I only ask the question because Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People is available on the PC and Wii now, and you might want to pick it up.

I was a huge Homestarrunner.com fan a while back, but ESH, the day job, and web comics pretty much eat up all of my time. But Telltale Games is pretty proud of the new game and have a whole page devoted to it. Check it out here, and read more about the game below... here.

From the press release:

In the season premiere, Strong Bad's plans to beat the snot out of his rival Homestar Runner backfire, and he ends up with an unwanted houseguest cramping his style. Now he needs to get life back to normal, by any means possible. Comical point-and-click gameplay progresses the story, with side quests, mini games, achievements, and an "extended play" sandbox mode that unlocks after the story is completed rounding out the game experience.

New episodes can be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel each month for 1000 Wii Points, and the game takes advantage of the WiiConnect24 technology by giving players the ability to send Strong Bad-themed emails to Wii friends directly from the Lappy. Photos taken using the in-game camera feature can be attached to emails, allowing players to show off Easter eggs uncovered or hidden costumes collected during the game.

"We are very excited," said a Videlectrix spokesperson from his pretend high-rise office, "Our last game topped out at 8 bits. We've heard this one might reach 9 or 10!"

Downloadable versions of each Strong Bad episode will also be available for the PC exclusively from Telltale's website, with preorders starting today at www.telltalegames.com/strongbad. Episodes can be purchased individually for $8.95 or as part of a five-episode subscription for $34.95. As with Telltale's popular Sam & Max series, customers who purchase the full series from Telltale will later be eligible to get a disc version for the cost of shipping and handling.

After the "Homestar Ruiner" premiere on August 11, storylines in the monthly episodes will run the gamut from political struggles to rock’n roll to the world of videogames (of course), building to the exciting season finale in December. Many fan favorite characters from Free Country USA will appear in each episode, along with special new super 8-bit style mini-games from Videlectrix.

I guess it's time to get some Wii Points.

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Blizzard has implemented a new "Recruit a Friend" initiative for existing subscribers. If you talk a bud into signing up for 30 days then, you get 30 days of free gameplay. Talk them into sticking around for 60 days and you get a nice swift Zhevra mount. Some of the other bonuses are triple the normal XP gain and for every two levels your friend gains, "they can grant one level of experience to any one of your characters of lower level." That's not a bad deal at all.

Here's the FAQ copied from Blizzard's website with more details on the program.

Recruit-A-Friend FAQ


What is "Recruit-A-Friend"?

Our new friend referral system allows you to recruit some of your friends to join you in World of Warcraft by sending them an invitation email containing a trial activation key. With this key, your friends will be able to set up their own trial accounts.

To start this process log on to the Account Management section and click the Recruit-A-Friend button. This will take you to the actual friend referral page, where you can enter a friend's email address and name one at a time. If you want, you can also enter a message that will be included in the invitation email.



How can I earn the exclusive in-game mount?

For each person you refer who upgrades to a retail version of World of Warcraft and purchases two months of game time, you will be able to give a character on the account you sent the invitation from an exclusive in-game zhevra mount. This unique mount can be claimed through the website, is only available to Recruit-A-Friend participants, and can only be applied to a single character.



What in-game benefits do we get while the accounts we play are linked?

1. Characters on both accounts can summon each other once per hour.
2. While adventuring with your linked friend/family member, you will each gain triple experience.
3. For every two levels the new player earns, the new player can grant one free level-up to a lower-level character played by the veteran player.



How long will I be linked to my recruit?

The link between the accounts will last for 90 days from the date that your recruit creates an account. Remember that for the link to work properly, your recruit must create a new World of Warcraft account using the 10-day trial key in your invitation email.



When my friend/family member upgrades from a trial account to a full version of the game, will that break the link between the accounts?

Nope! Your friend/family member will have to upgrade to continue playing past the 10-day trial, and the accounts you play will stay linked until the full 90 days have passed.



If my friend/family member recruits another friend/family member, am I linked to that person too?

No, these benefits only apply to the person that you referred directly.



Are there any limits on when and where I can summon my friend?

You and your recruit may only summon new characters of equal or lower level to the character you are playing. There is a one-hour cooldown on this summoning ability. Also, once one of the characters reaches level 60, the summon will no longer function.



Do I always gain triple experience while I am linked to my recruit?

No, only when you are partied with a character on the linked account and both players are present when slaying the monster or completing the quest. Also, if the two characters are not the same level, only the lower-level character is given the experience boost.



Is quest experience tripled too?

Yes, but only if the quest was not trivial (gray difficulty) for either character.



Do normal experience rules apply?

Yes, if a monster is trivial to either player, no experience boost is given.



How does this affect / stack with Rest State experience?

