Tag: iPhone

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Game Boy Solar-Pak vs Solar iPhone Charger

My favorite part about flying is getting to read the SkyMall catalog. A special treat is when I fly once at the end of the month and take a return trip in the following month…thus getting to read an updated copy of SkyMall on the return trip. While this proves I’m a geek, it also proves useful as a retro gamer and blogger (which ironically also both prove I’m a geek…). Check this out: you can get a solar charger for your iPhone. I ripped out the page and scanned it for your viewing pleasure. Solar…green…iPhone…? Quite lovely, huh?

While that may be a cool idea, Naki is way ahead of the game here. Back in 1993, they came up with the Solar-Pak for the Original Game Boy. Talk about a piece of retro gaming history! Solar…green…GAME BOY! How freak’n cool is that?

Let’s do a little product comparison to figure out which solar pack is better:

 Naki Solar-Pak

Novathink Solar Surge

SystemOriginal Nintendo Game BoyiPhone 3G/3GS
Solar PoweredYesYes
Battery500 mAh1,500 mAh
Wrist StrapYesNo
Instructions LanguagesEnglish, Francais, Espa?ol, Deutsche, Nederlandse, Portugues, ItalianoUnspecified
Indoor ChargerNaki AC adaptor (#55618-USA), (#55543-Europe), & (#55629-UK)USB
MotivationExtended Gaming (7 hours!) & Environmental LoveJumping on the iPhone & “Green” Bandwagons
Cool FactorFreak’n 80s RadHipster
Cost>$20 used, >$?? New$69.95

Even without knowing whether or not the Game Boy Solar-Paks works, I’m leaning toward it as the winner. First off, they power an iconic Nintendo gaming system. Secondly, they came out 17 years before the iPhone solar charger. Third, I wouldn’t plug in anything named “Surge” into one of my electronic devices. And finally, there are simply too many other iPhone chargers in existence to justify charging $69.95 for any of them. Thus, the Naki Solar-Pak wins!

I originally blogged about these Solar-Paks after finding one in October. Since then I came across a guy who had a few boxes of them. As any compulsive collector would, I bought them all on the spot! I’m keeping a bunch of them, and the rest I’ve put up in the Video Game Museum eBay Store.

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Space Miner is Phenomenal (Even the 3rd Time Through!)

It’s rare that I find a video game that after finishing, I immediately want to play again…twice.  Space Miner: Space Ore Bust is a masterpiece!  It takes the simple asteroids formula (aka. blow up rocks), and allows you to mine them, kill little robots, and in the process upgrade your ship.  Add a descent storyline, fun music and from five minutes in, I was hooked.  Honestly, I could only name a few other iPhone games of this caliber, and for $2.99 on Space Miner: Space Ore Bust, it’s money well spent.

Controls:  Space Miner’s controls work fantastically.  They’re adjustable, flippable, can be hidden, and most importantly are responsive to all the asteroid destruction that is call for.

Physics: The physics behind the ship you’re controlling are natural and smooth.  When, you turn, you glide.  You bounce off of asteroids.  Asteroids bounce off of other asteroids, and each object seems to have an appropriate mass and, accordingly, appropriate responses to other objects.  Simply amazing for such a simple game…

Sounds/Music:  My hat is off to the sound team.  The banjo music was fantastic.  Plus, the robots make the best sounds…especially when you kill them.

Loot!:  I have to say that the driving force for my playing the game through several times was the loot.  As the game progresses, you can purchase new ship hulls, engines, shields, weapons, etc.  What’s amazing here is that gameplay is fun enough that this never feels like a grind.  And best part is, they save a few special items to be unlocked in “Hard” and “HardcORE” modes.  If they released an update with new loot, I’d play it through again.

Graphics: The game looks great.  Check out the game play video to see for yourself.

Story:  There are multiple storylines, diversions from the story, and other random places to explore.  The writers seems to have a sense of humor in knitting this all together.

Space Ore is a fantastic blend of modern and retro gaming.  If you haven’t already played it, I can’t encourage you enough to give it a shot.  For $2.99 on Space Miner: Space Ore Bust, you’d be hard put to find a better game.

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Rare Video Games & Collectibles on eBay: Maxi 15, Suikoden II, Colecovision Homebrew

Here are some rare video games that I’m watching on eBay.  (Just to be clear, I’m not selling any of this stuff myself.)

  • Maxi 15 Game Cartridge (Nintendo NES) 15 GAMES IN 1 A seller in eBay Canada is selling the NTSC version of this game for a pretty reasonable price.  And, could you imagine a better matching sheet to photograph the game on?  Pretty…
  • Lot rare suikoden II 2 valkyrie profile all sealed This is a great lot for PS1 collectors…and a bummer for the guy selling them.
  • Coleco/Adam/Astro Invader/Homebrew/Brand New! Colecovision homebrew…how rad is that!?! (Ended Feb. 9, 2010 at $26.05 USD)
  • Coleco/Adam/Deflektor Kollections/Homebrew/Brand New! (Ended Feb. 9, 2010 at $20.45 USD)
  • Adventure II for Atari 5200 Limited edition#13/250 RARE

Happy eBaying, collecting, and retro gaming!

