Zen Studios launches new Star Wars Video Pin Ball Game

 I lost a lot of laundry money in college throwing quarters into the Star Wars pinball machine on campus but it was well worth occassionally wearing some dirty clothes an extra week for the blast I had playing that game.  Zen Studios is launching a brand new video game this week that will give you unlimited play of a cool Star Wars themed pin ball table for under $3. Wow! I used to spend that much in an afternoon playing on the mechanical maching in the student lounge. This game should be even better than that older game providing you the fun of playing a mechanical machine combined with great special effects that can only be incorporated into a digital environment. 

Star Wars video pin ball will feature 3 themed tables: Empire Strikes Back, Clone Wars & Boba Fett. It appears you can buy them individually or as a combined package. Additional tables will be introduced later that can be purchased as add-ons at an additional cost. I'm really revved up to purchase this new  pin ball game myself after seeing this promo video for the Boba Fett table:

 

 

As you can see from the Boba Fett trailer, by reaching certain scores or hitting various patterns on the table you can trigger 3D special effects and video segments during the game.  You can tell that Zen Studios didn't just throw this game together to make some money using the Star Wars name from this trailer as it really appears some great production work went into this game.  The Empire Strikes Back pin ball table appears to even have more 3D sequences that include a Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader lightsaber duel and the AT-AT invasion of the rebel base on Hoth. 

 

 

 

I'm not a big fan of the 3 prequel movies and the Clone Wars tv show - those battle droids are just so annoying and we won't go into Jar Jar Binks but I have to admit from looking at the trailer for that pin ball table I'm pretty impressed by the artwork and special effects in that game.  It looks really fun to play which is what is nice about these video pin ball games is that they appear to be designed so that you don't have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy them but if you are a fan you'll probably love it!

 

 

Zen Studios' has posted the following about the release of Star Wars Pin Ball on their website:

 

It will be available on Tuesday February 26 on the PlayStation Network for download to PlayStation 3 & Playstation Vita for $9.99 for a package with all three tables.

 

It will be available on Wednesday February 27 to download on XboxLive for the Xbox360 through the Pinball FX2 game for 800 MSPs.

 

You can download the tables individually through the IOS-based Zen Pinball game for your iPad, iPhone or iTouch for $1.99 per table as of February 27.

 

You can download the tables individually for Mac App store through Zen Pinball 2 game for your  for $2.99 per table as of February 27.

 

Will be available on February 27 for $1.99 per table through Zen Pinball HD Google Play.

 

It also appears that you can purchase the Star Wars tables as a stand alone pinball game called Star Wars Pinball  on Apple App Store and through Google Play from the Zen Studios posted information. 

 

Check out www.starwarspinball.com for more information about the game, its pricing and to see some neat screen shot previews.

 















A look at Team USA for the World Baseball Classic

UPDATE (3/8/2013):  Eric Hosmer from the Kansas City Royals has replaced Mark Teixeira as the team's first baseman after Texeira was injured in a New York Yankees spring training game.

The other day I posted about how the World Baseball Classic has peeked my interest this year (World Baseball Classic is a break from monotony of Spring Training ).  The World Baseball Classic is an international tournament being played in March 2013 with national teams battling for the title of "World Champion" and bragging rights as the country with the best baseball players.  Rosters for the various national teams that range from the Netherlands to Venezuela include Major League (MLB)players and professional atheletes from other professional baseball leagues located throughout the world.  Japan which has won the tournamant the last two times it has been played in 2006 & 2009 and is considered a favorite again this year has a roster filled entirely with players from its domestic professional baseball league while the USA which is skippered by Yankees Manager Joe Torres is filled entirely with MLB Players from the American and National  leagues.

Team USA is guaranteed to play 3 games in the World Baseball Classic's first round and if they have the best record in their 4 team pool (Pool D) than they will move on to Round 2 being played in Miami Florida being played March 12 through the 16th.  They will play their Round 1 games in Phoenix, Arizona March 8 - 10, 2013.  Games will be broadcast on cable tv and the internet via MLBtv. 

Game 1 is on Friday March 8 @ 9pm ET vs Mexico

Game 2 is on Saturday March 9 @ 9pm ET vs Italy

Game 3 is on Sunday March 10 @ 9pm ET vs Canada

So let's take a look at our 2013 Team USA!

