Beware of the Wii Knee

by Wes Carroll 

12.23.08

As you do your last minute shopping, be aware of the fact that giving someone a Nintendo Wii for Christmas is like giving them a potential knee injury. Scientists say that knee injuries are on the rise because of Wii users. The condition is now being referred to as "Wii Knee". Here's the story from Techtree.com

HD & More

by Brian Hale

10.21.08

Will Blu-ray replace DVD? More and more people are beginning to think so, and I happen to be one of them. So does the CEO of Netflix. Click here to read more.

 Best Buy has an Insignia Blu-ray player for $99 after a $100 mail in coupon and Amazon has a Samsung Blu-ray player for $221. Check their websites to make sure the prices still stand. 

DirectTV has finally picked up FOX News in HD. 

Microsoft thinks their XBox will outsell the PS3 during the holidays. Really? Microsoft thinks so? I wonder why they think that? Click here for more. 

10.16.08

The big digital conversion for television is coming in February and, according to Nielsen, 9 million homes aren't ready. Well, I am thinking that they will start paying a little more attention on February 17, 2009. Click here to read more.

Sony has launched a PlayStation YouTube channel. The channel will showcase game footage, interviews, etc. You can read more here .

Olevia has a Blu-ray player on sale for $229. You can buy the player exclusively at Target. 

10.10.08

Is Microsoft planning a Blu-XBox? Maybe. Click here for more.

Sony has dropped $100 of the price of their Blu-ray player, BDP-S350. I expect more price drops will come soon.

Check out the new SlingCatcher here . The cool little box can works with Slingbox to help you have axccess to yourentertainment anywhere in your house. Maybe it's not necessary, but that doesn't make it any less cool.

Netflix has started their practice of charging $1.00 extra each month for Blu-ray rentals. Believe me, it's worth it. However, Blockbuster Online doesn't charge extra for Blu-ray. Yet.

G1 Is Coming

by Wes Carroll

09.25.08

Apple's iPhone is getting its first real competition in October. On October 22, TMobile will begin shipping the new G1 "smart phone" to customers. It's got a big display screen like the iPhone but offers a few features that Apple does not, like the slide out qwerty keyboard. Here's a full rundown of the first review of the G1. Click here 

Tech News and Rumors

by Brian Hale

9.04.08

iTunes 8.0 will include HD capability and a nifty little program called Genius. Click here for more.

Google has rolled out their new web-browser, Chrome. Click here for a closer look.

LG's new Blu-ray player will have the ability to stream Netflix. It will also cook your breakfast every morning. Click here for more.

Been waiting for a price drop before you bought a Blu-ray player? Swanni thinks your wait is coming to a close. Click here to read more.

HD News and Rumors

by Brian Hale

08.22.08

Are HDTV prices about to fall? I think so and so does Swanni. Read his aricle here. We have already seen some Blu-ray players drop below the $300 mark.

Toshiba is still refusing to jump on board with Blu-ray. Instead, they released a new DVD Upconverter, the XDE DVD Player,  this week. Click here to read more and to take a look at the player. My advice: Don't pay $150 for a DVD player that wants to be a Blu-ray player. Wait until the day afterThanksgiving and buy a real Blu-ray player for under, probably well under, $300. The difference in quality is worth the difference in price, not to mention most Blu-ray players will upconvert your regular DVDs.

JIm Brown Attempts to Run Over Madden

by Wes Carroll

08.02.08

Hall of Fame NFL running back is taking on EA Sports over the likeness of a player on their Madden NFL '09 game that resembles Brown himself. The legendary running back says he never gave his permission to the game to use his likeness and he wants to be removed and compensated for any damages.

I'm not sure what damage could have been caused Brown or his family by having a "tribute" player on the "All Browns" team wear his number and have similar features to Brown, but he certianly seems to think he's been damaged in some way.

Of course he didn't give his permisiion to us to talk about him on this website, so I hope I have doneno damage to him here.

