using, but something they actually enjoy using. Of course, having excellent package deals on your games doesn’t hurt things either. Every now and then you’ll find a huge bundle of games for a good price, and right now is one of those times.

The Valve Complete Pack was recently made available, which combines 22 different Valve titles. The $99.99 price tag does seem a bit steep, until you look at everything you’re getting. Sure, you’ll see all of the titles from The Orange Box, but even its value pales in comparison to what you’re getting here. Hit the jump for a complete listing of games.
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It’s almost always a welcome sight when a company bundles several peripherals together for sale. There are generally two exceptions to this. First, if the included peripherals don’t seem to fit together (perhaps they work on different consoles, or just don’t all appeal to the same type of gamer). The other case is when the bundle doesn’t actually save you any money. The latter would be true for this “Multi-Player Controller Set” from Nintendo.

This bundle will give you a Wiimote, Nunchuck and a Wii Wheel for $74.99 at your local retailer. However, if you were to purchase each item separately, you would only pay $74.97. Now I’m not going to argue over a couple of pennies, but usually a bundle saves you money.

[ Nintendo ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

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When it comes to a PC gamer, they need certain things that other users might not need in a computer. High-end graphics cards, lots of RAM, fancy keyboards and special mice are all things than you might find attached to a gaming rig. So when it comes to fighting computer viruses, gamers need special software for that, right? Norton seems to think so.

Norton Antivirus isn’t know for its low memory usage. In fact, it can be one of the biggest resource hogs on your computer, which isn’t good for framerates. So what has Norton done? They’ve cooked up a special Gaming Edition of their 2009 antivirus software. This release is supposed to use 80% less memory, and allow for more lax security in leu of better performance. You can even set it to “Gamers Mode” which will suspend all update downloads and antivirus alerts, thus not interrupting your gaming experience. If this special version doesn’t cost anything extra, then it might be worth looking into, that is if you can stand to have Norton on your computer in the first place.

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This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

I love Black Friday. There’s really nothing like staying up all night, standing in line while it’s freezing outside. Okay so it sucks, but the deals are totally worth it. Check out this awesome deal on a Wii over at Sam’s Club.

The members-only store has offered up a $224 Wii bundle that is the best I’ve ever seen. Not only will you be getting a Wii for $25 less than usual, but you’ll also get two extra Wiimotes and Nunchucks, along with Mario Super Sluggers and King of Clubs Mini-Golf. I can’t imagine that these will last long, so you’ll want to get there really early.

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