Then, of course, you’ll need to get some games. Because on their own, the systems aren’t going to have anything to help you get fit. Yes, the system, sensor or controller may come with games, but they may not be the right or best games. Most Wiis, for example, come with either New Super Mario Bros. Wii or Mario Kart Wii and while those are awesome games, they won’t help you lose weight. The Kinect sensor comes with Kinect Adventures, which is more of a sampler to show how the sensor works. If you’re lucky though, you may still be able to find one of the holiday Kinect bundles that also included Gunstringer and Fruit Ninja. The PlayStation Move bundle actually is the best bet for software pack-ins, as both Sports Champions and Medieval Moves require quite a bit of movement. Still, no matter which system you decide to shape up with, you’ll need more software and these six titles are good starting points.

• EA Sports Active 2 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360): could actually end up being a good deal. It’s been out for a while, so there have been plenty of price drops. It’s a basic exercise game that comes with a heart monitor and the necessary peripherals built into the bundle. Plus, the PS3 version doesn’t require Move to use it. The Xbox 360 version does require Kinect though. Keep an eye out for it for $39.99 or less.
• Kinect Sports (Xbox 360): is Microsoft’s answer to Wii Sports. It’s a sports-themed mini-game collection wih bowling, boxing, soccer, table tennis, track and field and volleyball. You can usually find it for under $40. Kinect Sports Season Two was just released as well, costs $50 and includes baseball, darts, football, golf, tennis and skiing.
• Wii Fit Plus (Wii): is the go-to game for Wii owners looking to work out. It should be around $84 now and comes with the Balance Board peripheral. There are general and Yoga routines included, as well as plans to work on certain areas of your body. Plus, it even has a few games.
• Wii Sports Resort (Wii): isn’t exactly what you’d immediately think of as a fitness game, but all of its mini-games involve lots of constant movement. Plus, it can track your progress in each game and each mini-game is short enough to keep you busy without feeling like work. It’ll be $40, and requires either a Wii Remote Plus or a remote with the MotionPlus peripheral.
• Your Shape Fitness Evolved (Xbox 360): may be available in both a standard and 2012 variety, but you’ll be fine going with first game, which is cheaper. This fitness game allows you to take “classes” with trainers, like Yoga or Tai Chi. You can also share your progress or even download new workouts. Expect to pay $40.
• Zumba Fitness (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360): is an exercise game based on the popular workout program that uses Latin dances to lose weight. The game teaches you nine different dance, has multiple difficulty levels and 30 exercise routines. It’ll usually cost $30 or less for a copy, though Zumba Fitness 2 has recently been released for the Wii and is about $40.

If you want to lose weight without actually feeling like you’re working out, then you’d better start looking at music video games like the aforementioned Zumba Fitness. Most music games, even some of the ones involving instruments, will get you working up a sweat without actually making you feel like you’re taking part in a real workout. Even though it isn’t pretty to look at, the Just Dance games will make you move and even have a workout mode built into it, complete with warm-ups and cool-downs. Plus, Just Dance 3 is multiplatform and available for the Wii, the Xbox 360 with Kinect and the PS3 with Move. If you want something similar, but a bit better looking and more technical, then get one of the two Dance Central games for your Xbox 360. As far as instrument games, something with a drum kit is key. So look towards Rock Band, Band Hero or one of the Guitar Hero games released since Guitar Hero: World Tour.

There’s also a series of rather ridiculous games that is actually very physically demanding. Not to mention they’re so incredibly bad that they actually manage to be hilariously good. The line is called the Family Party series and its only available on the Wii. It’s a budget line, so each game is only $19.99. There are five available, but I’ve only played the first entry, Family Party: 30 Great Games. So that’s the only one I can vouch for and approve. Most of the mini-games have the most ridiculous and convoluted control schemes ever, requiring all kinds of mad flailing to succeed. As promised, it does have 30 games, but you have to unlock every single one. Other entries include Family Party: 30 Great Games Outdoor Fun, Family Party: Winter Fun, Family Party: Fitness Fun and, the coup de grâce, Family Party: 90 Great Games Party Pack. Apparently, the last entry actually features mini-games from every other entry for $19.99, so I would go with that one.