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iMario: An iPhone App That Must Die

I’m a big fan of my iPhone and probably play more games on it than any of my other current gen systems.  What’s fascinating is how many unique games & apps have been developed for it.  However, every now and then a line needs to be drawn in the sand.

As a retro gamer, collector, and reseller I was surprised to see a Super Mario Bros. game featured at the top of the free apps list in the iTunes Store.  I figured that Nintendo had mysteriously blessed us with a port of one of the Super Mario Brothers games.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t have been further from the truth.  Sadly, some group of fools has put together a simple app that simply plays sounds from the original Mario games.  It doesn’t allow you to use them as ringtones or anything useful.  And, of course, it doesn’t allow you to play the game.  Nope, you simply turn on the app and touch the screen to create the corresponding sound.  It’s like a toy you’d get for a baby that make’s the “moo” sound when the child touches the cow picture…

First off, I can’t believe Nintendo hasn’t gotten this app pulled due to it’s blatant copyright infringement.  Secondly and possibly even worse, I can’t believe it’s at the top of the app store.  I guess that’s the power of bait-and-switch, and the horrible reviews for iMario Lite reflect this.

If any of you have a buddy working at Nintendo, please do us all a favor and have them destroy this beast…

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EA Half Price iPhone Games: Rock Band, Sim City, Command & Conquer

Electronic Arts is running a 50% off sale on all their iPhone apps until Nov. 29.  I’d been holding out for a couple of these, and am happy I did.  Best part is that there are some great retro video game classics here.  It’s a fantastic deal for some great games!


Command & Conquer Red Alert $6.99

Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition $4.99

Madden NFL 10 by EA Sports $6.99

Need for Speed Undercover $2.99


Rock Band $6.99


SimCity $2.99


Tetris $2.99

The Sims 3 $4.99

And check out the rest of EA’s games here.

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GamesOgre’s Top 16 iPhone Games for September


1.  WordPop! $0.99
2.  Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor $2.99
3.  Moonlights$1.99

4.  Tiki Towers $1.99

5.  Lux DLX icon $7.99 or get the free lite version Lux Touch.
6.  Galconicon $4.99
7.  Siberian Strikeicon $1.99
8.  iFightericon $0.99
9.  Ancient Tribeicon $0.99
10. geoDefenseicon $1.99
11. geoDefense Swarmicon $1.99
12. Fieldrunners?$1.99 $2.99

13. Zombieville USAicon $1.99
14. iDracula – Undead Awakeningicon $2.99
15. Wormsicon $4.99
16. Heavy Mach. $0.99icon

I’m an old school gamer. I primarily collect original Nintendo NES & Dreamcast games. Yes, I greatly enjoy my PS3, but there’s something fantastic about old games. They were (and are still) just so pick-up-and-play friendly: Super Mario Bros. 3, Guerilla War, 1943, Toe Jame & Earl, General Chaos, Jackal, Powerstone, Super Off-Road, etc…these games are simple and iconic for being fun and gamer friendly. It’s for that reason I’m so impressed with the iPhone as a gaming device.

Just as the Wii has broken back into the casual gamer market, the iPhone has done the same for casual portable gamers. The games are super pick-up-and-play friendly and are getting more advanced quickly. Graphics are are behind those of the PSP, but ironically, the iPhone is dominating the PSP in game sales. Similarly, the Wii has worse graphics than the 360 and PS3 and still obviously holds it’s own. The phenomenal thing about the iPhone is that games aren’t all being produced by giants with multi-million $ budgets. Little companies and individuals have been making phenomenal games. That certainly puts a smile on my face.

My best guess for the future an Apple gaming console would be that Apple will make their own media center / gaming device and then integrate the iPhone as controllers similar to how Apple’s “Remote” app on the iPhone can control your iTunes on your computer.

Oh yeah, and best part of the Apple gaming revolution is that games don’t cost $60. (Gosh, buy 5 games a year at that rate and you could have bought an iTouch or iPhone!) Give it time hardcore gamers, and they’ll have games that even you won’t snub your noses at. As famous RPGs are currently being ported to the iPhone, some might even argue that such games are already here.

(PS…so the photo above is of my current favorite 16 iPhone games…which I’d like to note have given me countless hours of play time and cost me a total of around $15-20 for all of them.)

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iPhone Game Review: Siberian Strike

Cartoony and fantastic! This is where arcade action meets the top view shooter! Unlike many iPhone games when they?re first released, Siberian Strike is a quite polished and incredibly fun. Gameplay and presentation seem like something straight out of an arcade machine (except 4 quarters later and I own the game). Voiceovers, music, and artwork are clever, ridiculous (in a good way), and kept reminding me of PowerStone. Touch controls are incredibly responsive. The tilt controls are a nice gesture but feel lacking. I haven?t been able test out the local wireless multiplayer feature yet, but hats off to Gameloft for offering it!