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Sony collections half-off sale is live for GameStop Power Up people
It's official – the massive half-off Sony sale for GameStop Power Up Rewards members that we caught wind of last week is live now and runs through November 14. All eight rumored games are indeed on sale: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection ($10), Jak and Daxter Collection ($10), Uncharted 1 and 2 ($15), God of War Saga ($20), Infamous 1 and 2($15), Killzone Trilogy ($20), the collector's edition of Journey ($15) and Ratchet & Clank Collection ($15).The offer is valid in-store only, with a 50 percent-off coupon that members receive via email. Power Up Rewards members also get 50 percent extra in-store credit for trade-ins toward any of the selected Sony collections.[Thanks, Levi.]
Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video)
It's not the first time Engadget editors have stepped foot at Nokia House -- the company's HQ in Espoo, Finland -- but it's always a treat, and our visit this week is no exception. Today we took a walk down memory lane, and spent some time with several Nokia handsets -- from one of the very first mobile phones to the Lumia 920. We played with some of the more iconic models and designs, such as the 1011 (first GSM handset), 1610, 7700 / 7710 (S90), 7280 (lipstick phone), 770 / N800 tablets, N-Gage / QD, 3300, 8800, 8110 (from the Matrix movie), N93 / N93i, N91, N92, N76, N95 and finally the 7650 (the first handset running Symbian). In addition, we also got to handle some of the Lumia 820 and 920 accessories, including the Fatboy wireless charging pillow and JBL-branded Power Up speakers. Check out the gallery below then hit the break for our hands-on video. Oh, and don't forget to tune in tomorrow for our live Q&A with Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop.%Gallery-166392% Update: That music-centric handset which uses an IBM Microdrive is the N91 (not N90) and was announced in 2005 (not 1995), and that flip-phone is the N76 (not the N75) -- sorry for the slip in the video. Zach Honig contributed to this report.
JBL intros Power Up speaker to charge your Nokia Lumia 920, pair over NFC
JBL just kicked out a pair of new accessories to go with that new Nokia Lumia 920. The Power Up speaker does more than just start Bluetooth music sharing over NFC -- it has a Qi wireless charging point so that you can just leave your shiny new Windows Phone on top for an extra jolt of energy without looking for that FatBoy pillow. We'll provide more details as they emerge following Nokia's special event.%Gallery-164395% Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
ThinkGeek's Power-Up brings the arcade controls to your room's light switch
Sure, you could get one of Think Geek's iCade controllers to play actual arcade-style button mashing games -- or you just bring the nostalgia of the joystick to your light switch for $30 with its recently introduced Power-Up Arcade light switch plate. The unit can replace any standard light switch plate, turning it into a faux gaming control panel. A traditional joystick replaces your old switch nub to control the lights, while its two action buttons enable "pew pew" sound effects when pressed. If all that wasn't enough, the Power-Up also acts as a nightlight after you use it to pwn hit the main lights in your quarters (you'll have to provide of a duo of AA batteries yourself). Check out the video below to see it in action for yourself.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 introduces 'Cloud' power-up
No, this new power-up won't give Mario spiky blond hair and a giant sword. Instead, the Cloud power-up from Super Mario Galaxy 2 appears to give Mario the magical ability to walk on clouds. Judging by this image from the Official Nintendo Magazine, these are the happiest clouds ever. They love being stepped on! It's clear that Mario's return trip to the stars will have no shortage of new (and returning) gameplay gimmicks. In addition to floating in the sky, it seems Mario can also turn into a boulder, ride dinosaurs, and drill through planets. The only thing he can't seem to do is his job. What happened to that plumbing gig you had, huh? This leaky pipe isn't going to fix itself, you know. [Thanks, Fernando!]
ModNation Racers promises better balanced weapons
Don't you hate it when you're in first place in Mario Kart and then ... BAM! A blue shell makes you lose the race in the final lap? Thankfully, United Front Games is promising better-balanced weapons in ModNation Racers. "No matter how powerful a weapon is, there is still a chance to evade it," the developer explained in a recent post on the PlayStation.Blog. Hopefully, the "chance" won't be as rare as this trick from Mario Kart Wii. The game isn't meant to appeal exclusively to the hardcore, though. "We also wanted to ensure a tight race, so the power of each stun is scaled based on your position in the race and distance from the player attacking. What that does is allow anyone in the pack to always have a chance," Nick Letzia explained. It certainly is an interesting design choice -- we wonder if it'll work as well as the developers expect when it comes out in May? Check out a trailer after the break.