Finally, there are a few games that aren’t actually designed with physical fitness in mind, like music games or the Family Party series, but require so much movement that they can be considered another option for people looking for a light workout. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is one of them, surprisingly enough, since players actually have to swing the Wii remote and take action if they want Link to battle against his enemies. Red Steel 2 is another Wii game that isn’t about exercising, but still forces players to really get moving. In terms of an extraordinarily low-impact work out, perhaps look towards Heavy Rain. The PS3 adventure game has had motion controls added in recently. Also, Kung Fu Rider, InFamous 2 and inFamous 2: Festival of Blood all support Move controls. When it comes to the Xbox 360, you’re probably going to have to settle for games designed for children if you want a game that requires a lot of movement but isn’t an exercise title. Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster is one of them, and Fruit Ninja Kinect is another option.

Whatever you decide, you should have enough ideas now to start figuring out how you want to start improving your life and losing some weight using video games. Just remember to pace yourself and be patient. You aren’t going to become a pinnacle of health in a few weeks. You need to gradually work towards your goal, so you don’t hurt yourself. Take your time and have faith in yourself!

The Skyrim Wiki has many articles still in need of major construction so, if you’re looking to get a leg up on your buddies, your best bet is to consider the following advice from a veteran traveler of many Bethesda games on the PC:

1. Creation
Don’t spend a lot of time carefully picking a character face, tattoos, scars and all the other little things you can do in the character builder. The world of Skyrim awaits, and you’ll be lucky to find even one mirror to help appreciate any effort you spend here. Each race comes with a minor power, so just find one that has something you might use once, or twice, and run with it.

2. Favorite
The menu system, being compatible with console and PC, is thus clunky as heck. Save yourself a lot of trouble, and select “favorite” for a melee weapon and at least one spell, and seriously consider using a bow as well. You can always “unfavorite” anything you don’t want to use, later. You can access this menu by pressing “Q” and this will save you many, many keystrokes of navigation through menus.

3. Relax
Combat may be in real time but, once you open a menu, everything pauses. Exploit this by drinking as many potions as you like if things get hectic. Stamina, as well as health, is key to combat, so be sure to stock up on potions that regain either.

4. Sneak
Hit CTRL to enter sneak mode, which generally gives you a chance to surprise opponents. Hit “shift” to walk slowly while sneaking, to make it even harder to be detected. Finally, take off your armor so you move even more quietly–don’t worry, you can put on a full suit of plate mail instantaneously during combat! In addition to getting the advantage of surprise, you deal double damage with blows (especially arrows) that hit while you’re undetected.

5. Loot
As pictured, there’s nothing prettier than a fully looted corpse. Houses run around 5,000 gold in the lands of Skyrim with furnishings costing another few thousand. You generally only want to take items that have at least a 4-to-1 gold-to-weight ratio for maximum profits.

6. Mule
You’ll quickly get at least one follower: A huscarl. She’ll faithfully fight for you and is fairly tough (although she can be killed, especially if you’re the one doing the swinging) but that’s not why you’ll want her around. Her “I’d like to trade with you” option isn’t trading at all. You can load her down with equipment and take it all back when you’re in town and ready to sell. Be careful giving her magic items, like staffs, because she’ll happily burn through their limited uses during combat. Once you’re both loaded up, don’t be shy about using “fast travel” to go back to town right away to sell. The monsters, and most quests, will patiently wait until you come back for more.

7. Spells
While blasting your enemies is always fun, there are a pair of non-combat spells that everyone should have. Clairvoyance is a cheap, low-level spell that tells you the best path to take to complete your current quest. You can easily find it by shopping general or magic stores, and it will save you a lot of trouble for some otherwise annoying quests. Muffle is a pricey but great spell that will make it easier for you to sneak around–successful sneaking increases your ability to sneak, so this spell is a great way to improve a low skill level.

8. Training
Keep track of trainers when you find them. You can only train five times a level and, while money will often be a problem, some skills, like smithing and enchantment, are more economical or convenient to improve by training than by successful use. Training is expensive at high levels, but still generally worth it, especially if there’s something on the relevant skill tree you really want.

9. Dragons
Sooner or later you’ll learn that this is a dragon-fighting game. Each dragon has unique tactics, but all like to breathe fire and fight. Be sure to stay near a nice stone pillar for cover (the region is littered with them), to keep the flames off you. When the thing lands, your best bet is to fight from the side, being careful to avoid the tail. It takes at least 20 solid hits to slay a dragon, so pace yourself accordingly.