While you are partied with a linked recruit, any Rest State you have accumulated is not consumed. Only the tripled experience from the Recruit-A-Friend program is applied.



What if I'm partied with multiple recruits who I'm "linked" to? Do I get quadruple, sextuple experience?

No, you can only ever gain a maximum of triple experience regardless of how many linked recruits you are partied with.



Are there any limitations to granting levels to characters played by the veteran player?

Yes. The recruit may not grant a level to a character that is equal to or higher than the current level of the character he or she is playing.
Additionally, the recruit may not grant a level to a character that is level 60 or higher.



How can I earn the free 30-day credit?

For each person you refer who upgrades to a retail version of World of Warcraft and purchases his or her first month of game time, the account you sent the invitation from will receive a free credit of 30 days of play time.



Can I use the free 30-day credit on a different account or at a different time?

No, the 30 days of play time are immediately applied to the account you sent the invitation from once your recruit pays for his or her first month.



Can I earn multiple 30-day credits and mounts with Recruit-A-Friend?

Yes! These rewards will be given to you for each account you refer that meets the criteria listed above.



If my recruit cancels the account before purchasing subscription time, can I still earn the 30-day credit or the in-game mount?

If the recruit later comes back, reactivates the account, and purchases subscription time, you will still be eligible for the rewards. Additionally, you can always invite more friends/family members to try World of Warcraft through the Recruit-A-Friend system.

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I'm a huge fan of Stargate Atlantis and a small fan of Stargate SG-1, but I love the concept and storyline of both. That's why I'm looking forward to the upcoming mmo, Stargate Worlds.

This game shows a lot of potential. Check out the new gameply trailer. My only concern is that all combat seems to focus on gunplay, which I don't mind, but I'd like the option for hand-to-hand combat, kind of like Ronin and the entire Satedan race. I'm curious to see if that gets incorporated later.

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It's Monday again, and it's time once more for a new episode of the ESH podcast.

I hope you guys and gals from the land of ESH had a happy and safe holiday weekend. I know I did, and I'm pretty sure that Panda did. Today we have another NinJa/Panda podcast episode where NinJa goes a bit in depth on the video game GRID and Panda shares some of her first impressions on the Diablo 3 announcement. It's a nearly all video game fun-packed episode, that you should totally pick up right now.

Don't believe me, here are some of the titles we decided not to use that came from the episode:

• Do You Question My Skills? (When don't I?)
• You Shouldn't Rape Your Tech They Can't Say "No."
• The Story of a Ninja Called Spanky
• ESHDog Cannot Be Controlled
• Lik eSands In an Hourglass, These Are The Races of Our Lives
• Ive Got Anal Leakage, But I'm Not Anxious About It.
• When ESHMom Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy
• Omnipotent Does Not Equal Omniscient
• Never Trust Cheese That Doesn't Melt
• In Diablo 4, He Fights That Super Boxer From Russia
• If She's Got Multiple Boobies, Who's Looking At Her Face?
• If You Think That Anal Leakage Is Bad, Guess What Her Armpits Do
• Is It Time For A WoW Siesta?
• WoW Craves, Diablo Saves Saves
• and
• Coming Soon: Smackdown! Diable VS Bobby Flay

It's a good episode, so grab your coffee and enjoy ESH podcast episode 104: My Senses Are There, My Balls Are Not Inert, Lock & Load, Let's Go!

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The ice wall on Blizzard Entertainment's website has finally melted away and at the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, they announce Diablo 3.

It's been a LONG time since we've had another installment to the very popular Diablo series. Well the wait for Diablo 3 is almost over. You can find details as well gameplay video here.

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Being Monday, we had to hit you with a new episode of the podcast... but this one probably should have been left in the oven a bit longer.

Poor Pandalicious has having some serious internet issues which left Evermore with a hell of a job editing a show together, but they pulled it off pretty damn well if you ask me. In this episode of the podcast, Panda shares her top five video games of 2008 [so far] with you. There are a couple of honorable mentions and a list that I only have a single problem with. Let's see if you can guess which game gives me the heebie geebies.

Have a seat and enjoy: My Top 5: Video Games of 2008.

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Another Monday bears forth another new episode of the ESH podcast, and this one is as entertaining as all the rest.

Today, Pandalicious takes you through the anime series Bus Gamer based on the short series manga of the same name while NinJaSistah [slow on the update, admittedly] talks about her new Portal/OrangeBox experience. Even though MagicMystic was MIA for this recording, the girls were still able to find a way to off on some interesting tangents.

