battle

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us two balance-board-compatible titles along with a duo of Turbografx 16 games.

WiiWare Tetris Party (Tetris Online Inc., 1,200 Wii points): Tetris Party puts a new spin on everyone's favorite shape-shifting puzzle game. Not only does the title introduce various new modes of play, but you can now dust off that Wii Fit balance board and use it to control Tetris pieces! The Incredible Maze (Digital Leisure Inc., 500 Wii points): Use your Wii remote to balance your way through various mazes and puzzles. Or if you prefer, use your balance board to do your … Read more

OurStage lets bands compete to win prizes

I tend to be skeptical of "battle of the bands" contests in the physical world. There's often an entry fee to participate, which basically means bands are paying to play in some sort of showdown showcase. Often there's no quality gate--if you can afford the entry fee, you're in, and that means that the only people in the audience are other participating bands. The prizes tend to be loaded with catches, like a "recording contract" that forces you to sign over your publishing rights to the organization sponsoring the contest.

But it appears … Read more

UAV overload could hurt Predator program

It's arguably the biggest technology success for the Pentagon during the Iraq War era: the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. But could that very success could prove the undoing of the UAV corps?

The U.S. Army wants more of the aerial drones patrolling the skies, and it has the backing of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who has ordered the Air Force to dramatically boost the number of Predator aircraft on the front lines (at the moment, there are 22). The Air Force in turn is pushing back, arguing that the scramble could … Read more

Battles return with Tonto+ comprised of remixes from Four Tet and others

There's a lot to know about the noisemakers known as Battles. For starters, they are an amazing supergroup comprised of Helmet drummer John Stanier, ex-Don Caballero guitarist Ian Williams, ex-Lynx guitarist Dave Konopka on electronics, and Tyondai Braxton on guitars and samples. They are also one of those groups if seen live that can really make your jaw drop and say "WTF." But, most importantly, the Battles are widely known for their extended abstract creations built on complex experimental rhythms and perplexing drumming and guitar. In a nutshell, it's music that's both complicated and beautiful--a … Read more

My new favorite live band

They're called Battles, they're from New York, and after seeing them live for the first time on Saturday, I believe I've heard the future.

I'm not a huge fan of performances that rely heavily on turntables or samples or loops--I much prefer the interplay between musicians who are forced to pick out each note on their instruments, forced to listen and communicate and adjust almost continuously. But a lot of traditional "indie" rock bands play it safe, channeling the same dozen pop or punk influences into a predictable blend of three-to-five minute songs with … Read more

Mutant samurai robot battle

Webware's Josh Lowensohn spends his days reviewing Web sites, while the rest of us get to play with an endless stream of newfangled gadgets. While most of the Crave and CNET reviews team have become jaded to the perpetual parade of gizmos coursing through our office, Josh greets each rare tech toy bestowed on him as if it were handed down by Santa himself. So when an unsolicited pair of Learning Curve Battle Wheels RC samurai appeared on Josh's desk, there was no way to avoid a full-scale battle royale. Lucky for me, I had my camera on … Read more

Game gear that even IKEA could love

Take a look at the "D-Box GP-200" game chair posted just a few minutes ago, which looks about as aesthetically polished as its industrial name would suggest. Now imagine it morphing into a designer form worthy of the most Spartan interiors. That would be the "Battle-Rig Pro."

This German-made game station can be built with various color choices and personal specs for integration with any decor, according to Techie Diva. The apparatus includes built-in speakers and anything else that can be accommodated by its various storage compartments.

There's just one catch: Only Germany, Austria and … Read more

Impromptu robot fight breaks out at Robo-One 12

I wasn't able to finagle my way to Japan to cover it, but the 12th Robo-One bipedal robot competition recently wrapped up on the island of Shikoku.

In addition to the regularly scheduled robot festivities, Robots Dreams captured this footage of a pick-up robot fight breaking out in the cafeteria. In it, a Hawaiian-shirt-clad chicken robot lays the smackdown on a more traditional robot. Enjoy. It's hard not to.

Nothing of this ilk would happen during lunchtime of our ongoing battle of the nonviolent robots. The robots would just sit there, trade snacks, and talk about stuff.

Vote: Battle of the nonviolent robots (The Elite 1000)

Voting is now closed for this round. See the results of these battles here and vote on the Final Four matchups here.

Get it now! Your updated, printer-friendly tournament bracket.

This is why they call it Late September Lack-of-Sanity. Upsets, upsets, upsets were the theme of last week's nonviolent robot vote-battles, and only two No. 1 seeds are still in the mix.

Which nonviolent robots will win their division finals and go on to the Final Four? Vote for the winners right now; you have until Sept. 23 to vote on these Elite 1000 matchups.

See last week's final scores … Read more