On August 9th, Blogging Molly and I had the chance to play the preproduction version of the Desperate Housewives game for the PC. We're both Desperate Housewives fans, so we were as giddy as Susan meeting Mike for the first time!

Developed by Liquid Entertaiment and published by Buena Vista Games, "Desperate Housewives: The Game" can be described as a sexier version of "The Sims". Although you can't be any of the housewives in the game, you can be your own housewife, with the objective of uncovering the scandals and shocking secrets of Wisteria Lane and keeping after your family in 12 episodes.

To begin, select your housewife and the clothes, shoes, and hair type you wish for her to have. You even get to choose what you want your husband and children to look like (imagine that). We called our character "Mollifer" and dressed her in a sexy purple tracksuit with long, dark hair (okay, so we're partial to Gabby's character).

When the game play started, we were presented with a budget in order to purchase furniture, plant a garden, and clothes and even to play Texas Hold'em with the over wives. We planted some flowers in our front yard (boy, those bulbs weren't cheap, either!). Then, we wanted Mollifer to whip up some food in the kitchen, so we pointed the computer mouse to the kitchen. This is our favorite part of the game, because you get to learn recipes, use your mouse to stir batter, and become a novice cook. We prepared some French toast, but unfortunately our food quality was given a "D" grade! Though, we did make the French toast in a timely manner, so we scored an "A"!

You can perform any activities in the DH game as you would in "The Sims", such as take a shower (with your private parts blocked out) and watch TV. But the cool thing is that you can converse with the cast of DH! Mollifer walked through the Wisteria neighborhood over to the Mayer house to talk with Susan. You can choose from three different responses each time a character talks to you, and each response is either mean, polite, or fake. We couldn't help clicking on the "mean" response, because we wanted to see Mollifer get real bitchy! Then Mollifer couldn't help herself by visiting Mike's house to flirt with him a little. You can also visit Edie, Bree, Gabrielle, Lynette, Edie, and Paul's house.

And of course the game wouldn't be the same without Mary Alice Young narrating in each episode! The voices of the other characters weren't finished recording yet when we played the preproduction version. You can also make decisions during game play that will affect the outcome, but you'll have to wait until the game is released to know what those decisions are!

Overall, if you're obsessed with the show, then you'll love the Desperates Housewives PC game. It's an extremely addictive game (we didn't want to stop playing it)! The only unfortunate thing is that you can't play an actual character from the show, but interacting with them is just as fun. We can't wait until the official release, so look for a more detailed review in the next month or so.

Desperate Housewives: The Game will ship sometime in October 2006 (specific day undecided for now) and will sell for $19.99. Designed for operation on Windows XP and the (hopefully) soon-to-be-released Windows Vista.

Gearlog has more screenshots of the DH game!

Updated 8/21 @ 8:13pm to clarify launch date and that you can make decisions during game play that affect the outcome.

A housewife waving to Carlos.

Your character's house.

Aerial view of house.

Wisteria Lane

Game-play in the house.

Conversating with another housewife.

Girl talk.

The Scavos, probably fighting about the kids.

Is Lynette trying to dump her kids on you?

Bree's probably telling this character something snarky.

This week on Gearlog Radio: Panelists discuss Dell's exploding battery problem, the 4.1-million laptop-battery recall, and why we were completely wrong about it when we first posted; the hot new Verizon ExpressCard and why, exactly, it's so hot; the strangest back-to-school gadgets we could find, including the librarian action figure and the in-locker disco ball; and a roundup of techie duckies from Molly K. (for "kwack") McLaughlin.

Next week: Tune in for all-new hosts!

Download the MP3.

On this week's show:

• Dell's Exploding Laptop Problem
• Verizon's EVDO ExpressCard For MacBook Pro: Almost Too Easy
• 10 Strangest Back-to-School Gadgets & Gear
• Put All Your Ducks in a Row

Hosts: Robyn Peterson and Sascha Segan

Panelists: Dan Costa, Jen DeLeo, Cisco Cheng, and Molly K. McLaughlin
Audio Engineer: Scott Bernstein

 

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Reading mobile phone stories from Reuters can be tricky, because the news service is European-based and doesn't differentiate between European and US model devices. That said, I want to puncture the gleeful joy of Treo addicts everywhere: the new Treo coming out on September 12 is not for you. It's a European product, to be released on European carriers, using European phone bands. It will not be sold here.

Obviously, Palm is working on new Treos for the US; they haven't given up on their core market and major product line. Rumors are flying out there on sites that actually post rumors, like Engadget Mobile. I don't post rumors. But I'm pretty sure the new Treos for the US will not be announced in London on Sept. 12.

One other interesting little tidbit: I've noticed that the new EuroTreo will run Windows Mobile, and work with 3G GSM (aka UMTS) networks. That jibes with what Palm told me a while ago about the Palm OS not being able to handle the simultaneous voice and data connections on those networks. That's important for US readers because it puts Cingular subscribers in a bind - either they'll get Palm OS and the slower EDGE network, or Windows Mobile and the faster HSDPA network, whenever Palm decides to finally put out a 700-series model on Cingular.

