Having become fairly disenfranchised with all things Star Wars over the years, I didn't really expect to like Star Wars: Trench Run.
And really, the new game from THQ is little more than two kinds of arcade sequences sprinkled with a few familiar cutscenes.
So why can't I stop playing it?
Because Trench Run ($4.99) is a little slice of Star Wars heaven, that's why. It reminds me of the old vector-graphics arcade game from the early 80s--a game that consumed a considerable number of my quarters.
Of course, visually Trench Run blows that coin-op classic out of the sky. And what it lacks in variety, it makes up for with engaging gameplay.
You're at the tilt-sensitive controls of an X-Wing, which you can view from inside the cockpit or from behind. Tapping the right half of the screen fires your guns; tapping and holding the left half engages Force Power, which temporarily slows down the action.
As you might expect from the title, half the game takes place in a Death Star trench. You've got to steer past obstacles, blast turrets, stay out of Darth Vader's gun-sights, and, eventually, "blow this thing so we can all go home."
When you're not racing through trenches, you're dogfighting TIE Fighters just above the Death Star's surface. The only thing that changes from one level to the next is the difficulty.
And Trench Run does get difficult, though a little Force Power goes a long way toward helping you lock in a target or avoid a rapidly approaching turret.
Throughout it all, you're treated to all the familiar Star Wars sound effects along with John Williams' timeless score.
There's not a lot of replay value in Trench Run, and the limited variety means boredom is pretty inevitable. But until then, you'll have a blast.
(Credit:
Tyme Machines)
May the drive be with you.
Tyme Machines, maker of licensed USB drives, has released its Series 1 3D sculpted Star Wars USB thumb drives. The set, which includes replicas of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Storm Trooper, and Yoda, comes in 4GB to 16GB capacities that range in price from $29.99 to $59.99.
At 3 inches tall and not exactly svelte, they won't be so easy to plug into a USB port, especially if you're using a laptop. But that's where a USB extension cable comes in handy.
So, are these the right characters to launch with? And what characters would you like to see Tyme Machines include in its next series?
(Credit:
Brian De Vitis)
Behold! The retro gaming force is strong with this one-of-a-kind R2-D2 replica by PopSci reader Brian De Vitis. The Star Wars droid was meticulously built from a cooler and houses no less than seven discontinued game consoles, a sound system, and a projector.
Based on the controllers shown in the image, our resident gaming guru has identified most of the consoles. They include the original Microsoft Xbox; Sony PlayStation; various editions of the Nintendo Entertainment System, aka NES; Sega Genesis; and Dreamcast. Give us a heads-up via Talkback below if you can recognize the joystick-like controllers and light guns on the extreme right.
A top view of the R2-D2 console droid without the projector.
(Credit: Brian De Vitis)(Source: Crave Asia)
Back at CES in January, there was some hype surrounding some new mind-control products that were due to arrive before the holiday season. Well, two of the more prominent ones, the Star Wars The Force Trainer and Mattel's Mindflex are now shipping.
While images of youngsters decked out in full Star Wars regalia, showing off their Jedi-like powers may seem rather amusing, the question remains whether telekinesis toys and games will become the next big thing--or not.
Both products require you to strap on a lightweight headset that contains sensors to measure your brainwave activity. Focus your concentration, and a stream of air causes a ball to levitate. Relax your thoughts and the ball drops.
The $120 Force Trainer is just about making the ball rise in a tube, while the $80 Mattel Mindflex challenges you to guide a ball through a customizable obstacle course (watch CNET's Scott Stein try it out in this video). Now, if someone could just prove all these mental calisthenics help ward off Alzheimer's and dementia, it would really help move some product.
What do you guys think? Is this the future of gaming or just a gimmick? And how long before will it be before we can ditch the video game controllers and just use our thoughts to control everything?
Additional reading: Hot stuff from the 2009 Toy Fair
(Credit:
Kitty Hell)
Pink Gundams. Hello Kitty Imperial Stormtroopers. What next? How about Darth Vader in pinkish white with a Hello Kitty badge? One can almost hear the collective shrieks of outrage from hard-core fans condemning the blasphemous culprits to a special kind of hell.
But hey, even Sith Lords get bored with the same old wardrobe year in, year out. And you gotta hand it to the power of Cute over the Dark Force. Will Kitty assimilate the Borgs next? It may very well be that resistance is futile.
(Source: Crave Asia via Kitty Hell)
No kid wants to be the one who blends into a crowd. That's why it's important to start young when setting your children up for a lifetime filled with the nostalgic irony that comes with being tragically hip. Of course, they may not like you when they grow older, but that's fashionable too, right?
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EPISODE 148 |
This Death Star cookie jar is fully operational
Cassette tape lamps light up your nostalgia
NES Controller Business Card shows you mean real geek business
Casio calculator watch. For realz. (Thanks, Sparkman!)
