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Join sisters NinJaSistah and Pandalicious and the rest of the ESH Crew each day as they discuss video games, tech gadgets, anime, manga... pretty much everything within the geek chic lifestyle.

From Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC game reviews, previews, news, and gushings to audience questions and rumor mill seeding galore you'll find it here at ESH!
First Nerdgasm of 2010: ESH@CES Las Vegas!
 

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    We less than three manga as well, so peep the manga reviews.

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    Mobility At CES

    posted @ 1/07/2010 11:50:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Wednesday night I spent a glob of time at Digital Experience a mini CES one-night event that runs in parallel with with its larger bastard cousin here in Las Vegas, which I enjoy because it allows me to get some intimate time with some PR folks before the exhaustion that is 4 days in the desert sets in.

    One such encounter happened at the Lenovo table.

    The avid Mac fanatic in me was screaming the entire way over to the table, but the fact of the matter is as much as I love my 15 inch MacBook Pro he's not easy to lug around trade show events like CES. It's a bit cumbersome to whip out Alem (the name of my MBP) at a presser that has less space open then a sardine can. I do have a 12 inch Power Book G4 that I used to bring around and I may start doing that again but part of the reason I brought Alem into my life was to have a machine powerful enough to do video and audio work on the spot as well as any fast graphics I may need to turn around for an article. It's this last statement that for the most part has kept me out of the netbook range outside of the fact that they are all Windows OS based machines. (Though some can be hackintosh'd. Don't know what that means, Google It.) However, until the fine folks at 1 Infinite Loop decide to hook a sista up with a 10 inch MBP (the sucker has to at least let me run Aperture on it, my library is on an external drive so I only need 160GB internal... in case Apple is listening) I am heavily looking into finding a small machine that can handle my fingers of furious internet searching, coding, and twittering.

    And with that, I was introduced to the Lenovo X100e. Starting around $499 with many customizations available (up to a 320 GB internal drive, 4GB of RAM and Bluetooth) and sporting Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (upgradable to Windows 7 Pro) she's not a bad lil machine. I say she because the model I got to play with was hooker red and whenever I think of hookers, I think of ladies of the night not dudes of the night. Sexist I know, but what can you do? The X100e sports an 11 inch screen and offers up around 5 hours of battery life which should get any social media addict through a days' work with a minute or two to spare. Where I was nearly sold on an impulse by was the weight of the machine. If you haven't gotten it by now, size does matter to me as well as weight. I do not want to carry around the equivalent of a bowling ball on my back or hip all day to have the ability to do my job.

    I even went as far earlier today to visit the Lenovo Web site and price out a machine for my needs and built a 160GB Windows 7 Pro 2 GB machine with Norton Antivirus pre-installed and Lenovo's standard warranty for $554 which isn't too bad considering what I would be walking away with, but I'm not jumping ship just yet so Alem has nothing to fear...today. As we start ramping up the events we cover here at ESH mobility is going to be king, and I'm not sure that Alem will always be a travel companion for me because he's just too big.

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    It's 5am Somewhere

    posted @ 1/06/2010 08:59:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    It's 8:21 am as I start to type this post, and thanks to the fine folks at Google and Virgin America I write this from my flight to Las Vegas as I make my way to another Consumer Electronics Show. [A.K.A CES]

    While I'm still uncertain about EXACTLY what I will get to see and play with this year one thing is for sure: 2010 has already started off as the year of gadgets. Google's Nexus One is on sale contract free for $549 and will work with most SIM cards that use the GSM protocol. [Saddly no AT&T 3G support yet, but Google is never satisfied with anything short of perfection so I am certain this will change. Oh yeah, and you can get it for $149 with a T-Mobile contract.]

    The folks over at Sling Media have announced a new touch screen remote that looks amazing [it get's your channel guide from the interwebs via built in wifi] but according to team Engadget the catch is that the remote will be made available via cable providers only. Take a gander at it, it's pretty geek chic. Let's hope my cable provider get's pressured by the local pro sports players that want the sucker so they can look cool on their episode of MTV Cribs.

    Oh yeah, and we can't for get the rumors of what Apple will be announcing on the 27th. God help my budget if it's a tablet. It will mean I can put the MacBook Air purchase off and get a mobile machine that I want to replace my older-school 15 inch MacBook Pro who gave me the scare of the week so far when it booted to a kernel panic this morning.

    One thing for sure, I will be:
    • caught doing karaoke
    • checking into as many new mobile and personal tech gadgets as I can get my hands on
    • keeping my Nexus One money in my pocket until I see what Jobs announces on the 27th.

    If you have gadget predictions, make sure to send them our way either via our email address [Questions@ESH.mobi] or through twitter [twitter.com/eshnews]

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    CES 2010: Gotta Start Packing

    posted @ 1/03/2010 12:51:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    So the trade show behemoth known as CES [Consumer Electronics Show] is nearly upon us all and I haven't even begun to pack. As if 4 days chock full of playing with the latest, greatest, and possibly lamest tech gadgets isn't enough to get my heart pumping, but it's 4 days full of playing with tech in Las Vegas.

