Wii owners with broadband Internet access now have a new way to watch their favorite TV shows and movies. Starting today, Wii owners can subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 a month and instantly stream current-season hit TV shows such as Family Guy, Glee, New Girl, Vampire Diaries, The Office, The Biggest Loser and Modern Family, as well as full back seasons of hit shows like Community and Grey’s Anatomy. Kids can enjoy a growing library of favorites, including Arthur, Wild Kratts and Dinosaur Train, and families can browse through hundreds of popular movies from Miramax and more.

“Wii offers the most entertainment fun for everyone in the family, with an impressive selection of streaming movies and TV shows in addition to an unparalleled lineup of games that can’t be played anywhere else,” said Tony Elison, Nintendo of America’s senior director and general manager of Network Business. “The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies.”

Users who have a broadband Internet connection can visit the Wii Shop Channel to download the Hulu Plus application at no extra charge. The application will allow users to navigate using the Wii Remote controller and search for their favorite TV shows, movies, clips and more. Hulu Plus offers a variety of content, including Hulu Latino, which offers hundreds of hours of current and classic Spanish-language programming, including the entire current season of prime-time TV shows from Univision, Galavision and Telefutura.

For the first month of launch, users who download Hulu Plus for Wii and do not already have an existing Hulu Plus account will get a two-week free trial.

Hulu Plus is also coming to the Nintendo 3DS system later this year, bringing full current-season TV series and popular movies to entertainment fans whenever they want.

Playstation Vita

The Playstation Vita is the hottest gaming device to hit CES this year and it will not even make it to American shores until February 22. However, despite its Japan only lifestyle at the moment, AT&T has released some information about their upcoming plans for the 3g enabled device. If you keep your gaming and media consumption near Wi-Fi, you might be better off getting the 250mb $15 a month. For those that are data hungry, you may want to upgrade to the 2gb plan at $25 a month. Bonus points if you have a Netflix plan as the PS Vita will support the service. Source: High Snobiety

Playstation Vita

If you follow street art, then chances are you’ve come across the work of Invader – a French street artist that covers cities across the globe in pixel mosaics.  He recently left his signature mark in London, particularly throughout Brixton and Soho.  Inspired by the classic Space Invaders video game, some of the exhibit was captured by SAL.

Super Mario Bros. Illustrations

This set of Super Mario Bros. illustrations was done by Nekoixa, depicting a futuristic battle of good and evil.  Not only do we see Mario immortalized as a statue, but the Princess gets in on the action as well — no more mrs. nice girl!

via

Watch out Smurfette, something shiny and new is on it’s way!  Check out this Cloud Blue Wii from Nintendo, released for a limited time on Black Friday.   The clean, white slate has been replaced with this electric blue – which is used on the Nunchuk controller, Wii Stand and Wii MotionPlus Remote.  If you want to be part of the in-crowd, get in line early before these sell out!

Zombies, zombies, zombies. They are everywhere in pop culture these days. So when Dead Island was originally announced, most just yawned and kept it moving. But then that amazing trailer dropped and it became the talk of the town. But just how would the game compare to that trailer? Well, it’s not as an emotionally engrossing experience, but it certainly is fun.

Put it like this, if you threw Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising into a blender, mixed it up and picked out the seedy parts, you’d end up with Dead Island. That’s pretty much what it is. Whether you enjoyed either of those games or not will likely play a major role in how you feel about Dead Island.

In a nutshell, a zombie takeover has hit a tropical island and nobody is safe. You have the option of controlling four characters – including a struggling hip-hop artist who kicks the game off with the laugh out loud “Who Do You Voodoo B*tch!” in the game’s opening sequence – and traverse the massive island from a first person perspective to see just what the hell is going on.

It has the look and feel of an FPS, but 90% of the game finds you taking part in the melee combat. And to be honest, melee combat is really where its at. You can dismember and bludgeon zombies with everything from a machete to a steel pipe. You’ll be amazed at the amount of weapons lingering around. Where the Dead Rising comparisons come in is where you can actually create weapons by finding blueprints. Take that baseball bat and wrap it in barbed wire and voila! There are some really intriguing contraptions that you’ll find as the game goes on so be sure to seek them all out.

