buttons

We've written before about Brutal Legend, the just-released video game starring big-screen funnyman Jack Black. Produced by Tim Schafer, who has several cult classics (from Grim Fandango to Psychonauts) under his belt, the game has built up a lot of positive industry buzz, but is also in danger of being overshadowed by a flood of fall 2009 blockbusters, from Uncharted 2 to The Beatles: Rock Band.

Does Brutal Legend--a wide-ranging action/adventure about a foul-mouthed heavy metal band roadie who gets smacked on the head and wakes up in a D&D-style fantasy land--have what it takes to rock gamers this holiday season?

Dan: Having seen and played a few segments of the game at different times over the past eight months, I was eager to have a chance to spend a weekend playing through a bigger chunk of the main campaign. Several hours in, Brutal Legend has done an overall excellent job of treading the very fine line between comedy and gameplay--but not without some serious stumbles along the way.

I'd be the first to say I'm not a Jack Black "fan," but this is clearly a role he was born to play. He's apparently into it as well, and shows up as himself for a clever live-action intro video. The game's writing is sharp, even if much of it is clearly constructed from contextual one-liners that Black's character, Eddie Rigg, spouts off in a semi-random fashion.

But we ended up having more fun listening to the dialog than playing the game itself. Brutal Legend doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a hack-and-slash action game, an open-world exploration RPG, or a squad strategy game--as Eddie picks up small armies of head-banging locals to order around with basic follow/stay/attack D-pad commands.

Perhaps trying to mash all these genres together caused a few of the rough, unfinished edges we saw. Cut scenes and in-game dialog crashed awkwardly into each other, cutting off characters mid-sentence. Transitions between dialog and action scenes were abrupt and sometimes disorienting.

But despite some muddled ideas, we kept going back for more, drawn in by the Frank Frazetta-style art (think '70s metal album covers) and inside baseball music biz jokes--and as someone who has spent some time in a self-parodying heavy metal band, that's high praise.

Jeff: It's tough to name a game that has as much hype this. It's probably because of the talent involved in the game; Jack Black has sported a Brutal Legend T-shirt everywhere he's gone for the last year and voice work comes from rock legends like Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) and Ozzy Osbourne.

Brutal Legend is unique, in that you'll experience a variety of gameplay genres mashed up together inside. The game incorporates open-world driving, action/adventure, real-time strategy, and elements of role-playing.

If there's one thing the game does right, it's establishing the metal atmosphere.… Read more

At today's Apple event, the company devoted a generous amount of time to various charts and numbers declaring that the iPhone and the iPod Touch offer much more in terms of gaming than the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS.

iPhone and iPod Touch games have a lot going for them. The titles are cheaper, they offer tilt functionality, and the graphics are better than what the Nintendo DS can display. All that aside, it's tough to consider the iPhone as a legitimate gaming platform until Apple can offer some sort of tactile button functionality.

First, let's … Read more

Want to chat and browse the Web at work without getting caught by your boss? The Boss Button will hide all personal windows such as chat, Windows Media, and Web browsers with the press of a few buttons.

During our tests, we tried The Boss Button on browser windows and on our Gmail Chat. It quickly hid the all of the windows without a hitch. However, when we tried it on our Windows Media Player window it didn't work. The publisher does invite suggestions for other applications that should be included through their Web site, but the program would … Read more

Actual Title Buttons aims to help users shuffle through their open windows. With a subtle interface and effective results, the only question is whether it actually improves upon Windows' own window management features.

Users may not notice this program immediately since it embeds itself in all open windows along the upper right corner where commands for closing, minimizing, and expanding a window normally hide. This program mimics those icons, but offers several more choices. Holding the cursor over each box easily reveals its function and should soon become intuitive to users after trying them out. While the program features a … Read more

The third-generation Apple iPod Shuffle has a ridiculously small and elegant design, but its lack of buttons can sometimes be a real buzz kill. The Scosche TapStick is a $29 case for the iPod Shuffle that bestows three buttons on the front of the device, mimicking the three controls used on Apple's headphone remote. A 3-foot auxiliary cable is also included with the case.

Frankly, $30 seems like a lot of dough to throw at an iPod that only costs $80. But if you received the Shuffle as a gift and just need a way to adapt the thing … Read more

Although Start Button Shortcuts appears to be designed in the days of Windows 95, we found it to be a handy tool. It's well-suited to help the beginning computer user or anyone looking to cut a few mouse clicks.

Start Button Shortcuts looks exactly like it sounds it will. The program features a plethora of buttons for simple tasks and common features within Windows. The beauty of this app is that all of these features are in one, easy-to-use platform instead of spread across the Start Menu, programs list, Control Panel, My Computer, and so on. Users can quickly … Read more

Mad Catz has unveiled the latest in the company's line of PC flight sticks, the Cyborg X. While the new hardware showcases many new features, we're most impressed with the amount of customization it offers.

A total of of 11 buttons can be completely programmed (22 if you're holding down the shift button) allowing for complete control. Compatible with most air-combat and flight-simulation games, the Cyborg X should pacify even the most hardcore of PC gamers. As an added space-saving bonus, the Cyborg X can fold up for easy storage--a feature we've never seen before on … Read more

Turning your Gmail into an editable document used to be as simple as one, two, three clicks. Thanks to a new Gmail feature, however, it's now as simple as, well, one click.

Created by Jeremie LE and David K, the new feature, when activated, lets you turn the contents of an e-mail into a Google document with the click of a button.

To activate this feature, from your Gmail account click on Settings, then click on the Labs link. Scroll down to the Create a Document section. Check Enable and click Save changes. Now, you'll see a Create … Read more

Add dedicated volume controls to the list of dwindling MP3 player features. Most MP3 players on the market today integrate volume adjustment capability into their main navigation controls, meaning you have to be on a playback screen to tweak listening levels. With traditional iPods and devices such as the Sansa Fuze, a spin of the wheel accomplishes the task, while most others combine volume with the up and down menu navigation buttons on a four-way control pad.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this practice, but I'm a staunch supporter of the dedicated volume toggle for two reasons: simple … Read more