10. Alchemy
It will take much time to make a potion worth your while to drink. On the other hand, the sell price for even useless potions is amazingly high, considering they’re not worth carrying around. Be sure to grab up all the mushrooms and flowers and butterfly wings you can, and don’t be afraid to experiment at any alchemy table you find.

Product Page [Skyrim] Read [Skyrim Wiki]

You can’t just go and grab the first tablet you see though. These are expensive devices and you need to invest in a tablet that is going to meet all of your needs and be able to handle not only ordinary web browsing, media playing and ereading, but also be able to play every Android game out there.

Operating System:

The Android OS is the most important thing to look at when you’re shopping for a tablet as it will determine what apps and games you’ll be able to run. The absolute best version available right now is Honeycomb. If you have an unlimited budget, that means you want to look for a tablet with Android 3.0 installed. Get one like that and you’ll be able to handle pretty much every app out there. If you want to even go a step further and get something that will last you three or more years, you may want to investigate the tablet you’re most interested in to see if it’s going to eventually receive a free upgrade to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich after it’s released.

If you want to save money and go with a more basic gaming tablet, then you can get by with an Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. Don’t go any earlier than Gingerbread though, as an earlier OS like 2.2 Froyo or 2.0 and 2.1 Eclair will severly limit the number of games you can play and apps you can download.

Memory:

Even though most Android games aren’t that large, there are a few with massive space requirements. For example, the Android version of Spectral Souls requires an over 1gb data download to play it. If you get a tablet like the Kindle Fire, which is an 8GB tablet but only has 6GB available for storage and no expandable storage options, you could find yourself running out of space very quickly. I mean, even if this tablet is going to primarily be used for apps and gaming, you’ll probably want to keep some music, books or other media on it as well.

So here’s what needs to be done. If you don’t want to deal with expandable storage, you’re probably going to need a tablet with at least 16GB of space. A 32GB tablet would probably be for the best, but I’m sure most people could manage well enough with 16GB if money is an issue. If you are okay with maybe buying an SD card or microSD card, then look for something with at least 4GB of onboard storage. Also, check and see what the expandable storage limitation is while you’re shopping. Most tablets have a 32GB external SD/microSD limit.

Processor:

There are two kinds of processors that have been showing up in tablets recently, single core and dual core. For people who are just using tablets for basic functions, a single core processor is fine. It works well for daily use and the majority of the available apps on both the Android Market and Amazon App Store support single core processors.

However, for a gaming tablet you may want to pay more for that dual core processor, but not just any dual core processor. Some of them may actually end up being the same speed as a single core processor if it isn’t advanced enough or a quality product. The idea solution would be to get a tablet with a Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core 1Ghz or Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core 1.2Ghz processor.

Size and Screen:

If you’re reading this, you’re a gamer and as all gamers already know, bigger is better. You’ll want a nice large screen with a large display resolution so you can see everything. That means it’ll be best to avoid the 7″ tablets and keep an eye on the 10″ tablets. You’ll also want to look for a 1280×800 display resolution, though games will still look impressive on a tablet with a 1024×768 resolution.

You’ll also want to make sure the tablet has a multi-touch screen. There are two kinds, capacitive and resistive. Each kind has its pros and cons, but I’ve found capacitive screens to be more sensitive and accurate even though it means you have to use your fingers and can’t rely on a normal stylus.

Battery Life:

When most tablets offer a battery life estimate, that’s just what it is. It’s a best case scenario estimation of how long a battery will last. If you’re using your tablet for gaming, especially if it uses any kind of Wi-Fi features, it is going to eat away at your battery and the next thing you know, your supposedly 8 hour battery has died after not even four hours. You best bet is to round up. If you think you may be using the tablet for four hours straight at a time with the Wi-Fi on, then go for a battery that will last at least 10 hours.

Also, keep in mind that the processor will also have a big influence on battery life. A single core processor uses less power than a dual core one!

Test Them Out

This is the most important step of all. You need to actually get out there and try using some tablets. Best Buy, Office Depot, Target, hhgregg, Frys and even Staples typically have a handful of tablets on display for people to investigate. Get a feel for the different sizes and weights to find something you think would be comfortable and easy to use on a daily basis.

And, in case all of that was too much to absorb at once, here are basic and optimal checklists so you can see if your future gaming tablet would work for you.