The iPhone’s best neo-retro game: Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Good Vibrations
The Vibrator Museum
A propos (of) nothing
Japanese auto-fogging glasses prevent eye strain
What the hell?
Microsmores (thanks, Sheala)
Kill Me
Wi-Fi scale notifies the internet of your lapsed diet
(Credit:
TechEBlog)
USB drives have become a commodity, and, like other things we have too many of, it's hard to make individuals stand out. That's why I find this Luke Skywalker-getting-maimed USB drive to be doubly awesome: it's my favorite climactic scene from the original trilogy and a bad-ass USB drive to boot (not meaning it's bootable, just meaning...well, you know).
Sure, it may be cumbersome to have to sever the son of Anakin's hand to access your work documents for serious business, but it will always remind you of the sacrifice the young Jedi had to endure.
As a side note, I'd like to say to any girls who think this is awesome that I live in Seattle and am available most nights after 7:00 p.m.
A couple of years back I was in a fairly large and successful World of Warcraft guild. One night, while raiding one of the easier instances--Molten Core I think--one of my guildmates began playing clips from an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard.
If you don't know what a soundboard is, it's simply a Web-based collection of short sound clips that are usually taken from popular--or better yet, not so popular--movies.
Han is good, but I need my Vader quotes stat!
(Credit: StarWars.com)During the raid, whenever someone complained about something dumb, they'd get a quick "Stop whining!" or just a random "Put that cookie down"--usually enough to send me into hysterics. It probably doesn't sound like much, but I laugh at pretty much anything.
As you can imagine, Star Wars soundboards are nothing new, but last week StarWars.com announced an official Star Wars soundboard that you can check out here.
What I love most about this is that the sounds are clean versions of the audio clips, separated from surrounding music or sound effects. As an added bonus, the clips are mixed well enough not to cause my ears to bleed when listening through earbuds, unlike other soundboards.
Also, you can string together a number of clips and post them on Facebook or e-mail them to friends as messages. I just sent a real mushy one to my fiancee. Lets hope the wedding is still on.
Right now there are a few clips for most of the main rebels (Han, Luke, Leia), but none yet for the Empire. StarWars.com promises new updates every Friday all summer long. So hopefully soon I'll be able to string together some awesome Darth Vader clips.
As Jeff Sparkman points out, unfortunately not all of the top 10 "That's what she said" quotes are available yet, but hopefully they will be soon.
If you're a Star Wars fan or just need to waste some time, I recommend checking it out.
(Credit:
Jacky W. Chen)
The 404 Podcast crew scored tickets for an advanced screening of JJ Abrams' new "Star Trek" movie! We had a lot of fun interviewing all the hard-core "Star Trek" fans, and even battled a few overzealous Enterprise crew members.
Will we successfully stump the Trekkies with our in-depth knowledge of Borg cube transwarp conduit projections, or will they overpower us with a temporal chroniton field? Watch the video below to find out!
Don't forget to check out our live videocast every morning at 11 a.m. ET or head over to CNETTV.com to watch past episodes.
Today we celebrate annual Star Wars Day...well, Wilson and I do. Jeff unloads his typical dump truck of hate on our beloved trilogy and a bunch of other stories, including Google Goats, YouTube birthing, Wiki games, and the new Wolverine movie proving errbody wrong!
To commemorate Star Wars Day, I'd like to introduce you to Sabersegging, thanks to the folks at Vice Magazine for the story. Sorry about messing up the name in our description, I think Cybersegging is something else entirely. Anyway, check out that video and contact your local Jedi Training Center for more details!
Next, we play some inside baseball with Google and reveal their newest HR pursuits: Google Goats. The software giants just hired a bunch of goats to hang out on the lawns at their Mountain View offices and eat/fertilize the grass. PETA, of course, wonders if the goats will receive a proper pension plan and health insurance options, but we have some better ideas...
Lots of pregnancy stories recently! First we talk about a miraculous birth with the help of YouTube. This story is nutso--a couple decided to have a baby in their home, but when the midwife failed to show up, the husband was forced to consult YouTube for basic birthing instructions and found this video that shows you how to deliver a baby in a vehicle. DISCLAIMER: Not for the faint of heart/stomach, even with the bizarre doll they use to roleplay. We also get another super awesome voice mail about another guy that used The 404 to get him through the stress of childbirth. We think that the mother had a little more, but we're happy to be here to welcome the young one on the air! Thanks a million for the amazing voice mail, we love hearing stuff like this.
Finally, all you Trekkies will be happy about our latest Photoshop contest to win a ticket to see the new Star Trek flick with us this Thursday, May 7th @ 7PM. We have two tickets available, so go here, and use one of those pictures to Photoshop us as your favorite Star Trek character! E-mail your submission to the404{at}cnet.com and we'll choose two of our favorites.
Episode 334
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