Technabob » Video Games

American Express Offers Farmville Credit Card, Lets You Plant “Money Tree”

Conner Flynn — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:30:06 +0000

Do you still spend too much time playing Farmville? Ready to get deeper and take it to the next level? Then why not get a Farmville credit card? Zynga has a new deal with American Express and the credit card company is offering pre-paid cards attached to their Serve rewards program. You can earn Farmville in-game cash for some of your real-life purchases.

To get the card, you have to plant a Serve money tree in your farm. Then you can register to receive a Zynga Serve co-branded prepaid card in the mail. After that just link the card to a bank account, debit card, credit card, or cash using a GreenDot MoneyPak. Next step? Spend away and enjoy your accumulated debt.

Currently, the rewards offered to Farmville players are limited, but it seems like they plan to add more. Signing up or converting an existing account will earn you $63(USD) of in-game money, and the first five purchases made with the card that are over $25(USD) will earn you 50 dollars in-game. Harvesting your money tree, adding money to the prepaid card, etc will earn you smaller amounts. So how many of you are getting a Farmville card?

[via Geekosystem]

Some Players Reportedly Beating Diablo III in Seven Hours

Conner Flynn — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:56:38 +0000

We have been waiting for a long time for Diablo III. The game was launched just hours ago, but it was first announced on June 28, 2008. That’s a long time for fans to wait. Yet in another disappointing turn of events, some players are reporting that they beat the entire game in just seven hours.

One example is a group of players playing on the Korean server. In that short amount of time they beat the final boss and everything. They uploaded screenshots as proof. I won’t show them here since it is super spoilery. Supposedly, some beat the game in as little as 3 hours and some are saying 12 hours. They don’t say what difficulty mode they played on, but I have to imagine it was on “Normal” or “Easy” to finish it that quickly.

Regardless, a game with as much hype and cost as Diablo III should take a REALLY LONG time to beat. If this is really true, I guess the game is not as epic as many of us thought, which is a shame. Oh well. We have plenty of other games to play anyway.

[via Ubergizmo via Geeky-Gadgets]

Diablo III: Wrath Is Well Worth Six Minutes of Your Time

Conner Flynn — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:00:46 +0000

I hope you have your hands well rested and ready for a ton of clicking because Diablo III is only one week away, launching on May 15. Rest those hands and clean your mouse like a soldier breaking down his gun as you wait. While you wait, be sure to check out this animated short that Blizzard has released.

Directed by Aeon Flux creator Peter Chung, Diablo III: Wrath is a prequel to the game that focuses on the war between the angels and demons. Diablo fans are sure to love it, despite lines like “Your rage makes you powerful,” Besides what else are you going to do as you count the hours?

The cartoon is about six minutes long, and it is beautifully animated, regardless of the occasionally cheesy dialogue, so it is worth your time. Anyway soon you will be hacking and slashing to your hearts content, so in the meantime, enjoy.

[via Geekosystem]

Majora’s Mask Shoes Unfortunately Do Not Include the Evil Moon

Jack Kieffer — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:00:02 +0000

Majora’s Mask was one of my favorite Zelda games from back in the day – not quite topping The Ocarina of Time, but still a solid storyline with some excellent gameplay. While I had plenty of fun running around in this game, the moon that would get closer and closer to the town as night went on would always give me terrible nightmares. So, these shoes are more of my style. Remember the good things about the game, and forget the parts that made me cry in a corner. *Looks through the telescope at the freaky moon thing*

These Majora’s Mask Shoes are custom-painted canvas kicks, and are great for any and all geeks who are fans of the Legend of Zelda. In addition to the Majora Mask, which makes the unforgettable shaking bead sounds, the Triforce Symbol and fairies are also shown on the shoe. Observant geeks will appreciate the extra detail, and you will gain some rep on your block. ”Come again?” I said ‘rep on your block.’ ”I’m having a hard time understanding your lingo.”

These shoes are a result of the hard work of timber123, an Etsy user who obviously spent a ton of time creating the Majora’s Mask Shoes. You can pick them up on his product page for $110 (USD), and I think they’d at least be worth a closer look. If you’re digging the custom painted sneaker deal, then you’ll want to check out the Custom Painted Sonic Sneakers and the Custom Fallout Sneakers. ”What’s with all of this fancy jargon you’re using?” I just discovered Urban Dictionary, and I am using it to the fullest! YOLO!

