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Statris is a Flash game where you play Tetris with geographical states and countries. The first time I saw Statetris mentioned, I only fiddled with the USA version where you have to drop the lower 48 states into place. I found playing Tetris with pieces that didn’t have perfectly perpendicular edges frustrating enough that I didn’t mention it. Now they have Statetris for Africa, Europe, France, Netherlands and the UK. Its even more amusing to play when you have no clue where the oddly shaped objects go! Anyway, it took me an abysmal 4:56.3 to complete the United States on medium and 7:09.2 to complete Europe on easy. Feel free to post how badly you beat my times here. |
UNEASYsilence Referer
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The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit is available for sale starting today, so I thought I’d link to a few of the reviews that have surfaced in the past couple of weeks. Having endured the painfully slow experience of entering text via a joystick and the four available buttons on the 360 controller, I can understand the appeal of the “Chatpad”. Still if I need to enter enough text to justify plinking down $30 for an add-on QWERTY keyboard. I will probably wait until I start playing something that requires a large amount of text input first. I also hope the keyboard comes in black as well as white, because I am not sure I like the Elite controller with the white Chatpad look. The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit should be available it all of the normal retail outlets as well as Amazon and other etailers. |
Gizmodo Referer
Engadget Review
Gamespot Review
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It amazes me that Bandai Namco is still able to make money off of Pac-Man. Even though the game has been around for almost 28 years, it still resonates with folks enough that they are willing to purchase Pac-Man related swag. The latest are these mostly plush offerings from clubNAMCO.com. First up and pictured to the left is a set of six plush Pac-Man characters that feature all four ghosts measuring 7.8″ tall, Pooka from Dig-Dug which has a 10″ diameter and Pac-Man himself measuring in with a 12″ diameter. The set of six sells for $100 or you can get an individual plush for $27. They also have moving “power-plush” Pac-Man and the four ghosts for $100 for the set (out of stock) or $35 a piece. Then there is the Pac-Man Plush-Head which sells for $30 for the adult size or $25 for the kiddy size. |
OhGizmo! Referer
Boing-Boing Referer
Engadget Referer
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This silly little Flash game netted me at least five minutes amusement already thus passing the flash game posting threshold. Completely mouse controlled, you control some kind of grey, ninja feline and its bow, arrow and a string attached to its paw. The goal is to hit the target with the arrow without falling off the screen. You can either try to work from the ground (top or bottom) or your can repel off the sides or top of the map. You can even shoot from in flight. The only trouble I had was keeping my pointer inside the flash window. My first score was +14 mostly due to falling off the screen before I mastered in-flight shooting and repelling. |
digg Referer
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It seems I am not alone in my desire to have my consoles be a particular color. Though I am happy enough with the 360 in black and the Wii in white, it is interesting to see what options companies are coming up with to change the colors. First up is Colorwar’s Console Services (Engadget Referer) where you can send your console in to be painted using their X2 Coating Technology which is both scratch and UV resistant. The cost of this service starts at $99 and goes up should you add extra controllers or start mixing colors which with almost thirty colors to chose from, wouldn’t be hard. Next up is Zoozen’s Ovo 360 concept console shell for the 360 (Gizmodo Referer, TecEBlog Referer, Engadget Referer). While not yet set for production, the Ovo aspires to transform a 360 into…well something…not entirely sure but it has a blue glow so it has to be good, right? Last, linked below are the I-Cases from Total Console which are pre-made shells that are “field replaceable” by the consumer. Pictured is the Crystal Blue I-Case which is available for $50. There is also a chrome I-Case which $40 and last is their “Black Knight” model which sells for $38. |
digg Referer
Engadget Referer
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While I am not sure why you would want to listen to FM radio on your Nintendo DS-Lite, Dragon Electronics has created a FM Radio Converter which allows you to do exactly that. The tuner plugs into your DS Lite’s GBA port and is powered by its battery so it doesn’t require an additional power source of its own. While I guess it might be useful to take to a sporting event to listen to local radio coverage, it seems like there would be cheaper and more compact solutions. Similarly I’d think an add-on for playing MP3s or other compressed audio format would be better for music. Still, I am amused that somebody bothered to make a FM terrestrial radio tuner for the DS-L. The Dragon Electronics Stereo FM Radio Converter is available from Brando for $15. |
Übergizmo Referer
Gizmodo Referer
UNEASYsilence Referer
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