Get Trekz Titanium to 1000% Funding & Maybe Win Big

Posted on October 15, 2015 by geelw

While the Indiegogo campaign is already funded, the fine folks behind Aftershokz: Trekz Bone Conduction Headphones want to go for the gold by reaching 1000% before the day is done. Therefore, they’ve added a nice new perk I’d call “Bribery by Chocolate”, but they call a Titanium Ticket. Here’s the deal:

Pledge $10 and get a SHOKZ Chocolate Bar (which will ship out in December) which not only gets you into a drawing to win a fantastic prize, it may make you an INSTANT winner if that bar has one of five Titanium Tickets inside. Shades of Willy Wonka with a slight delay, folks! The more bars you buy, the greater your chances, although if you’re a total chocoholic who needs that fix NOW you may want to sock away some Halloween candy while you wait for your SHOKZ to arrive.

The five Titanium Ticket winners will get one Trekz Titanium plus one of the following prizes (winner’s choice): Apple Watch, iPad Mini or Next-Gen Gaming Console (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U).

As for those headphones, the words “Bone Conduction” got my interest piqued, so here’s what that is (because it’s always good to learn something new every damn day):

Trekz Titanium™ use bone conduction technology to transmit audio waves to the inner ears through the skull, bypassing the eardrums completely. Place them on your cheekbones, just in front of your ears. This leaves your ear canals open, allowing you to remain alert and aware of ambient sounds while you enjoy your music or tune in to calls.

Get it? Got it? Good. Now, go help these guys and gals make their over-target goal and maybe you’ll be a big winner of some awesome stuff while you’re at it.

Retro Pop Box Turns Your Mailbox Into A Time Machine

Posted on September 20, 2015 by geelw

If you’re a child of the 1960’s, 70’s or 80’s, or know someone of a certain age craving some random nostalgia, Retro Pop Box is going to be right up your/their alley. The just-launched subscription-only service delivers the goods in the form of monthly boxes of themed swag, all of it fun and guaranteed to get the memory banks kicking in as you’re transported back to your childhood.

A sampler box containing a few items from all three eras popped up in my mailbox a few days back (thanks, Chris!) and it made a rather bland Wednesday end on a rainbow-colored rocket with a paisley disco ball painted on it. Or something close to that.

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Some Fallout 4 Stuff To Fall Out Over

Posted on September 17, 2015 by geelw

Bethesda Softworks ~~thinks~~ knows it’s clever, getting all these amazing Fallout 4 goodies out there in the wild for all us collector types to collect as if we’re in one of their games collecting stuff. Well, without the being attacked by mutants and other irradiated deviants in the Wasteland. Here’s a quick peek at some of the nifty (and somewhat safe) stuff to be found in your travels. If you happen to be a lazy Vault-dweller too frightened to leave and explore the outside world, guess what? The internet is your friend (mostly). You can get your F4 goodies delivered just about anywhere in the U. S. of A. with a few clicks of a mouse. Well, provided that mouse isn’t alive, about a foot or so long (d’aww! it’s just a baby!) and and trying to bite off one or more of your toes as you roll around on the floor with it fighting for your life.

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READS: Game Art Shows Off Some Great Reasons To Play Even Games You Won’t Like

Posted on September 16, 2015 by geelw

Matt Sainsbury’s Game Art ($39.95) presents an excellent way for anyone whether they’re a gamer or not, to appreciate the assorted art styles used in different videogames. One of the big (but somewhat meaningless) debates that has been ongoing for ages is what constitutes “good” art when in actuality, learning to love the different looks games have from “retro” to realistic is the more appropriate manner of seeing things.

Game Art tackles this subject with a wide range of art styles and some great interviews with the people who’ve created the wondrous art in this 250 page tome.

While the art is uniformly lovely throughout, the more interesting things here are the interviews with assorted creators. A passion for the medium seems to be the uniting factor, but you’ll also see some games are made in response to world events, as a means of teaching history or even personal issues some artists have had in the past. Of course, there are a few tales of games made at the wishes of a corporation, but it’s also in these cases where the overall art style was left to the artists, which is always a good thing.