Don't believe me? Here are the rejected episode titles:

• Sitting In The Ooze, Waiting To Respawn
• The Office Was Empty, But It Wasn't The Weekend
• My Companion Cube Was Alone On Valentines Day
• Nobody Ate Anybody In Staying Alive Either
• Somebody Ought To Put That Morality Chip Into Dick Chaney
• That Dude In Portal? He's A Chick
• Dat Cube Gotta Go!
• Hot Man Candy Has A Gooey Center
• Walk Softly and Carry A Big Lead Pipe
• Muppets Singin About Killing Me Scares Me
• I'm Not Comfortable With A Man Having A Baby
• It's An Animated World, And I'm An Animated Girl
• The World Wildlife Fund Has Nothing On Them
• and
• I'd Tell You About The Third Episode, But I've Slept Since Then

So grab another cup o' joe and take a listen to ESH podcast episode 93: You Can't Have Your Cake And Cheat It Too!

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It’s always been a dream of mine to have a place where gamers and like-minded individuals as myself could hang out share thoughts and opinions. Well that dream has come true!!

Myspace has dominated the online social community for a long time. Although, it’s a good place to hang out, meet people, and share life experiences, it has always been hard for me to find a group that I fit into there. Even with the few gaming, anime, and technology groups that exist on Myspace, I’m very limited to what I can do once I join.

Well there’s a place for you and me now at GAX. GAX is a social community for gamers, movie enthusiasts, anime-lovers, etc. The site is named after the late Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008), the author of the well-known fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). GAX allows members to created and decorated their own page, invite friends, create and join member-created groups of various topics, create blogs, and much more! There’s also an active and live chat running on every page.

Sign up. It’s free! Who knows? Your blog may be featured on the main page of GAX!

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Wouldn’t it be awesome to play your favorite mmorpg on a portable device? I know what you’re thinking. “I do that already with my laptop.” Well I’m talking about something just a bit more portable than your average-sized laptop.

How many times have you missed the train or bus to work because you didn’t want to log out of your mmorpg? Have you ever wished you could take your mmorpg with you on that long family trip so you’ll have something to do in the car? Well the OQO model 0.2 might be what you’re looking for. The OQO is basically an ultra mobile PC capable of running XP or Vista and weighs about one pound. You can also play a variety of other pc games on the system.

Here’s World of World fully functioning on the system.

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It's hard to look at Midway's and John Woo's video game creation, Stranglehold, and not think ''another Max Payne rip-off" which is ironic because Max Payne was a tribute to John Woo's classic Hong Kong action flick Hard Boiled with its slow-motion and heavy-action. Both games revolve around a badass cop dodging, diving, and shooting all over the place in slow-motion. Stranglehold manages to incorporate the gameplay mechanics that made Max Payne such a huge success while throwing in its own Hong Kong flare.

Fans of Hard Boiled will enjoy seeing Chow Yun-Fat reprise his role as Inspector Tequila, a rogue cop on the Hong Kong police force. Stranglehold takes place many years after Hard Boiled, and when a member of the force is murdered by one of Hong Kong's major gangs, Tequila steps up to put a lot of bullets in a lot of people and somewhere in there, Tequila's former girlfriend and daughter both end up being held hostage.

A lot of people get shot in Stranglehold. The body count gets pretty high when enemies come flying out of every nook and cranny of each stage, and always with guns blazing. There's plenty of opportunities to use the bullet time or Tequila Time, as it's called in Stranglehold, and not difficult at all, sometimes being as easy as pushing a button.

Tequila can interact with almost every piece of scenery in a level. For instance, when running up to a table, you can choose to slide right over it, or kick it over and use it as temporary cover until it's blown to bits. When running to a wall, you can dash up it and dive even further than usual. You can run up or slide down a nearby rail. I think you get the idea. Pieces of the environment can also be shot or otherwise destroyed to use to your advantage. If an enemy is standing underneath a neon sign, shoot it and it will fall on him. Exploding barrels are all over the place. Do I even need to say more?

Pulling off stylish moves throughout the game fills up a meter that lets you trigger one of four different "Tequila bombs” which are special abilities that vary from recharging your health, to letting you spin around while still shooting, killing all the enemies surrounding you, all while doves go fluttering off into the sky (You had to know Woo would throw the doves in there.). Another is the accurate-shot ability, which lets you move a targeting reticle in slow motion to any part of an enemy's body, and then watch the bullet fly directly to its target. The next ability is an all-out barrage of invincibility and limitless gunfire that usually lasts long enough to clear the room.

I'm not sure if the last element of game play can be considered an ability or minigame. Periodically, Tequila will enter into a standoff with a group of enemies. These standoffs quickly snap Tequila's focus around from one enemy to the next. Using both analog sticks on the controller, you have to simultaneously dodge enemy gunfire and move a targeting reticle over enemies to take them out one by one. It's a lot easier than it sounds.

