Games and gear

Our Xbox 360 Elite review sample showed up late yesterday afternoon, and we're working up a full review. But that's gonna be a 3,500-word monster intended more for casual gamers and tech newbies who don't know a thumbstick from a joystick or a shoulder button from a trigger. For those in the know, here's the crib sheet on the Elite.

Cosmetics: The Xbox 360 Elite has a matte-black finish. I strongly prefer it to the "iPod white" color scheme of past Xbox 360 models. The included wireless controller and Xbox Live headset are … Read more

Sony has revealed its follow-up to the PlayStation 2's EyeToy, and it looks pretty impressive for a glorified Webcam. The PlayStation Eye will let your PlayStation 3 watch and listen to you as you watch and listen to it. The Eye can capture VGA video at 60 frames per second, or QVGA (320 X 240) video at 120 frames per second. It records sound through a four-microphone array, and can save photos, videos, and audio clips to your PS3's hard drive with the included EyeCreate software.

The upcoming PS3 title The Eye of Judgment will take full use … Read more

Nike seems to have joined GM on the Transformers bandwagon.

Manolo's Shoe Blog--yes, we even read shoe blogs here at Crave--noticed these Transformers that convert from a sneaker into a toy robot. The fake sneakers, which come as the characters Convoy or Megatron, are half-size replicas of actual Nike sneakers and even come in a shoebox. (Have fun explaining these to airport security.)

The sneakers, available this May for about $30 from Takara Tomy, are no doubt part of the marketing blitz for the July 4 release of the new Transformers action movie. A Japanese ad for Nike … Read more

If you want to let the world know of your love for Mii avatars and the Beatles, then this T-shirt is for you.

Jumping on the Nintendo Wii avatar craze, the "Let It Bii" Nerdy Shirts T-shirt features Nintendo Wii Mii avatars of the Fab Four.

The design is an obvious tribute to the Beatles' Let it Be album, even including a clue that Paul may still be dead. (He's looking straight at you.)

I'd say this falls somewhere after the "Blogito, ergo sum" T-shirt in terms of cleverness, but much higher on the … Read more

I want to come clean about something. Not many people know this about me. It recently came out at work, and it's caused no end of grief from my co-workers. Still, I refuse to be ashamed of it anymore, so here it goes.

I like Pokemon. And I'm not the only one.

Before you judge me too harshly, I want to clarify this: I like the Pokemon games. That's it. I don't watch the anime or collect the toys or anything obsessive like that. I just really enjoy the game itself. I've been playing Pokemon Diamond … Read more

It's amazing, the things you can find in hidden, out-of-the-way street markets.

Behold the "PolyStation," a circa-2004 gaming console that sells for about $40. I found it in the main souk in Dubai in a shop owned by a merchant from Iran. (Iranian immigrants own many of the stores there. Without their industriousness, it would probably be impossible to buy anything before 2 p.m.)

The PolyStation comes with a game controller. The merchant also told me it is compatible with games for other versions of the PolyStation and even compatible with games made for game consoles … Read more

The Xbox 360 Elite is still a couple of weeks away, but Microsoft seems to be freshening up the 360's software in anticipation of the release. In advance of an early May dashboard update, the company has added around three dozen games for the "classic" Xbox that can now be played on the 360. Full title list after the jump.… Read more

If you're not sure whether an outfit's colors go together, we've always been told, don't take a chance. But, as this PC ensemble proves, the monochromatic look isn't a slam dunk either, unless it's all black.

The "Diablo" custom gaming system from Smooth Creations can be ordered with a matching monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and iPod, according to Chip Chick, in the hues of your choice. But we do hope that the color pictured here doesn't become too popular, as it appears to have produced the computing incarnation of Goldmember.

No … Read more

Nintendo has figured it out: Why should it let others take all the glory for the Wii's supposed health benefits? Tech Digest says the company is developing a game called Wii Health that will "test your fitness and send the results off to an unspecified UK hospital for analysis."

Not everyone is on the Wii's fitness bandwagon, daring to suggest that real-life exercise is better for kids than playing games regardless of how serious they are about them. But at least one personal trainer has created a workout routine based on Wii play, and others say … Read more