aliens

New iPhone games of the week (February 10, 2010)

Each week brings a slew of new iPhone games to our doorstep (digitally speaking), but time doesn't permit us to write individual posts about each one. Therefore, here's a roundup of some new and interesting titles you might want to check out:

Daisy Mae's Alien Buffet Unapologetically sexist and gloriously campy, Daisy Mae (top) has the look of a '50s drive-in movie and a plot to match: the gun-toting titular heroine must blast wave after wave of aliens that have invaded her trailer park. Boy, howdy! Giana Sisters If you like Mario-style platform games, you're sure … Read more

Is the Digital Age cutting us off from aliens?

A few days ago, I was bound and gagged by a peculiarly witty human who forced me to watch "Contact," starring Jodie Foster.

If this strangely slow-moving opus has passed you by, Foster plays a woman whose lifelong dream is to sit down with an alien being and have a chinwag over a large latte. Well, more or less.

So it was with the spirit of space discovery forcing my lips to hum that I read Monday that the founder of SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) declared that it wasn't just me who was gagged, but … Read more

Stop the aliens from taking your sheep!

TowerMadness Zero is the free, ad-supported (and full) version of TowerMadness, a tower-defense game in which you defend a small herd of cute sheep against an advancing army of aliens (who want to turn your sheep into "a new scarf for their emperor").

The game and its interface will be familiar to fans of tower-defense games, with enemies from multiple UFOs attacking across an open plain at first, but then mixing in fixed-path and open-path challenges as the game progresses through 15 maps. You touch the map to build and upgrade towers, and you can use two fingers … Read more

Man loses job after searching too hard for aliens

I can understand why people are so keen to find alien life. It isn't so much a scientific fascination with what might be out there. It's more a pained hope that what is out there might be more enjoyable than what is down here.

So I am wrestled to the ground by a certain sympathy for Brad Niesluchowski.

According to the Arizona Republic, Niesluchowski was asked to resign after allegedly using his position at the Higley Unified School District to exercise his own (and our) need for an alien encounter.

This was not a case of uploading pictures … Read more

The 404 453: Where the role of Justin Yu will be played by Mark Licea

Justin Yu has finally caught the SARS/swine flu that's been floating around the CNET New York offices. It was bound to happen, considering the number of makeout parties we have here. Filling his petite shoes, we have Mark Licea (aka MTI).

On today's show, we talk about beautifupeople.com, a Web site that is finally coming to the United States, which only beautiful people are allowed to join. That's right: in order to join this dating Web site, you have to be pretty. Users must submit their pictures, then the community decides whether you're hot enough to join. Unfortunately, Jeff and Wilson will likely get rejected. We'll let you know what Mark finds out on the Web site.

After that, we find out that older men who are less educated than their female counterparts are less likely to get a divorce and are generally happier in their relationships. So we guess all those cougar relationships out there aren't going to work out. We also check out a not cool "illegal alien costume." It might have been funny on "Chappelle's Show," but it's likely to get the crap beat out of you immediately.

Finally, we cover CNN's new Web site and we get to some video game news and commentary. The PlayStation 3 finally gets Netflix streaming after Xbox 360 has had it for almost a year now. Took them long enough, but we think this might start to change the balance of power in the video game console war, because it will be free on the PlayStation 3, rather than having to sell out $50 bucks a year for a Xbox Live Gold membership. Plus, Wilson gets close to beating Ghostbusters: The Videogame. His take? It's fun to watch, a little monotonous to play after a while, but a good buy.

Please, please, send in voice mails. We're running a bit low these days, and we love to hear your feedback. Call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Call! (Especially if you're a lady.)

Episode 453 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Google's crop circle doodle suggests finality

It has been said, not least by senior people at Google, that the company dreams of the day when we have Google search implanted in our brains.

Some, mainly human beings, chuckled at the prospect. Perhaps they should stop chuckling.

It must be very difficult to stay interested when you're running the world's largest small ad company, so the appearance of a couple of alien-related doodles suggest that Google's management has finally spaced out.

The latest doodle, which appeared Tuesday, reveals a similar spacecraft to the one that supposedly commemorated the Japanese video game Zero Wing. However, … Read more

Gadgettes 151: The gadgets for aliens episode

We all know that invading space aliens have one primary objective, and that is to impregnate human kind. That and possibly to collect today's assortment of handy gadgets for use on their own planet. Meanwhile, there we'll be, doing their alien chores and cooking their alien dinners for them with no ability to break from their alien spell. Aren't we just a sad bunch of humanoid life forms?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 151

Cool Window Phone would simulate the weather

Gizmo gauges gals’ fertility–20,000 times a day

Japanese rescue robot consumes injured humans

The 10 most badass sci-fi battlesuits ever

STS-111 multisegment airship is not a flying sandworm but a flying spermatozoon… Read more

BOL 1034: Life is short, have pie

Radio Shack, as we mentioned yesterday, is changing to The Shack. But a good restaurant in Connecticut is also called The Shack and has pie. Radio Shack does not have pie. They lose. We also talk about Google dropping search share and the rumored new PS3.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1034

Buzz Out Loud interviews Aneesh Chopra, Obama's Chief Technology Officer http://www.cnet.com/8301-19709_1-10302978-10.html

Google search share drops as Bing gains momentum http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/08/bing-continues-to-chip-away-at-googles-search-share.ars

Misunderstandings abound … Read more

Simple adventure game

Bud Redhead-The Time Chase is a video game adventure through time and space. While the story is fun, the graphics and game play didn't leave us with a great deal of confidence.

This program's interface is incredibly simple. Gameplay is achieved using the arrow and CTRL keys. Maneuvering through the options is a point-and-click matter. There is a Help file, but anyone who has played video games before will not need to consult it. Playing the game was very simple and most people will be able to jump directly into the action after reading the onscreen backstory and … Read more