Wii Balance Board Power Up Charging Stand from Mad Catz just dares you to revert to AAs
There's just something so defiant about this "Power Up" charging stand from Mad Catz -- it seems specifically designed to take up as much cubic footage as possible, and even the name is domineering. The stand is bizarrely formed in the likeness of a miniature Wii Balance Board, with a replacement battery pack included in the kit with contact charging points to take out all the exertion of flipping the B-Board and swapping out batteries. A foot pedal release mechanism pops the Balance Board out of the stand, and there are a couple of free-spirited USB ports on the thing for charging up whatever other awkwardly-shaped gadgetry you might have around the house.[Via Unplggd]
Power Up - educational game from IBM
It's hard to be sure how to file an article about Power Up - particularly since I can't actually play it, it's a windows only game. But, from what I can determine it seems to be a multi-player game, it's role-playing, and it's aimed at energy conservation and ecological education. There are sections available for teachers and parents as well as fun mission briefings and the promise of more to come during the year.In some ways this game strikes me as a retrograde step: rather than using something like Active Worlds or Second Life which many regard as Web 2.0 since there are tools for content creation and sharing, we have a very focussed programme that teaches one thing and only that one thing. All the content is provided in a Web 1.0 fashion: by IBM, TryScience and the NY Hall of Science rather than allowing the users to create for themselves. However, we wish it well and will try to keep an eye on it for you.[Via: Virtual Worlds News]
This just in: games are TiVo-licious
Starting tonight, and running every Wednesday through December 19th, you need to make sure your TiVo is pointed to the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific. For gamers of any stripe, they're covering a gaming retrospective that will be as sweet as popping a Power-up right before stomping King Koopa, and as comforting as the first level of Pong. For those of us with an interest in MMOs, however, we have one episode -- Level Five, premiering on December 19th -- dedicated to our obsession.The final episode of Rise of the Video Game covers the first MUDs from the late 1960s through the latest MMOs today. They'll be discussing everything from Ultima Online through World of Warcraft, and they'll include interviews with both Richard Bartle of MUD fame and Cory Ondrejka from Linden Lab. So make sure you have your popcorn ready and your recorders running: we've got us some game history to uncover.[Via GamePolitics]
Super Mario Galaxy video shows off new power-ups, manta rays
If you've been doing your best to dodge any mention of Super Mario Galaxy's four unrevealed power-ups, hoping to keep yourself pure until that first night with the game, make sure to watch no further than the 1:33 mark on the above video. Of course, you could avoid the movie altogether, but you'd miss out on not only its fantastic music and footage, but a clip of Mario walking on a floating ice cream cone! Skip to 2:26 to see Mario getting around while balancing on top of a ball and riding a manta ray.Though we talked about at least two of the "new" power-ups before, the other two are a complete surprise, and we can't wait to see what we can do with them and how the planets have been built to accommodate these added abilities.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI Wii-ward
Must ... resist ... urge to use "Thwii" pun ...Now that we've sufficiently girded, here's the news: the PS2 Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI is getting an enhanced port on the Wii, to be released in Japan on March 21st with the enhanced title Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power-Up Kit. Along with the obvious Wiimote functionality, the game will be getting some new gameplay modes and scenarios.After trying to figure out the first NES Romance, we swore the series off forever. Kudos to those of you who managed to play these things.[Via GAME Watch]
Hands-on with God of War II
IGN got an early hands-on preview of God of War II, and they're lovin' what Sony's Santa Monica studio has come up with so far.Without revealing too much of the sequel's plot, our hairless hero now sports some new magical attacks and context-sensitive finishing moves. Needless to say, prominent Greek mythological figures will also be showing up to keep Kratos company, and there will certainly be a lot of flashy slashing-first-ask-questions-later kind of action to fill the hours.For more spoilers on "an early section of the sequel," simply follow the image link above or Read link below, where you can find a few more details on the new power-up system and annoying enemy combatants (otherwise known as smarter fodder for your sharper blades). A practical explanation goes into the reasons for keeping things on the PS2 rather than the PS3, and hopefully less frustrating puzzles are revealed as well. More will likely be revealed at Sony's big E3 press conference today.See also: New God of War 2 director speaks God of War's Jaffe inspired by Britney vs. Christina God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
New Super Mario power-up preview
A video of some of the new power-ups featured in New Super Mario Bros. has been posted on the official website — additional videos will be posted on 5/1, 5/8, and 5/15. The current video features the exciting new Mega Mushroom power-up (pictured) and its counterpart, the Mini Mushroom. The new blue Koopa shell also makes an appearance, transforming the plumber into Shell Mario, as seen in the underwater scene. And of course, what preview would be complete with a Fire Mario sighting?The video also gives us a look at some of Mario's moves, including the ground pound (or 'butt bounce'), double jump, and wall jumping ability. We may have picked up on Infendo's skepticism a few weeks ago, but this new footage had us on that nostalagia tip, hard. You know, all warm and gooey inside. New Super Mario Bros. is set to drop on May 15.
Ohio town spits fire over Mario question cube "attack"
Though you may be in a heap of trouble with your home town rag and residents, oh five teenage girls from Portage County, Ohio, we salute you and your April Fool's prank: dropping or suspending seventeen Mario Bros. question cubes around town. Now, granted, if we saw something like that on April first in our fair city of New York, it might seem a lot more commonplace than Ravenna, Ohio, but the point still stands -- if you think Al Qaeda ever played SMB, you've probably forgotten that those games inspire the good in people, remember? The controller smashing huffy puffy video game addicted 11 year old good in people, in fact. Unfortunately that didn't stop the HAZMAT and Fire Department crews from stepping in to defuse the situation, so to speak, and for it the five girls could face serious criminal charges. Too bad, because if those guys would have just jumped up and hit them from beneath they might instead have walked away with a sweet power-up (or an extra man).[Via Joystiq]
