The “Foam Fighters” video game combines two expertly crafted and air-worthy foam airplanes with a realistic and incredibly fun WWII-like flying simulator App.

The package might say ages 9+, but my six-year-old niece craves this game, and I greatly enjoy it (being a bit older than six myself).

AppGear has been combining free Apps – that are adept at their game’s purpose, such as flying and fighting in this case – with props that function as fun add-ons that stick via a suction cup to the tablet or smart phone the players are using.

And I cannot understate this: having a WWII fighter plane on a stand that can be angled to give you a perfect view of the screen and the soaring foam fighter just beyond the game’s horizon is a great illusion that adds to the action; but what I find most intriguing is that the foam fighters actually glide, and are built extremely well to fly better than the old foam plane kits that we all bought from the ice cream man from time to time.

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Retro gaming lovers and thirty-somethings rejoice. Etsy shop owner Charles Lushear has created a 3.5 foot Nintendo NES controller coffee table that actually works.

The hand crafted table is made from premium maple, mahogany and walnut woods with all dovetail joinery and topped with protective glass top.

When it’s time to play all gamers need to do is simply remove the glass table top and extend the retractable cord from the bottom of the controller, plug it in, and enjoy.

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For everyone who enjoys any type of arcade game (or using the D-pad at all), the Street Fighter controller is here as a savior.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has become a champion of the next generation video game consoles, but avid and amateur gamers alike have always harped on one major flaw with the powerful system: the D-pad is horrendous.

Since the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation One consoles, the controllers arrived with not only a D-pad, but with mini joysticks as well. Players marveled at the relative ease that avatars could be moved on the bright screen via these ‘sticks.

But many games, such as fighting games like those in the Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Marvel Vs. Capcom series have long required a directional D-pad to perform moves (when a full size arcade machine’s mega-joystick was not around). The micro joysticks cannot begin to replicate the steady up, down, left, right accuracy of the D-pad.

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If you took advantage of Apple’s Black Friday event to pick up the perfect gift or snag an iPad yourself, your only logical next move is to jump all over Cyber Monday and pick up the iCade, arcade cabinet at 40% off.

The iCade brings old school arcade controls and your favorite retro games right to the iPad with the power of bluetooth, all while making the décor of any room or office orders of magnitude awesomer.

Backed by Atari’s greatest hits, gamers will have access to over 100 classic games including hits like, Asteroids, Centipede, Pong, Tempest, and more. What’s even more exciting is that recent popularity of iCade has prompted 25 other iOS developers to support the desktop gaming system so, there will be more titles to follow.

The iCade is the ideal accessory for any iPad owner, and at today’s price of $59, it’s a great gift on the cheap.

Racing simulation fans (like myself) have come to appreciate the modern peripherals that help bring another level of immersion to our digital racing experiences.

The new Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel, shifter, and pedals really brings that immersion to a new height, but at a hefty price.

Before we delve into the costs, let’s first look at how awesome it is. I have only had a brief experience with the new CSR wheel, but I can say that 5 minutes with this thing is all I needed to say, “wow”.

The form factor and build quality are nothing like I’ve ever put in my hands when it comes to racing wheels. I have extensively used the now discontinued wireless wheel for the Xbox 360, and this thing blows it away. The feedback, the smooth resistance in the wheel, the crispness of the shifter, and rigidity of the pedals all play into an overall amazing Forza racing experience. The force feedback actuators in the steering wheel actually simulate vibrations from the car’s motor and the ABS brakes!

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There is an unnatural and unearthly groan from the next cubicle over. There is a threat:  “I’ve got me eye on you.” The only response:  hurl a live piranha at the office zombie and let it bite into his eyeball!

Fluik, the makers of the “Office Jerk” game for Droids and iPhones, have crafted a seasonally fun version that allows for the torturing of the office jerk to be even more necessary . . . because in “Office Zombie” the target is, well, a creature of the undead.

What is worse than a bespectacled office know-it-all that is hell-bent on ruining your gruelingly long day of work with repetitive nagging?

How about if the comrade in arms at the corporate base is in fact a loudly breathing (or groaning), smelly (rotting skin does it), and persistent (in not dying) zombie?

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Drive fast cars, and brutally kill zombies while on the highway? Vroom, vroom, I’m in!

The current number one free download in the App Store is the “Zombie Highway” game, and it is easy to see why. Fire up the App and turn the iPhone into a steering wheel, a video game controller, and a deadly weapon for surviving a zombie apocalypse via motorway.

Zombies cling to the player’s car, but the driver can commit vehicular manslaughter by scraping the undead-laden side into approaching cars and objects.

After surviving a decent run of miles, despite the sticky scenarios the jump-happy zombies create for the player (and there are no limits to these former track star’s jumps, folks), gains the reward of guns.

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Finally, an affordable joystick has surfaced that can easily transform iPhone and Androids into arcade machines.

Wow!

For less than thirteen bucks, the JOYSTICK-IT can easily stick to any capacitive touchscreen and make the do-it-all smart phones true gamer gamuts.

The JOYSTICK-IT is aluminum, so it is sturdy and actually has weight that is felt in the hand (just like a real arcade machine joystick would, folks! I know they’re damn near extinct but they have been so much fun).

How does this ingenious gaming accessory (or necessity depending on how you like to play) work? Simply take the JOYSTICK-IT in the hand and place it right onto the virtual control pad on the touchscreen. Then press down. You are ready!

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The Duke is back!

Duke Nukem Forever will not take forever to come out after all!  The sequel to the Duke’s 1996 hit is going to be released on June 14, 2011 (finally) for the X-Box 360, PS3 and PC!

Duke Nukem 3D nearly single-handedly promoted the burgeoning first person shooter (FPS) video game genre to a popular and all out fun framework for anyone who could handle a mouse, keyboard or controller.  Wolfenstein 3D and the DOOM series began the innovative realism that fans and gamers have come to crave in FPS games today, but it was the over the top ass-kicking Duke that launched the FPS into the limelight.

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Take the classic Atari 2600 and arcade games and shrink them down to the iPhone’s touchscreen perfectly. And “PONG” is free!

The Atari arcade machines that transformed the video game industry into a popular culture/slash/entertainment force and the first truly successful home cartridge-based console video game system, the Atari 2600, are now emulated with precision and beautiful accuracy on the iPhone.

Atari had revolutionized video gaming in the seventies and eighties, and now they’ve provided everyone on the go with 18 of their exemplary arcade games, including “Centipede” and other addictive classics in a mobile “Atari” App.  They even include screen shots of the gorgeous cabinets of the legendary games as if they were in an extinct arcade; “PONG” is shown with its sexy dark-wood panels and bright 1970’s yellow face with the sleekest and simplest of shining metal dial controls below.

Before I elaborate in further detail, know this retro-gamers:  the “Atari” App is FREE!  Download it at iTunes here.

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