[via Fashionably Geek]

Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a site that loves all things geeky

Pokemon Tretta Arcade Game Coming To Japan: I’m Moving Out

Jack Kieffer — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:00:41 +0000

Since Japan can’t help but get all kinds of cool things that the rest of the world can’t have, they’ve decided to further their reputation of being awesome by showing us the Pokemon Tretta Arcade Game. It will be in Japan in July, and is from the geniuses over at Marvelous AQL. The game is going to be in stores and game-centers everywhere, and by everywhere, I mean in Japan. My mom said I could paint my room any color I wanted as long as it was white. So, I painted my room neon green, and then covered it entirely in toilet paper. That’ll teach her to give me vague instructions. ”Aren’t you like 40 years old?”

Pokemon Tretta is amazing because it brings the beloved Pokemon cards into conjunction with the most addicting series of games ever created. (Mass Effect excepted.) With this cool machine, you can search for Pokemon in those sketchy patches of tall grass and try your best to become the very best. (Mom always told me that someone would always be better than me, but she lies. Ash Ketchum does not.) when you catch a Pokemon, you will be given a plastic card called a Tretta – yes, these are not virtual - they are real. You can see a few Trettas below -

These cards can then be traded and collected with friends, and are also re-usable in the game – when you slide in the cartridge, it recognizes that you have captured this Pokemon and can use it in battle. Sounds like way too much fun not to be in America. Nintendo, you are losing tons of money in sales – why not sell your products to a very eager market? Seriously! We’re begging to play with your shiny new things.

If you’re a huge Pokemon fan, like I am, then you’ll also want to check out the Adorable Pokemon Cupcakes and the Guy Who Proposed With A Pokemon Card. Don’t check out the guy, because he’s married, but you know what I mean. Don’t try to twist my words, you evil instruments of the biased national media.

[via Geekologie]

Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a site that loves all things geeky.

I Wish I Could Play this Space Invaders Floor Lamp

Conner Flynn — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:00:11 +0000

You can either decorate your place with the usual boring furniture or you can go all geek and decorate with things like this amazing Space Invaders floor lamp. It functions as either a nightlight or a decorative light. Either way, this lamp is pretty spectacular.

The aliens light up even when the room is not dark. You get an entire column of Space Invaders in a tall LED backlit lamp that sports a nice modern design. It measures about 47 inches-tall, and just under 8 inches-wide. This is perfect for the corner of any geek cave. In fact one of these would look great in every corner of your room.

It comes from Etsy seller pieromenetti and will cost you appx. $202.03(USD). As far as I’m concerned, it is worth every penny. Of course I’m a sucker for all things Space Invaders.

[Etsy]

MIT Students Play Tetris on a Building

Conner Flynn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:00:48 +0000

Remember way back when Tetris was first released? We had to play on small TVs. Eventually we were able to play on larger HDTVs, but it turned out that a 60″ flat screen still isn’t big enough for some people. That’s why some students from MIT decided to play a game of the arcade and console classic using an entire building as a display. It’s not the first time this has been done, but it’s always fun to see an entire building used to play a game.

They turned the outside of MIT’s Green Building into a super-size Tetris screen and then proceeded to move, rotate, and drop all of the familiar blocks, but there was a unique twist as the player progressed through the levels. When the player hit the second level, the blocks became more pale in color, making it more difficult to to see.

The third level made the colors on the screen shift, making it even more difficult. The people inside of the building now know what it feels like to be inside of a video game.

[Bostinno via Hack A Day via Geekosystem]

Guy Beats Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 23 Minutes

Conner Flynn — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:00:17 +0000

How long did it take for you to beat Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Days? Weeks? Months? Hey, me too. It’s not a game that you can complete in under a half hour. Well, not normally. However, one guy has managed to beat the game in just 23 minutes.

The guy who did it is YouTuber ZeldaFreakGlitcha and he accomplished that speed run through an obscure bug in Zelda: Ocarina of Time (as child Link if you can believe it).

Check out the video above, and watch him speed through the game. You may want to cut straight to about the 15-minute mark. The glitch involves defeating Queen Gohma and activating, but not traveling through the warp gate. The warp gate then drops child Link in Ganon’s castle, and… don’t you wish you had found this glitch? I know it would have saved me lots of time.

[Zelda Universe via Joystiq via Nerd Approved]

Sega Master System Sofa, Press Start to Sleep

Conner Flynn — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:30:25 +0000

Check out this one-of-a-kind sofa, made up to look like the old Sega Master System. It looks just like the console, but it’s larger and way more comfy. I could play games on this thing all day in comfort and then take a nice long nap.

This was made French video game blogger Subby-kun and his wife Subbinette. Apparently they are both into making video game based stuff. My favorite bit is those pillows made to look like controllers, with raised buttons and everything. The Sega Master System may be dead, but this is a fitting tribute to it.