Initially, you’ll want to kill everything you see because it feels right. But as the game progresses and the haunting moans begin to get louder, you realize that the best option is to run as fast as you can. It’s certainly an experience that may bear similarities to Left 4 Dead, but the small tweaks are what make it special. Dying is really no big deal, you’ll lose a few dollars (which are used to purchase items or repair broken ones) and respawn close to where you last left off. The main thing here is to gain XP by completing missions and killing zombies so you can level up certain aspects of your character and make it through the game. The game also is a 4-player co-op where friends or other gamers that are close to your level can jump in and help you through the infested island. It’s a pretty seamless transition when somebody joins your game and most of the time people are helpful because it helps them level up by helping you whack zombies. Although the game kicks off with a wide open space for you to traverse, the sewers and closed areas during the final stretches of the game make it feel more claustrophobic and take away from the joy of running crazy through the island.

The game is a blast but is certainly full of flaws that prevent it from being great.

The story is just kind of there to push the game along and shifts to having to deal with humans who want to blow your head off in the later stages. The gunplay is a little clunky but you’ll be happy once you are able to mow down people with assault rifles. Nevertheless, the story is riddled with awful dialog and drab cutscenes, but those are forgiven once you get back to the game play. The driving missions feel awkward, there are stretches of the game that feel entirely too long and it the zombies feel like outcasts from Left 4 Dead. Graphically, the game is really hit or miss. The island is beautiful from a distance, but upon closer inspection there are a ton of glitches and clipping issues. The characters don’t look so hot up close either.

But the good certainly outweighs the bad as it truly is all about the experience that is quite the memorable one. You’ll likely get jolted when a loose zombie catches you off guard and feel the adrenaline when making a mad dash from a batch of zombies looking to take a bite out of you. It will easily take you twenty hours to get through the main story. But if you want to conquer every side mission and explore the massive land, expect to sink in a good forty hours into this one.

What makes Dead Island it the top of the cool meter is the sheer amount of Easter Eggs packed into the adventure. The video game and pop culture references throughout Dead Island are pretty awesome as well and take some work to find. Everything from Friday The 13th and MC Hammer to slick nods to games including BioShock, Halo, Resident Evil and Assassin’s Creed are nestled throughout the expansive world. Finding them all is an extensive process but once you find Jason Vorhees and his chainsaw, you’ll likely be hooked.

Ultimately, the more you play Dead Island, the more you will get immersed into the game. Sure, it’s glitchy as hell and the voice acting and cutscenes leave much to be desired, but considering all that’s stuffed into this tasty morsel of a game, why complain?

Pros

- What’s more fun than gore and zombies?

- The massive map is a blast to rummage through

- Totally awesome Easter Eggs

Cons

- Lame story

- Graphics are wooden, especially during the cut scenes

- Might feel too much like Left 4 Dead

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

The film will only air on July 26th at 19:30 following the film there will be exclusive interviews with the Tekken project director and screenwriter. For a list of participating box office theaters visit www.FathomEvents.com .

Xbox Live will soon feature a brand new icon, sitting alongside the ESPN chain as well as the popular Netflix. Hulu will be joining the two, available by subscription through a joint partnership. Not only will you be able to watch your favorite video channels and shows, but Hulu Plus is able to be controlled using the Kinect – a dope feature that Netflix has already instilled.

Thrustmaster, the innovative PC and console accessory brand from Guillemot Corporation, is proud to unveil the T-Freestyle NW, the ultimate controller for snowboarding and skateboarding WiiTM fans. Experience the extreme action of boarding this winter from the comfort of your living room. Available just in time for the holidays, the T-Freestyle NW is available now for $29.99 SRP.