Basic

• OS: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
• Memory: 8GB with expandable storage
• Processor: Anything with a 1.5Ghz or higher single core processor
• Size: 9″ with 1024 x 768 resolution
• Battery Life: 8 hours
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Gyroscope built in
• Accelerometer built in

Optimal

• OS: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
• Memory: 32GB with expandable storage
• Processor: Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core 1Ghz or Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core 1.2Ghz
• Size: 10″ with 1280 x 800 resolution
• Battery Life: At least 10 hours
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Gyroscope built in
• Accelerometer built in

If you’d like to do a little more research, you can find out why you shouldn’t cheap out and get a budget tablet like a Next6 Nextbook or what you can expect from a middle of road tablet like a Vizio VTAB.

The Idolmaster 2 is now available on the PS3 in Japan! Yay for them. Not so good for us though, as Namco Bandai’s idol raising Xbox 360 and PS3 game is a Japan exclusive. There is a bright side though. The Japanese PlayStation Store has a free trial version of Idolmaster 2 on it. So if you have a Japanese PSN account, you can actually log in and give the game a try.

Of course, if you don’t speak Japanese it’ll be a bit of a trial to actually reach the demo. After all, the Japanese PlayStation Store isn’t organized exactly the same way as the North American one. Besides, once you get the demo, you might not know what you’re doing. Well, I’m here to help. I’ll get you through the demo downloading process and offer some tips for actually playing through the Idolmaster 2 demo.

Let’s go to the PlayStation Store!

Before you get started downloading, you need two things. One is a Japanese PlayStation Store account. You’ll have to create a new general account on your PS3 to tie it to, since your main account is likely tied to the ID from your country of origin. Don’t worry about the demo being restricted to just that user – you’ll be able to play the demo on your main account as long as its downloaded to your system. You’ll also need 2gb of space free on your hard drive. The Idolmaster 2 demo is only just over a 1gb download, but the systems setting section doesn’t go into specifics about exactly how much space is left, so make sure you’ve got two free for it. (You can always erase it to free up room later.)

The easiest way to find it once you’re at the Japanese PlayStation Store is to use the Search function at the top of the screen, indicated by the magnifying glass. Once the keyboard comes up, you’ll need to enter Idolmaster 2 in katakana. (You’ll have to click the select button once to get the katakana keyboard to come up.) Enter this word: アイドルマスター. One of the first 10 results should be the demo. It’ll say PS3, Idolmaster 2 and Trial Version. Click through, make sure it’s the free option and download it. Since it’s over 1gb, it will probably take around an hour to download. Once it’s finished, just click it’s icon under the game header of the XMB to install it.

Prepare your Idolmaster 2 trio!

You should now have the Idolmaster 2 demo on your PS3. Now, as long as that took, the demo itself is pretty short. Just brace yourself for that. You basically get to put together a singing group with three idols and go through one or two activities as the 765 Producer. Now, all the girls aren’t available for the demo. You can only choose from (from left to right, back row first than front row) Madoka, Miki, Takane, Yayoi, Hibiki, Yukino, Haruka, Chihaya and Mami. Ami, Ritsuko, Azusa and Iori are all absent. First, you need to pick your group. You start with a lead singer. Then, you choose two more girls to act as backup and supporting members. I seemed to have really good luck when I chose Haruka or Miki as the lead.

From there, Idolmaster 2 demo jumps right into action. The producer will meet the girls in the morning. You’ll say hello and get the opportunity to choose one to talk to briefly about her concerns or desires (show-biz wise, of course). After that, it’s time to set the schedule.

The schedule is three blocks, and there are six activities to choose from. There are two promotion/publicity events that each take up two blocks, one lesson that takes up a single block and three performance events that each take up three blocks. If you don’t speak Japanese, then you’ll want to skip the promotion and publicity events, which are the first and third options in the menu. Both of those are visual novel style segments where you choose one girl and an area of Japan, and then head out with her to make memories and earn more fans and publicity for the group. Since this is only a demo, the relationships don’t really matter so it’s in there just to give an idea of what those segments are like in the full game.

While the full Idolmaster 2 game has many different kinds of lessons to help boost the singers’ visual appeal, dance abilities and vocal range, the demo only has a one block voice lesson. It’s similar to the Parappa the Rappa and Guitar Hero games. There’s a bar along the bottom with an indicator. When the X, O, square or triangle symbol reaches the indicator, you push the appropriate button. The goal is to fill the gauge at the top of the screen all the way to “Perfect” so the girls’ become better singers. It’s fun and fairly simple, though the path gets twisted and the speed increases the longer the lesson runs.

