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This weekend I was browsing the Web as part of my ongoing quest to learn EVERYTHING and I stumbled across Etsy.com. This is a site where a number of different people/companies offer their handmade creations. I must admit, there is a reporter from Moses Lake, Washington who calls her creative endeavor Digital Soaps and makes some very interesting (wait for it…) soap. If you need some form of incentive to get your kid off the console and into the tub, or if your spouse would get a kick out of such a novelty, I have to say that these are pretty neat. Click below to see even more of these creations!
For some of us who have been gaming for more than a decade (or two, or…), the title Prince of Persia brings back memories of classic 2D platforming mixed with puzzle strategy that all had to be accomplished in a one-hour time frame. Though the franchise was brought into the third dimension for PCs and the Dreamcast with the title Prince of Persia 3D (aka Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights), it wasn’t until Ubisoft resurrected the franchise with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time that the gaming public would take notice again. Two additional titles followed in the last generation of consoles – Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. However, the first of these three seemed to have captured the imagination of some folks at Disney.
Considering that Disney was able to get three full films out of an original theme park ride called Pirates of the Caribbean, I can’t imagine that it would be difficult to get a decent film out of the world portrayed in the Prince of Persia games. This is particularly true with the added visually dynamic moves that Ubisoft incorporated into their newer titles like the Prince’s ability to run along walls or jump back and forth between chasms to ascend cliffs quickly. These acrobatics should transfer to the screen quite nicely and the concept of the dagger that turns back time provides an opportunity for blockbuster eye candy.
Though Disney isn’t going to be giving us the next Citizen Kane, their new film looks to be an entertaining diversion. And as far as video game inspired films go, it can’t be as bad as Super Mario Bros.
IGN recently named the Nintendo Entertainment System (affectionately known by many as the “NES”) the greatest console of all time. (You can see their countdown HERE.) They followed this announcement with their list of the top 100 NES games of all time. You can see this list HERE. Unlike a number of top lists, these hit home with a parent who grew up with video games as a child. One of the most important things about many of these titles is that they are FUN!
In fact, many of them are so much fun that you can still purchase them and enjoy them via GBA cartridge adaptations and as downloads for the Wii. In fact, over 80 NES titles are available on the Wii’s Virtual Console.
For those of you who may not be convinced, I encourage you to take a look at PlayNES.net. This site allows you to play practically any original Nintendo Entertainment System game online via a web-hosted Flash emulator.
For those of you who know me, I can wax philosophic about the major impact that the NES had on the gaming industry having single-handedly resurrected the video game market after the North American Video Game Crash of the 80s caused by a glut of bad games for the most successful previous system, the Atari VCS (or 2600 as many know it). However, I will spare you my usual litany and, instead, encourage you to just have some fun. What’s more, almost all of these games are very kid-friendly and some even have multiplayer options!
Game Apparent is based out of St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. However, we have always tried to provide insights that would be useful to parents nationwide and even worldwide. Having said that, my wife showed me a publication put out by our local library and it appears that they’re sponsoring a game tournament this summer. What really struck me was that many parents (and even I am guilty of this on occasion) perceive games as a less worthwhile pastime than reading a book. Yet our local library’s page stated the following:
Gaming is huge at the Library! Gaming teaches strategic thinking, encourages cooperation, and is just plain fun.
It’s true! To see more information about the St. Louis Library sponsored Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament Championship, feel free to click HERE. For those of you who don’t live in St. Louis, check out your local library and see if you have similar events planned in your area!
The next title in the PlayStation’s “Play, Create, Share” line is a title called ModNation Racers. This intriguing game is essentially a classic “kart racer” like the Mario Kart titles, Crash Team Racing, or Chocobo Racing. What MNR brings to the table is the ability to customize your racer, tweak your car, and (most significantly) create your own tracks! The demonstration provided at E3 this year showed the developer creating a simple track from scratch including mountains, a lake, foliage, and even determining the position of the sun to establish the time of day–all in less than 5 minutes! The interface was impressive, intuitive, and fun. And best of all, you can add sheep. (One can never under estimate the comic value of incorporating sheep into a game!)
I’ve included the trailer below for those of you who may be interested. Knowing what fun I’ve had with my son playing Mario Kart Double Dash (see article HERE) and Little Big Planet (see article HERE), this seems like the best of both worlds!
One of the most recognized racing franchises is FINALLY going to appear on the PSP this October 1st. Why I find this significant is that Gran Turismo for the PSP was supposed to be a launch title. This is one of, if not the most, delayed titles ever to actually get a release on the system for which it was announced. Yea, “Racing onto PSPs.” For more information about this release, hit the Sony site HERE.
Also of note, the October 1st release date is also the launch for the new PSP Go which is seen in the above picture and in the trailer below. So, I guess that Sony can still call it a “launch” title for the PSP…just not the original incarnation of the platform. Having said that, the PSP Go is compatible with the current PSP hardware. Besides the cosmetic differences, it does not have a UMD drive and it uses solid state memory to store downloadable games.
For those of you who may be wondering, yes – Gran Turismo will be playable on both the current hardware and the new Go. Now take a look at the cool trailer below and share a comment below stating how it’s about time!
