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Use a real guitar to play Rock Band 2 AND get punched while doing so!

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 28th 2009 at 5:00AM }

Normally when people mod real instruments for use in music-rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, they don't intentionally include the ability for someone else to play along by punching them. For Norway's Morten Skogly, that choice seemed only natural. On his website, you can see a shot-by-shot breakdown of the process necessary to transform something that creates music into something that plays along with music.

In fairness, the entire (ridiculously intricate) process leads to the hilarious video you'll find after the break. You see, rather than strum on the strings of his guitar, the punching gloves (punching him, mind you) approximate a strum for him. That means that every time he pushes a note, he gets punched. It's like penance!

[Image credit]

Continued →

(Castle) Crash Halloween with this Behemoth of a costume

by Xav de Matos { Oct 24th 2009 at 1:00PM }

The team at The Behemoth know you're having a hard time coming up with something original and awesome for Halloween, so the team has included an instructional guide to creating your very own Castle Crashers inspired costume on its blog.

Taking a simple 5-gallon bucket, some foam and a pocket full of hopes and dreams, you can rock one of the best costumes we've seen (all week, at least). As an added bonus, the guide is simple and includes plenty of pictures to guide would-be costume designers -- and future "Best Costume of the Night" award winners.

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe gets DIY compatibility fix

by Xav de Matos { Oct 17th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Recent connection issues have marred European PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe owners from participating in rousing online games against North American and Asian players. Thankfully, the PlayStation Blog has released a two-part DIY guide to help fix the PSP game's issues. The process is simple:

Delete your game through the PSP Home Menu (select Game>Memory Stick>press the triangle button with PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe highlighted and select Delete).
Connect to PlayStation Store > Select View Downloads and re-download PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe from the Download List.

Users will still retain their previous progress and now (hopefully) be completely problem free in their quest for online Deluxe dominance.

Gallery: PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

PSP Go comes apart

by JC Fletcher { Aug 27th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Somehow, Levelup.cn got access to a PSP Go, which they proceeded to disassemble for our amusement. You can browse through the thirteen-page gallery (!) and really look for the UMD drive that must be hidden in there somewhere. You can also see the internal memory and the battery, which is now non-removable (and, Sony hopes, non-moddable as well).

Perhaps of greatest interest to old-school PSP owners is that the D-pad and buttons are very clearly separated from the screen hardware by quite some distance. There shouldn't be any square button issues this time!

[Via Engadget]

How to explode your brand new PS3 Slim

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 26th 2009 at 11:14AM }

If you're prone to falling under spells where all you want to do is dismantle your (slightly less) expensive pieces of technology, DIY site IFixIt recently posted a comprehensive manual on how to take the PS3 Slim completely apart. We suppose this article serves three important purposes:

It gives a good look at the guts of Sony's new streamlined hardware.
It gives modders instructions on how to prepare their consoles for Frankenstein-ation.
It teaches Xbox fanboys how to obliterate the PS3 Slim in a showy, $300 act of protest.

We hope said article is only used for the first two reasons, but history has taught us that we live in an entirely senseless, illogical world.

DIY: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition for $110.40

by Justin McElroy { Jul 28th 2009 at 1:45PM }

You're probably just dying for the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition that everyone's drooling over, and we can't blame you. But your friends at Joystiq are here to tell you that there's no need to wait! You can make your very own set right now with all the same components and save $40 in the process. (Though the video says the kit costs $100.40, the goggles are apparently $60. Go figure.)

Just check out the video above, then flip through the gallery for all the instructions. Happy crafting!

Gallery: Make Your Own Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition

THQ reveals Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter for Wii and DS

by Griffin McElroy { May 26th 2009 at 11:40AM }

If you were a fan of THQ's DIY DS title Drawn to Life, you'll be pleased to hear the highly sketchable game will be getting a follow-up this fall, as revealed by a recent press release. This time around, Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter will be coming to Wii and DS, and will be adding a whole slew of new features -- the most intriguing of these is the "Action Drawing" tool, which lets you create objects mid-game in order to work your way through the title's environments.

The original Drawn to Life was pretty enjoyable, but a tad shallow in the actual gameplay department. Hopefully, this new feature will spice things up a tad. However, given the average DS illustrator's undeniable proclivity for doodling dongs, they really should give the portable version a different subtitle -- perhaps Captain Wangsword Vs. The Genital Armada would be more apt.

Desperate for Xbox Live? Hook it up with a 3G phone

by Richard Mitchell { May 22nd 2009 at 3:30PM }

Let's say, hypothetically, that you really want to play something on Xbox Live. For illustration's sake, we'll say that something is Halo 3. Alas, the "high-speed interweb access" you bought from that guy behind the 7-11 turns out to be nothing more than a tin can with a string attached. You try to use your neighbor's wireless internet connection, only to find that it's been encrypted. Ungrateful jerks, that's the last time you give them a fruitcake at Christmas.