By no means is Stranglehold a hard game. The early portions of the game are a bit of a cakewalk at times, even while you're getting used to the different abilities. Around the third level you'll actually have to use those different abilities smartly to survive. Cover points are also helpful, though you'll rarely stay in one place for very long, as the environment around you tends to get destroyed very quickly. The Tequila bombs can be a lifesaver in a few situations, though they also tend to make a few of the boss fights overly easy. Turning the game up to the hard difficulty level fixes that some, but not by much.

In addition the short single-player campaign, there are some bonuses to buy through an extras shop. John Woo himself sits behind the counter to peddle his wares. The multi-player mode isn't that interesting and feels like it was just thrown in. You can only engage in standard deathmatches or team deathmatches with up to six players. The multiplayer is similar to the single-player game, just not as good. Maps are a bit shorter, and though you can use Tequila Time in multiplayer, its scattered execution in this mode makes it all but worthless. You can't go into slo-mo unless you and your opponents all have a full Tequila time meter. It almost becomes pointless because by the time the meter is full, you could have already taken out your opponents.

Stranglehold is a decent game with a few shortcomings. The destructible environment is visually amazing. On the downside, character models are not especially detailed and the animations are lacking. The game does run smoothly aside from the occasionally hiccup from the camera trying to keep pace with the fast action.

Stranglehold won't revolutionize the shooter genre. It's more of a re-vamp of an idea that already exists but it's tweaked enough to succeed. It can get repetitive but there's enough exciting action here to keep shooter fans interested. It's a short trip but the journey is fun and amusing on whatever system you play it on.

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Would you trade in your level 70 epic two-handed sword for a high-ranking blaster with burst-rounds? NC Soft gives you the opportunity to do so in their sci-fi furturistic mmorpg, Tabula Rasa.

I ha€™ve been playing the Tabula Rasa beta for a few weeks and I have to say that it's a bit refreshing to take a break from swords and shields and pick up guns and mow down mobs in a planetary battle for the survival of the human race. A similar setting was tried in 2001 with Anarchy Online, but that online game appealed to a certain type of gamer. I think Tabula Rasa is similar-fated.

Do I think it's a good game? Based on the beta, it'€™s decent. I enjoyed grabing my guns and racing to secure a drop point being attacked by aliens. The numerous fetch quests didn'€™t seem as redundant while trying to survive an ambush set by an invading species. Will this mmorpg be better than World of Warcraft? Let'€™s not get carried away. From what I'€™ve played so far, the game is a LONG way from being as detailed and jaw-dropping as WoW. The final version is slated for an October 2^nd, 2007 release. Give it a try if you'€™re looking for something different in your online gaming.

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Creative Sparks was a video game company that existed in the 1980's. After releasing several video games, it went the way of the fallen leaf like that of many similar game development houses of the time did.

Now, however, Creative Sparks has reformed with some of the old cast, and they have a game in the works that has definitely grabbed my attention.

The working title on it thus far is simply "Pirate Simulator." They claim it will be the most realistic pirate simulator to do, with all kinds of cool features. The time line for your adventure is from 1500 till 2000. As the years go by, the ships become better and better. Your original character won't be in charge anymore of course. Your ship and fleet will pass to your family or your first mate depending on whether you get married or not. You can choose from any number of nations, or just sail under your own flag. The game itself looks gorgeous, but I think a picture or two speaks more then anything I could say.

That's just a small taste of the wicked coolness of this game. =D You can definetly expect cool things from Creative Sparks because they are not only working on this, but they are starting work on a Starfleet simulator.

You can check out Pirate Simulator here

And check out other cool screenshots here

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See the Alienware ad pictured here? It must be advertising a game with a bomb ass helicopter gunship, right? Wrong. This Alienware computer is not for games with bomb ass helicopter gunships. It's for the people who build and operate bomb ass helicopter gunships.

Click the picture to see it in extreme close-up. The ad is designed to entice the U.S. military to purchase the ultra-high-end gaming machine for purposes other than gaming.

When you think about it, it's a perfect way to get skittish teens to join military service. Join the Army and play your favorite video games on a machine with quad-core Intel Xeon processors with an Nvidia Quadro FX 3500 PCI Express 256MB graphics card. Oh, yeah, and build stuff to kill people who don't look like you.

And everyone wondered why Dell bought out Alienware. Here's your answer.

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Oooooh, Sony's gotta be a tad peeved on this one but just in case you missed it, DMC4 is going to be on the XB 360 as well as the PC.

That's gotta smart.

So remember back a few months ago when Capcom SWORE that it was going to be exclusive to the PS3. Like, the pinky swore to Sony and before God that it was going to never EVER going to have any other home than on the PS3. Well, they lied. They are dirty, rotten, skinky, [I mean in desperate need of a bath] liars... but that's a good thing. Why? Because, more DMC4 madness on more platforms means more likely to have an online component.

