There Are Fewer Better Ways To Celebrate Veterans Day

So, by now your gaming budget has probably been crushed to a bloody pulp by the relentless parade of A+ titles that have been released over the past few weeks. Prepare to part with another sixty bucks, as today marks D-Day for the latest in the highly revered Call of Duty series. This fifth iteration subtitled World at War takes players back into the fray of the WWII era previously featured in COD 2 and 3.

Expect more of what has delighted players and critics alike in the CODs of yesterday such as sublime battlefield graphics and sound, an engrossing single player campaign, and a robust multiplayer experience. You’ll be asked to survive missions from both the European and Pacific theaters, playing as troops from each Allied nation. Simply put, Call of Duty: World of War is the latest and greatest way to get your boots on the ground and slog through the much vaunted fog of war.

Just remember two things:

• The “Potato Masher” isn’t a kitchen utensil.
• This is Call of Duty, not Call of Dusty, as noted to my editors.

Cost: $60

A Splendid Way to Display Your Photography Skills or Lack Thereof

Your office desk is probably a place where little to no free space exists. Couple that with the few hundred pictures that need displaying (to remind you of life other than work), and you’ve got a universe crushing paradox of the space-time variety. Luckily, there is a solution to this dilemma. Get a digital photo frame.

We suggest one from the new line of Digital Foci frames, like the Image Moments 6. On the surface, the IM6 is a good looking piece styled in two-tone, mirror-polished chrome that takes up minimal surface space. More importantly though, it boasts some rich display chops for such a small frame. An ample LCD backlight and 140 PPI pixel density work to do your vacation pics proud.

Looking for something bigger? Scope out other larger frames in the lineup such as the Image Moments 8 which adds an interchangeable frame and mat design, and the Image Moment 15 which throws in 16.2 million colors and VESA wall mounting capabilities.

Size aside though, each frame offers a bevy of features such as: 450 MB internal memory, card slots for storage expansion, and the ability to play back a wide variety of multimedia files. For more details though check out the Digital Foci website.

What this means to you: I’m looking at the IM6 on my desk right now. It looks good. My pictures look good. Just don’t load it up and display a slide show with one second intervals. You wont get any real work done that way. Especially if that shot of Louise Glover you threw in keeps popping up. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with us.

Cost $149 from Digital Foci

Also See: Sony S Frame | Philips Mothers Day Digital Photo Frame

The Cure for Wrap Rage

Here at Gear Patrol, we have embarked upon an endless mission to scour the Earth for ways that you, Man, may Advance Yourself. Oftentimes, advancement comes through the advent of simple solutions to life’s most insidious frustrations. It is in that spirit that we present the Open It!

If you believe, like I do, that some forms of packaging are so ill-designed as to be mortally dangerous to the average consumer, then the Open It! is the only suitable weapon with which to equip yourself for a post-shopping spree unboxing session. It features angular shears resembling the “Jaws of Life,” designed to tackle the most heinous of packaging materials: the clamshell. Additionally, the Open It! sports a box cutter utility blade and even a mini-screwdriver perfect for opening those completely inane battery compartments. Available in three colors, the Open It! gets the GP Seal of Approval for helping us get our mounds of swag out of the boxes with a high degree of alacrity.

What this means to you: It doesn’t cost much and it just might help you escape the holidays with all of your digits intact. Now that’s value.

Cost: $12.99

Editor’s Note: Interestingly, Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) has posted an article on the home page of Amazon.com today with a solution to alleviate “wrap rage” as well. God bless him. We’re not sure how long it will be up so you can read a copy of his article after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Easier To Pick The Leader Of The Free World

The only choice able to rival the consternation facing undecided civic duty-doers today might be taking a stand for one of this week’s blockbuster new releases. Fear not, for unlike your singular opportunity to pull that hallowed lever, nothing but your budget can prevent you from taking both these bad boys home.

Some similarities exist between GOW 2 and Resistance 2, not the least of which is that they are unabashedly awesome. Both are exclusive to their consoles, both offer near endless multiplayer appeal to supplement the single player and co-op campaign modes, and both ask you to repel an inhuman scourge threatening the Earth’s very existence. Speaking of, did anyone ask the Presidential hopefuls where they stand on the issue of inhuman scourges?

My hope for you, dear reader, is that you needn’t make any more tough choices this week. Both of these gems look to fulfill their promises to the gaming public. If you were to press me on a choice though, I’d give the edge to Gears of War 2; after all, it’s still got a chainsaw rifle to help you reach across the aisle.

Gears of War 2 ($60) emerges Friday | Resistance 2 ($60) out today

Let’s Play Global Thermonuclear War

Image Courtesy: Bethesda Softworks

If there are two things that you should know about me (resident GP Game Guru and father extraordinaire), they are as follows:

• I never miss a chance to insert a WarGames reference.
• I’ve been really, really looking forward to playing Fallout 3 for a really, really long time.

The implication is that you should be equally excited about the latest offering in the Fallout series from Bethesda Softworks, out today. Some have basically called it Oblivion with a fresh coat of post-apocalyptic paint. It’s not that such a description would denigrate an ordinary game, but Fallout 3 is so much more.

It’s a classic boy meets world scenario (minus Ben Savage), only this world is irradiated and populated by hordes of mutant creatures. You emerge from the Vault 101, an underground shelter that has been your lifelong home, to search the wasteland of a nuked Washington D.C. for your father and that ever elusive “truth.” Aside from the vast world and stunning visuals that you’d expect from the Bethesda team, Fallout 3’s game play features keen AI and an immersive story that evolves with your choices. Much better than an elementary game of chess… against Professor Falken.
Cost: Xbox ($59) | PS3 ($59)

Also See: Fable II | Retro Space Home Arcade Machine

Apparently, Choices Do Have Consequences

Fable II’s exclusive Xbox 360 release represents yet another blockbuster offering in this season’s video game line up. As the sequel to one of the flagship games of the original Xbox era, Fable II takes the original’s formula and improves on it in nearly every way.

In case you don’t know, it goes something like this. You control a character wandering about in a lush open-world environment. As your avatar ages and matures, he becomes good and benevolent if you make positive choices. Make shady ones and watch as your character devolves into a maniacal sociopath. Not unsimilar to your own choices in life. Mix in an immersive story and revamped combat system and you’ve got yourself a barrel full of fun.

Evil fun, perhaps, but fun nonetheless.

Cost: $60