Finally, there are three different performances to participate in, where players get to actually see their trio sing the song, “Ready.” Well, part of the song “Ready.” And you only get to see that if you win. There are two music festival battles (Odyssey and Fujisan Rock) and one audience performance with guests called T-Bonus. All three play in a similar way. The first two are battles against another three member idol group, with Odyssey being against the boy group Jupiter and Fujisan Rock being against Ryuuguu Komachi, the other 765 group managed by former idol Ritsuko and contains Iori, Ami and Azusa.

In each performance, there will be three circles at the bottom of the screen corresponding to the square, triangle and circle button. They will allow you to make visual, dance and vocal appeals to the audience. Also, the L1 button can be tapped to select a certain idol and the X button pressed up to three times to have that idol launch a personal appeal. The circles will fill in time with the beat, and you must press them in time with the song to successfully appeal, which adds to the score (in the Odyssey and Fujisan Rock battles) or audience approval (T-Bonus). The goal is to get a high score and fill the voltage gauge. Once the voltage gauge fills, the currently selected idol will have a burst and will be able to go through a brief square, triangle and O pressing period for a huge boost to the score and ratings. The goal in the battles is to beat the score of the opposing team while the goal in the T-Bonus is to get the audience behind you and see a crown appear in the upper left corner.

If you win or lose, you then get to see a short performance. Winners get to see the rivals perform for about a minute. Winners get to see their group perform for a little over a minute. Here’s where the T-Bonus option is kind of cool. When the T-Bonus event begins, players can add two more idols to the group as guests, with Iori, Ami, Ritsuko and Azusa selectable. If you win the T-Bonus performance, then those two join your trio to perform the song.

There’s one more element to the demo that I passed over when I got caught up talking about what activities were available. Once the schedule has been set, players can customize their idols’ outfits. Just press the square button when the prompt comes up. You can decide on an outfit combo, using floral, luxury, starry, or one of the three extend costume options, and have them put on accessories. If you like your choices, you can then press O to proceed.

Once the schedule is finished, the Producer returns to the 765 offices. The Idolmaster 2 demo thanks you for playing, reminds you of all the Idolmaster 2 stuff coming out that you can buy and ends. Idolmaster 2 came out October 27, 2011 in Japan and, if you decide to import a region-free PS3 copy of the game you’ll probably have to pay between $85-$95. (Ouch!)

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables has a 2011 handheld game gift guide.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables suggested some Japanese candy to give away at Halloween.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

At E3 2011, Sony revealed that CinemaNow would be coming to the PlayStation Network. It was finally released yesterday (October 25, 2011) as part of the weekly PlayStation Store update.

CinemaNow is just another option for renting and buying movies and television shows on the PS3. It’s a free download that’s only 17MB. You don’t even have to sign up to browse the store but purchases do require registration and activation.

So what makes CinemaNow different from the PS3′s other video offerings? Well, not too much, actually.

Granted, through CinemaNow, you can check out some television shows the day after they air.Unfortunately for CinemaNow, VUDU offers something similar so it really comes down to what service is more convenient for you. For example, I wasn’t able to find popular TV shows The Office and Community on CinemaNow but there are multiple seasons available through VUDU.

The key to choosing a digital video service depends on whether you can access your content on multiple devices. We’re living in a connected world these days.

Hopefully our video below will answer most questions you may have about CinemaNow.

Site [CinemaNow] Site [VUDU]

Kick. Press ‘E’ to kick. This super attack works on all zombies, and most big bosses. It’s uninterruptable, takes no energy, and will always knock zombies away from you, stopping their attack. Wear and tear will break your weapons and cost money to repair, but your foot never wears out. Zombies sometimes pose as corpses, setting up a surprise attack, so be sure to kick suspicious bodies before approaching. You’ll be kicking at first level, kicking at 30th level, kicking at every level in between, and if you’re not kicking, you’re doing it wrong.

Propane. Decent weapons, especially decent ranged weapons, are very scarce in the early game. Big red propane tanks are in abundance, however, and you can beat boss zombies just by chucking a propane tank at them repeatedly. When things get tough, the tough get propane.

Combat skills. Each character has three skill trees, but the middle tree is for combat skills. While putting a single skill point in Fury and Survival is usually a good idea, you’ll want to max out your Combat tree before putting much into the other options.

Improvise. This is a survival game, and even if you’re specialized in one weapon type, there’s nothing wrong with carrying other weapons. Guns, for example are useful even if you don’t, or can’t, put a single point into gun skills.