Can you imaging Dante and Nero and maybe even Virgil grudge matches over XBLive? What about those old mansion survival modes? Remember those? [I made it 35 levels once... once] Imagine rooms and rooms of those mansions filled with other Live players in a winner takes all type melee battle. Can't imagine it? I hope that Capcom does.

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Another Monday, another new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast. This time MagicMysticGrl and NinjaSistah go it alone to talk of things manwa and PC gaming in nature.

Well, not literally nature as is grass and trees and earth, but I'm sure you get the meaning. MagicMysticGrl shares some insights on the manwa title Can't Lose You by Wann which has the making of a great movie or at least daytime soap opera. Can't Lose You starts off like the Prince and the Pauper, but adds a layer of "say what?" and "you're related to who?" to keep the reader flipping through each volumes pages ferociously.

NinjaSistah kicks off the newly sponsored PC game title reviews thanks to Velocity Micro with, amazingly enough, World of Warcraft! Shame it had to be on a week where Pandalicious couldn't join the crew. If you want to know if WoW has a new addict fan or not, you're just going to have to give this episode a listen.

Submitted for your approval, is Episode 44: Pointing Out My Inadequacy.

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That's what we wondered when we first saw it. One thing we knew for sure was that it wouldn't comfortably fill any orifice that we had around the house.

Where did it come from? From the newest sponsor of the ElectricSistaHood podcast and website, the fine folks at Velocity Micro, makers of powerful PC gaming desktop and laptop computers.

Last week we received a test laptop from Velocity Micro, equipped with Microsoft Vista, so we could test out PC games for you on Microsoft's latest operating system.

Only there was just one little problem. The pictured plug here is what they sent to us in order to recharge the laptop battery. I don't know about you, but there's not a plug-in in all of Virginia that I know about that will accept this thing. So the Velocity Micro laptop remains unpowered.

We contacted the Velocity Micro folks, and they were very apologetic. They didn't know where the funny plug came from, but they assured us we would get another one in a day or two by mail...

...Only they sent it to Massachusetts instead (where Ninjasistah is spending time with her family). So the new plug is going the circuitous route from Richmond, Va. (where Velocity Micro is based) to Boston, Mass. and then back down to northern Virginia.

They don't know why we got the funny plug, either. They say they don't do any international units -- that all their units ship with a standard 3-prog plug.

The whole confusing situation should be ironed out in a few days, and you'll hear about our experience with this powerful Velocity Micro laptop and all the video games we try to run on a Windows Vista PC.

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The time has come for me to upgrade one of my gaming machines. My computer needed to be beefed up so I thought I’d give you a before and after look at the past and present of my PC transformation.

My computer has been in need of an overhaul for the longest time. I’ve just been putting it off because it has been getting the job done as far as gaming and internet browsing, so I saw no need to drop the cash on a better system. My GeForce 128MB MX 4000 PCI graphics card and 512MB of RAM was more than enough to keep World of Warcraft running decently and looking good on the Dell Intel Pentium 4, 2.20GHz processor, and 60gig hard drive kept the machine operating smoothly. It came with a 17” flat screen Dell monitor that looks pretty sweet.
I’ve had my eye on another MMORPG named Vanguard Saga of Heroes but after some research, I found that my system was barely meeting the minimum requirements to run it at a playable performance. After some research on some new parts, I found out that it would probably be cheaper (and safer) to purchase a new system rather than attempt to upgrade my current one.

As of last Friday, I am the proud owner of a Compaq Intel Pentium 4 3.00GHz processor with 1gig of RAM, 160gig hard drive, and a GeForce NX 6600 LE 256MB graphics card. This baby is running Windows Vista Ultimate and I’m loving it. I can’t believe I waited so long to get this done. As soon as I fired it up, I noticed the difference in video playback and internet performance. I was completely floored to notice the improvements in graphics when I booted up World of Warcraft on my Phillips/Magnavox 32” widescreen LCD HDTV monitor. The game was good-looking before, but now it’s absolutely gorgeous. The new MMORPG, Vanguard, installed and loaded up with no problems, but I’ll get into more details on that once I do my review of the game after the initial trial month.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that my new computer is nowhere near the top of the line uber systems that are on the market, but as for what I need out of a computer at the moment, this baby does deliver. I look forward to bringing you more gaming, anime, and gadget news from this machine and to all of those who are unfortunate to come across me in WoW PvP Battlegrounds now, I only have these words for you.

YOU BETTER RUN AND HIDE, ARTARDS!!