For more on the story, check out this article 

Tech Updates

by Brian Hale

07.28.08

I love my Wii. Let's face it, who here doesn't love their Wii? The good news is that soon we can make our Wii's bigger. Nintendo announced this week that memory storage is an issue they are looking at. The Nintendo of America president,

Reggie Fils-Aime, spoke withMTV.com at E3. Fils-Aime shared, "We have said publicly that we’re looking hard at the storage situation, that we’re working on a range of solutions. We have nothing to announce now. But certainly it’s an issue we are aware of and we’re working to find a solution and we will. From an Americas-centric perspective, here is the reality we see. We have a consumer base who loves virtual console. We have a userbase who really is enjoying WiiWare content. So for us really our challenge really is how do we satisfy all these consumers who are loving all of the product we make available on a download basis? As we continue to have things, as you point out, like ‘Mario Kart’ that has its own channel when you’re playing from an Internet perspective, we’re just making this challenge tougher and tougher. So in our view this is becoming much more of a mainstream problem, which is why we have a sense of urgency to solve it." I'm happy that he's as worried about our Wii's as we are. 

There is an update last weeks news on DirectTV's HD expansion. Starting next month DirectTV will add 30 more HD channels. The breakdown is as follows: 

Showtime Extreme HD, Showtime Showcase HD, Planet Green HD, ABC Family HD, additional DIRECTV HD PPV channels and an additional 23 Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) in HD 24 hours a day. For more click here.

Netflix announced a few days ago that prices on Blu-ray rentals would increase soon. Sounds like a good reason to switch to Blockbuster Online.

DirectTV and Blu-ray News

by Brian Hale

07.23.08 

DirectTV's new HD satellite may be running sooner than the expected September deadline. Boeing and DirectTV completed the hand over of the satellite this week. This is good news for subscribers who enjoy the HD channels, because there are more on the way. DirectTV already has 95 national HD channels, but the new satellite will give them the capacity for up to 150. Look for ABC Family, Fox News, WGN, and AMC to be the first new HD channels added. AMC HD could be just in time for season 2 of "Mad Men".  Click here for more info and updates.

Blu-ray players are starting to come down in price. I know several people who have been waiting for a price that was under $300. Well, here you go: Insignia and Magnavox. Keep in mind, these lower end players are not the latest profiles, but honestly, I don't know who would care. They play the same crystal clear movies as the higher end models. 

For those who read the Blu-ray info above and said "What? Profiles?" click here to read about  the differences in the versions of Blu-ray players. 

Sony Stands Out at E3

by Wes Carroll

07.16.08

With the Electronic Entertainment Expo coming up fast, the big 3 game consoles have held their press conferences to show off what's coming for  them (or more importantly for us), and Sony is leading the buzz war with its new features. Microsoft hasoffered up a few surprises and Nintendo has been seemingly left in the dust.

 Click here for Mike Smith's rundown on the console wars. 

The Madden Curse Returns with a Vengeance

by Wes Carroll

07.15.08

I guess we spoke too soon back in late April when we declared the Madden Curse broken. In past years, the NFL player chosen to be on the cover of the Madden video game for EA Sports has has sub-par season or injuries that ended their season early. The decision in April to put the recently retired Brett Favre on the cover seemed to be the end of this trend.

Well, this week, we have seen things get very ugly between the future Hall of Fame quarterback and the Green Bay Packers. Brett claims that his decision to retire was a forced issue by the Packers who were anxious for a decision and have now decided that they will move ahead with Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback. But after a few months to think about his retirement, Brett isn't sure he's really finished, and has asked to be released from the Packers who have refused to do so.

So at this stage, this year's Madden cover model could be holding a clipboard on the sidelines in Green Bay next year.

Perhaps the curse is stronger than ever... 

The Madden Curse Is Officially Broken

by Wes Carroll

04.26.08

Madden 09 will officially end any hype about a cover curse with its brand new cover for this release. Click HERE to see the new cover and how they plan to break the curse for good. 

