First we’ll start with deals that can only be had in store. Please keep in mind that each store has their own policies and may only carry a minimum number of products at this price (lame I know)

Best Buy
Online Flyer
Game Systems
PlayStation 3 (120GB) with Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time and LittleBigPlanet Minimum 21 per store. Limit 1 per customer. – $299
Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Bundle w/Four Pack Game Set – $299.99
Video Games
Madden NFL 10 – Xbox 360/PS3 – $34.99
Brütal Legend – Xbox 360/PS3 – $34.99
Dragon Age: Origins – Xbox 360/PS3 – $34.99
Left 4 Dead 2 – Xbox 360 – $34.99
World Of Warcraft (PC Game) – $4.99

KMart
Game Systems
Nintendo DSi Bundle w/5 Pre-Installed Games – $169.99
$25 Nintendo Gaming Coupon w/Any DS System Purchase
Video Games
Dragon Age For PS3 – $39.99

RadioShack
Game Systems
DualShock 3 PS3 Wireless Controler – $29.99

Target
$10 Gift Card With Select Video Game Purchases
$20 Gift Card With Any DSi System Purchase
$50 Gift Card With Any Call Of Duty Super Elite XBOX 360 System Bundle
$50 Gift Card With Any XBOX 360 120GB Elite Game System Bundle Purchase

Toys R Us
PreThanksgiving sale – all Nintendo DS and PSP games are buy one get one half off

Walmart (note: many of these are doorbusters)
Game Systems
Nintendo DS Lite – $98.00
Nintendo DS Lite Starter Kit – $10.00
Playstation 3 Console w/Infamous & Batman Arkham Asylum Games + Dark Knight Blu-ray – $299.00
Video Games
Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (PS3) – $25.00
Rock Band Special Edition (PS3) – $50.00
Rock Band Special Edition (XBox 360) – $50.00
The Sims 3 (PC/Mac) – $25.00

GameStop
Video Games
Buy 2 Get 1 Free On All Pre-Owned Games and Accessories – B2G1 Free

Now lets take a look at some of the deals you can get from online stores (personally I like these better since I don’t have to get up at 5am to stand in a line ;)

Direct2Drive
Sim3 – $29.99
Dragon Age – $39.99
Resident Evil 5 – $24.95

Steam – 36 hours only!

Champion Online – $19.99
Batman: Arkham Asylum – $24.99

ThinkGeek.com
1-Up mushroom – Great stocking stuffer – $6.99 on sale from $9.99

WalMart.com
Video Games
A mix of 2 games for $20/$30! online only
Game System
Game System Bundle Kits
Nintendo Wii with New Super Mario Bro Value Bundle – $249 (saving $30)
Xbox 360 Value Bundle with Call of Duty MW2 – $249
Playstation 3 with Blu-Ray Remote & Uncharted 2 Value Bundle – $349
Nintendo Wii Value Bundle With Console, Remote, Nunchuck, 2 Games And An Extra Set Of Nyko Controllers – $249.00

Amazon.com
Guitar Hero Metallica - $29.95 (Regularly $59.99) Great Deal!!
EA Sports Active – $44 (Regularly $59.99)
The Quest Trio (DS) – $11.95 ($19.95)
Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (DS) – $29.99 (Regularly $34.99)
EA Sports Active (Wii) – $39.99 (Regularly $59.99)
ExciteBots: Trick Racing (Wii) – $29.99 (Regularly $39.99)
Madden NFL 10 PS3 - $44 (Regularly $59.99)
Plantronic GameCom 777 Surround Sound Gaming Headset – $62.87 (Regularly $109.95) *note this is a Pre-Black Friday sale item

6pm.com
Skullcandy electronics 60% off – earbuds & headphones
Some ps3 games – 19.99
Video Games- PS3 only – $19.95
Video Games- PSP only – $11.95
Wii Games – $19.95
XBOX Games – $19.95

In the news, it looks like both the Wii and PS3 will be adding streaming Netflix in the near future. Nintendo also announced a big screen DSi. GameFly has created a new free iPhone app called GameCenter that is handy for game reviews. We received a great email from Max who gave us a great suggestion on a digital download gaming website called Direct2Drive.Com and from there we found our Bargain Buy for the show. GhostBusters for $10! Thanks Max!!

In our Retro games segment, we decided to look back at some of our favorite scary games of the past and discussed games like 7th Guest, 11th Hour, Phantasmagoria. If you’d like to take a walk down memory lane here is the entire 7th Guest game on You Tube for your viewing pleasure. We also recommend the Silent Hill series and Rule of Rose for some scary older games.

For WoW Talk this week, we grab a few more hands of candy as the Halloween event ends and discussed the newly announced paid race changes.

We also got an email from Lonnie and she wrote to us about a great LARP (Live Action Role Playing for noobs like me ;) calendar of women in gaming. Check it out at http://www.alliancecrossroads.com Sounds like a good holiday gift to me :)

The comic is NPC Comic and this is one of my favorite strips below – something I can totally relate to! http://www.npccomic.com/2009/02/19/lies/

Enjoy!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_85716851_2?docId=1000436751

$6.99 through the iTunes store

Excuse me, can you two leave so I can get back to fishing?