We have 5 starting pitchers on the roster:

R.A. Dickey played for the New York Mets in 2012 and had a 20-7 record with a 2.73 Earned Run Average (ERA)

Gio Gonzalez played for the Washington Nationals in 2012 with a 21-8 record and 2.89 ERA

Ryan Vogelsong helped the San Fransico Giants win the 2012 World Series with a 14-9 record and played in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game having a 13-7 record that year.

Derek Holland had a 12-7 record in 2012 and 16 wins & 5 losses in 2011 for the Texas Rangers.

Ron Detwiler went 10-8 with a 3.74 ERA with 27 game starts for the Washington Nationals in 2012.

Team USA also has a lot of depth with a roster full of quality middle relievers and closers:

Vincent Pestano pitched for the Cleveland Indians in 2012 with a 3-3 record and 2.57 ERA in 70 games for the Tribe.

Luke Gregerson had a 2.39 ERA in 77 games as a middle reliever with the San Diego Padres in 2012.

Steve Cishek went 5-2 with 15 saves and a 2.69 ERA for the Florida Marlins in '12 season.

Mitchell Boggs was 4-1 in '12 with a  2.21 ERA in 78 games for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Glen Perkins went 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 70 games for the Minnesota Twins in 2012.

The team also has closers on the line-up:

Chris Perez had 39 saves and a 3.59 ERA with the Cleveland Indians in 2012.

Heath Bell had an off year with the Miami Marlins in 2012 with a 5.09 ERA and 19 saves but the prior 3 years in San Diego he averaged 49 saves per year and a 2.50 ERA.

Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves had a steller year in 2012 with 1.01 ERA and 42 saves!

On the field playing D here is the starting lineup for Team USA:

CATCHER:  Joe Mauer (Minnesota Twins) A solid and respected glove behind the plate to keep the pitching rotation under control with a career batting average as a .323 hitter in 9 seasons - one of the best catchers in the tournament and in Major League Baseball.

1st BASE:  Mark Teixeira (New York Yankees)  a .280 career hitter over 8 season with more than 300 homeruns.

2nd BASE: Brandon Phillips (Cincinatti Reds)  in 2012 he batted .281 with 18 HRs.

SHORT STOP:  William Bloomquist (Arizone Diamondbacks) had a .302 batting average in '12

3rd BASE:  David Wright (New York Mets) had a great year in 2012 with a .301 batting average & 21 HRs

LEFT FIELD:  Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)  41 Homeruns and a .319 batting average in '12

CENTERFIELD:  Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles) batted .287 with 32 home runs in 2012

RIGHT FIELD:  Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins) hit .290 with 37 HRs last season.

Good luck Team USA - let's bring home the title "world champs!" 

For more information about the World Baseball Classic visit www.worldbaseballclassic.com



World Baseball Classic is a break from monotony of Spring Training

I'm a big Detroit Tigers fan and pay a lot of attention to baseball during the Major League (MLB) season, but I have to admit that I normally tune out spring training and don't start following the action until after the first pitch of Opening Day.  This year though the upcoming World Baseball Classic has caught my attention and I'm looking forward to watching some ball games and checking out stats & scores this March in a tournament that matches up national teams from across the globe in a competition to see who will win the bragging rights as the country with the best baseball players.

The World Baseball Classic is hoping to create an expanded reach and appeal for the game in a similar format to what the World Cup has done for soccer.  FIFA, the world athletic governing body for soccer, holds a championship every four years called the World Cup which pit countries fielding teams with their nation's best players in patriotic competition against one another fighting to be the global champ!  Almost all the players for all the team's in the World Cup are top tier professional athletes who play in leagues in various countries but they come home to play for their national teams in this respected tournament.  You may think of the Super Bowl as the most watched sporting event, but in fact the most watched sporting event is the World Cup which had more than 700 million viewers tune in to watch its 2010 championship game that took place in South Africa. The baseball community has taken note and is working to emulate the World Cup with its own tournament, the World Baseball Classic.

This will be the third World Baseball Classic with previous tournaments being held in 2006 & 2009 and each year the competition and talent participating gets better.  While the rosters may still not be the "best of the best" some notable players are participating this year and all the teams consist of players who are on professional teams (Japan's players are all professional players from their country's version of our Major League) or full-time national squads (Cuba fields a team that plays exclusively in international matches for their country).  The countries fielding teams in 2013 are:  Australia , Brazil , Canada , China , Cuba , the Dominican Republic , Spain , Italy , Japan , South Korea , Mexico , the Kingdom of the Netherlands , Puerto Rico , Taiwan , Venezuela and the United States.

