Even on a slow day, we probably wouldn't bring you anymore of those played-out Tamagotchi-style pixilated games, but the Cube World Game Cubes by Radica intrigued us because of their ability to communicate with one another a la Nintendogs. Little more than an animated stick figure inside a plastic cube, the four Game Cube characters (Slim, Dodger, Scoop, and Whip) each has his own accessory (stick, ball, rope, dog) that he plays with either spontaneously or when one of the three buttons is pressed. The cubes have built-in gyroscopes, so shaking and dropping the toy affects the little man inside, who can end up bouncing around the screen and getting pretty banged up if you're feeling sadistic. Since this whole affair would get boring after about five minutes, the real draw here is connecting multiple cubes together and watching the characters "visit" each others' "apartments" to play, hug, or fight. Despite the multiplayer fun, we still predict that your $32 buys you approximately one week of entertainment, less if you're over the age of seven.

[Via Stuff]

Cube World Game Cubes interactive stick figures originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 27 Nov 2005 13:35:48 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OK, get it while it's hot. We have a feeling this won't be available for very long, what with the whole flap over the MTA hatin' on free content, but for a limited time you can download a high-res, zoomable image of the NYC subway system to slide on in to your PSP. Intrepid reader Dave Horowitz offers this gratis to all, in what would seem to be clear defiance of MTA regulations that would require him to pay $500 to perform an obvious public-interest service. As we saw when William Bright went head-to-head with the MTA and BART over distributing maps for iPod consumption, quasi-governmental agencies seem to have no qualms about swinging their lawyers around when it comes to perceived copyright infringement. Oh, and the usual disclaimers apply: you didn't hear about this from us.

Update: It's not the MTA's map being offered here. But it's still handy and, um, timely, dig?

NYC subway map for PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:15:21 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We didn't think that portable video game screens could get any smaller than the squint-inducing display on the Game Boy Micro, but the makers of the Casino Pen have proven us wrong once again with their recent attempt to snaz up that most-utilitarian of tools. This latest foray into the world of pen-top gaming comes in the form of the Arcade Pen lineup, which includes games that we haven't actually seen in the arcade for many, many years (if ever) such as Blockade, Car Racing (how original), and Pac Man. Clearly not big proponents of truth in advertising, the manufacturers/retailer are hyping, "Each classic game has awesome graphics, impressive sounds, and entertaining challenges." Uh, yeah. And what's up with posing the pens next to a homework assignment; we can't imagine that this product is endorsed by professional educators.

[Via bookofjoe]

Arcade Pens: don't get your hopes up originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 23 Sep 2005 02:30:15 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.