While the book has a number of recognizable mainstream titles from major publishers, Sainsbury is smart enough to add a bunch of PC/console indie games well worth checking out as well as a few niche games that generally only do well with a certain crowd (the Atelier series of games by Gust). It’s also of note that there’s a great interview about Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn that directly addresses the game’s revival from its initial failure to it’s rebirth as a far (FAR) better and more enjoyable game experience (with some truly lovely art).

One of the more amusing things personally learned from this collection is there are a handful of games here I didn’t care much at all for when I played them (Monster Monpiece, Hyperdimension Neptunia) that I now appreciate a bit more after reading the interviews. Sainsbury clearly has a deep respect for the works of Goichi Suda (Suda51) and Hidetaka Suehiro (SWERY65), as they get some nice coverage. Tale of Tales’ Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn have a nice set of images and a fine interview that’s a bit sad because since the book has come out, the company has stopped making commercial games thanks to the failure of SUNSET, their excellent and innovative adventure game that failed to capture a wide enough audience.

Overall, Game Art should make a more than excellent gift for anyone looking to gain insight into the pre-production and even the development process behind the scenes. Hell, you can even buy this one if you just want to look at the pictures and that’ll be all right because it’s part of enjoying a good or not so good game at the end of the day. Hopefully this one will get a follow up with even more creators as Sainsbury’s interviewing style of smarter than the average questions and allowing his subjects to have enough room to reply has made for quite the compelling read.

Stern’s Game of Thrones Pinball Machine: Silver Balls For The Royal Set

Posted on September 8, 2015 by geelw

Hmmm. This certainly gives the saying “When you play the Game of Thrones, you win… or you die.” a whole new meaning, folks.

For the record, it’s really difficult to play a standard pinball machine sitting down. That’s probably the sole reason this awesome and not at all inexpensive officially licensed Game of Thrones pinball machine doesn’t come with a life-size Iron Throne replica. Available now from Stern Pinball, this beauty comes in Pro ($5,995 MSRP), Premium ($7,595 MSRP) and Limited ($8,795 MSRP) Editions and is sure to get you kicking people out of your home when they won’t leave because they’re having a blast playing.

While the Pro model is packed to the rafters with features classic to current pinball wizards expect, the Premium and Limited Editions feature a massive and challenging Castle upper playfield with a second set of full size flippers, shots and an animated Dragon. Additionally, the Limited Edition gets you a Certificate of Authenticity, a numbered plaque, a designer-autographed playfield, a beautiful, hand-drawn cabinet and backglass artwork by Bob Stevlic. Exclusive, glossy, black- powder-coated, laser-cut side armor features dragon elements of the Targaryen Sigil and is inscribed with the Targaryen House motto, “Fire & Blood”, all highlighted with a rich, red mirrored backing.

If you can swing the funds for any of these gorgeous tables, all you need is enough room to fit your table of choice into comfortably and it’s party time! Friends will drop by pretty much automatically (and regularly), as a working pinball machine is one of those great conversation pieces that will get even non-gamers and non-fans of the show wanting to see it in action. And if you have no friends at all and are surrounded on all sides by enemies, this is a sure-fire way to get them to swing by for a little friendly competition. What you do to them once they’re distracted is all up to you.

Fallout Anthology: The Bomb Drops In September (But Only In America)

Posted on August 17, 2015 by geelw

Amusingly enough, this must-have collection of the multi-million selling post-apocapalyptic game franchise is ONLY available in the continental United States thanks to that non-functioning miniature nuclear bomb replica it’s all packed into. Yes, you can imagine the irate international Fallout fans dying to get this and there will probably be some who manage to have a friend or relative here place an order and try to ship it their way. Of course, the USPS or other delivery services here won’t like that and most certainly, Customs in every country in the world won’t like that either. Especially if that “audible bomb sound” goes off while the package is being checked.