    I really need to pack.

    Both myself and Evermore will be on hand trolling the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center [LVCC] talking with PR reps, VP's, folks taking their own inventions out for a spin and in all honesty I can't wait. Ever since I visited the city of sin to attend my first CES event I have been infatuated with it. If you have listened to any of my previous CES coverage then you already know that I have never been to COMDEX, and reget not going to the show when I had the opportunity back in 1999. Technology has always interested me, and the idea of an entire gigantic event focused on highlighting tech just seemed like a place I should be found at.

    CES is huge. I can not stress that enough. I am sure if you took all the square footage that has been rented by all the various companies exhibiting at the show and laid it end to end from McCarran Airport that it would reach across the country to Boston's Logan Airport easily. I have visited CES for the last 3 years now and have yet to even visit all of the halls at the LVCC let alone the various suites among the hotels lining the infamous Las Vegas Strip, so I have no delusions of covering all of the show this year or any year that I visit the show. I do plan on seeing everything I can in three areas: video games, computers and personal tech gadgets.

    From January 6th through the 10th I promise to fill this site with as much show coverage as my stubby little fingers can create. My twitter stream as well as the official site twitter stream will overflow with random geek-outs, iPhone pics and probably an intoxicated tweet or two. [Or four]

    If you have anything you want me to check out for you while I'm at the show drop me a line either via our email address Questions@esh.mobi or kick me a message via twitter. 2010 will be whatever we make of it. I intend to make it geektastic.

    Enough of this, I still gotta pack.

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    Bollocks!

    posted @ 9/08/2009 09:38:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    The crew here at ElectricSistaHood was feeling a bit down last week not being able to attend the Penny-Arcade Expo [a.k.a. PAX] this, turns out it was probably for the best... evidently some of the folks in attendance had Swine Flu.

    In a release, posting by Gabe on the Penny-Arcade site, and articles on Kotaku and my favorite spot on the web Destructoid prove it's no joke. According to Gabe's post...
    "Just heard of our first test-confirmed swine flu case at the show. PLEASE if you feel symptoms (fever, etc) go to the doctor."
    Gabe and the event organizers urge you to monitor yourself and if you exhibit any of the symptoms of Swine Flu, to seek medical help immediately. Jokes aside folks, if you attended PAX this year any of the days and traveled on any of the flights below you may want to see your doctor should you start to feel poorly.

    • Flight List for those with Confirmed Cases:
    • Departed Sunday:
    • Alaska Airlines #664, Seattle to Dallas, Departed Sunday Night
    • JetBlue #498, Seattle to Boston, Departed Sunday Night
    • United #958, Seattle to Chicago, Departed Sunday Morning
    • Departed Monday:
    • Alaska Airline #12, Seattle to Boston, Departed Monday Morning
    • American Airlines #1414, Seattle to St. Louis, Departed Sunday Afternoon
    • American Airlines #1162, St. Louis to Chicago
    • Delta #1050, Seattle to Atlanta, Departed Monday Morning
    • Southwest #1221, Seattle to Salt Lake City, Departed Monday Night
    • United #356, Seattle to Denver, Departed Monday Afternoon
    • US Airways #685, Seattle to Phoenix, Departed Monday Morning
    • and finally
    • US Airways #156, Phoenix to St. Louis

    Now that the PSA is out of the way, enjoy the pic again. :D


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    Podcasts With Punch

    posted @ 8/31/2009 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    We aren't talking punch and pie, we are talking uppercuts and decks to the face in this episode of the podcast. I should clarify that statement. Pandalicious is talking uppercuts and face decking, NinJaSistah mostly just tries to stay out of the way.

    In this episode of the podcast Pandalicious lays bare her tale of woe concerning the temporary loss of her XBox Live account, and how the lack of connecting is affecting her life. From the bounce around treatment of customer care reps on both the XBox Live email and phone support, and quick response from the Windows Live ID groups to the soon-to-be-catch-phrase-of-the-end-of-summer, "...and then you get punched in the face!" Calling her segment a rant doesn't do it justice.

    Bringing a little bit of tranquillity back to the show, NinJaSistah adds some gadget/peripheral stuff to the mix like Ion Audio's new $199 DrumRocker Core Rock Band kit as well as some info on the new Star Wars comics coming to an iTunes store [and Dark Horse hopes] and iPod/iPhone near you. Capping off the hour is a bit on the Square Enix PSP title Final Fantasy Dissidia and a heads up for your PAX attendees on a Tekken 6 tournament for prizes that you should jump on.