Nails, bleach, oleander and duct tape. Key to game success is modifying weapons, and certain pieces of junk seem to come up all the time. If you find a dealer selling these things, just buy a dozen even if it seems expensive. If you’re just too cheap to do that, your best bet is the very first workbench you find, as it has loads of basic components around it, respawning every time you come to that map.

Loot. Hey, when I wake up in a hotel after a wild night of partying, the first thing I do is go through other people’s luggage and take whatever I want. Ok, maybe not, but in this game, don’t be shy about looting every chance you get, there’s no penalty for stealing, ever.

Evade. You don’t have to fight everything for the experience points, as the game will always pit you against level-appropriate enemies. Save yourself pointless battles and just run by zombies when you get the chance.

Fast Travel. Dead Island is huge, and it’s always good to use the fast travel option. Many quests make you backtrack, so don’t overlook using Fast Travel to go to an earlier area rather than walking.

Maintenance. Weapons that have taken serious damage cost much more to fix, so try to wear down your favorite few weapons equally rather than wear them out one at a time.

Get a real strategy guide. I like free online guides as much as the next guy but text descriptions just don’t cut it sometimes. The BradyGames Dead Island guide has full-color maps and listings of where everything is (including loads of hidden stuff that you wouldn’t know to ask for when looking online). It also gives you something to read when it’s not your turn at the computer, or when the power goes out.

Dead Island is reasonably easy to complete all by yourself but killing zombies is more fun when you can show off your gruesome headshots. When the game gives you the option to press “J”, that means there’s another player at roughly your same level nearby, “J”oin him in to add to the fun.

Product Page [Dead Island]

Geralt can handle just about anything one on one but most combats are against three or more enemies at a time. The rule book and strategy guide really don’t do a good job of telling you what you need to know to survive, so here are some tips from a veteran monster slayer:

Block. Hold down the E key to set up a parry. When you block, your opponent goes off balance for a moment, giving you an opportunity to strike back. This is key against shield-users, which can be extremely difficult to harm otherwise. A noise sounds when you don’t have the energy to block, which leads to the next tip for combat:

Dodge. Hit the space bar when pressing a direction (especially S, backwards) to roll out of danger. You don’t want to be surrounded, as blows from behind deal extra damage and you always have the energy to dodge.

Basic Skills. Don’t save your first few skill points, as the other skill trees don’t open up until you’ve spent six points on ‘basic’ training skills. Good initial skills are Vigor Regeneration (so you have the energy to block) and Vitality (so you can survive hits). A point of parry is good, so you can block blows from all directions. Dagger throwing is powerful but expensive—gold is sort of scarce in this game, and you can use the Ignii sign for those rare cases where you need ranged damage. I prefer extra Fortitude, so that energy is much less of a problem.

Easy on the Alchemy. Alchemy is probably the weakest skill tree, other than the Cat potion for seeing in the dark, most other potions have drawbacks to match the penalties making using them a more or less even deal — the idea of using skill points turns this process into a losing proposition. The Synthesis branch at least gives you bonus vitality, but save Alchemy for the replay, when you’ll know just how much you can afford to spend on potions and won’t mind poisoning yourself to get the bonus alchemy effects.

Get some Swordsmanship. The riposte branch is key, as being able to swing and hit as your enemies just begin to swing means you don’t have to wait until you block, which makes battles against multiple enemies go much more smoothly. The Swordsmanship line has lots to offer but I find it’s easier to beat enemy swords with magic signs instead.

Signs for the Win. Head right down the middle of the tree to get the Enhanced Quen sign. Quen automatically blocks blows from enemies, and once you bulk up this sign with skill points, it’ll even reflect damage across multiple foes, knocking enemies off balance as well as hurting them. A maxed out Quen sign makes you all but invulnerable in combat as long as you don’t tire yourself out.

Mutate. There are only 13 skills that can be mutated and you can’t un-mutate. You’re going to find tons of mutagens, toss all but the most powerful, as you just won’t have any use for them.

Enhance. Armor and weapon enhancements are likewise in abundance and, like mutagens, you’ll get them long before you’re able to use them. You can only enhance good armor and weapons, designated with open circles. As you use enhancements, the circles fill up. Armor gets upgraded often, weapons less so, so enhance your equipment accordingly, being fairly liberal with it.