The Sims and I go way back. If you’re not familiar with the game’s concept it’s essentially like playing with a virtual Barbie dolls. You control a Sim and help them navigate through the world by helping them conquer everything from eating, sleeping and basic hygiene to climbing a career ladder and finding true happiness with another Sim. Or multiple Sims!

If you’ve played the regular version computer version of The Sims you know how graphics intensive it is. Everything is fully 3D rendered, able to be manipulated and/or altered. It’s a huge game with a heavy draw time so I was dubious about how it would work on the iPhone.

To my surprise, it’s actually quite nimble. The designers have done a good job giving detail to what you want to see and scaling back on what is not necessary for close up detail. For example, when your Sim walks through the town, your icon is reduced to a small blue figure against a 2D background. This helps with navigation and load times.

Game Play

As with any of these types of games, the first step is the creation of your Sim. You pick the gender, hairstyle, clothes and personality. Be careful about the styles you pick here because unlike the full version of the game, you cannot change these later. You’ll be stuck with that outfit the whole game!

The basic needs of your Sim are displayed for you in the bottom left of the screen. Touch the green bar and you’ll be shown the current status of each need. Hungry? Tired? Bored? Lonely? It’s up to you to take care of your Sim! Interaction with objects is very intuitive. Touch the bed and select the option to sleep. Click on the TV to watch and get some good wholesome entertainment.

A Career and Money

Once you’ve mastered the basics of caring for your Sim you’ll find you have another need – money! You need a job! You can find a job by picking up the phone or going into town. I started out in the restaurant as a cook. Don’t be afraid to wandering around and see what appeals to you. Once you’ve got your job, make sure you note the days of the week you work and what hours. You don’t want to be late!

Gameplay Tips:

Getting around quickly – You can’t go to work until 30 minutes before your start time. But once it’s time, the quickest way to get to work is to use the Diamond button in the lower right hand corner. Click on the Diamond and then the button that looks like a desk. This will take you to work instantly. This also works for getting home quickly by selecting the button that looks like a house.

Cooking – Interested in improving your cooking skills? Go the restaurant in town and purchase a recipe or two. Click on the Diamond icon and scroll to the inventory page. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see your recipes! You’ll also see if you have the ingredients to make that meal! Need breed and cheese for the grilled cheese sandwich? Head to the Quickmart! Once you have all the ingredients you need to cook the recipe head home and click on the stove. Choose the recipe you want to cook and a minigame starts. Pots on a stove must be picked up and shaken as they start to glow red to help them cool down. You must shake your iPhone or iTouch to shake the pots. You must then touch the next pot to shake and cool it.

Fishing – Once you’ve purchased a fishing rod from the Hobby store you can head to the Lake and start fishing. The fish will appear in the water and you’ll need to tilt the device gently to get the line in front of the fish. Eventually the fish will be hooked and a green fish hook icon will appear in the water. Quick jerk the iPhone or iTouch to catch the fish and reel it in.

Money, money, money – There are lots of ways to make money in the game besides your job!

-Be sure to meet everyone in the town because many have ‘quests’ that will earn you good money. Walter would like a trout. Kia needs a catfish. Marcelle pays for an egg.

- Fishing in the lake is an amazingly easy way to earn money. Catch the fish and then sell them back to the Quickmart.

- Find out who your boss is (Diamond icon and then scroll to your job panel) and make friends with them. Eventually you’ll get the option to ask them for a raise!

- Once you’ve upgraded your home you’ll get a backyard garden! Grown seeds purchased at the Hobby store and sell the extras back to the Quickmart.

Woohoo – If you want your Sim to be intimate with another Sim you need to choose the Romantic options when talking. It starts with a flirt, then a pick up line, a tender embrace and then a hot smooch. But where’s the woohoo? Scroll up the options and it should be the last option in the Romance – if your Sim is into you!

What’s good?

The gameplay is snappy and the graphics are very smooth and beautiful. The ambient sound was pleasant and soothing. I enjoyed exploring the town, meeting the different Sims and improving my Sim’s life. It’s strangely addictive, just like the full version of Sims.

What’s bad?

The original version spoils you with the amount of choices allowed. Because of the limitations of the iPhone/iTouch sacrifices had to be made. No changing hairstyles, no changing clothes, furniture upgrades are limited, and no real interaction with other Sims that changes you. By that I mean you can’t move in with your spouse, can’t have children nor do you age.

Overall

I had a lot of fun playing this game and I’m going to keep playing it. If you’re a fan of the original Sims I think you’ll enjoy this scaled down version. It’s beautifully rendered and there’s a lot of fun to be had with this game. I look forward to their next offerings!

The Beginning

The story starts out in Mushroom Kingdom. There is a mysterious illness, called the blurbs, ravaging the poor little villagers. We find ourselves in Princess Peach’s chambers discussing the situation, when Bowser decides to stick his big ugly nose into the situation. After Peach banishes Bowser, he eats some bad mushrooms, as he does sometimes. Who is behind the “vacuum” mushroom? Fawful (from the Superstar Saga and Partners in Time) has reappeared in this series to cause mayhem at every turn. Bowser uses his new “vacuum” skill to suck up everything in the room, into his body, including Peach, Mario, Luigi and the mushroom villagers.