    Want a better picture of what the episode is like? Here are the titles we didn't use:
    • From Now On, It's Panda-Phish-Us
    • LadyESH Is Secure in Her Chastity Belt
    • If Xbox Live Doesn't Get Their Act Together, They're Going to Be Xbox Dead
    • Remember What Happened to Bambi's Mom? That's What This Is Like
    • Something Like Tis Could Drive Someone Back to the Loving Arms of WoW
    • Screw Criminal Justice -- I'm Switching to Victim Justice
    • Perhaps the Perpetrator Was Someone From Sony
    • On CSI Miami, This Case Would Have Been Solved in 45 Minutes
    • Something's Rising at PAX Yeast
    • Don't Drive and DS
    • Hello Kitty's Already Doin' It
    • and finally...
    • I've Resorted to Playing My Wii -- and That's Not Gaming At All

    So kick back and enjoy, Episode 161: There's a Lot of Facial Violence in This Episode

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    Fun With Audio: The Next Round

    posted @ 7/06/2009 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    The gals took the weekend off and left Evermore to his own devices [meaning Adobe SoundBooth and Final Cut Pro] to Frankenstein together another one of his infamous ESH clip shows!

    There is music, there are interviews from some of our E3 booth stops, and maybe even a nugget or two of fun. From Warner Bros. Batman: Arkham Asylum to my Beatles: RockBandinterview with Creative Director Josh Randall. from Harmonix and more. [Can you say Heavy Rain walkthrough? What about Ratchet and Clank: walkthrough.]

    You'll find the last remnants of our LA time in this one, so sit back, relax and enjoy Electric Sista Hood podcast episode 153: The Last Word From E3 (We Promise!)

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    Mmm, Podcast Goodness

    posted @ 6/15/2009 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    Once again, Monday brings with it a new episode of the Electric Sista Hood podcast, and in this one I think we finally put the nail in the post E3 wrap-up content.

    Pandalicious and Ninjasistah talk about some of the lesser known or presented games like Warner Bros. Scribblenauts for the DS and a few titles from Playlogic including Section 8 Who had the best looking man candy by far. From Alpha Protocol to The Lord of the Rings: Arrogorns' Tale we talk through the last bits of our E3 notes... until we finish unpacking that is.

    So kick back, relax, and enjoy ESH podcast episode 150: The Brownies Were Mad Crazy Delicious

    p.s. more photo galleries to come, so be sure to check out the website this week often.

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    Another E3 in the Can

    posted @ 6/08/2009 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah


    We aren't dead, but our feet [and brains] are dead tired from traipsing around the LA Convention Center last week to cover E3 for you guys. [And if I'm honest, for ourselves as well.] I couldn't tell you how much both Pandalicious and I enjoyed our time in LA. First there was the catching up with the rest of the AllGames fam, followed closely by the meeting and greeting of new gamer-type press groups and the exchange of thoughts and ideas over free drinks. [Crix Lee from GirlGamer, Destructoids' Nick Chester, and Mr. Crecente himself from Kotaku to name drop a few.] The side-story fun stuff aside, we descended on LA for a reason and that reason was to get the low down on the soon to be released and up-and-coming video games.

    I won't bore you with a list of what we looked at, and whom we spoke to now as it wouldn't leave us anything to write for the rest of the week. What I will do is tell you that this podcast was one of our more enjoyable ones to record. We recorded it live from the show floor and Crix Lee popped by during our The Beatles: RockBand time and shared some great insights with us. A few people were wow'd by my laptop skin [courtesy of DecalGirl] and interrupted us a bit so you may notice that in here as well, but we had a lot to talk about... Bayonetta, Scribblenaughts, Prototype, and Batman: Arkham Asylum come to mind as I write this.

    From the stronger female presence both physically and pixel-y at this years' show to media briefing impressions and being excluded from demos we talk about it all. Grab your beverage of choice and put on your headphones, it's time to enjoy Electric Sista Hood podcast 149: While My Pocketbook Gently Weeps

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    E3 Day 2: Bayonetta

    posted @ 6/03/2009 06:31:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Click the image to check out the photo gallery I put together from the show floor, or hit the jump and find out what I think about the game, then look at the pretty pictures.

    The choice is yours.
    Either way works for me, but you better get this game when it releases kids. Bayonetta is just fun. I got hands-on with the game on the floor here at E3 after a private demo of the game which just prepared me for what I was going to play on the floor as I originally had no idea what I was in for.

    If you don't know much about Bayonetta you should head over to Platinum Games' website to bone up on your history. The lead character is a sleek and sexy witch with some incredible powers and guns in her shoes... which she does shoot from in battle. There hasn't been a lot released about her past or the main story in the game, and honestly I don't care. I know, I know, you may be saying to yourself, "...but Ninja is all about story, WTF?" Well, Bayonetta is just so damn fun I don't really give much of a crap about the story but I'm sure it's a good one.

    The gameplay is fast, furious, and fluid. During the loading screens, you get to practice Bayonetta's combo moves so you can better lay the smackdown on your enemies. Once you have downed an enemy you can pick up any weapon that they have dropped and use it against other opponents for a limited time. You can also charge up attacks and enter an overdrive type mode called "witch time" which essentially slows down your opponents giving you a vast advantage during the fight.