Still, you can’t fault someone for trying to grab this, as it’s absolutely a whopper of a conversation piece:

As for what’s in the bomb, er, box- that’s below the jump. Fifty bucks is a steal for all this, mind you. Continue reading →

Retro City Rampage REALLY Goes Retro: 486 – MS-DOS / Windows 3.1 Version Now Available

Posted on July 31, 2015 by geelw

Vblank Entertainment’s head honcho Brian Provinciano is a truly mad genius in the best possible way. His single-minded obsession with his hilarious “retro” game Retro City Rampage has led to it being released on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS over a few short years. Now, he’s gone and reprogrammed the instant classic and has gotten the game onto a 3.5″ floppy disk for 486 computers along with a Windows 3.1 prototype as a free bonus. If you still have an old PC lying around with a floppy drive, you can (and should indeed) snap up one of the limited edition boxed versions (there were only 1000 total made) and prepare for a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a game that probably wouldn’t have existed back then and if it did, it would be hailed as a fine slice of comic genius or something like that.

If you happen to own the more modern PC version of the game already and bought it from the developer directly, guess what? You should probably check your Steam account for a nice freebie surprise. Everyone else, run or click like the wind HERE and hope for the best. Like the PS4 and Vita retail editions, this will probably sell out ridiculously fast. Yes, the game will also run on DOSBOX if you have a newer PC. I almost forgot to mention this, so now you don’t need to hit up eBay looking for some aged system to run RCR 486 on.

Book Review: Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film Noir Posters from the 1940s-1950s

Posted on July 11, 2015 by geelw

Thanks to a colorist probably following instructions to the letter about the use of the color red, Both Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall wear lipstick on the poster to The Big Sleep. The poster for White Heat almost looks like the one for the aforementioned film. Edward G. Robinson’s face is Hulk green in the poster for Scarlet Street. Richard Widmark doesn’t even appear on the poster to Kiss of Death, but in the one for Night and the City he looks as if he’s doing a “jazz hands, down!” pose. You miss these details when poking around online for some classic film posters, but in Fantagraphic’s beautiful Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film Noir Posters from the 1940s-1950s, all you see is some amazing poster art for arguably some of the best film noirs of the era. Film Historian Mark Fertig has compiled quite a healthy list of films and their respective one-sheets here and the big 10.75″ x 14.25″ hardcover book will thrill film fans while possibly promoting a bit of discussion about some of the choices among others. Continue reading →

The Coop Brings Out Some Cool The Walking Dead Gear

Posted on July 8, 2015 by geelw

062615 THE WALKING DEAD NEW PRODUCTS FROM THE COOP With so much other stuff going on I’d almost forgotten that there’s a spin-off to The Walking Dead coming to AMC next month called Fear The Walking Dead. But fear not fans of the original show, The Coop’s troops have set up the release of a load of new gear you’ll want to drop that paycheck on. Just click away on this link and get ready to fill your closet up with some very nice licensed goodies.

I’m partial to the Daryl Dixon stuff on that page because it all looks awesome and hey, who doesn’t love them some Daryl? Er, besides Carol (YET. Ha and ha-ha). Anyway, just make like a starving chicken and peck away at those photos above to do some shopping. Unlike the show, nothing here is walk into a deserted town’s hopefully walker-less shop free. You’ll have to spend some of that hard-earned loot you’re socking away in that mattress on this stuff. Thankfully, it’s all well worth the money thanks to The Coop’s attention to detail and quality construction.

Hey, you can either by a giant can of pudding that will kill you because you’re lactose intolerant (and will make quite a farty zombie when you die after eating that can of pudding in one go, you glutton, you). Or you can save that funeral expense money and look good as you stroll down the street in style. Or run like hell from some zombies once they start popping out of the ground. I like living myself, so I’ll be taking the high road.

Society Blu-Ray Review

Posted on June 26, 2015 by geelw

While I missed out on seeing Brian Yuzna’s Society during it limited run, I’d been hearing quite a lot about this 1989 film over the years while still managing not to see it until a review Blu-Ray popped up in the post. The outrageous “body horror” flick packed with intentionally campy performances, icky practical makeup effects by the legendary Screaming Mad George and a finale for the ages makes for one of those films that will cling to one’s grey matter for a while. Those squeamish to gore or sexual themes will be reaching for something to barf in, but there’s a definite “last gasp” of the 80’s Reagen era excess in the film’s themes and overall tone. Plus there’s just an overall sense of pure insanity that makes the film seem like both the best and worst nightmare you’ll ever have.
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