Quick DSiWare reviews

Here are some of the games I’ve recently downloaded to my Nintendo DSi:

Escapee Go!: This $2 game is a great combination of Pac-Man and Metal Gear and is good for both short and long play sessions.

Robot Rescue: An interesting $2 puzzle title that utilizes the DS’s book form, where you lead robots to the exit while avoiding obstacles.

Dark Void Zero: This $5 Capcom game perfectly captures the essence of their NES games with great classic graphics, sound and gameplay. Some will claim it’s better than its 3D entry, but, based on the PSN demo, I won’t bother arguing: Just get Zero.

Have any recommendations for me?

Gamertorial: New is not necessarily better

A look at Web sites and publications picks for game of the year strongly shows the preferences of consumers: gamers don’t necessarily want something new; they want the best of an already established archetype.

One of this year’s biggest winners was the Playstation 3 exclusive, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The game does not introduce any new elements to the world of digital entertainment. It does, however, refine almost every facet of action games: running, shooting, jumping, etc., and puts it all together in finely polished piece of blockbuster fun.

New experiences will come from downloadable titles, but those are incomparable to the impact of a disc-based game.

Perhaps the reason for this lack of innovation is

Wii Fit Plus, Worth the Upgrade?

The short answer: yes.

Wii Fit Plus effectively makes the original obsolete. It takes almost everything from the original and adds more: streamlined weighing, six new exercises, 15 new games, calorie measures for exercises and the ability to create workout setlists.

My one principal complaint is that you

A Cheap, but Dependable Joystick for PS3

I’ve yet to see a real review of Ikan’s Playstation 3 Real Arcade Fighting Stick, so I thought I’d write one up. For some reason, Buy.com hasn’t posted the review I wrote for the site.

If you need a cheap PS3 fighting stick to get in some rounds of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 or Street Fighter IV, you may want to consider the Ikan Real Arcade Fighting Stick. It’s a very attractive offering at the price point of $16.99, and for me, it does what it needs to.

The stick plugs into your PS3 via a six-foot-long USB cable. The controller even has a PS button for easy syncing. Just press and play.

The light controller features an easy button layout, with a four by four pattern that includes the shoulder buttons, which

Guitar Industry Heroes: Video Games Spur Sales of Real Instruments

Reynaldo Ulloa has already become a guitar hero, the next logical step for him is to learn to play guitar.

“I do want to learn how to play my favorite Guitar Hero songs on the guitar,” said the 18-year-old Hempstead resident, who has placed high in two tournaments for the game. “It would be better than tapping them on my plastic Les Paul.”

Guitar industry insiders are beginning to see the potential in the immensely popular video games Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which they believe will bring in new guitarists like Ulloa, and therefore, new customers to a market that has been experiencing a national slump during the past two years.

Guitar Hero 3 on XBox 360.

“We’re beginning to think that there is a small undercurrent of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band customer that might be coming over to the dark side, for a lack of a better way of putting it, and actually buying guitars,” said Sammy Ash, Chief Operating Officer and an owner of Sam Ash, a national chain of musical instruments stores founded in Brooklyn. “We think that the kids are really getting into this whole concept: ‘Wow, you know what? Look what I can be with a toy, it can’t be that much harder to play guitar.’”

Clear Vision for Six Months

Things have never been so clear.

It’s been about six months since I underwent LASIK surgery, and the results show: my eyeglasses have been filed away and a year’s supply of unopened contact lenses has been returned to Costco.

Although there are small problems, like seeing starbursts and occasional dry eye (the latter is common for the first few months), simple things like being able to see the numbers on my alarm clock and watching TV from my bed make the surgery worth the price.  My doctor also said the benefits of the surgery in its current form will last until my 40s, when most people need reading glasses.  The price of a year’s supply of contact lenses and solutions for the same amount of time would be similar in cost to LASIK.

LASIK is a vision correcting procedure that uses a laser to change the eye’s focusing power by reshaping the cornea. Some believe the procedure is dangerous, or not worth the cost or inconvenience. However, as long as you have the money, and you and your surgeon are qualified for the procedure, the benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks.

The most frightening thing for potential LASIK patients is the creation of the corneal flap, as doctors call it.  Before the surgery, patients are given a few drops to numb each eye.

Preparing for surgery...

Other Side of Things: Short History of Graffiti

In response to my article: Tag! Hooligans graffiti Ozone Park (Queens)

Many people would call the scribbling and drawings on the walls and doors of buildings graffiti – an act of vandalism that causes urban decay. But to the “writers” themselves and supporters of the practice, the writings on the walls are works of art.

The historical account of how graffiti as a practice began is debated within the community. It was first documented in the 1970s, when a 17-year-old named Demetrius would write “Taki 183” on New York City subway cars, walls and sidewalks all over the tri-state area, the New York Times reported in 1971.

Demetrius was following in the footsteps

Wii Fit, Effective Weight Loss Device?

Nintendo wants to get gamers off their couches — again.

When it introduced Wii Sports in November 2006, hardcore gamers and casual folk grabbed a Wiimote (the Wii’s remote control) to play tennis, baseball and boxing in front of their TVs. These games left many gasping for breath, and some players even shed a few pounds.

Now the Big N is taking the physical video game further with Wii Fit, which is due out in the U.S. on May 19th. The game hit Japan in December, where 1.79 million units were sold as of March 29th, according to vgchartz.com, a website that tracks video game sales. The game is packed with a device called a Wii Balance Board, a scale-like platform that acts as a controller.

News Analysis: Community Boards

Each community board in New York City exerts a different amount of control and power over its jurisdiction, so the board, in the right hands, could prove to be a powerful device.  But this power equation hinges on a few factors.

“It depends a little bit on which board it is and who their allies are,” said Michael Krasner, an associate professor of political science at Queens College.

For example, the community boards of the West Side and Lower Manhattan recently wielded their influence and stopped development — or at least slowed it down.  The termination of the West Side highway project can be attributed to the protest of the community through its board. The board of Greenwich Village also saw a small victory in the recent NYU planning proposals, which outlined a promise to cooperate with the community for the school’s expansion.

But community boards have also failed when it came time to step up to developers.  The boards of West Harlem failed to stop Columbia’s expansion into the neighborhood.  And when a Bronx board rejected plans for the new Yankee stadium, the council went ahead and approved it anyway.  Construction has already begun.

Immigrants, Credit Cards?

Recently, banks have dramatically increased their efforts to reach out to immigrant groups for an additional market, financial experts said.  But In Richmond Hill, where more than half of the population was born outside the United States, many immigrants did not want to speak about whether or not they have credit cards.  One person who did comment raised the concern that many immigrants distrust the concept of credit cards.

“The government is 100 percent behind them,” said Augusto Cerrone, a 56-year-old immigrant from Italy. “By the end of the year, the IRS says you spent this much, when you only earned this much.  It’s to get the cash out of the people.  It’s to keep tabs on how much you spend.”  Cerrone, who came here thirty years ago, works as a shoemaker in Richmond Hill.  He said when he uses his credit cards he quickly pays the bills.

Cerrone’s attitude towards credit companies reflects a general mistrust held by those who may not have knowledge of how credit works.  There are an unknown amount of immigrants living in the United States, and credit card usage data for this demographic does not exist, said Doug Massey, a professor at the Office of Population Research at Princeton University.