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Judging by the expression on this woman's face, she is having the time of her life. Obviously, it is the result of what she is viewing on the Icuiti video eyewear. See if you can guess what she is watching:

A. The L Word
B. Apple's latest "I'm a Mac" ad on TV
C. A giant fort of unsold PlayStation 3 consoles at Best Buy
D. Porn
E. Nothing at all -- she's a model, dammit!

The answer, of course, is E. A woman who looks like that wouldn't be caught dead wearing a plastic pair of wraparound shades connected to a video game (as you can see from the expanded view below).

The nerdy guy also portrayed on this page? His expression is much more believable. The device, called the iWear VR920, purports to let you "step inside" the game via a "3-degree-of-freedom head tracker."




Icuiti is marketing the device for players of MMORPG games like World of Warcraft, but it can also play on consoles, according to the accompanying literature. Here are some other features of the device:

• Designed for use with a laptop or standard PC through a simple USB and VGA connection
• Big 62-inch virtual display viewed at 9 feet
• Built-in noise canceling microphone for Internet VOIP communications
• Integrated “non-dangling” headphones that can be upgraded or removed to allow the user to plug in their own headset
• Supports component video-in from the latest generation of game consoles

We've seen lots of virtual video headsets over the years and none have yet caught on in the gaming world. Will the iWear VR920 catch on? Not as long as it makes you look like Geordi LaForge hanging out at the beach.

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Holiday Hardware Guide by Geek Woman

If you are looking for some shopping advice on game hardware for the female, or male, gamer on your list then hopefully this article will help you understand it all. The location that is preferred for a game environment is an important choice to be aware of if you are shopping for games and accessories for your gamer. Games come in three basic types which are the PC, Console or Handheld. I'm going to try and give you the keys to the kingdom of the consoles.

First of all "What is a game console?" These are a box like machine that you attach to a TV set. Games are played with a controller that is held in the hands and effects the action on the screen. These have indeed been around since Pong and Pac Man, and if that is where you left the game trail, then you might be glad to know that those old school or retro games are still offered, in game packs and collections. Sometimes they have been updated and upgraded. If you want to pick up something like that for a gift you need to know the brand name and the model of the console or game device that your gamer has. Write it down and take it with you when you go shopping.

Some people opt for playing games on their PC rather than on the television. It seems that older people and women are the dominant demographic that enjoy using the PC for gaming. PC game - play are very popular for playing the massively multiplayer online games or MMOG's. Games such as World of Warcraft or Guild Wars are played on a PC with a keyboard and mouse. These games enable the player to interact with thousands of other players. Some of them also include the ability to talk to the other people while you are playing with them. Thought those features have been developing more slowly on PC. If your friend is playing an MMO there aren't many additional accessories for those. If they are a Guild Wars Player they may not have the new chapter called Nightfall which is a great game to add to the original Guild Wars or to buy it as a stand alone game. There are the Limited Edition Keyboards that are available for the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing) games that are good looking and work well which are sold by a company called Zboard. Zboards

Perhaps the best way to determine what console to buy is to go by the age of the person who will be playing it. Right now there are three "next gen" consoles. Last year in November Microsoft upgraded their hardware and it is called the Xbox 360. It has mid - range graphics. There are over 100 games available for it at this time. The games are mainly of the first person shooter type or FPS and sports games. If you have heard of Halo 2 and Gears of War, or Oblivion those are titles for the Xbox 360. These games are for a mature crowd. The action is fast paced and bloody. Often the most popular games for the "360" carry a "T" for Teen or an "M" for Mature rating. Those ESRB ratings mean that Teens of 17 and 18 years old and above are the recommended age limit. These ratings can mean that there could be language or behaviors that some people would consider too crude for younger kids. It is no joke either. If you have a mix of older and younger kids in the house, the choice of games is crucial and requires your attention as much as monitoring what movies on DVD or cable that your younger kids could get into.

With Xbox the online aspect is called Xbox Live. A paid subscription is required for this additional service. With the online feature more games and demos are available to download directly into the console. The console can be bought with one of a few choices of hard drive size for saving downloadable games and other functions. Xbox Live gives players access to playing with many other players at the same time. It isn't 'massively' multiplayer as it is with with PC. Although large groups of strangers can interact with each other in an open ended party - line conversation. There are over 4 million users on Xbox Live. Xbox Live has something of a reputation for "Trash -Talking" which in short, means that a player that is wearing the headphones is opening themselves up to the possibility of hearing unkind and curse word laced tirades about the flaws in their game from other players. There is no one monitoring these conversations and there is no one censoring what the others could be saying. Because of this tendency, I would not recommend the Xbox 360 for little girls or young women under 18.