    There have been a lot of parallels drawn between Bayonetta and Capcoms' Devil May Cry series and though the lead developer on this title from Sega did work on the DMC title that is the only similarity that should be drawn. Bayonetta has her own swagger, style of movement, and use of weaponry than Dante and has yet to drop an out of place one liner.

    Strong, sexy, female action lead number one down... 15 to go.

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    E3: It's Not Only About The Swag

    posted @ 6/03/2009 11:56:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    As I write this post, I am preparing to start day two of our ESH E3 coverage. Yesterday was a bit hurried, but I absolutely loved it.

    Where else can you get to play The Beatles: Rockband before the rest of the world does, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Scribblenauts, and get some free booze before noon?

    ONLY in LA!Which is fine by me if you want to keep score. I've got a few more things from yesterday that I have to get my notes and thoughts straight on, but wanted to give you an idea of what's on the docket today.

    First up is Sega and Bayonetta which is going to be a hands-on demo with some Q&A afterwards. I'm following up Bayonetta with a small helping of Bethesda Softworks Wet, which is a third person shooter featuring another badass female lead character who goes by the name of Rubi. Then I'm going to have a break and get a coke before I continue on to Ubisoft where I'm going to balance out my chick-fest with a look at Assassin's Creed 2 and Red Steel 2. [Among other things.]

    With the hard work out of the way I'm just going to mosey around the show floor, maybe visit with Konami, Activision, and Microsoft. Be on the lookout for updates today folks, they are just around the corner!

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    Here's Some Pictures For you

    posted @ 6/02/2009 05:56:00 PM by Ninjasistah

    You didn't think I would let the day go by without posting some pictures for you did ya?

    Well, I didn't. Click this here link to check them out!

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    E3 Briefing: Microsoft

    posted @ 6/01/2009 12:50:00 PM by Ninjasistah

    The Beatles: RockBand just got cooler: Paul and Ringo were here!!!

    The fab four mockups look wonderful, and the highways don't look much different than before, but I want it even more. The sound in the Galen Center was ridiculous when Paul and Ringo hit the stage. I'm geeking out, but it was pretty freaking cool!

    Tony Hawk was just up showing off his new title Ride whose skateboard deck controller looks like something I'm going to kill myself own, but I want to try it.

    I know that G4 is in the building so if you have the station you should be able to watch the briefing along with me.

    Ok, I'm not a Modern Warfare kinda gal, but it did look fantastic. If you are a FPS fan be jealous of me.

    I take back what I said about FFXIII it is localized. I'm still not a turn based fan, but the summons [as with every title from Squeenix] make my jaw drop.

    *UPDATE*
    Cliffy B has on a tee with Bill Gate's mugshot on it. Priceless. Exclusive title numero uno: Shadow Complex. A side scrolling XBLA title that reminds me of an arcade console game. My first reaction was MS does Metroid.

    New kart game, JoyRide free kart game that everyone can get. Interesting bit about it: any level you purchase your friends can play with you without having to purchase the level themselves.

    *UPDATE 2*
    CRACKDOWN 2 HELL YEAZ!!!
    Left4Dead 2 Looks like the main characters are going to be BLACK!!!!
    Splinter Cell Conviction just about made me need a towel. No joke folks. The Ubisoft dude are on stage now to demo the title. I want to buy this now. It looks like a cross between a Max Payne title and the best of the Splinter Cell franchise.

    Racing enthusiasts, Forza 3 was just announced. The logo still needs some love in my opinion, but the car customization stuff looks deep. I'mma get on XBLive in my lo-lo like the guy that was just on the screen. I guess they are trying to show how different car design company facets influenced the game. Ships in October.

    *UPDATE 3*
    Halo3:ODST A little bit detective, a little bit Halo. Drops 9.22.09.
    **Secret Bungie Project** Halo: Reach drops 2010, but if you buy ODST you get an invite to play Reach Bungie... they have you buy the balls.

    ALAN WAKE Please don't suck. Just have to say, "Are you afraid of the dark?" You should be. 2010!!! GAWD DAMMAT!!

    Time for Live
    Last.fm on Live. Gold members get it later this year free.
    Netflix is going to get an update. Category browsing, Live TV streaming for the UK via SKY. Full 1080p video coming. Insta-streaming so no waiting for content, and rolling out in more countries through Zune media. Live party will let you watch your stuff with your party friends. Just what I need Facebook integration. Ah, but this Twitter integration interests me. Felicia Day, tell me more. Twitting from my dashboard... possibly interesting.

    KOJIMA-SANMETAL GEAR ON XB360!!!!!!! And I'm done ya'll! Metal Gear Solid: Rizing

    and... a new controller... you. full body motion sensor... want to see in action.



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    E3 is Around the Corner

    posted @ 5/31/2009 10:51:00 PM by Ninjasistah


    So E3 is literally right around the corner in that Pandalicious and I fly out to LA in the AM, and we are really excited!

