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Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Theme Park Travel / Video Games / Video Game Travel / → All Tags

Get Psyched for Game Nation, The World's First Video Game Theme Park

Theme park season might be winding down for the year, but that doesn’t mean that the behind-the-scenes work will be slowing down anytime soon. Game Nation officials have plenty of work ahead of them during this offseason, as the world’s first video game theme park works to get off the drawing board and into construction mode.

Developers are calling Game Nation the world’s first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort. To us this means that things are way more than just an arcade, and that we can expect some serious rides, attractions, and experiences. They’ve got a basic idea of what they want to do, and they’ve even named the different areas of the soon-to-be park.

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In-Flight Entertainment / Cathay Pacific / Airlines / Airline News / Video Games / Video Game Travel / Lists / → All Tags

The Five Best Video Games You've Just Got to Play on Cathay Pacific

The seats in economy on Cathay have pretty wide screens

When you're sitting on an airplane and there's a seatback TV right in front of you and—joy of joys—it's interactive, what do you end up doing with it the most? Are you watching movies and TV shows or maybe reading destination guides? You'll find us browsing the game section (of course after watching any available episodes of 30 Rock or Parks & Recreation).

If your flight is over 8 hours, then there's got to be another option besides mindlessly watching shows, and this is where a games section really shines. In particular, we're partial to Cathay Pacific for their StudioCX in-flight entertainment and its super robust variety of games.

There's quite a menu from which to choose, so we thought we'd help you decide and list our own 5 Favorite In-Flight Games on Cathay Pacific. Check 'em out next time to hop to HK...

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Video Games / In-Flight Entertainment / Travel Tech / Geek Travel / Airlines / → All Tags

First Thing On Our Christmas List This Year: Airline Tycoon 2

It’s not even May, and we already have picked out one of the first things on our 2011 list for Santa. We heard that Airline Tycoon 2 is coming out before the end of the year, and we definitely want it for in-flight entertainment on our next long-haul.

It's been around ten years since the first game made its debut, but the sequel is now in the works and for travel geeks like us it’s a dream come true. Players get to assume the role of an airline CEO and make all those important decisions. From airplane selection and design to creating your own airport base—it’s all up to you. While you're busy building an airline empire, just watch your back, as there will be plenty of competition for your passengers’ travel dollars. We just hope there’s no Richard Branson to outdo our airline style.

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Video Games / HKG / Airport News / Airport Amenities / Airports / Hong Kong Travel / → All Tags

Hong Kong's Airport Hates Layovers Too, So They Installed Free Playstation 3

Bored at the airport and jealous that Upper Class flyers on Virgin Atlantic have Guitar Hero and Wii Sports to play with in their Gatwick Clubhouse? Well, if you're suffering from a layover at Hong Kong's massive and very modern Chek Lap Kok Airport, then perhaps you'll be interested in a few games on a Playstation 3?

Hong Kong's airport authority has called up Sony to partner on a deal to bring Playstation 3 into HKG, and they've installed 14 PlayStation3 Game Poles near the boarding gates at Terminal 1 and the Coach Station at Terminal 2. Here we'd ask how much does it cost, but we don't even need to—because it's free!.

And of course, Sony wants to get the travelers hooked, so you'll be able to play some of the newest titles including Final Fantasy XIII (which isn't even released in the US yet!), James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin’s Creed 2. We'd recommend Assassin's Creed 2, because the setting is medieval Italy and boy is it a game that's perfect to be sucked into for a few mindless hours in the airport.

Related Stories:
· Free Playstation 3 Games Now at Hong Kong Airport [AsiaTravelTips]
· Snag Some All-You-Can-Eat Ramen on Cathay Pacific [Jaunted]
· Hong Kong travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: the seatback livemap at our seat as we depart HKG on Cathay Pacific]

Facebook / Video Games / Airline News / Air New Zealand / → All Tags

Air New Zealand's New Facebook Game Is A Wannabe FarmVille

You know how sometimes we complain that airlines invest in social media just so they can say they've invested in social media, with their "investments" quickly becoming "predictable losses" that we end up paying for (often in the form of insanely obnoxious opaque fees)? There's a lot of back and forth on the debate, and we understand that reasonable people will differ over whether an airline needs a Facebook page for branding purposes. But can't we all agree that Air New Zealand's new Facebook game Jump Seat—developed because some consultant showed some middle manager the user statistics from Farmville—is painfully stupid?

Here's how it goes:

Jump Seat players can upload pictures to create their very own avatars as Air New Zealand Flight Attendants or First Officers. Once en route, players answer trivia questions, play mini games and complete onboard tasks... Recruit Facebook friends to help fluff pillows for the lie-flat beds; recommend and refill New Zealand wine, a key component of the airline's world-class service; send fellow flight attendants gifts of energy points for a boost; and tag team to ensure all passengers have an excellent in-flight experience.

