Having a fun April Fools’ Day yet? I have to admit I really love traipsing through the Internets and trying to figure out what’s for serious and what’s not for serious. So here’s something that’s not real, but that’s pretty darn humorous. Cryptic has joined in the April Fools’ Day fun and dropped an announcement that Star Trek Online would be heading in a softer direction. Baby soft. With Star Trek Babies Online.

This sort of reminds me a bit of Tiny Toons and I was a big fan of that, so I’d actually not oppose to baby Star Trek characters. It’d be pretty funny. Like Star Trek gnomes.

Thanks for the laughs, Cryptic.

Via | Massively

Image: Cryptic

At first I struggled with whether or not to click play on a video featuring four older men without pants. In theory, there’s nothing particularly appealing about that. But then the morbid curiosity took over.

I’m glad it did, because I laughed quite a bit with this new Guitar Hero: Metallica ad. Four NCAA coaches rock out Risky Business-style, only to be told to put some pants on by the Metallica legends themselves.

But don’t take my word for it, just click play. Go on, you know you wanna.

Image: Sony

Oopsies. Looks like someone in the typing department at Activision made a typo and no one noticed. Guitar Hero: Metallica has launched with a game box that features - “Lynyrd Skynrd.” (Look for it to the left of the “H”):

Correct spelling: Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Rolling Stone brought this everyone’s attention. Other bands in the cover managed to get through with the correct spelling, alas, Lynyrd Skynyrd fans will have to live with this one.

I’m sure they’ll fix it soon enough. And of course, this doesn’t make the game any less enjoyable.

Rock on.

Via | Rolling Stone

Image: Activision

Making its way through the Internet cyberstreets is this video which combines the awesomness of Halo 3 with … well, the V.A.T.S. from Fallout 3. And well … it’s best to be seen, rather than explained. But the end result is undeniably fun to watch.

Check it out:

Via | OXM

So, so very true. I just ignored my fancy pants FPS titles for an hour and a half of frantic pizza-making action at Papa’s Pizzeria. You just. Can’t. Stop.

I am totally in agreement with Sarcastic Gamer over the Microsoft Surface (called so, I’m assuming, because it takes up more surface area than more of your standard sized furniture), a interactive table of sorts that Microsoft is toting as the coolest thing since sliced bread, only bigger.

Now, I’m not saying that it doesn’t do some REALLY cool stuff, it certainly does, but the personal electronics gig is all about downsizing and portable-izing gadgets and gizmos…so why the super sized fries here? Below is a Sarcastic Gamer parody that will have you in stitches.

Via | Sarcastic Gamer

An ex-Nintendo executive, the always out-spoken Perrin Kaplan (former VP Marketing & Corporate Affairs) split at the end of 2007 and recently announced the formation of her own apparently marketing-oriented company: Zebra Partners.

In a recent panel discussion at PAX 2008, in which she was participating in a discussion about sex and violence in video games, she had one of the most quotable gaming quotes to emerge for a long time:

Parents who use video games as a babysitter shouldn’t have sex to begin with.

Via | SPOnG

Ever wonder what it would be like to actually run as much as your character in WoW does? Well, a couple of WoW fans created an interesting way to enhance their experience of the game, and get some exercise out of it at the same time.

Essentially, they hooked up a couple of monitors to treadmills and with the aid of joysticks can synchronize running in real life with the running in the game.

I’d love to try this!

Via | Teche Blog

Clive Thompson has concluded that the Weight Watchers online tool turns weight loss into a form of RPG.

An interesting concept, and here’s why he thinks that:

Think about it. As with an RPG, you roll a virtual character, manage your inventory and resources, and try to achieve a goal. Weight Watchers’ points function precisely like hit points; each bite of food does damage until you’ve used up your daily amount, so you sleep and start all over again. Play well and you level up — by losing weight! And the more you play it, the more you discover interesting combinations of the rules that aren’t apparent at first. Hey, if I eat a fruit-granola breakfast and an egg-and-romaine lunch, I’ll have enough points to survive a greasy hamburger dinner for a treat!

Even the Weight Watchers web tool is amazingly gamelike. It has the poke-around-and-see-what-happens elegance you see in really good RPG game screens. Accidentally snack on a candy bar and ruin your meal plan for the day? No worries: Just go into the database and see what spells — whoops, I mean foods — you can still use with your remaining points.

And those 35 extra points you get every week? They’re like a special buff or potion — a last-ditch save when you’re on the ropes.

And people have long thought that weight loss couldn’t be entertaining. Well, perhaps it’s time to re-think that.

Via | BoingBoing

Image courtesy of SXC

And now for a little humour. Did your parents ever warn you to stop spending so much time in front of video games? Did you ever get in trouble for being rowdy or anything of the like? Well your parents should take a lesson from a couple in Virginia, who after repeated warnings to their kids about their behaviour while playing games, punished not the kids (directly), but the poor original Xbox console itself. Says the forum visitor at iReport.com, a user-populated news forum managed by CNN:

My husband had repeatedly warned our 3 boys about their behavior while playing the XBOX. Tuesday, after I arrived home from work, our oldest son told me to look in the backyard at “Dad’s artwork”. Well, I wasn’t surprised to see the XBOX proudly displayed on the nearest tree… way to go Honey!!!!!

Questions of story legitimacy aside, it’s kind of a novel way to get your point across. Now if it were me, I would make them go outside and play, in full sight of their desecrated gaming gear (because I’m mean like that).

Via | GamePolitics.com