Bombs Away. Put bombs in your pockets and throw them during combat by pressing R. Be very willing to do this against Rotfiends, which explode when they die. The chain reaction is most amusing. A special note: Save your grapeshot bombs, as you’ll need at least 8 of them to complete quests.

Give It Up. If the fight is just too hard, hit escape and lower the difficulty to Easy. After the fight, change the difficulty back to whatever you normally have it on, so nobody will know when you wussed out.

Most of the quests are fairly straightforward, simply highlighting them in the journal (by pressing J to open the journal and then Enter on the quest) usually marks on the map where you need to go next. If that’s not enough, the Gamespot walkthough should help.

Read [Gamespot]

It also means it’s time to start considering baby names.

Our son, Sam, was named after Sam J. Jones who played Flash in the 1980 Flash Gordon movie. Our daughter, Sophie, was named after seven months of arguments. When it comes to naming children, you see, my wife and I have just one rule: no last names of dead Presidents. I understand that names such as Taylor, Reagan and Madison are quite popular, but if I were to name a child after a dead President, Polk and Fillmore are the only names I’d consider.

Beyond that, Tieraney and I… oh, yes, first of all, my wife’s given name is, in fact, Tieraney. Even better, it really is pronounced “tyranny.” Could I give that name to an 8 pound baby girl? No, I’m not that bold, but I could do so before I’d write down “Reagan” on that birth certificate.

Anyway, when it comes to seeking baby names, Tieraney and I have different approaches. She looks towards baby-name books and websites for origin, meaning, perception, etc. I look towards Super Smash Bros. Brawl for offense, final smash and throwing ability.

This isn’t that bizarre of an idea, really. People have been turning to movies and literature for baby names ever since the Bible first showed up in iBooks. Remember when Legends of the Fall came out and suddenly everyone was naming their baby Tristan? Yes, it was dark, dark period of American history, but look at it this way: Tristans everywhere, you can tell people you were named after a pinball machine, which is much better than being named after Brad Pitt in any role other than Tyler Durden or Mickey O’Neill.

So, video game names. Obviously, if you’re going to do this, you need to be clever as there are generally at least two people involved when you’re selecting names. It’s going to be hard to float Luigi, Peach, Bowser or any other Mario character past your significant other, even though they are perfectly acceptable names (especially if you hope your child will one day open a restaurant).

The same difficulty goes for The Legend of Zelda, where even an incidental character is a no-go. Are you really going to name your kid Biggoron? Tingle? Great Fairy? I should hope not. Rather, hope that Zelda character names become your child’s ultimate profession, as with King of Red Lions, Happy Mask Salesman or Great Fairy.

The problem, though, is that if you stray too far from the instantly recognizable games, there’s really no point in naming your kid after a game character to begin with.

Toni from Grand Theft Auto III? Terry from Fatal Fury? Brett from Madden NFL ’92? What’s the point? It has to be a “character,” like Mega Man, only not Mega Man, because Mega Man is a horrible name to give your kid…unless your last name actually is Mann, and you have a girl and name her Megan. Megan Mann is quite possibly the greatest name in the history of the universe, both real and virtual.

And that brings up another point. Your last name should directly affect your decision. For instance, Max is a solid name and all but not if your last name is Payne. What kind of sick mind settles on Max Payne for their little bundle of joy? Max Payne is what you name your Realtor’s kid if you practice voodoo. If you name your kid Max Payne, you’ve doomed him to a life of being hunted by both the law and law breakers alike, just like naming your daughter Rayne whatever dooms her to a life as a half vampire, full stripper.

Oh, and before I forget, never name your kid after a Sega character, especially if its hair is an unnatural color. And yes, I’m afraid that includes our beloved Ulala, which is only an appropriate name for a dog that’ll never grow bigger than a cat. The only Sega character name that is acceptable is G. And that can’t be an initial, the name has to be G. Spending his life answering, “What does G stand for?” will make that boy a man.

Now, obviously, there are far too many video game character names to break down in this article, and I’m not here to name your child (unless you’re still considering Reagan, in which case you need for me to take over the process for you right now). Rather, I’m here for inspiration and moral support.

So, just consider a favorite video game that doesn’t have the name “Sega” anywhere on the box. Think of the names of the characters.