[via GameBlog (FR) via Obvious Winner]

Diablo 3 Demon Hunter Costume Ready to Lay Waste to Hellspawn Cosplayers

Conner Flynn — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:00:06 +0000

It’s been a long time since I played any of the Diablo games, but they are among my favorites. So when I saw this amazing Demon Hunter costume, it made my day. The costume looks great as does the girl inside of all that armor.

You have to love those white-out contacts and the bag of potion vials. Those are great details. This costume was created by Its-Raining-Neon and it took her two months to build it. That’s her wearing it by the way. The whole thing is pretty bad-ass and sexy.

Now if the actual Diablo 3 game would ever get released, my day would be complete. This makes me want to play it. Sadly we are still waiting, but soon. Very soon. For now, just bookmark this page and keep ogling at her costume.

[via Obvious Winner via Neatorama]

[Photo credit: Eurobeat Kasumi]

Angry Birds USB Slingshot Fires Virtual Avian Ammo

Conner Flynn — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:00:01 +0000

Angry Birds. You either love the game or wish it would go away already. Well, no matter what you think, millions of people are playing it. Playing it so much that maybe it’s getting a bit stale. If you feel that way, never fear. There is a new weapon available for your Angry Birds play.

This slingshot was built using mbed, a tool for rapid prototyping with microcontrollers. The device interfaces with the game over a USB connection. The slingshot is recognized by a PC as a mouse. Just pull back the real slingshot, which has a stretch sensor and it translates it into mouse input. The angle of the shot is handled by an accelerometer.

When playing with this controller, the game becomes new again and you will to acquire new skills. It’s only a matter of time before Rovio sees this thing and puts it into production. For now, you can make one yourself if you want. mbed has provided some detailed instructions over on their build log.

[via Geek]

Glow-in-the-Dark Skyrim Sneak T-shirt, Did You Hear Something?

Conner Flynn — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:00:13 +0000

Skyrim does nearly everything right. Well, aside from its many glitches. One of the things that they really nailed is the sneak feature. It’s very easy to figure out if you have been seen sneaking around. The eye will let you know. Did you hear something? Must have been my imagination.

Now, the open and closed eyeball is on a shirt that glows in the dark from behind. This means that you can be seen from the front, but from behind you are completely invisible.

It’s made of 100% cotton, so it sucks armor-wise. It’s a great shirt to put on when you are lounging around your Breezehome though. Get one now and you don’t have to be sneaky about it. These cool shirts are available from Splitreason for $18.95 (USD).

[via Neatorama via Geekosystem]

Simpsons Arcade Game Hits Xbox LIVE Doh!

Conner Flynn — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:00:33 +0000

You probably wasted way too many quarters at your local arcade playing the Simpsons Arcade Game back in the day. I know i did. This side-scrolling arcade game was a must play and if you missed out, never fear, the Simpsons Arcade Game is now available on Xbox LIVE.

That means that you can experience this Simpsons fun on your XBox 360 for 800 Microsoft points. At least you won’t be popping in a quarter every time you play. Up to four players can play at once and it should be just as fun now as it was back then.

The idea is that you are chasing Smithers and Mr. Burns to save Maggie as you battle through eight familiar Springfield locations. Are you guys going to buy this one? Let us know in the comments.

[via Major Nelson]

Zelda: the Lost Oracle: Fan-Made Trailer for the Game We Wish Nintendo Would Make

Conner Flynn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:00:24 +0000

It’s no secret that I have not been a fan of Nintendo for a few years now. It started with the Wii. No, it was the Gamecube. The Mario and Zelda and Metroid games that I have seen over the last several years have even disappointed me. They seem to be rehashing the same predictable games in different packaging (or 3D) and they don’t take seem to take many chances on anything but hardware these days. So, I’m going to pretend that Nintendo made this Legend of Zelda teaser and that the game will arrive with the Wii U. Which it will not.

Joel Furtado’s Zelda: The Lost Oracle animated trailer is just phenomenal. If Nintendo put half of the passion into their next Zelda game that is in this teaser video, they would be in their prime once more, raking in the dough.

Brilliant animation there, Joel. Now if only Nintendo would make this into a game…

[via Destructoid]

Modern Warfare 3 DLC Gets First Teaser

Conner Flynn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:00:25 +0000

If you have been waiting for the first DLC to arrive for Modern Warfare 3 (of course you have) - then we have some good news. A new video teaser and tour of the first MW3 DLC package is here. It will be launched on January 24th on Xbox Live.