What spurred my interest in the World Baseball Classic this year was hearing about some of the big name Detroit Tigers that will be playing for Venezuela in the tournament.  The Tiger's MLB Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez will be playing for Team Venezuela.  Venezuela has more than 95 players on MLB rosters and their lineup will be full of MLB talent including power hitter Pablo Sandoval who led the San Francisco Giants in their World Series victory against the Tigers in 2012.  This team will be fun to watch and has a great chance of winning the Classic.


Japan is a predicted favorite this year after winning the tournament the last two times it has been played in 2006 & 2009.  Japan defeated Cuba in 2006 and South Korea in 2009 championship games to win the title of "World Champion" by the tournament's sanctioning body, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).  Japan's team will consist entirely of professional baseball players who are on the roster's of clubs within the country's own pro league.  It will be fun and interesting to see how these players match up against the MLB talent that will be in the tournament.

The Dominican Republic will be fielding a great team that also has a great chance of winning it all.  Well known MLB players Adrian Beltre, Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, and Nelson Cruz will be taking the field for the Dominican Republic.  Miguel Tejada who was the American League MVP in 2002 and the MLB All-Star Game in 2005 will be playing for the team as well hoping that it will spur some attention to get a Major League team to pick him up for a comeback after he wasn't invited to Spring Training by any club this year.  Another player on this team hoping it will aid him in a MLB comeback is Jose Valverde.  Valverde was the closer for the Detroit Tigers and one of the best closers in the MLB during the 2011 season but in 2012 his pitching fell apart causing him to be benched and killing the Tigers chances to win the World Series.  He'll be playing in the World Baseball Classic hoping to redeem his reputation and generate some interest from a MLB club to pick him up for the 2013 season.  This team is full of talent and is sure to play some enjoyable games to watch.

Excuse my borrowing a phrase from the NCAA's March Madness but the "Cinderella Team" for this tournament appears to be the Dutch National Team.  I would have never thought of the Netherlands as a baseball powerhouse but this team is the all-time leader in European Championship titles and has won that title 5 of the 7 last years.  In 2009 the team made it to the second round of the World Baseball Classic and defeated the Dominican Republic twice during the tournament in dramatic wins.  This is a team that could slip under the radar and move deep into the tournament.

The United States squad isn't full of All-Star Game names but it has a solid line-up of MLB talent that will give the team a good chance of winning the World Baseball Classic.  The team has the New York Mets 20 game winner R.A. Dickey on the roster along with Ryan Vogelsong and Jeremy Afeld pitchers from World Series champs the Giants.  Joe Mauer and Ryan Braun provide some big bats that can score runs.  I'm bummed we don't have a Tiger on the roster (Justin Verlander did give it some serious consideration but I don't think the Detroit front office was keen on having their number one asset risk an injury) but am still looking forward to watching our home team play against international competition.  The U.S. does have an edge too with the fact that is has the weakest pool in the first round (playing against Mexico, Italy and Canada) and is guaranteed games played in the United States in every round.  It will play Round 1 games in Phoenix and if it makes it to Round 2 will play in Miami.  The tournament championship game will be played in San Francisco on March 19, 2013. Let's go USA!!!

All the World Baseball Classic games will be televised on the Major League Baseball cable tv network.  I'm bummed that the games won't be on ESPN or FoxSports because MLBtv isn't included in my cable package from WOW! but I'll probably subscribe to their online service so I can watch the games on my iPad on my own schedule.  For more info on MLBtv visit http://mlb.mlb.com/network/

The IBAF on their website describes the World Baseball Classic:

The tournament is the first of its kind to have national baseball teams feature professional players from the major leagues around the world including Major League Baseball; the Summer Olympics had regularly featured college and minor-league players because the Games conflict with the major league seasons in both North America and Asia, and the Baseball World Cup historically did not have major leaguers participate. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created in order to further promote the game around the globe.

To check out the schedule of games and rosters for the teams visit: http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/index.jsp

A Dad's View: Sesame Street Live

We bought tickets and took our kids to see Sesame Street Live for the second year in a row last weekend.  From a parent's perspective I have to give the producers of this show kudos for an excellent production.  Sesame Street Live entertains the kids with age appropriate educational content that is family friendly.  In family friendly, I also mean that it throws in some inside jokes and content aimed at keeping the dads and moms in the audience entertained too.  This year's golden nuggets for the adults in the audience were a Jimmy Buffet inspired song number led by Cookie Monster and and a performance by The Count inspired from a classic 80's pop song.