With the T-Freestyle NW (patent pending), now more than ever before, it’s more fun and intuitive for gamers to land perfect maneuvers and link up slides from one rail to another. WiiTM snowboarding and skateboarding gamers can use the T-Freestyle NW to execute freestyle tricks and to control their boarding runs with the same spirit of “freedom” and the sensation of “no limit” that makes these sports so popular.

Crafted of genuine maple – just like real boards, the T-Freestyle NW offers the perfect balance between flexibility and resistance reproducing the real sensations of boarding. Maneuvering half-pipes and rail jams in games has never been this realistic. Designed to reflect the extreme attitude and style of boarders, the T-Freestyle NW features a “Skull” logo and the size allows for positioning just like a real board.

“In order to achieve this striking realism for gamers, Thrustmaster has employed Rolling Motion Board technology, allowing for true lateral movement capabilities just like in boarding sports, as well as a Safety Stopper feature to eliminate any risk of tipping over, for maximum fun and safety,” says Winn Keaten, Thrustmaster Marketing Manager.

Users can attach the T-Freestyle NW to their Balance BoardTM* quickly and easily, then get on and enjoy endless hours of fun playing their favorite boarding games with a level of realism that has never been possible until now. This is the ultimate accessory for current and future ultra-realistic snowboarding and skateboarding games on WiiTM.

Want to grab one for yourself..or to give as a gift this Holiday season?  Good news, we are giving one away!

Here’s How to Enter: (this entry is mandatory)

• Fan Level Up on FaceBook!
  

Additional Entries [leave a separate comment for each one]

• Comment on another non-giveaway post [comment below w/post name]
• Subscribe to this site via RSS.
• Friend us on Google Connect [see sidebar]
• Follow us on Twitter!¬† @nerdlikes!
  
• Tweet about this giveaway (daily entry, can use the following [ Win a Thrustmaster deck for the Wii! http://nerdlike.com/npyhn ]
• Digg or Stumble this giveaway [leave your username in the comment]
• Like us on Facebook [see the sidebar]

The  giveaway runs until November 26, 2010. Good Luck!

Level Up, recently unveiled their new line of officially licensed all-in-one gaming storage solutions: the Alloy for PlayStation©, Zig-Zag for XBOX 360®, Aperture for WiiTM, and Trideca for Wii.  Created to store your gaming goods in a neat and orderly yet fashionable way, each individual unit holds  all of your gaming gear; including consoles, controllers & games, in one sleek and compact tower.

“The concept behind LevelUp is simple: gaming gear shouldn’t clutter the home,” said Jason , Lemelson, President of Level Up. “Our line of affordable towers makes it easy for every day consumers to keep their accessories in a functional tower that looks cool in any entertainment or gaming environment.”

Not only are the towers used for clutter control, but they are functional as well.¬† Each one features ventilation designs to prevent your console from overheating and dragging game play.¬† Also, the Alloy, Zig-Zag, Aperture, and Trideca towers all use specially molded controller docks as well as soft-coated guitar hooks for your Rock Band/Guitar Hero instruments.¬† The sides are treated with ribbed shelves for storing games or DVD’s, keeping your collection together.¬† Available in either glossy black or a white finish with silver, green or matte black accents, they compliment their respective consoles quite nicely.

All Level Up products are available at Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl‚Äôs and JCPenney, but don’t¬† go shopping just yet!¬† We are giving away the Zig Zag tower for the XBOX 360 now!

Here’s How to Enter: (this entry is mandatory)

• Fan Level Up on FaceBook!
  

Additional Entries [leave a separate comment for each one]

• Comment on another non-giveaway post [comment below w/post name]
• Subscribe to this site via RSS.
• Follow Level Up on Twitter
  
• Friend us on Google Connect [see sidebar]
• Follow us on Twitter!¬† @nerdlikes!
  
• Tweet about this giveaway (daily entry, can use the following [ Clean up your XBox clutter with the Level Up Zig Zag! http://nerdlike.com/kajmm ]
• Digg or Stumble this giveaway [leave your username in the comment]
• Like us on Facebook [see the sidebar]

The  giveaway runs until November 26, 2010. Good Luck!