    This years' event will be the third that we have attended in the last few years, but will mark the first time Pandalicious and I have covered an event together ever. We will be teaming up with some of the crew and affiliate family from AllGames Radio and bringing you all the news we can stay awake long enough to write, report, put together, or just plain think is cool.

    As always, we will be reporting on stuff as it goes down from some of the media briefings, sharing our unique take on things, and maybe even do a live event or two. If you have any questions for us, or want to suggest something for us to do/look at/investigate while at the show, make sure to take advantage of our Questionsat ESHdot mobi address and send them in... just keep in mind that all times for us will be PST and not EST.

    We cool?

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    Ninja's Left Alone Are Lonely Ninjas

    posted @ 10/13/2008 08:00:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    Creeping into your fresh cup of coffee is a new episode of the ESH podcast, and this one is a bit different than most.

    It's not a full crew episode, nor is it a top 5, this episode is all NinJaSistah, and it's all rant.

    I've pulled together all my thoughts about the last few video game trade show events that I've gone to and created nearly an hour of the good, the bad, the ugly, and hopefully the fixes that are needed to truly make tradeshows accessible, fun, and educational for all.

    To give you an idea of the paths this episode goes down, here are some of the titles I didn't pick for it:
    • The E3 Gods Must Be Crazy
    • CES: Where The Elite Meet To Deceit
    • Fair and Balanced: It's Not Just A Slogan... It's A Phrase
    • Stop Excluding A Sistah
    • and finally
    • COMDEX Got So Big Nobody Went There Anymore

    Yes indeedy, it's a good old fashioned tongue lashing... so sit back, relax and enjoy ESH podcast episode 117: "How To Get Treated Like A Meat Popsicle."

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    E For All: Day Two

    posted @ 10/04/2008 08:14:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Day two is nearly done here at E For All and today was much more busy on the floor than yesterday.

    I spent most of my day walking around the show floor people watching and talking to folks that either cosplayed to the event, or looked like interesting couples/families to me. I was really impressed by how many families were in attendance today, and wanted to take the opportunity to find out why so many folks turned out.

    The two families that I spoke with [both with kids in the 6-9 range] came out because they were looking for a family activity to do on the weekend and being able to take their kids out to an event like this where they can touch and play games while they are supervised [as well as the parents themselves getting a chance to play] seemed to be a great idea. This is ridiculous cool to me. I've been preaching more parental involvement in the lives of kids playing video games, and I'm glad that E For All is an event helping to facilitate this.

    I haven't yet seen any families stepping up to the RockBand or GuitarHero titles, I'm hoping that will change soon. I'd love to see some mom and dad on drums and vocal with the kids kicking it on guitar. What I can say is that I'm on RB GH overload.

    Well, almost.

    As far as games go, I wasn't too impressed with FarCry 2, but I knew I wouldn't be as I'm not a huge FPS fan, but Entropia Universe was cool and Gears 2 is OFF THE HOOK!

    More to come on Entropia tomorrow.

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    T-Minus 2 Hours And Counting

    posted @ 10/03/2008 12:05:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    I'm sitting at the SJC airport waiting to get on a plane to head to LA for E For All

    There is a lot of stuff going on at E For All this year. A lot of people are going to be in the house including EA and Ubisoft whom I'm really interested in seeing, [Please, please, please surprise me and bring Prince of Persia with you] but there are some lesser known [at least to me] companies that will be at the expo that I'm curious about and plan on visiting while I'm at the show.

    First up is Dude Thing Creations. They make a peripheral stand for RockBand/GuitarHero games and I like the look of the stand. I'm not a musician, [not even close] so I always felt that going to Guitar Center to get an actual guitar stand would be kinda poser-ish, but this custom stand that the "Dudes" have put together is sensible and downright sexy. It would fit right in with my living room decor so I'm going to swing by and find out more about these dudes and their things.

    Nova Gaming is going to be in the spot, and I'm curious about their new B4L bag. I'm not a huge LAN fan [he he, I mades a pun] but I am a fan of specific purpose gear bags, and hate jamming gear into a backpack when I do venture out of my apartment to game.

    And then there is Tritton who has made my heart go pitter patter with the announcement that their SEE2 Xtreme now supports OSX on the Mac. I've been looking for a new monitor for my MBP and decided that I'd love to go super-pimp on my desktop setup [when I'm there] with a pair of monitors flanking my lil silver slate of awesome. To be able to have monitors connected via USB over DVI connectors with no lag... ::DROOLS::

    Now that I've drooled on myself, I think I'll stop. Plus, planes almost here. Talk to you in a few. Let me know what you are curious about, and don't forget to catch ESH Live tomorrow on the All Games Radio Network!

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    New Podcast Day: My Favorite Things At PAX

    posted @ 9/01/2008 08:00:00 AM by evermore
    So, the Penny Arcade Expo is now over and I'm bushed, but it is Monday so I had to hit you guys with a special episode of the ESH podcast created by yours truly.