Game Play

The mechanics of the game are pretty much the same as the other stories in the series. However, the game designers have gone a step further and use the top screen, being Bowser and the bottom screen, being Mario and Luigi, to their full advantage. I felt like there were two complete fighting venues and it didn’t feel like they forced it in. There are fights where you actually use Bowser and then swap to the inside the body to fight with Mario and Luigi. As the story progresses, the designers build upon the battle moves you have already learned and makes it possible for Mario and Luigi to team up with Bowser to fight the baddies. The addition of this mechanic adds a great dimension that was missing in Partners in Time.

Now I am a little squeamish sometimes, so being inside of Bowser is a little icky. Instead of lava, they have stomach acid and the “save” blocks are called “emoglobins”. Mario and Luigi is referred to as O’s, like we are blood. So yeah, um…gross! The little mushroom villagers even went as far as building stores inside of Bowser.

The Good:
It’s a fun Mario game, with controls that if you have played the previous games you’ll know, with new fighting tactics using Bowser in the upper screen. The story and dialog are really fun and I am thoroughly enjoying playing it.

The Bad:
The inside of a body would not have been my first choice of venues.

Overall, I would recommend this game if you like Mario. It doesn’t disappoint and the story is fun. This is one of those games I just didn’t want to end.

I’m still not sure how I feel about the boobs, considering I know the audience they are trying to attract is male and I do understand they need to make the Lust level, well lusty. But it makes me think would it be appropriate if it was a giant penis?

Playstation 3 120GB System – This is the Playstation slim for $299
Playstation 3 80GB System – This is the original for $299
Limited Edition Playstation 3 160GB – This is the original that includes a larger hard drive and a copy of Uncharted: Drakes Fortune Bundle

So, for those of you that have PS3′s, how much of the hard drive do you use? Is it worth it to get the larger one? I am also confused why would anyone buy the original one, with the 80GB hard drive, when you can get the slim with more room for the same price. I looked at the stats on these and look exactly the same except for the size of the console it self.

Any recommendations on which system to buy or your experiences would be a huge help! Can’t wait to play with everyone!

Mophie and the FastMac Vi were both recommended by a listener as great extender batteries for the iPhone

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&#038;vid=d492d422-9f08-481f-a6c7-e0f096cf614e" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 5: Application&#39;d">Video: Season 3 &#8211; Episode 5: Application&#39;d</a>

Video: Season 3 – Episode 4: Get it back!

The Diabolical Box keeps the same unique art style as the original game.  It is a mix of old-time feeling European cartoons mixed with a little anime.  The cut scenes feel very rich and really add a sense of “cozy mystery” to the game.

The game play reminds me of the Penny Press and Dell variety puzzle magazines I used to pick up when I was younger that had everything from crosswords and find a word to logic puzzles.  Unlike the other Nintendo DS “brain booster games”, Professor Layton mixes brain exercising with a wonderful and engaging story line and intriguing puzzles that will keep you hooked until you solve the mystery.

Once you solve the mystery, there are extra puzzles, as well as daily downloads, available via WiFi. There are some silly ways that Professor Layton will present the puzzles to you, like remembering a puzzle from his childhood when you click on a jug. However, these are far overshadowed by the quaintness of the art and story lines as well as the sheer number of different types of puzzles.

If you like puzzle games, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is a must buy, even if you haven’t played the previous game.

I was recently playing Pirates of the Caribbean Online with my husband and decided that I would have some fun with him.  We are the only 2 in our guild and wrote some “embarrassing” although benign things. When I looked over on his screen, that line did not show up, so I tried it again, several times.  I finally figured out that it must be a violation of their chat rules.

Today, I got an email from Disney:
Dear kimmi8992,

Our records indicate that there may have been a violation of our Terms
of Use connected to your account, outlined in the chat log below:
18:29:01 : dude, I want your pants off
18:29:04 : I want your pants off
18:30:01 : I want you to take off your pants
18:30:03 : pants off
18:30:03 : pants
18:30:03 : off
18:30:03 : now

Please be aware that violations of the Disney Online Terms of Use and/or House Rules can
lead to disciplinary action, such as a hold being placed on your account.
Remember that anything that might be frowned upon while at a Walt Disney Theme Park would
also be frowned upon in our games and sites. Keep it clean and be sure not
to share personal information online. For more information on internet safety and manners,
please visit our netiquette page at http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/netiquette.
Thank you,

As an officer in the largest guild in World of Warcraft, I couldn't imagine how helpful this would be!

~Kim

Check out DealNews.com to set up your own price alerts drops & visit Half.com to search through new & used video games.

update- ok I’ve watched the video a couple of times and after getting over the initial shock of how Gamestop is suppose to address me when I entered the store (yep that’s exactly how they talk to me), I have a new found appreciation for the commentary over the video. That guy cracks me up!

AMAZON MP3
ITUNES VIDEO:
ITUNES MP3