wars

Vector Tanks Extreme is a tank combat game that is obviously inspired by the classic stand-up arcade game Battlezone. In the original you used two joysticks to move your tank, with one controlling the left track and the other controlling the right. In Vector Tanks Extreme you use up and down motions on either side of the screen to simulate the two-joystick control method, and touch the middle of the screen to fire your weapons. As you blow away tanks, you'll find powerups that give you new weapons, add to your shield supply, and give you rapid-fire guns for … Read more

Each week brings a bevvy of new iPhone games to our digital doorstep, but time doesn't permit us to cover each one individually. Therefore, here's a roundup of some new and interesting titles you might want to check out:

Alice in Wonderland: You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a movie by its trailer--and Tim Burton's latest attempt to make Johnny Depp look weird (aka "Alice") offers little appeal to me or my kids. The eponymous tie-in game, on the other hand, is a surprisingly charming little platformer. Don'… Read more

Everyone knows that George Lucas has had a disproportionately large impact on our society. His "Star Wars" films have, over the last 33 years, become one of the globe's primary cultural touchstones.

Suppose you found yourself in a standoff with someone from a country or way of life that wants to harm you. If you suddenly said something like, "Luke, I am your father," you both would probably break up laughing.

But a film expected to make its world debut at the South by Southwest film festival next month in Austin, Texas, suggests that there'… Read more

The U.S. Office of Naval Research has found that when it comes to fighting wars around the world, gamers are more capable at taking on the enemy than nongamers.

According to Ray Perez, a program officer in the ONR's warfighter performance department who discussed the findings in the Pentagon Web Radio Webcast, gamers perform "10 [percent] to 20 percent higher, in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability, than normal people that are non-game players."

Perez went on to say that his office has found that video games "increase perpetual abilities and short-term memory." Games … Read more

I usually write about two iPhone apps every week, but this week is special. This week, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars came out for the iPhone and it is worth every cent of the $9.99 price tag. Though it is certainly not what I would call a family game, it is done so well that serious gamers should head to the iTunes Store immediately. I want to reiterate here: this is not a family game. Gratuitous violence, bad language, drugs, theft, and murder, are all commonplace in Chinatown Wars--in other words, we strongly suggest you don't buy it … Read more

You may have already checked it out, but for my last iPhone app post of 2009, I listed most of my favorite games of the year. I tried to have something for everyone and I think it went over pretty well, but I didn't get everything. At the end of the post, I asked if anyone caught any glaring omissions and readers were quick to remind me of some of the best games last year and also tipped me off to a few I never had the chance to check out.

For my first few posts of 2010, I … Read more

LAS VEGAS--DigitTronics demonstrated its RCX4 Star Stryker radio-controlled helicopter to the delight of "Star Wars" fans at CES 2010.

Priced at $399, with a $299 sale price for CES attendees, the Star Stryker includes a quad motor layout with control for lift, cycle, and yaw. The helicopter comes with a custom-fit case, a 2.4GHz spread spectrum radio controller, and is already assembled.

Of course, Lucasfilm's lawyer team is probably drafting their cease-and-desist letter as we speak, so grab one while you can. At least we'll always have the photo gallery, right?

No word on when … Read more

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but art, it seems, is whatever a court says it is.

The folks at Lucasfilm, creators of the "Star Wars" franchise, took the designer of the original Stormtrooper costume to court in the UK and had their light sabers thrust right back at them.

According to London's Times, Andrew Ainsworth, the man who originally created the helmets and armor for the first "Star Wars" movie, decided to capitalize on his design by selling replicas made from the original mold online.

Lucasfilm clearly thought Ainsworth's view … Read more

Nao the humanoid robot--who we first told you about in September--really, really wants us nerds to like him. Or, more accurately, Paris-based Aldebaran Robotics really wants us to like him. That's why the company has him pandering to us with a scene from "Star Wars."

Still, I have to admit that the 23-inch-tall, 9.5-pound Nao delivers a powerful performance--especially when it comes to his R2-D2 impression. Of course, that's kind of like Gary Busey playing a lunatic, but still...kudos. Outside of his skills as a thespian, the fully programmable Nao is also quite capable … Read more