    I got to spend a bunch of time on the show floor all over the place and see some great stuff over the past three days and collected all my thoughts onto this nice little show. From the XBox experience to RockBand 2, I have seen so much crap that it's all running together, but the most important piece of the show was that I was able to see and touch all the things you wish you could have if you were able to be in Seattle yourself.

    I talked to MajorNelson and N'Gai for you. They say hi.

    So sit back, relax and enjoy ESH podcast My Top 5 Things I Saw At PAX!

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    Pics From Pax: The Late Update

    posted @ 8/31/2008 02:36:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Ok, so I suck at getting pictures fixed, cropped, and upped on a fast basis but don't yell at me...I'm a team of one at this event dude.

    In any case, here are pics from day two and three of the PAX expo. Please note the very happy pic of me and MajorNelson. I'm hoping that this time he'll remember both the site and my name. Two out of three ain't bad. Did I forget to mention the third one? It's by me a drink. When you meet me at an expo/con/event/street, you need to remember my website/podcast name, my name, and buy me a drink. These are simple rules people, simple rules.

    Enjoy, the last of the pics from PAX 08!

    Day 2, Day 3

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    PAX Day 3: What's Left?

    posted @ 8/31/2008 12:01:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    It's the last day of the PAX convention, and I'm sitting here trying to think what is left to see or do. My self tells myself, "PLENTY!"

    N'Gai Croal will be in town today moderating a panel on Sex, Violence, and Video Games which I want to attend and hopefully get to see N'Gai again.[CES was fun.] I'm hoping to get hands on with Fallout 3 today, if nothing else just to shut Pandalicious up about it. I also want to talk to SEGA about about Yakuza 2 coming out on the PS2 and not PS3 and why, and I figure cap my time off with a bit of people watching and photo snapping.

    I may even stop by the Bioware booth as they are giving away fake tattoo sleeves as their swag. After all of that, if I have any energy left in me, I'll probably hit the freeplay rooms for a bit and get my game on with some other gamers which I haven't been able to do much of this entire trip.

    Stay tuned for the final words from PAX and more pics!

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    Changing My Original Opinion

    posted @ 8/30/2008 08:23:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    I was not a big fan of the game FEAR. I thought it was a bit dark, and a bit cumbersome to control when I started playing the game, so for the most part, I had written Origin off. After what I’ve played here at PAX I think I might have changed my mind.

    There are now four weapons in the game and not three with two new types of grenades [shrapnel, and incendiary] The gameplay is crazy fluid on the XB360 and it looks as terrifying as ever.

    While I’m not a big fan of FPS games, I am looking forward to Project Origins. Sure I’ll have to play it in a well lit room, but when don’t I have to play an FPS that I like in a well lit place? Let’s be honest, the only FPS titles that I ten to be attracted to are the thriller/survival based titles.

    I love Gears [don’t ask me to play as I say unto thee that I sucketh] and Bioshock took a lot out of me and still haven’t finished it. [There aren’t enough daylight hours to play that thing, seriously.] But there is something about Origins that excites me more than it scares me. I find the story really engaging, which I don’t feel happens enough in FPS titles, and I hate to be shallow, but aesthetics have always played a small role in whether or not I spend the time it takes to finish a game.

    Origin is not a sequel to FEAR, and is to focus more on how Alma came to be so gawd damned powerful. I have been sitting here at the Microsoft booth, with Fable 2 and Infinite Undiscovery being manhandled over and over again, and kinda blown away by the fact that few people sat in for the Origins demo, but many showed up for the Gears 2 demo. I don’t know if the name change is hurting the title on the brand recognition side, but something is definitely up and I hope this post [and the subsequent ones to come] help Origins find homes across the land when it launches Fall of 08.

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    NinJa Writes About A Naruto Game. Believe It!

    posted @ 8/30/2008 07:09:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Just kidding.

    I got to spend some time with a PR rep for D3 publishing to talk a bit about two games: Oneechanbara which I will definitely talk about at a later time, this article is about Bangai-o: Spirits.

    Bangai-o is a classic arcade shooter. You will spend the majority of your time button mashing like a fiend a-la-harrier type in order to blow up everything on the screen. But why would you want to play this game? Generic mecha art aside there are a few things that set Bangai-o apart from other arcade shooters, one of which is it’s level editor.

    In the game you can edit a level in real time, meaning as you are in the middle of it. Level too difficult? Edit that boss out. Level too long? Shorten it. While this may sound cheap or gimmicky, keep in mind this is a DS title. If you're playing on the go on the train, you might just want a short level to play through during my commute to help keep me you from missing my your stop.

    Taking the level creation thing a step further, D3 has added a sound transfer system that allows you to share any level you have edited or created with a friend using the speaker/mic built into the DS to wireless send your stuff to their stuff. As the feature was explained to me, it sounded a bit complicated, but D3 has a tutorial online to help you get the hang of audio sharing.

    It’s been a while since I bought a DS game, but I think I might give Bangai-o a try. Check it out, and rent it if you can.

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    More Pics From PAX

    posted @ 8/30/2008 01:40:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Wanna see more from da floor? Hit the jump for the links.