This year's show was titled "Elmo Makes Music" and the premise of the show was that a new music teacher has just moved to Sesame Street. Oh no! the moving van with all her musical instruments never arrived so she can't teach the residents of Sesame Street.  Bert & Ernie come to the rescue by leading an effort for everyone to collect everyday items that can be used as instruments to replace the lost ones.  The catch is though they want to do this in secret for the new music teacher, Jennie, so they have various exploits as they look for items while trying to surprise her.  While Elmo is the headliner for this year's show it's Bert & Ernie who the show really centers around.  In fact, Bert & Ernie really steal the show from Elmo with several Josh Groban like ballad performances.

A big difference from last year's show "Elmo's Super Heroes" (see my past blog post) is that while Elmo plays a big part in "Elmo Makes Music" the production does not revolve around him.  In "Elmo's Super Heroes" the focus really was around Elmo while in "Elmo Makes Music" their is a fuller cast of contributing characters with Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, and The Count getting a lot more stage time.  My wife and I differed on which show each of us liked best.  She liked last year's show because it was filled with more of a story line outside the typical Sesame Street story lines with lots of special effects.  In comparison, "Elmo Makes Music" was more toned down but had more of a feeling like you were seeing a traditional Sesame Street tv episode being filmed right in front of you.  I enjoyed this year's show more than last year's because I appreciated that the tradition Sesame Street characters I grew up with (Cookie Monster, The Count, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie) had a bigger role while last year the focus was mostly on the newer trendy Elmo, Telly and Zoe that my kids loved but as a parent I didn't relate to as much.

The Cookie Monster is one of my all time favorite Sesame Street characters and while he doesn't get a lot of stage time when he is in the story he makes his presence felt!  In "Elmo Makes Music" he leads the Sesame Street gang in a Jimmy Buffet inspired rumba song and dance about cookies that was a fresh blast of Caribbean fun on a cold February day in Detroit.  Interestingly despite the title, Elmo only really sings during a segment meant to be just like the tv show's "Elmo's World" sketches.  This segment really didn't seem to catch the attention of the  kids in the audience despite Elmo being such a highlight attraction, maybe it was too much like what they regularly see on the tv show.  All in all "Sesame Street: Elmo Makes Music" did a great job of  keeping the audience's attention, often by having everyone interact in the songs and skits which made for a great time for everyone.  If you have a child between ages of 2 and 5 I highly recommend you check out Sesame Street Live.

Parent-to-parent though, if you go watch out for the over-priced souvenirs.  They have these awesome looking glowing wands and swirly light toys for sale that I went to the souvenir stand to check out for my kids but than I saw the price tag.  At $15 each that would have been a $30 purchase to get one for each of my kids (you know have to get one for each to avoid World War III from breaking out) for something that would have probably ended up in a toy chest or junk drawer the day after the performance.  Sorry kids but NO.  The fortunate thing is they really are discreet with the souvenir stands and you can easily avoid them and keep your kids from begging you for them as long as the parents sitting next to you don't buy them for their children.  Beware though, the one thing you can't avoid and they are NOT discreet about selling are the notorious Elmo balloons.  When they break for intermission  they bring these helium filled wonders out into the theater for every kid to see and want.  As a parent all I can say is "Oh the horror!" when you see these balloons being sold for $12 and you have to admit they are pretty cool but again looking at the sticker shock $24 is a lot of money for a couple of balloons.  Here's a secret ... you can buy the same balloon at Party City so surprise your child with one later on when it really is a special surprise. So if you don't want to loose a paycheck on souvenirs be prepared for them and know how you are going to address the situation with your kids before you go.

Your kids are only little once and Sesame Street Live is a nice indulgence for parents to thrill their kids with and enjoy some quality family time together.  Unfortunately there really is a limited time frame in which this show will appeal to children with the show being most age appropriate for ages 2 to 4.  So if your kids are in that age range don't miss out on what is a really great experience and check out Sesame Street Live the next time it comes to town.

Little Passports opens up the world of travel to little ones

We received our first package in the mail from LITTLE PASSPORTS (www.littlepassports.com) and everyone was excited to rip open the package and see what we got! Little Passports is a subscription service that sends your kids a package in the mail each month to help promote an interest in geography, history, culture, and travel.  The premise behind the concept is that two children, Sophia & Sam, are traveling the world.  They want to include your kids in their travels so each month they send you a package filled with fun and informative stuff from the various locations Sam & Sophia have visited recently.  They also tie-in access with your subscription to online games that are associated with each month's package theme.

