Five most wanted Xbox 360 games

5 Pro Evolution Soccer 6
To die-hard fans, Konami’s Pro Evo series is akin to a religion – quite right too, as there is no better football game on the planet. The latest in the revered PES canon will be released on 27 October and we can’t wait. It’s a shame that Konami and Microsoft couldn’t also bring out a standard Xbox version, but they know that people (me included) will buy a 360 purely to play the new Pro Evo. It’s a cynical move on their part, but when a game is this damn addictive, what can you do but BUY IT

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Konami King Kong models

Forget sensible expenditure like mortgages, nappies and organic yoghurts. There should be a place in every man’s wallet for random strange Japanese toys based on popular monster movies. Such as this complete set of Konami King Kong models based on the original 1933 movie. I know, I thought Konami just made Pro Evolution Soccer console games too.

The figures came out in late August, and are all made of plastic, and 6-8cm tall. Imagine the fun you could have recreating the film on your desktop (albeit with your USB memory stick taking the role of Fay Wray). The Buy It Now price on eBay is $99.99. Get in before we do.

Seven ways to light a fire

When was the last time you did a truly satisfying Two-Man Friction Drill? No, it’s not something you’d find on a DVD from certain specialist shops in Soho. It’s a way of lighting a fire using two people rather than one, using a thong or a shoelace. Tsk if you didn’t know that.

If you were too busy chatting up girl guides and drinking Thunderbird to pay attention if/when you were a boy scout learning about this sort of thing, don’t worry. This blog article presents seven ways to light a fire without a match, using all manner of suitably outdoorsy techniques. No, none of them involve a Zippo either.

Avoid iPod muggers with the Discreet Sound System

‘It’ being the earphones, of course. Those pesky white cords might look cool on silhouetted people dancing to Bob Dylan on the TV, but they’re a magnet for street thugs looking for an easy few quid. Help could be at hand, thankfully.

Graduate industrial designer Reece Myers has come up with a ‘Discreet Sound System’, which consists of tiny wireless speakers which sit under your hat or headband. Okay, so it does require you to wear a hat or headband, which might not be to everyone’s taste (and in some districts, is probably equally likely to get you mugged).

It works by bone conduction technology, which has the added bonus that you can hear external noises like swinging baseball bats approaching traffic, because the earphones aren’t blocking your eardrum. Let’s just hope Reece finds a company to turn his invention into a commercial product.

(via 24dash)

Audi TT roadster

Audi’s desirable new TT roadster will be a fair bit cheaper than expected when it goes on sale (not until March next year, unfortunately). The drop-top starts at £26,875 for the 2.0-litre model, rising to
£31,535 for the 3.2-litre, balls-out Quattro. Not bad Audi, not bad at all.

This official picture (you can see the others after the click) has just been released ahead of the topless TT’s unveiling at the LA motor show at the end of November. Looks damn pretty.

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Home-brew beer machine

Home brew? Rubbish. Pub turned into bar? RUUUUUBBBISSSHHHH! Ok gentlemen, what do you suggest? Get some spirits in and get wrecked? Well, to add to your spirits, you can pour yourself a nice pint too with the wonderful Beer Machine.

Some Canadians have made home brewed beer that is worthy of supping. Also, it is now dangerously easy to make. To use, it’s simple. Just add the beer mixture (made from 100% natural ingredients and free of all those cack tasting chemicals) and in seven to ten days you’ll have 17 pints of ace beer. It’ll probably last you an evening, but boy, it’ll be a fun evening. BUY IT for £99

Hero of the day: Ryu from Streetfighter

Name Ryu Honshi.

Job Street Fighting Martial Arts Hard Nut.

Special Powers Spewing fireballs out of his hands and doing killer dragon punches.

He Said "HADOKEN!"

They said Ryu is the archetypical fighting game protagonist, and he has provided the basis for many other fighting game characters

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X Snow Cats online game

Look, there’s no recommendation for a free web game than it being Japanese, and based around cats on sleds. This is what the web is for, after all. X Snow Cats is that game, which was found on a random Japanese blog. It pits your 2D moggy against seven other felines, racing through a snowy course with the aim of finishing first, while pulling off as many somersaults as possible along the way.

