As an overall experience, the OnLive MicroConsole asks quite a bit out of me as a user. Not the service itself, I have no beefs with the service. The OnLive MicroConsole is a box roughly the size of a DSi. It is designed to bring PC gaming to your television or monitor without the need of a computer with reasonable specs, or a computer at all for that matter. There is a lot the OnLive MicroConsole has to offer the world in terms of a cheap and affordable PC gaming experience brought straight to your living room. It’s hard to imagine a world where they could even live up to a fraction of such lofty goals and promises

All it asks is that you have a TV or monitor with an HDMI port, an Ethernet port to plug into nearby, and at least 2 MBPS out of your ISP to experience their service. This is where I ran into some issues. I’ve got power sockets and death squids all over the place, so that’s no problem. My TV is HDMI ready, so no need to drop 30 bucks on a component adapter, and I can handle the MBPS needed. But I’m clearly not the person they had in mind for the MicroConsole. The service allows for computers to connect via WiFi, however the console does not. The console requires you to connect either with an Ethernet cable or through various bridge techniques.

(more…)

Well good day there fellow gaming geeks and geekettes. The Applemonkey here and I’m going to chit chat with you kids about a thing I always enjoy doing: collecting accessories. Today’s hunt will be on the Super Nintendo. From the Super Gameboy controller to the Miracle Piano, hunting for SNES accessories is always a tantalizing experience. I’m going to talk about three unique items that you just might want to hunt for. Go grab yourself some animal crackers and Yoo-hoo, sit back and enjoy! (more…)

I think it’s safe to say that Wii U was the pearl of this year’s E3. It stood out tall among many of the offerings of other announcements, which came off as more conservative (including those from Nintendo as well). Not to mention I had to spend a good five hours in line just to play with the blasted thing. The Wii U represents the direction Nintendo intends to take its home entertainment. So what does it have to offer?

(more…)

When Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies came out a few weekends ago, everyone in my household played their respective copies non-stop for the first two days. Everything was going great at first, but then I started to get a horrible headache.

I started to notice that my hands were killing me. I realized that I was squinting the entire time I was playing, and the small size of the console was increasingly uncomfortable in my hands.

It was time to give in, admit that I am an old man, and grab a Nintendo DSi XL.

(more…)

"Accomplishes it's purpose and works exactly how it sounds."

Although this review is about the Wii2HDMI adapter, I’ve also been using the VD-W3 Wii HDMI Upscaler Processor quite heavily the past few weeks. In this review I will be comparing the two devices.

(more…)

My first day at E3 was essentially all about getting my feet wet.  I didn’t line up to play games so much as I explored the premises and got a good idea what was around.  It’s been a pretty lively event, and one that only got busier as the day wore on.  But one thing I did manage to take a stab at, the one thing I was prepared to do when I knew I was going to E3, was trying out Nintendo’s 3DS.

(more…)

"Is this our Wii HD holy grail solution?"

With the increasing number of HDTVs in homes, many Wii owners have cried out for a “Wii HD”; something that could make their games shine with all the P’s the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have been enjoying. In all honesty, I don’t think the Wii HD will ever happen. I feel brave (or stupid) enough to say that right before E3.

Our only non-emulator based HD solution for Wii seems to lie in the VD-W3 Wii HDMI Upscaler Processor.  But does it actually work?

(more…)

I am a sucker for shiny things that I do not need. When I saw the first pictures of the special edition “The Beatles: Rock Band” guitars, I decided that I needed one. I ended up picking up the John Lennon Rickenbacker 325 because its design was the closest to the Rock Band 2 Stratocaster that I was already comfortable using.

The Rickenbacker 325 was one of the most recognizable guitars played by John Lennon, and MadCatz totally nailed the look and feel of the classic axe. From the faux-wood neck to the chrome plating around the whammy bar, this is by far the most detailed Rock Band peripheral out there.

(more…)

"Please leave your dignity at the front counter"

I’m not normally the type to buy accessory kits, but there are few things I “geek out” about as much as Mega Man. Originally, I was trying to win this kit (among other things) in a contest the nice folks at The Mega Man Network were throwing, but I didn’t end up placing. After a short, internal debate, I decided to go ahead and buy the kit.

The kit comes in both DSi and DS Lite variations and retails for $19.99. I picked up the DSi version since that’s what I’m using these days. The price seems a bit steep, but the package contains some legitimately useful things aside from unleashing your inner ten-year-old’s desire to trick out your DS.

(more…)

If you are like me, then you love the Xbox 360, but hate the horrible D-pad on the controller. Sure, there are ways to crack open that bad boy and mod it to work better, but since this is me we’re talking about, I know the disaster that would likely follow.

Enter the Madcatz Street Fighter IV Fightpad.

(more…)