There are two subscription choices you can select from: World Edition or United States Edition.  If you select the global option each month you receive a package with a focus on 1 country. If you decide to tour the United States each month you get a package with a focus on 2 states.  We chose the United States Edition. Be aware that there are age guidelines for each of these categories. Little Passports World Edition is recommended for ages 5 to 10 while the United States Edition is suggested for ages 7 to 12 years old.  We didn't realize this when signing up and from our first impression it does seem that our 4 year old twins are a little too young for the materials that are being sent.

The first month you receive a welcome package to introduce you to Sophia & Sam and that will prep you for your Little Passports adventures.  I've posted a video that has us opening our first Little Passports package with our kids and than goes through its contents.  Out kids were excited to get something in the mail and had some fun with the contents.  I found the materials that are sent were nice to use as parenting tools to spend some quality time with my kids that is both entertaining and educational.  In future months the packages we get in the mail will focus on specific states.  Next month I will post a video and blog post on our first state specific package that comes in the mail - both the kids and myself are really curious what our first 2 states will be and will be keeping an extra special eye out for the mail carrier in March.

If you are interested in some creative tools to interact with your children that will help you encourage learning in a positive light check out Little Passports.  You can join the program for a monthly fee of $11.95 that you can cancel anytime. CLICK HERE for more information.

Here are the actual descriptions of the programs from Little Passports website:

Every month, follow our characters Sam and Sofia as they embark on a new country adventure. Your first month’s Explorer Kit arrives in a suitcase and contains everything your child needs to get started: a letter from Sam and Sofia, a map, a passport, stickers, access to online games and more. Country specific packages filled with fun souvenirs, letters, stickers, photos, activity sheets and more arrive every month thereafter.

With your USA Edition subscription, Sam and Sofia travel to and experience the wonders of all 50 states. Kick-off your USA adventure with the first month’s Discovery Kit which includes a letter from Sam and Sofia, a USA Field Guide, a USA scratch book, a map, and a camera. Sam and Sofia then travel to two new states every month and send an activity-packed travel journal with stickers, postcards, pop-out models and access to online activities.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary 3 month subscription of Little Passports United States Edition from Little Passports.  The views and opinions in this article are my own. 

Super Sunday 2013

It's SUPER SUNDAY and my family is prepped and ready to spend this evening couchgating as we enjoy lots of junk food, watching the big game, and of course all the commercials that air during it.  One of my favorite all-time Super Bowl commercials was the one a few years ago where the shark thinks a swimmer is a hostess cupcake.  Out of nowhere that commercial will pop into my head to give me a chuckle and a smile!

This year's commercials air time is priced at $3.8 million for a :30 second ad so you'd hope they would all be as memorable as THE SHARK! Here are a few sneak peeks of what is airing this evening...what do you think? WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD - Don't watch if you want to be surprised while watching the game!

HYUNDAI's "Epic Play Date" does a GREAT job of portraying an average day in the Geek Daddy's household:

Hyundai is actually going out this year with a BIG investment in this year's Super Bowl having 4 ads which are all really good!

KIA stole my ANSWER in this commercial - "Space Babies!"

This SPEEDSTICK commercial made me chuckle

VW's gotten a little heat about this commercial that portrays white Midwestern guys as Jamaicans

But Sandals Resorts has come back with their own spoof of VW ribbing Germans (not airing on tv):

Well than there is GoDaddy web services ... well what can I say :-)

Big Bang Theory's Katie Cuoco gets some exposure with appearances in 2 commercials - one for PRICELINE & one for TOYOTA

Got MILK? The Rock makes an appearance too!

The Clydesdale horses have become a mainstay of the Super Bowl ads and are back.  This year Budweiser is also featuring a twitter contest tied to the commercial where you can name the baby clydesdal

Wouldn't be a Super Bowl without COKE & PEPSI duking it out during the commercial breaks:

FIAT has also invested heavily in this year's Super Bowl with 5 spots working to leverage there controlling stake in Chrysler to introduce their models here in the USA.  The spots all have a bringing Italian culture to America theme.  Sorry I couldn't find any spots from Chrysler, Ford or GM to review & post but I'm sure we will see a few tonight!

Last but not least ... here are some trailers that will be airing during the game from some of the blockbusters that I know I really want to see at the movie theater this year: Iron Man 3, Star Trek, The Lone Ranger & OZ the Great and Powerful.

The OZ spot is just a teaser and you'll have to watch the game to see the real spot!

Watch these spots now and share your thoughts about them in the comment section below or come back after the Big Game and share your opinions with us on what you thought were the best ads of the night.