From my personal favorites, I’d love to look towards anything in the Fire Emblem series, but my sister-in-law already named her kid Mia, so she stole my thunder. There’s no point in going with anything other than Samus from Metroid and I’ve already got a Sam which is, sadly, just Sam. I’ve already explained that Zelda is right out

So, what are Tieraney and I going to go with this time? Well, unlike with our last two children, we found out ahead of time what the baby will be: this one will be born in the boy style. That would make it more difficult considering the disproportionately high number of popular male video game characters to females, but not so much when you think about it. In fact, now that you know it’s a boy, it should be obvious what we’re picking.

Figured it out? No? Well, let’s just say that one day he and his brother will undoubtedly Hit the Road and maybe even Save the World.

And he’ll be very thankful our last name isn’t Payne.

The thing is, StreetPass hits can be difficult to get right now. The 3DS only just came out on March 27, 2011. A lot of people haven’t adopted the system yet. Many are waiting for May, when the eShop, internet browser and SpotPass features become available. Others are also waiting for certain games to be released later this summer. So if you want to really maximize your chance for StreetPass hits now, you have to be smart.

Here are three good tips for possibly exchanging StreetPass data.

Keep your 3DS with you when going out!

This recommendation is just common sense. Whenever you go out to a place where there’ll be more than 10 people gathering or milling around, bring your 3DS and make sure it’s in standby mode. You never know who could have a 3DS in their pocket, backpack or purse and you might just find some new Miis or StreetPass matches. Keeping your system with you throughout your day is a good first step.

If you want to actively search for other 3DS users, then there are a few places you can go that might just guarantee you StreetPass notifications. Visiting your local GameStop or game store might result in hits. (Especially since the workers might own and have 3DS units with them.) You might also want to walk around a mall. If there’s a college campus nearby, you may want to walk around their quad. If a sci-fi, comic, anime or gaming convention in town that you’re interested in, then try to attend with your 3DS in tow.

Surprisingly enough, a movie theater may also be a good choice. Just make sure your system’s volume is down, it’s in standby mode and you don’t actually check to see if you’ve gotten any StreetPass hits while the movie is playing.

Check Facebook.

Facebook is an awesome resource for finding people to do the StreetPass thing. Plus, you can find 3DS owners near you within a matter of minutes. It’s quite easy. Just search for the word StreetPass on Facebook, then choose to only look for groups that discuss or mention StreetPass. Even though the 3DS has only been available for a short time, quite a few groups have already been created.

Most Facebook 3DS meetup groups are titled StreetPass or 3DS StreetPass, followed by the name of a major city. I just did a search, putting in StreetPass and Chicago, and immediately a group with 19 members popped up. Many of the groups have moderated membership, so you may have to wait to be approved before you can start talking and meeting other 3DS owners. Meetups typically take place in a public place, where members of the group can meet for a few minutes, or perhaps even just all mill around at a specified time to wirelessly and effortlessly exchange data.

Join forums.

If all else fails, then perhaps it’s time to join a forum. That way you know you’ll be talking to like-minded people. Sure, you may not find a lot of people in your immediate vicinity, but it can still be helpful. Plus, you can find people to exchange friend codes for online, multiplayer games.

Here are two examples of places you could go.

• Nintendo 3DS Forums is a fairly new community and is starting to build a rather nice member base. There are meetup posts there where people can interact, talk about games or arrange multiplayer matches.
• GoNintendo has a huge and thriving community. You’ll probably have more luck finding people to exchange friend codes with for multiplayer games here, than StreetPass meetups.

Remember – if you decide to go to a meetup you learned about online, whether it’s from a Facebook group or forum, be safe! Only attend a meetup if it is in a public place and perhaps see if a friend would go with you. And, if you’re underage, make sure a parent or guardian knows you’re going to attend a StreetPass meetup and has all the details.

Site [Nintendo 3DS]

The Amazon Appstore managed to grab exclusive distribution rights for Angry Birds Rio for Android. This is the only place where Angry Birds Rio is available for Android devices. Angry Birds Rio is currently free for today only. It will cost $0.99 on Wednesday. The game is also available in the Apple App Store for $0.99. A free version is in the Apple App Store as well.

The Amazon Appstore isn’t something that you can start utilizing right away. Before you can download anything, you must download the Amazon Appstore application. This app has to be downloaded through Amazon. You must enable your Android device to accept the installation of non-Android Market applications. You then have to sign in to the app to download the things you want.

The whole process may be a tad complicated for users who aren’t quite tech savvy. We’ve put together a video explaining what you’ll need to do to get Amazon Appstore apps running on your Android device.

Site [Amazon Appstore]