Mario Kart Wii

by Amber Elliott

04.06.08

For this month I figured I’d do something a little different. Instead of previewing a violent, war-related, or psychologically thrilling game I’m going to do a preview of a revamped version of one of my old favorites: Mario Kart. Non-violent (aside from whimsical, funny comic mischief), old-school, and fun. This time the game is on the Wii, a system that I don‘t have because I have yet to find one that isn’t ridiculously overpriced due to the four or so “discount bin” games that it comes with. However, one of my friends has a Wii, and that means that I can barge into her house anytime I want and play Mario Kart whenever it comes out. …Just kidding Whitney.
It’s been, surprisingly, sixteen years since the very first Mario Kart game was released and about five years since Nintendo released Mario Kart Double Dash for the Game Cube. It’s impossible to have a Nintendo system without Mario or Mario Kart, so it isn’t exactly surprising for the Wii to have a Mario Kart game. Mario Kart Wii features the dearly missed split-screen racing, sixteen new courses, and sixteen courses from previous games. There are five control styles to choose from as well, these being a classic controller, a Game Cube controller, a wheel peripheral that holds the Wii remote sideways, simply holding the Wii remote sideways, and using the Wii remote in conjunction with the Nunchuck. Also, in addition to racing karts, you’ll also be able to choose to race motorcycles -- a fresh, new addition to the Mario Kart series.
The game’s trailor says that you can play against eleven other people, anywhere in the world, in online gameplay mode. Some of the circuits you have to choose from are Luigi Circuit, Moo Moo Meadows, Mushroom Gorge, and Coconut Mall. For those who were fans of the Double Dash, you may be disappointed to know that the co-pilot system was not included in the new game. Don’t fret, though -- there are several new power-ups throughout the game along with a new trick system that can be used on any of the ramps throughout the racetracks. When using the new trick system, which is basically making an upward motion while you’re airborne, your character does something acrobatic in the air and lands into a speed boost.
While all of this is pretty cool, the game doesn’t seem to promise anything extremely new or cutting-edge. This is ok, though, because I think Mario Kart is fine and will still be fun just the way it is. Mario Kart Wii is scheduled to come out on April 27, so if you’re fortunate enough to own a Wii, I would suggest checking it out and battling both your friends and online gamers. Additional information about the game can be found by searching for “Mario Kart Wii” at http://www.nintendo.com

MGS4 

by Amber Elliott 

03.06.08 

So I’m taking a break from polishing up my Grand Theft Auto skills -- practicing for number 4 of course -- to write a preview for what I think may be one of the hottest games of 2008.
Just when I thought I convinced myself that war-related games were getting boringly redundant, overproduced, and overplayed, I was shown a YouTube video of Hideo Kojima, the series’ creator, giving a gameplay demonstration at the game’s 20th anniversary party. After watching a good five minutes of it, I made note that the game looked both fun and challenging. I was stricken by the little details the producers may have gone out of their way to add and the realistic look and feel of it all. There were movie-quality cut scenes and realistic battle tactics. I was sort of taken aback and no longer convinced that war games were all becoming the same.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, the game I was watching was none other than Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The game’s release date isn’t anytime soon, unfortunately. It’s set to come out on June 12, 2008 here in the US. The game is only confirmed to be for the PS3, but there are some rumors of a 360 release date (though I don't see that happening unless the 360 somehow incorporates a Blu-Ray disc drive). If you don’t have a PS3, the good news is that Sony is releasing a Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle pack. You get the game, a dual shock 3 controller, an online starter pack, and an 80 gig PS3 for about $500. I don’t have that kind of money, but hey, you might, and it’s something to look forward to.
In MGS4, Solid Snake is drafted for one final mission and sent to assassinate his old adversary, Liquid Ocelot. In battle he uses his stealth abilities and, what I found to be an awesome add-on, his all new OctoCamo suit. When Snake wears this new suit, he is able to blend in to any of his surroundings. In the video I watched, Snake is able to put on the suit and masquerade as a statue, blend into the tiles on the ground, and sneak along the walls unnoticed. It’s pretty intriguing. If you’re a fan of the series, you may be pleased to know that old favorites like Meryl Silverburgh, Raiden, Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich, Eva and Roy Campbel are returning for this final battle.
Visit http://www.konami.jp/mgo/ for more info. To watch the video I was referring to, go to YouTube.com and search for “Metal Gear Solid 4 - 2007 Gameplay Demonstration.”

Condemned 2
by Amber Elliott