If you grew up in the mid to late 80s, like I did, then you have probably experienced the pleasure of playing classic MS-DOS games like Classic Concentration, Wheel of Fortune, and Bowling. As time has moved on, many of these games have become relics as operating systems, like Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X, become more advanced. Thanks to emulation technology, however, I can relive my childhood and play these classic games on my Windows 7-based laptop computer. And today, I’m going to show you how to play classic MS-DOS games on your Windows or Mac computer (this also works on Linux, too!).

Step One: Download DOSBox for Your Operating System. This emulation software recreates the look and feel of the classic MS-DOS operating system, but runs on Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and numerous distributions of the Linux operating system. It is currently free to download at www.dosbox.com and is 100% legal.

Step Two:  Find Games That You Loved (or Still Love). There are numerous Web sites available that have classic MS-DOS games available for free and paid download. Just a few of them are:

• The DOS Games Archive:  http://www.dosgamesarchive.com
• Classic DOS Games: http://www.classicdosgames.com/online.php
• Classic PC Games – Abandonware & Classic Games:  http://www.classic-pc-games.com
• Over 500 DOS Games:  http://www.dosgames.com

On these sites, you can find a wide variety of the classic MS-DOS you grew to know and love. Among these titles, you will find Crazy Cars 3, Lemmings, The Incredible Machine, The Price is Right, Family Feud, Classic Concentration, and a multitude of others. Personally, I recommend any of the games based off of television series. All the fun you can have without commercial interruption (not only that, but they support multiplayer, too)!

Step Three:  Download the Games to Your Hard Drive. Most of these games are available in the ZIP format, which is compatible with both WinZip and WinRAR software. Upon extracting these archives, however, make sure that you unzip each archive to the same directory. This will make step four much easier.

Step Four:  Run DOSBox and Mount Your Directory. This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Let’s say that you download the archives to C:\Downloads. All you have to do is run DOSBox and, when prompted, type mount c c:\Downloads. All you have to do is browse to the directory that houses your game, run the appropriate file, and have fun playing!

What were some of your favorite DOS games growing up? Please leave your thoughts and insights in the comments below!

I’m not a hardcore gamer, but I do love my Nintendo Wii gaming console. With each movement of the Wii remote, I feel as though I am part of the game. And, with the recent price drop implemented by Nintendo, I think many more will come to love this gaming console, as well.

Oh, you didn’t know about the recent price drop? Seems the console has not been performing as well this year as it has in past years, and Nintendo will be dropping the price in an effort to revitalize interest, much like Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 and Sony did at the recent launch of the PS3 Slim.

In addition to dropping the price of their Wii gaming console, Nintendo has also revitalized interested in the console by licensing a large number of their properties, including the Mii avatar system found exclusively on the console.

One that managed to catch my eye while browsing online are the wedding cake toppers, available at CustomBobble.com. These adorable, and almost life-like, renditions of your digital creations can be yours for the relatively high price of $200 (anyone else find it ironic that having a Mii on your wedding cake costs almost as much as a Wii itself?). Of course, you can also pay more and add some extra features, like a voice recorder, the ability to change the clothing color (currently available in black and white only), and making an identical matching set for collection purposes.

Even though the cost is very steep, I would highly recommend this product to anyone who wishes to celebrate both their wedding and their fanboy status on their special day.

So, my question to you is this:  could wedding cake toppers and price cuts place the Nintendo Wii back in its place as “king of the gaming consoles”? Leave your thoughts and insights (as well as links to other unusual Nintendo licensed products) in the comments below!

Today is a beautiful day to be a geek. Not only is it Labor Day (which means I have the day off), but it also marks the day that the long-awaited Commodore64 emulator, which had previously been denied, has been accepted into the iPhone App Store [link takes you directly to App Store].

The application was created by Manomio.com, who specializes in bringing retro gaming to the Android and Apple iPhone mobile platforms. The app is currently available in the Apple App Store, and comes with five free games: Dragons Den, Le Mans, Jupiter Lander, Arctic Shipwreck, and Jack Attacks.

Below you’ll find an official video of the app in action:

As you may already know, I’m not much of a gamer. It is, with this mind, that you should also know that it takes a lot for any sort of video game to really grab my attention. This past weekend, however, I managed to find a new online experience that is truly worth the time and attention. The network: Cartoon Network. The game: “FusionFall”.

When I first heard the news that Cartoon Network was going to be releasing a competitor to Disney’s popular “ToonTown” game I was, admittedly, a little skeptical. I found myself wondering just what kind of storyline Cartoon Network (the same network who created shows like “Cow and Chicken” in the early 90’s) could possibly come up to rival Disney. Amazingly, Cartoon Network was able to come up with a storyline that not only keeps their audience, which is comprised of pre-pubescent children, interested, but also ties together the various characters that make up the Cartoon Network universe.

The game begins with you taking on the role of the “lab rat” in a time travel experiment headed by Dexter, of “Dexter’s Laboratory”. Some time during the experiment, however, everything goes horribly wrong when his sister, DeeDee, messes things up (as if there’s any other way Dexter’s experiments could be ruined). The next thing you know, you have been thrust into the distant future, where an alien being, known only as Fusion, has been unleashed unto the earth and only you have the power to save the planet from destruction.

The controls in “FusionFall”, much like any other game released in this genre, were easy to master since, to be honest, they were very few of them. Much like other MMORPGs, “FusionFall”’s control system was comprised of mouse clicks and use of the directional keys on the keyboards. I have still, as of yet, to determine whether or not it would be possible to use an USB video game controller with the game (though I do intend to find out in the immediate future).

Each of the worlds, mostly those taken from Cartoon Network shows (Peach Creek from “Ed, Edd, n Eddy” and Pokey Oaks from “The Powerpuff Girls”, to name some examples), were highly detailed, even though many of them didn’t exactly bring to mind the shows upon which these worlds were originally conceived. A player must be highly attentive while playing this game, however, as there are a few references to the series upon which each world is based (look for different variations of Plank as the doors to the Cul-de-Sac in Peach Creek Commons and the Powerpuff Girls’ house in Pokey Oaks North).

My favorite part of the game is Cartoon Network’s ability to create not only an interesting game, but also a game that is easy to understand and, most importantly, a game that is easy to play. The controls are simple enough that any user (of any age) can play, no matter how “tech-savvy” they are. The storyline is interesting enough and carries enough continuity to keep players of all ages engaged for several hours at a time (without, hopefully, turning into a World of WarCraft style addiction). The best part is the worlds themselves, which remind many of us of the original Cartoon Network shows that we grew up knowing and loving.

I would highly recommend “FusionFall” to anyone who has always wanted to get into the RPG experience, but didn’t want to go through the fuss of having to pay for it. Subscriptions are currently available for $15 at http://www.cartoonetwork.com.