The third installment of the Xbox 360 exclusive title “Fable” had high expectations after the last entry missed being great by a few inches. Strangely enough, it improves in areas that needed improvement but has some nagging issues that keep it from becoming great.

The latest entry in the Fable series finds your character awakening in the kingdom of Albion as the “Hero/Heroine.” You are the younger offspring of Fable II’s main character who has to deal with an older sibling who is a royal jerk that just so happens to rule Albion with an iron fist. So you start off fleeing the kingdom due to some bad circumstances and put in the position of building up your own army to overthrow your brother.

The story is decently put together and more tightly knit than the previous installments. As you look to gain the trust of various leaders throughout the game, you’ll find it to be a journey of charm that can become quite engaging. But that’s the exact problem with Fable III.

As with the other Fable games, you have to ability to become a total badass or a hero. But the option to be good or evil is quite the fruitless endeavor – especially considering that the only way to complete to get through your missions is by having people support you. It immediately rips away the appeal of the game but being evil does shape the story in the last portion of the game – which ends up being far too short to truly enjoy. But there are moments where you can commit the most heinous act only to still continue on with the main story as the people trust you. It’s weird and disjointed.

With that being the main feature that many gamers have looked forward to, it’s a major downer to know that it is relatively pointless. However, playing as the good guy is still a fun journey as you are able to interact with people on a regular basis. You can shake hands, belch, hold hands, get married, dance, fart and a number of other options when you interact with the various faces in various towns scattered about.

But the interactions do get redundant and cycle in the same order. So you may find yourself dancing with the same person constantly to try and build their trust. It gets tiresome but still is an interesting part of the game. Even getting married and having tons of kids can become a snooze. It’s interesting at first, but after a while you end up doing the same things over and over.

Graphically the game looks beautiful. That is, until the technical glitches rear their head one too many times. Collision detection stinks and you see the frame rate chugging along far too often for a game that looks this good standing still. It’s like having a beautiful car with a crappy engine.

The combat system is a bit uneven as well. You have the choice of using magic, guns or melee weapons when fighting. But because there is no limit to magic or ammo, you’ll find yourself rarely using the melee weapons provided. Each of your weapons powers up based on your usage or spending orbs that you get by completing various quests. I opted to ignore upgrading my sword and ran through the game relying solely on magic when the going got tough.

But again, the quest is fun and littered with solid dialog and very humorous situations. Once you make it to a position of power in the main story, you are given the task to figure out how to maintain a kingdom while keeping promises to some of the people you have met along the way. This is the meat and potatoes of the game where choices really do matter. Unfortunately, it is only about a ¼ of the game and tucked neatly at the end. Without giving too much away, there are some truly gut wrenching choices that will find people dying one way or another.

In the end, Fable III could have been a great game but is reduced to slightly above average because of one too many nagging issues. It’s worth playing and spending hours on end completing side missions. But it can get old really fast. Hopefully they will work out the kinks for the next installment.

Pros

- Excellent graphics

- The voice acting and humor is spot on

- The journey is deep and the story is the best of all the Fable titles

Cons

- Technical issues bog down the experience

- The good and evil options don’t make sense until the end

- The best part comes in the final quarter of the game

Rating: 2.75 out of 5

The Black Versus Storage Ottoman is a beautiful piece of furniture on the outside, with the ability to stash up to 32 games/DVDs as well as accessories on the inside. For under $30 you can kick your feet up on the plush microfiber ottoman with a sturdy wooden construction.

The Versus Game Trays come in three different versions, one for each system, with the ability to hold four controllers as well as specific accessory trays correlating to the system.  These go for a little under $20, available at Toys R Us as well.

Do you want to win a Nintendo DS Tray [a $20 value]?  Four winners will be chosen!

Here’s How to Enter: (this entry is mandatory)

• Like the LevelUp Gear Facebook page...yup, that’s it!
  

After you have submitted your entry, you must email press@levelupgear.com with your name used on FaceBook to confirm your submission.

The contest will run until Monday, November 1st.  Good Luck!