So what's a desperate gamer to do? Easy, just hook your Xbox up to your PC and tether it to your 3G phone. Killthrash over at 2old2play has posted a handy guide to connecting to Xbox Live using a laptop and a Blackberry Bold on AT&T's 3G network. It takes some work and it's not as smooth as a dedicated connection -- and will probably destroy your data plan -- but gamers do what they have to do, right?

Now, if someone can make this happen with a Mac too, then everyone wins.

See what you can do in Made in Ore

by JC Fletcher { Apr 14th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Nintendo of Japan just opened up a site for Made in Ore, featuring new screenshots and even video of the DIY minigame creator, including shots of the process of creation. Many of the 90 (!) included samples look just like real WarioWare minigames, which speaks highly of either the creation tools or the staff at Intelligent Systems.

In fact, it's basically as if there were a full WarioWare game included in the package. The sample minigames, like those in other Wares, are divided into groups based on which WarioWare employee "created" them. Mona's games are "Strange," like in the original GBA game. Jimmy T's theme is "Sports," Ashley's is "Food," Orbulon's games are "IQ" themed, and 9-Volt is "Nintendo."

Not only can you play these sample minigames, you can open them up and mess with them! You can alter the art and music (and look at, but not alter the base gameplay) in the samples, as well as games that you get from your friends.

A few details on Made in Ore, the DIY WarioWare

by JC Fletcher { Apr 8th 2009 at 7:00PM }

We've heard very little about one of Nintendo's most promising DS titles for this year, Made in Ore, which is essentially a toolkit for making your own WarioWare minigames. The April 23 Japanese release is totally sneaking up on us! As the unexpectedly close release approaches, a bit more info has started coming out about the game.

According to 1up, Made in Ore is divided into three sections: "My House," the portion of the game in which you make minigames, "WarioWare," presumably Wario's game company, which contains tutorials, and "My Shop," in which you line up your microgames into a game. There are also utilities to create music and four-panel ("yon-koma") comics -- and all of this can be uploaded to Nintendo "for contest purposes." The Asobu Made in Ore WiiWare player is still on the way, as well!

Gallery: Made in Ore (WarioWare DIY) (DS)

IFC short film contest takes inspiration from LittleBigPlanet

by Majed Athab { Mar 24th 2009 at 12:45PM }

LittleBigPlanet's influence is going beyond video games and into the realm of films. The Independent Film Channel used LBP's mantra of "Play, Create, Share" as the theme for a film-making contest it was holding a few months back.

While directors didn't have to use LittleBigPlanet in their film shorts (and none of the finalists did, by the way), they were tasked to take inspiration from the game's atmospheric "art and act of creating." Sadly, you won't get to see Sackboy turned into a movie star with these films. Check out the winning short film, "Papercuts," after the break.

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Show and Tell: The holiday spirit

by Alisha Karabinus { Dec 23rd 2008 at 1:30PM }

While we're often awash in gamer crafts -- particularly in this space! -- we just don't see that many holiday-themed gamer projects. Every year there's the occasional tree or set of ornaments, but it just seems there should be more. We dug around and managed to find a few interesting projects, however, and the results range from edibles to a pixelated tree. Just jump into the gallery below to check out holiday projects!

Gallery: Show and Tell: The Holiday Spirit

Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.

Mod that: 5 of our favorite DIY Zappers

by David Hinkle { Oct 21st 2008 at 6:20PM }

We're here with another stroll down memory lane, checking out some of the great mods the Wii community has come up with. This time, we focus on the Wii Zapper. Hit the button below and check out 5 of our favorite DIY Zappers.

Click here to continue >>

We're always talking about mods here at Wii Fanboy. Be sure to check out our retro mod gallery, as well as 5 of our favorite Wiimote mods, 5 of our favorite Wii mods and 5 of our favorite GameCube mods. Keep up with the modding scene by staying up to date with Wii Fanboy!

Show and Tell: Hook it

by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 30th 2008 at 2:15PM }

There's no denying that many of the best DS accessories and Nintendo crafts we've seen have come courtesy of someone's mad crochet skills. From cases to bits of cutesy fluff, there's a lot that can be done with a crochet hook and a little yarn. This week, we're going to take a longer look at the magic behind some of our favorite Nintendo crafts. Take the guided tour, or just jump right into the gallery below.

Gallery: Show and Tell: It's dangerous to craft alone! Learn this.

Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts. Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.

Show and Tell: Early but eerie

by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 9th 2008 at 2:45PM }

In the fine tradition of American retailers, we'd like to get started on Halloween a little early this year. We've got pumpkins, costumes, and parties -- all things just ripe for you to undertake yourself once the holiday rolls around. Doing something gaming-related yourself? Make sure you let us know!

Also, hey -- if you're looking to get started early on your spooky plans this year, maybe some of these will help get the (ooshy gooshy layers of) brain cranking out some ideas.