It’s not pure silliness though. There seem to be some pretty spot-on physics behind the deceptively simple graphics. Of course, I don’t have an enormous grasp of what happens when a cat rides a tea-tray at speed in the real world, but the way they bounce around in this game certainly feels right – and presents quite a challenge to control.

Next week: stoats on Segways. Hopefully.

Hero of the day: Brian Clough

Name Brian Clough.

Job Big Head, Football Genius and OBE.

Special Powers Cutting put downs and tactical genius.

He Said "I’m sure the England selectors thought if they took me on and gave me the job, I’d want to run the show. They were shrewd, because that’s exactly what I would have done." (on not getting the England job)

They said "He was like England’s version of Muhammad Ali." (Martin O’Neill)

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Walking robot pencil sharpener

Equipment for the office is so dry and functional that it makes you want to die. Failing that, it’s so ‘wacky’ and ‘zany’ that even contemplating it makes you convinced that you’re in a serious midlife crisis. Well, thankfully, there is a product that is neither.

This cool little retro robot manages to be actually fun and practical. When you stick a standard pencil in it and turn, you sharpen your pencil and charge the robot’s power core, giving him the energy he needs to start walking around your desk. You can also use the included key to charge the robot if you don’t have a pencil to hand.

Buy one now for $6 from Think Geek by clicking here

LG’s beautiful black kitchen for blokes

We’d do a lot more cooking if we had a stealthy black ninja kitchen like this. LG’s Beautiful Black Kitchen is the coolest damn kitchen we’ve seen this week. It’s not all surface though – it’s green as well as black (like the organic chocolate) and features the world’s first eco-friendly steam washing machine, endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust. It uses 35% less water and 21% less energy than standard washing machines. Yes, yes, that’s all very well; did we mention it’s a frickin’ Darth Vader kitchen? MORE INFO

Hero of the day: Johnny Cash

Name Johnny Cash.

Job Troubador, man of the people, the man in black.

Special powers Tough country tunes coupled with real grit fire and brimstone

He said “I’d like to wear a rainbow every day, and tell the world that everything is ok, but I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back. Until things are brighter, I’m the Man in Black.”

They said "Johnny Cash will stand forever as a symbol of intelligence, creativity, compassion and common sense."

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Romance in a box

To most men, romance is not falling asleep after sex. To other men, romance is turning up with some flowers bought from a petrol station. Well, your prayers may have been answered.

A range of "sexual fantasy boxes" have been devised for men who want to introduce something different into their sex lives but don’t want to appear unromantic or unloving.

The boxes contain everything needed for a saucy romp including lingerie, costumes, sex toys and even booklets suggesting storylines and hints on how to improve your sex life. Unbelievably, you can choose from Arabian Nights, French Maids and Workmen. If only I was making it up.

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Panasonic’s 103-inch plasma TV

Anything you can do, we can do bigger… today Panasonic  launched the world’s biggest hi-def plasma telly, a 103-inch monster that would look right at home in Godzilla’s living room. You can’t really get an idea of its size from this pic, but we’ve been promised more pix later today, and as soon as we get them, you’ll be the first to know.

As for spec, this 103-inch beast can deliver more than two million pixels (1,920 x 1,080), making it more home-cinema than telly. And you can be sure that no burglar’s gonna nick it, cause it weighs more than 200kg. The telly will be available to buy in December, and price is on application – we imagine you wouldn’t get too much change (if any) from £15,000.

Remote-controlled robot chimp

If you share my belief that eventually robot monkeys will take over the world and condemn humanity to centuries of slavery on digital banana plantations – and who doesn’t? – the sight of an animatronic robo-chimp on eBay for £85 might be enough to bring you out in a cold sweat.

It’s got lifelike skin and hair, with "mood-specific facial expressions and sounds in response to human interaction". Apparently these moods include curious, fearful, happy and angry. You can touch sensors in his chin, head and ears, or operate him using a remote-control. Just don’t complain when he kicks you out of your house, steals your wife and kick-starts the simian revolution.