Costs for the annual subscription is approximately $50 US, its called Xbox Live Gold which includes voice chat, and Xbox Marketplace for gamers to buy and sell content. Sometimes original games, and old school arcade titles are downloadable. Xbox 360 works on HD TVs. They claim to have 250 old Xbox or "original Xbox" games that will play on the new console. Be careful to look up a list online for games that are called "backwards compatible" prior to inserting an old Xbox game into the Xbox 360. The digital media that it plays are DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD.

Microsoft has two variations of Xbox 360 available for sale. One has the Xbox 360 faceplate, and a Silver Xbox Live package, $300 known as a core package, that comes with one wired controller, standard A/V cable, and the console. The Gold package is required to actually play online games. There is a $400 system with a 20 GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Remote Controller, High Definition TV component cables, Xbox 360 headset and a wireless controller.

Next the Playstation 3 was released last week the manufacturer's suggested retail price is between $600 and $700 dollars US. It has been in the news and has gotten some bad press. Most of the incidents involved mismanagement of the long lines of people who were camping out to be able to get the very low quantity of these premium machines that were produced. One Massachusetts man was shot in a hold up of a line of customers waiting outside a store in Putnam Connecticut. The gunmen were attempting a hold up when this man refused to pay them. Because Sony was not able to make enough of these complicated advanced machines to fulfill the demands for them, it created chaos in several ways.

In the past Playstation 2 has been the most popular gaming console in the US with the most millions sold. Perhaps Sony should have waited to launch the sale until they had more of them ready. The PS3 Platform plays a few more accessories peripherals than the 360. It also boasts to be the most graphically advanced system. The new Blu-Ray Disc™ is a type of High Definition disk for playing movies that is supposed to be the future of disk published media. The way that DVD's replaced VHS a few years ago. The PS3 has what is called a SIXAXIS™ wireless controller that interacts with the screen in a close to 3D experience. You can use your Playstation 3 with High-Definition displays as well as conventional or standard TVs. It comes with either a 20GB or 60GB removable hard disk drive (HDD). The thousands of PS One® and PS2 PlayStation®2 games as well as CDs and DVDs are useable on the PLAYSTATION®3. The thing supposedly plays just about everything including some digital photo cards.

The PS3 has online capabilities including multiplayer gaming, text and video messaging, voice chat, downloading content and browsing the web. Even though the PS3 has impressive technical specifications, you may not be able to get one for the December holidays. It could be a moot point until sometime next Spring. There are over inflated PS3 prices on ebay, and buying those is not only exorbitantly expensive, but could be risky as well.

The PLAYSTATION®3 is available in two configurations with either the 20GB hard disk drive or the 60GB HDD. Some PlayStation 2 or PlayStation format software titles may perform differently on the system than they do on the native systems for example the PS3 doesn't support a vibration controller.

Then last Sunday the offering of the first Nintendo Wii consoles' launch was a 1960's "Love In" where the people in lines waiting were exchanging free hugs, ordering lunch for each other and playing games together. Something can be said about the two different types of people that were attending these launch parties. For the most part the Nintendo Wii draws a younger crowd and is most popular with younger kids and people that enjoy Nintendo's cute and quirky games.

There are approximately 50 games for the Wii, and we are told that there will be enough of the consoles to go around. Nintendo and developers seem to be in a rush to create new games for this innovative new product. Nintendo wanted to bring gaming to everyone, and has many titles that are rated for all ages and for kids. They went one more step and made a controller that is supposed to be easier to pick up and play since it is designed to resemble a television remote controller. You play with two hands and the actions resemble the actual movements of slashing a sword or driving. The remote is used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions . The controller set called the "nun-chucks and wii-mote" interact with a sensor strip that you placer near your TV for a realistic complete 3D experience. A one-handed controller that uses a combination of accelerometers and infrared detection in conjunction with the sensor bar to sense its position in 3D space. Some people have found the workout to be a bit strenuous

The Nintendo Wii is not all things to all people the way that the other two consoles are attempting to be an all around media hub that takes the place of all the other components in your home entertainment center. What the Wii does do is add another level of fun and mirthfulness back into games. The unique controller has been a big hit so far and has gotten high marks from every reviewer. It is rare for something so gimmicky and unusual to get such a unanimous welcome from the jaded and snarky gaming community. People that have the 360 are getting the Wii too because it is like the apples and oranges in the PC world yet again.

The Wii is an ideal choice for a household with older and younger kids, seniors, and for the homes that do not have a High Definition TV set. Those aren't interested in the more mature titles, and those chat capabilities that are for adults or older kids can have a fairly safe online experience with the privacy and Friend policies from Nintendo. The console also features its own online service WiiConnect24 , which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet. The Wii console won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. The console has a few kid safety features such as parental controls to prohibit younger kids from playing the wrong games. It reads the content rating and won't play games that are not set to the right age level.