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Video Games / Facebook / Travel Contests / Lufthansa / → All Tags

Relive 'Carmen Sandiego' With Lufthansa's 'Virtual Pilot II' Game

Were you a huge fan of Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Or maybe you just have a thing for geography? Well, Lufthansa totally understands and they're rekindling a bit of the Carmen Sandiago adrenaline with their second version of the geography trivia web game "Virtual Pilot."

In Virtual Pilot 1, you'd be given a city name and you'd have to click on a map in order to "land your plane" as close to there as possible. The first round showed city dots and country borders, the second round only had country borders, and the third round only gave you land masses to go by. We fared pretty well on it, but Virtual Pilot II is kicking our butt hardcore.

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Video Games / Google Maps / Technology / Travel News / → All Tags

Google Map-Based 'Monopoly City Streets' Game Launches Today

Today may be 09/09/09, and the day that a certain hyped video game releases (Beatles Rock Band, more on that later), but there's yet another game out today for which we are extremely excited: Monopoly City Streets, and it's free.

It's being called the "biggest live game of Monopoly in history"—would we be part of a Guinness World Record then?—and it's focused on using Google Maps as the gameboard, with the ability to utilize street view to aid in making location purchase decisions. And just like in the real Monopoly, this worldwide version has you buying streets and building everything from hazards to skyscrapers on them.

But how will it work? We'll defer to PC World to explain this one:

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Geeky Travel / World of Warcraft / Video Games / Restaurants / → All Tags

Just What China Needed: A World of Warcraft Restaurant

We've never played, but the 1 million World of Warcraft gamers in China are sure to be booking tickets to Beijing right now: A new restaurant in the capital features screens playing animations from the game, a full-sized suit of armor, fantasy-inspired murals, menu items named after characters from Azeroth and, obviously, a place to get online and play.

And this isn't the only gamer-friendly venue you'll want to put on your Chinese itinerary. You'll also want to check out Universal Digital Carnival Valley in Changzhou, set to open in 2010:

Featuring nine digital culture and e-sports experience sectors such as Hero Gate, Taobao Street, QQ Fantasy, Mir World, Star World, Warcraft Land, Secret Island, Happy Harbor and World Digital Culture Temple.

Just remember: If you do go, don't talk about the trip in your next job interview.

Related Stories:
· WoW Restaurant in Beijing [Shanghaiist, via]
· Guitar Heroes in Manila [Jaunted]

[Photo: Dianping]

Fall Festivals / Video Games / → All Tags

Fall Culture Travel: Blip Festival

Our parents were wrong: They never should have donated our once-beloved Pac-Man games to the Goodwill because Pac-Man and all his buddies have made a comeback. The now-archaic games we played growing up were called 8-bit, and their designs have made their way on to T-shirts, skateboards, and have influenced countless young designers and artists.

From November 29-December 2, artist collectives The Tank and 8bitpeoples collaborate to celebrate all things 8-bit for the four-day Blip Festival in New York. In addition to visual art, the festival also includes musicians and filmmakers inspired by games.

The festival's complete schedule is forthcoming, but every day follows the same agenda: screenings and artists' workshops take place during the day, with concerts happening every night. Attending every session and concert within the four days is cheap as far as NYC festivals go at $35, and tickets to individual events cost just $10, with all ticket purchases including a one-year subscription to Time Out New York and free Singha Beer during evening/nighttime events.

What could be better? Revisiting your Atari glory days and free beer, all under the guise of art!

Related Links:
· Blip Festival [Official Site]
· Fall Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

Video Games / Music / → All Tags

Fresh (News) Fruits for Rotting Vegetables

August isn't only a slow news month in the U.S. Over in Central Europe, they call it "cucumber season"; meaning, that's when news organizations over there run articles on how it's going to be a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. No, not asparagus--the communists considered it to be a bourgeois vegetable and the asparagus fields were torn up after the Second World War.

Except, as Pestiside points out, cucumber season this year happens to have a fair amount of real news, as their coverage of recent Central European events demonstrates. To wit: The Slovaks elected a Prime Minister who bears an uncanny resemblance to the lead singer of Madness. The Romanians, meanwhile, have published a video game featuring battles with the Hungarians in space--presumably because space is free of feral dogs--and, best of all, the current Polish president chose his twin brother to be Prime Minister. That last one sounds a lot like an episode of Young and the Restless, but indeed, they are all true. Sure beats coverage of shark attacks, right?

[Image via nao-cha/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Cucumber Season [Pestiside.hu]

Security / Airlines / Video Games / → All Tags

Airport Insecurity

Airport Insecurity is a game/comment on current security efforts in our airports. Made to run on Java-enabled Nokia phones, the game's all about managing a line of people waiting to go through security (you can choose one of 138 airports for the simulation). Go too slow, and the people in line will start to get twitchy. The chances of sneaking in something "unallowed" (like a cigarette lighter) vary depending on the actual stats of the airport you chose. Say the makers, "To consider the game's implications fully, players are encouraged to play the game while waiting in line at airport security." Doesn't exactly sound as fun as Me and My Katamari, but we bet it's definitely a conversation-starter.

Related Stories:  
·   Take off your shoes [Collision Detection, via Knick-Knack]
·   Persuasive Games [Official site]