    Here are a few more places I stopped by yesterday while traipsing around the showroom floor. Enjoy!!

    Click here to view gallery

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    PAX, Yeah We'z Goin'

    posted @ 8/22/2008 10:26:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    I'm not kidding. While we never wound up getting any love out of the ESA in order to roll three deep to E3 this year, we did get a nice reach around from PAX and will be on a plane to Seattle next Thursday.

    What am I looking forward to? Well, I'm looking forward to hitting the booths for EA, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, D3, and Activision to name a few. I want to see what is going to go down with the rhythm game wars, if Oneechanbura is going to be one of the games that makes it to my "Replay Classics" list, and if Sony has "Home" ready to go.

    And bee-tee-dubs, when I say "we'z goin,'" I mean that "I" [just NinJaSistah] will be in attendance. Pandalicious punked out and will not be heading to the coast with me. I'm sure she'll refute the "punked out" piece of that statement, but it's the truth folks.

    How about you, what do you want to see come out of PAX 08? I'll try to spend some time checking out some of the titles you want to know about.


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    Finally A Company That Understands a Girls Needs

    posted @ 1/08/2008 07:12:00 PM by FreeLoader
    When it comes to great looking high fashion tech accessory cases you can have practical but ugly, great design but not really useful or you can get both great design and practicality but you are not going to get both without paying big bucks.

    As a result we end up with mediocre bags that fit are needs but really were made with the supposed "hip" business men in mind... but no more Golla's new spring collection fills our particle side as well as having a mean design sense. They make every thing from bags for your phones and ipods to laptop sleeves and backpacks. The company is based in Finland and all of there products have a great European style to them yet the designers have thought about all the ways people are going to be using there technology.

    Music Bags
    The music bags really stood out to me because while they were design with the mp3 player in mind they really can be for a variety of devices from you phone to camera. There are multiple pockets where you can slip in an ID or metro card and there is even a great zipper pocket on the back so you can put items you want to be really secure. They have also opted to not do a belt clip in favor of a small carabineers which I think will led it's self to be more versatile.

    Backpacks
    Golla also introduced new colors with both males and females in mind for there backpack collection. For anyone who has had to dig through there bag trying to find that one item that you swear you had with you only for it get lost in the dark pit then this is the bag for you. The back compartment is for you laptop but unlike conventional backpacks you load your computer from the side making it so much easier to fit everything. The second compartment where I at lease end to just dump everything else into has see-through zipper compartments so you can put everything into it perspective place. But just in case you forget where you put it you phone those see-though pocket come in handy.

    So the final part where can you get these bags? Depending on what you are looking for there are a variety of places from cellular store like AT&T Wireless for the phone and music bags to Target for the laptop sleeves and backpacks. While the holidays are over and we are all strapped a little for cash now you can think of these are part of your New Years resolution to get organized.

    Posted by FreeLoader Megwin

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    NEWs From CES 2: Attack of the Tradeshow

    posted @ 1/09/2007 03:51:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    Ok, I've pulled myself back from the brink of drunkitude once again to bring you the highlights of my day on the CES trade show floor, and by far I have to tell you Razer really got my attention today folks.

    To be fair, it was a split between Razer and the Frag Dolls... but I only got a few seconds with the dolls and about an hour with Razer so they "won" the competition.

    In case you didn't know, Razer does high end gaming peripherals... and I do mean high end. Everything I saw today had the best response times, well thought out components and features that a gamer could want or need. The Tarantula keyboard has extra banks of keys on both the left and right side [L1-L5 and R1-R5] that you the user can program all yer favorite macros into. You can play with the delay so that you space effects out over a second or fraction there of. No longer must you search or hunt for your shaman's totems... program em' and be done with it, because it's game time!

    The most impressive thing that I saw today actually wasn't functioning. Razer has been hard at work on a new speaker system that [once you have a unit not missing the power cable] may damn near eliminate the speaker sound bounce problem without sacrificing look or audio quality. The Mako speaker system may just be a dynamo in pimps clothing if it actually provides the kind of audio quality that Razer president Robert Krakoff seemed genuinely sad not to be able to show me. The satellites [I use the term loosely because I have nothing else that I can call them for now] feature downward firing sound to a circular opening and plate. Sound flows out in 360 degrees so you don't have to. No more pointing speakers directly at yourself, the sound will fill up around you making games sound a little more real and intense. Hopefully I can swing by Razer's booth again tomorrow to actually test them out because I may need me some new speakers!

    The last thing that I looked at from Razer today was their new 1800dpi infrared mouse. This thing looks and feels the balls. I should have one in for review shortly, so I'll hold off my final verdict until I've put the thing through it's paces... but the silicone/rubbery membrane type texture of mouse "buttons" alone made me want to get all freaky deaky on some PC games... and y'all know how I don't do that.

    All in all my time with Razer today made me realize that they aren't bullshitting when they say "by gamers. for gamers." And for that reason alone they will always get my full attention from now on.

