Realistic Pokémon: Kanto Rim

A couple of years ago Steven Lefcourt had a go at making realistic Pokémon. He ended up making creepy creatures, but they’re not nearly as scary and Kaiju-like as Yuuki Morita’s versions. The freelance CG artist used 3D animation and modeling programs to portray the final forms of the original starter Pokémon.

real life pokemon by yuuki morita 620x688magnify

Check out the abs on Charizard. Blastoise looks equally mad…

real life pokemon by yuuki morita 2 620x688magnify

…and Venusaur is daring you to choose someone else over him:

real life pokemon by yuuki morita 3 620x687magnify

It’s hard to believe any of these three would accept orders from a kid, let alone willingly confine themselves in a Pokéball.

[Yuuki Morita via Geekologie]

Lëkki Nintendo 64 Consoles: Next-Gen Refurbishing

Imagine Slowpoke starting a ColorWare franchise and you get the concept behind Lëkki. The French gadget shop sells and repaints only old – but beloved – gadgets, such as the Motorola StarTAC 130. Their latest (?) offering is the Nintendo 64, a console even older than Motorola’s thousand-year old flip phone, but no less popular.

lekki nintendo 64 casemodsmagnify

The console is available in four colorways and comes with a similarly colored controller and a copy of Super Mario 64, which is probably the best launch game of all time.

lekki nintendo 64 casemods 2 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 3 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 4 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 5 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 6 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 7 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 8 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 9 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 10 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 11 300x250
lekki nintendo 64 casemods 12 300x250

Lëkki sells the bundles for €120 (~$165 USD). Note that these refurbished consoles are PAL versions, so check if you have a compatible TV before you order.

[via Nintendo Life]

SteamOS Beta Now Available: All Aboard the Valve Train

If console gamers have the PS4 and Xbox One to be excited about, Valve has given the master race and their incessantly upgraded next, next-gen PC hardware something to tinker with. You can now download the first public beta version of SteamOS, the Linux-based and gaming-centered operating system.

steam os beta 1 620x343magnify

The current version of SteamOS is based on Debian 7 plus the Gnome desktop environment. As Ars Technica notes, this beta build is for the earliest of early adopters. Bugs and glitches aside, “all it is today is a way to run a limited subset of your existing Steam library on an odd version of Steam that requires a dedicated computer.” Another thing to keep in mind is that the beta only supports NVIDIA graphics cards, though the final version will include support for AMD and Intel graphics. Here’s an overview shared by YouTuber Marcelo Salvador. Skip to 3:00 in the video to see SteamOS – or at least Steam in SteamOS – in action:

You can download the SteamOS beta from its official website. Valve also posted installation instructions here, which by the way clearly state that the process will erase all content on the target drive, so you might want to consider installing it on a virtual (Steam) machine for now like Marcelo did.

[via Ars Technica]

Dualshock 4 Hack Lets You Use Mouse & Keyboard on PS4: Master Peasant

There are already plug-and-play third-party devices that let you play previous gen consoles or a PC using any of their controllers. For instance, you can use a Wiimote with your PS3 if you want. There’s no equivalent product for the PlayStation 4 just yet, but Marcos Mori de Siqueira of Softfactory is onto something here. He hacked a Dualshock 4 controller to send input from a mouse and keyboard to the PS 4.

playstation 4 dualshock 4 controller mouse keyboard mod by Marcos Mori de Siqueira 620x351magnify

I’m not even going to pretend that I fully understood what Marcos pulled off, but from what I grokked he used a microcontroller (plus two digital-to-analog converters for emulating the thumbsticks) to turn signals from his keyboard – in this case a Logitech Gameboard – and mouse into signals that the PS4 understands, sent via the Dualshock 4′s circuit board. All in all it took him about $50 (USD) of materials and a ton of solder to make the mod. Skip to about 1:55 in the video to see the mod in action.

Check out Marcos’ post on Softfactory for more details on his mod. Seeing as FPS and MMOs are still popular, I wonder why Sony and Microsoft don’t just add support for keyboards and mice on their consoles. They can probably earn extra from certifying third party hardware if they did that. It’ll make it way easier to search for content on their online stores too.

[via Hack A Day]

SteamOS beta now available for download

Following yesterday’s promise, gamers who don’t mind things a bit gritty can now head over to SteamDB and download the release of SteamOS. As anticipated, the release is a beta offering, and because of the operating system’s Linux underpinning, it is recommended only those who are familiar with the OS opt to download. The download […]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Spin-Dashes onto Android with a New Zone

I have vivid memories of playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the SEGA Genesis with my brother back in the day. I can recall him getting mad each time Robotnik beat him and tossing the controller across the room claiming the game was cheating. If you want to relive some of your glory days of gaming with a cool retro game, SEGA has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now available for the first time on Android devices.

sonic 2 620x349magnify

You can download the game now and play as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles.

sonictb 3 620x348magnify

It has all those classic levels you recall from the original game including Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant, and Casino Night. The game get a new area that wasn’t in the original called the Hidden Palace Zone.

sonictb 1 620x348magnify

The game was previously available for iOS gamers in its original version, but those that bought the iOS version get the re-mastered version as a free upgrade. Android users can buy the game for $2.99 (USD).

sonictb 2 620x349magnify

Just don’t throw your smartphone across the room when Eggman beats you.

PlayStation 4 sales broke record in November, reports NPD Group

The console wars are ones that know little bounds, and in them are all sorts of claims and proclamations. Sony fans have a reason to cheer, according to a report just released by NPD Group: the PlayStation 4 is reported as having the highest first-month sales number for any hardware platform. This goes for sales […]

Skyrim Mod Turns Dragons into Thomas the Tank Engine

When my son was really small he loved trains and watched Thomas the Tank Engine a lot. He loved the oddly animated train and his pals. I always found Thomas more than a bit creepy. If you ever thought that Thomas might be plotting to kill and take over the world, then I have the Skyrim mod for you.

thomas train skyrim 620x348magnify

It’s called the Really Useful Dragons mod and it turns every dragon on the game into Thomas the Tank Engine. The roars of the dragons are even replaced with Thomas’ shrill whistle. That toot-toot will haunt your dreams. Here, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cXuWBMZfi8

I love the first time you see Thomas in the video. He swoops in and lands atop the tower with dust puffing out. I think he was meant to burn cities and capture souls, what about you? You can fast forward to about 2:00 in the video to bypass the wait and see Thomas the Terror for yourself.

Want to try it for yourself? Grab the mod here.

[@kenyatta via Laughing Squid via Nerd Approved]

StarCraft 2 professional is first series gamer to be granted U.S. pro athlete visa

If you’re a StarCraft 2 fan, it is likely you’ve heard of gamer Kim Dong Hwan, also known as Violet, who holds the title of professional gamer and now the distinct honor of being the first StarCraft player granted a traditional pro athlete visa in the United States. The news is said to have brought […]

Fallout 4 leaked: documents lead to Boston

Earlier this week, a Fallout 4 teaser website surfaced, only to soon after be revealed as a hoax. Upon that foundation of disappointment comes a ray of hope, however: documents have leaked showing the game is both real and being developed at this moment, and by all accounts it seems it will be set in […]