Eric Hirshberg CEO of Activision Publishing, again spoke of their commitment to the Call Of Duty community:

“The mammoth launch of Modern Warfare 3 and the breakout success of Call of Duty Elite were just the beginning. Call of Duty Elite provides an ‛always-on’ connection to our fanbase, and the MW3 Content Season is the ultimate way to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Call of Duty community and provide tremendous value to Call of Duty Elite premium members.With the Call of Duty: MW3 Content Season for Call of Duty Elite we are delivering on our promise of more new content, more often, and with more variety than ever.”

The new content will be available to Call of Duty Elite premium members first. New content will continue to be released until September of 2012.

[via Joystiq]

Sly Cube Portable Gamecube: Pay Attention Nintendo

Conner Flynn — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:00:25 +0000

The Nintendo Gamecube is probably my least favorite console ever, but this portable mod improves upon it so much that I actually want to play. With the Sly Cube, you can take your Gamecube action to go since it is now more portable.

The design is really nice on this mod and it comes to us from a modder named Slipstream. Measuring in at about 11″ (w) x 5.75″ (d) x 1.75″ (h), it’s more like a netbook than a handheld though. The Sly Cube features a nice big 7″ LCD flip screen, a built-in 7.2v 6000mAh lithium-ion battery that’s good for 3-4 hours of game time, a built-in controller and ports for still extra controllers. Oh and it has built-in rumble, memory card slots, and a charge jack.

Nintendo needs to take heed of this awesome mod. If they released something like this themselves they could have mega-sales – especially if they updated it with modern hardware. I know I would buy one.

[Bacteria Forums via Ubergizmo]

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO Launches Worldwide

Conner Flynn — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:00:03 +0000

The time has finally come to choose either the light side or the dark side. Today is the day that Star Wars fans have been waiting for, with the launch of the new Star Wars: The Old Republic game.

Over 2 million gamers signed on during the beta and now it’s time for the real deal. Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place thousands of years before Luke, Vader and the Ewoks, focusing on the war between the Old Republic and the Sith Empire.

BioWare claims that this is just the beginning of this amazing Star Wars journey and they are confident that it has been worth the wait. Judging by the footage I’ve seen, I would have to agree. It looks like a solid Star Wars game, though I haven’t yet had a chance to play yet. Let us know what you think about it in the comments below.

[via Tech Radar]

Xbox 360 and PS3 Controller Rings for Geeky Fingers

Conner Flynn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:38:51 +0000

Show your allegiance to your favorite game console with these PS3 and XBox 360 rings. They will deck your digits in tiny replica controllers, upping your geek gaming cred and proclaiming your side in the console wars.

They come from Etsy seller egyptianruin and the XBox 360 version comes in Pink, Blue, Red (as in “Red Ring”), Green and Halo Green. The PS3 version comes in White, Black, Pink, Blue, Red and Green. They are made from polymer clay and are hand-sculpted.

They are just $10(USD) plus shipping each. Outfit one hand in PS3 controllers and one hand in XBox controllers if you can’t decide. They would make cute little gifts for your geek friends this Christmas too if you don’t want one for yourself.

[via Geek Crafts via Slashgear]

Diablo III Release Date May be February 17th, 2012

Conner Flynn — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:00:37 +0000

We recently told you about some disappointing news regarding Diablo III‘s game play. And that didn’t even take into account the fact that we have been waiting for this game for what seems like forever! The game was originally supposed to be released by the end of 2011, but has been delayed a few times.

The delays were due to working out the bugs, and generally making sure that the game met Blizzard’s high standards. So it was pushed to 2012. And now there is light at the end of the treasure- and demon- filled tunnel.

Rumor has it that the release might be in the beginning of the new year. Amazon France now has the game listed as arriving on the February 17, 2012 and it can be pre-ordered from their website for €49.90 ($66 USD). Of course, if you don’t live in Europe, you’ll want to order a local copy to make sure you get the correct region. Hopefully, this is accurate as we are all sick and tired of waiting.

[via Ubergizmo]

6,000 Copies of CoD: Modern Warfare 3 Stolen

Conner Flynn — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:00:40 +0000

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 comes out tomorrow, but it looks like someone couldn’t wait. A band of theives stole 6,000 copies of the game, which is kinda stupid since it is about to arrive and it’s not like they can get away with selling them or giving them to 6,000 friends.

It happened in France, where someone robbed a truck full of video games. It was Saturday morning in Créteil, in the south of Paris, when two masked men pulled off the heist. They hit the truck with a car first and then actually used tear gas to neutralize the drivers and make off with the truck, as if it were a scene from a bad movie.

The shipment was apparently worth appx. $550,363(USD). The truck held approximately 6,000 copies of the game, which have likely made their way onto the black market by now.

[via Computerandvideogames]