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    We's Goin'!

    posted @ 1/04/2007 11:35:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    I know the posting from me has been a little lax of late. I've been doing that nasty "day job" thing in order to pay off the AMEX that I put my Wii and PS3 bundles on, but I'm back y'all... just in time to head off to CES!

    As I type this, I prepare my luggage for it's inaugural "covering [insert event name here] for ESH" trip. Yes, my journey to Las Vegas will be my first actual outing covering an event for ESH. Be on the lookout starting next Monday for tidbits, news breaks, and all around cool ass stuff coming from me and Evermore next week.

    For those of you not in the know CES is the Consumer Electronics Show. It's the tradeshow that all the big boys, runts, and "tall for their age" electronics manufacturers descend upon in order to reveal their new products for the regular consumer at. Yes, CES can be the show that starts the buzz that becomes hype and then consumer demand that requires manufacturers supply. CES is the real consumermas... and we'll be there!

    I'm hoping to see some bomb ass gaming computers, home theater setups, gaming peripherals, A/V racks, all the things you need to assemble the most awesome, badass, mega, uber, colossal entertainment center this side of Skywalker Ranch. Yeah, you heard me. I'm also looking forward to visiting the video games section of the show. Sony, Blizzard, Aspyr, and Microsoft are going to be there, so I'm hoping that I can bend them to the will of hooking a sistah up so she, in turn, may hook you up. Social networking at it's purest form baby!

    So what are you guys interested in seeing or hearing about? Hit us up, and let me know... I'll try to get around to it while I'm in Vegas. MMMMM, nearly free trip to Vegas... [salvates Homer Simpson style]


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    We's Going To CES!

    posted @ 12/03/2006 11:43:00 AM by Ninjasistah
    We finally got some cash together and figured we ought to hit a big convention/tradeshow and CES was the obvious choice. CES is the Consumer Electronic Showcase, basically anything and everything electronic that companies could possibly want to sell to you [the consumer] make their debut here. CES has been going strong and growing strong since 1967, so to say that we are excited to become part of this rich tech history would be a slight understatement.

    Now you might be saying to yourself, "Why is the ESH crew going to CES? Isn't it just a bunch of TV's on display?" It's a valid question to ask, but it ain't accurate. CES is actually the show that COMDEX and even the former incarnation of E3 were modeled after, and while there will be a lot of new TV technologies introduced at the show there will also be lots of home theater setups, sounds systems and components, wireless technologies, and even video game related items that will surface from the show. I think as gamers sometimes we forget that getting our hands on the latest and greatest game stuff isn't limited to just a console, or piece of software.

    No matter who you are you have a gaming rig that you use, be it just a 23" TV or an elaborate setup containing a 7.1 surround sound system, 42" flat screen LCD TV, a chain of UPS', several gaming consoles, a harmony remote, and a theater style seating arrangement. [Huge sigh] With that said, one of the things that you will start seeing around ESH will be our takes on different components that you may or may not want to add to your rig, so it only makes sense to us that we start by going to CES. We are going to be looking at different audio setups, home theater systems, peripherals for both computer based and console based gaming, LCD TV's [this will come in handy for those of you wanting to upgrade that tiny little 25" TV to something a little sexier] mobile gaming, and gaming in general. And we can't forget portable media stuff, mostly because they won't let us. We'll be on the look out for the hottest new gadgets at the show that will help you get the most out of your iPod, portable video player... hell we'll even take a look at stuff for the Zune while we're at it. We are committed to covering your electronic needs, but only in the good way.

    While CES is not E3, Microsoft and Sony are going to be there, and there is going to be a separate "video gaming" section on the tradeshow floor, so we aren't going to be forgetting our roots any time too soon. It just seems to us like it's time to take that next step forward in covering the whole spectrum of gaming life, that I think sometimes gets overlooked. You can't use a game console without having a TV to hook it up to. You can't hear the games without some kind of sound system hooked up to [or built into] that TV your connected to, and you have to have some place to park your ass in order to play and enjoy those games you are playing... and in January, NinJaSistah and Evermore are going to bring you some first hand accounts of the new toys you'll want to add to your rig from CES.

    This will be one time that what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay there!

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    IDG Is My Hero

    posted @ 11/01/2006 11:06:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Alright, I type these words as my muscle vibrate in sweet and sour agony sauce. I'm now in day two of the move from the old apartment to the new and you'd think by now I'd be done. I'm not, but I'm close.

    Anywho, I needed to take a break [because I'm tired of washing floors and finding boxes] and saw an email in my in box that I had to share with you...

    As you may or may not know CEA, the people who run the monster tradeshow that is CES said that they will not be producing an all gaming tradeshow [separate from CES] next year. Couldn't get enough folks interested in ponying up money to run that shin-dig... but IDG said they can, did, and will.

    HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL FOLKS! IDG is creating a new show, called GamePro Expo that will be what E3 used to be like. The event is scheduled to go off in L.A. next October 18-20th. My calendar is marked already, what about yours?

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