They say that the bedroom is where all of the magic happens. Whether you're afraid of the dark, tired of smelling like feet, or want to get kinky with your iPod in bed, here are ten gadgets and gear for your sanctuary. And remember, when the devices are rockin', don't come a-knockin!

Nightly Natter:
Color-Call Caller ID System by Brookstone ($29.99)
For those late-night chats with your lover or when you're busy doing the deed, it's important to know whether or not you should answer the phone. The Color-Call Caller ID System can help. Using ColorSmart technology, assign a phone number or group to one of four colors (red, green, blue, purple) so you'll know who's calling from across the room. Holds 100 numbers and features a high/low dimmer.

Panty Pleasure:
iGroove Panty for iPod nano (Currently out of stock, $12.95)
You've heard of the iBoxer. For a more sexier look ladies, try the iGroove Panty on for size. It's made of black lace with a pink ribbon and removable pocket to hold your iPod nano.

Smelly Shoes:
Shoe Deodorizer from SmartHome ($14.99)
I keep all of my shoes at the bottom of my bedroom closet, and everytime I open it, I get an unpleasant aroma that fills my room. I know, so gross! Looks like I may need to invest in the Shoe Deodorizer! It uses an ionization process to clean the source of the odor. It's powered by an AC adapter or 4 C batteries. Just place the device into your shoe and pray that the odor disappears!

Nightmares No-More:
Blue Moon Night Light by Solutions ($29.95)
Sometimes the dark can make me feel a little uneasy. Maybe that's because of all the horror flicks I watch! To save me from my nightmares is the Blue Moon Night Light. Place the light underneath your bed and watch it give a blue glow from 14 bright LEDs to your room.

Buzzing Bed:
OhMiBod by OhMiPod ($69)
The OhMiBod can vibrate to the beat and rhythm of music coming from your iPod. Measures 5 1/2" long (insertable) and 1 1/8" in diameter. Includes a 5-foot freedom cord, universave headphone connector, multi-speed end cap, and velvet privacy pouch.

Pleasing Pillow:
Stereo Memory Foam Pillow by Abcron Corp. ($39.99)
This isn't an ordinary pillow. It rocks you to sleep by connecting to your MP3 player and playing music through the built-in speakers. Made of memory foam for a good night's sleep!

Space Saver:
Computer Desk Bed (Available in twin only, $2,079)
Not everyone can have a decent-sized bedroom. Free up some space with the Computer Desk Bed. Just fold the bed up to reveal a wooden computer desk.

Late-Night Lurking:
Lighted Slippers by Brightfeet ($39.95)
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night for a glass of water. But I hate turning on the lights. So I'd find a perfect use for the Brightfeet Lighted Slippers. When it's dark, the light sensors in the slipper will turn on and shine the LEDs to light your way. Powered by 2 replaceable lithium batteries (included).

TeddyBear Tenderness:
Plush Light-Up Animals by Glo-E ($19.99)
How cute are LED stuffed animals? I wish I had these when I was a kid. Perfect for kids or the kid in you. Choose from a bear, monkey, or puppy. Changes to 7 magical colors. Automatic shut-off.

Sleep Strugglers:
Sleeptracker from SmartHome ($148.99)
Find out how well you sleep at night. With Sleeptracker, set the alarm time and the alarm window for 0 to 30 minutes. The wrist-watch device then monitors your body for optimal waking moments and wakes you when you're most alert during that set window of time. It's also water-resistant in case, you know, you wet the bed or something.

I've spent the past week with a pre-production model of Nokia's new E62 smartphone, and I'm extremely impressed. With a very usable keyboard, a big screen, lots of email options and two terrific Web browsers available, this is GSM's answer to Verizon's Motorola Q. (The E62 will probably appear on T-Mobile or Cingular.) As long as Nokia can deliver stable software, the E62 could outmatch the popular Q in nearly every area of performance; PDFs look gorgeous on this thing, and push email comes through beautifully (even though the Good push client I was using eats up battery life.) If you haven't used Nokia's new Web browser, your eyes will goggle -- this looks more desktop-web-browsing-like than any handheld I've ever seen. Yes, the built-in EDGE modem is slower than Cingular's new HSDPA network, but given the pathetic buildout of Cingular's HSDPA I can understand Nokia wanting to go with the more popular standard for now.

One odd omission from a consumer perspective is some sort of desktop software to help you reformat video to play on the device. You can play video on the E62, but it requires some geekery to figure out how to transcode it. Maybe this is just that I'm less experienced with the E62's Symbian operating system than I am with Palm and Windows Mobile, but the latter two OSes basically let you drag and drop video into their desktop software. Symbian is like the soccer of handheld OSes, tremendously popular in Europe but mysterious to most Americans.

Ultimately, that will be the E62's challenge: businesses, who could most benefit from the device, may be loathe to adopt the so far unfamiliar Symbian OS. But those who overlook the E62 simply because it isn't part of their Microsoft volume-license contracts will be missing out on a terrific handheld.

Read more in my full review on PCMag.com.