The number of Wii consoles that will be available in the Americas during the launch rollout are expected to meet demand and sales of 4 million consoles worldwide by the end of 2006 are anticipated. The company affirmed that they "are working to ensure a plentiful supply and a consistent flow."

The launch Wii package includes the console, a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the sensor bar, one external main power adapter, AV cables (component video and other type of cables will be available separately), and a copy of Wii Sports in the US and Canada. The Wii console is the smallest home console unit of the three contenders and the least expensive at $250. US. The front of the console features a slot-loading media drive lit up by a by distinct blue light and it accepts both Wii software and discs from Nintendo's prior console, the Game-Cube. They are telling us that it is fully backwards compatible with all the Previous Game Cube games.

Additionally the interface for the console is designed around the concept of television channels, with a Wii Menu. Nintendo will not charge fees for playing games from the service. Channels are graphically displayed, and are navigated using the point of the Wii Remote. They are the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, News Channel, Forecast Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Internet Channel. The Virtual Console Channel is basically an “online service, similar to Xbox Live Arcade. The Nintendo DS will be able to play game demos downloaded from the Wii console which gamers would receive from Nintendo, similar to a DS Download Station. Gamers can download retro games not only for the NES, Super NES, and Nintendo 64, but also Sega’s Genesis, NEC’s TurboGrafx-16 and others. The Wii has average graphics and only a 512 MB built-in flash memory, expansion is available via SD card memory, up to 2 GB max. It will take Game-Cube Memory Cards for saving GCN games only.

In addition to the larger game consoles or PC games that you find at home, mobile games have become very popular. The Nintendo DS is a hand held, rechargeable dual screen portable game system. It comes in a variety of colors and it is pocket sized. It is the most popular handheld game console, which easily buried the competition, which were the Sony PSP and the N-Gage. it has continued to hold the record for the most units sold just as the Game Boy has for years. It comes in two sizes. The original unit that made its debut last year, is referred to as the 'NDS' and it can play both the library of Game Boy Advance games as well as games for the DS. The DS Lite is a smaller sleeker version of the same DS machine, but it smaller and does not have the additional slot for the GBA games. You can find several reviews and editorials about the DS right on this website. Nintendo DS and the Wii are expected to have a type of connectivity to use functions like the Nintendo DS's microphone and touch-screen as inputs for Wii games like Pokémon Battle Revolution. It is expected that all of Nintendo's huge repertoire of well known game franchises, such as Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Animal Crossing, and Pokémon will come to the Wii in some form.

For very tiny kids and toddlers Leapster has the education interactive toys for under $100 Leapster

For an easy comparison chart you can check out Gamefly. They have a chart showing the three consoles. The Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3. Renting games or giving a Gamefly subscription is a good gift idea.

For a stocking stuffer I recommend Geek Woman's Game Guide 2006

Finish What You Start...

In case you hadn't picked up on it before, I am a hardcore gamer. Gamer to the core. I saw this proudly, if there was a patch that said "Gamer to tha Core" I'd have it on every pair of jeans and t-shirt I own.

Have I played every game on the planet? No. I don't own a PC to play any PC games on, I haven't even installed World of Warcraft trial that I've been given. So you might ask, on just what grounds I can state that I'm a hard core gamer. It's because I take gaming very, very seriously.

I care about the well being of my consoles... they are my ticket to a momentary vacation from reality when I need it. As such, I have to make sure that they stay clean, safe, and in proper working order at all times. To help make that happen, I have done something that I think any gamer worth their salt needs to do: I have all of my important gaming related electronics on Uninterruptible Power Source backups. That's UPS' for the uninitiated. A little too nerdcore for you? Well it shouldn't be. A UPS is the best way to show your deep admiration for games and I'm going to explain why.

Nothing will fry your gaming box faster than a power surge. Having your system on a surge protector is a good start, but it may not be enough to save that HD drive if the power surges while you're in the middle of a hot and heavy capture the flag match. Many people know that it's a good idea to have your computer on a UPS to make sure you don't toast the machine that has a lot of your sensitive data on it... well, your console is at it's core, just another computer, so why would you treat it any differently than your bill-paying box? You shouldn't, and from now on your won't. Seriously, go home tonight, and tell your consoles you are not going to treat them like second class citizens in your home any longer.

Ok, all jokes aside, it's really a good idea to put your consoles on a UPS system, especially if you have more than one active gaming console in your home. But don't stop at your console, think whole picture. In my gaming rig, which I am slowly but surely tricking out, I have my 42 inch LCD, digital cable box, XB360 and PS2 on a UPS battery backup. Some people might think this is overkill but let me explain. In a pre