Month: September 2019

(credit: Ecig Click)

Authorities in Wisconsin say they’ve busted an alleged large-scale operation making tens of thousands of bootleg THC-containing vape products. Authorities seized over $1.5 million worth of THC product from a single residence late last week.

In a press conference Wednesday, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department announced that local authorities made the bust after serving “knock and announce” search warrants at two locations in the county. At one property, police seized approximately 31,200 vape cartridges, each filled with 1 gram of oil containing tetrahydrocannabinol (aka THC, the psycho-active ingredient in cannabis). They also seized 98,000 unfilled vape cartridges, 57 Mason jars filled with approximately 1,616 ounces of refined liquid THC, and approximately eighteen pounds of marijuana.

Police are holding Tyler T. Huffhines, 20, on several charges, including possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or deliver more than 10,000 grams of cannabis product. Authorities also arrested his brother, Jacob D. Huffhines, 23, for cocaine and firearm possession.

Enlarge / Tiny system next to giant pack-in controller. (It comes with two 3-button pads.) (credit: Sam Machkovech)

Shortly after NES Classic fever swept the United States in 2016, a series of underwhelming nostalgia systems followed, all designed to emulate classic games through modern TVs' HDMI ports. None of them, other than Nintendo's own SNES Classic, reached the same success or quality level. The C64 Mini was a half-baked bummer. The Neo-Geo Mini underwhelmed with a weird form factor and lacking controller. After a remarkably quiet launch, the PlayStation Classic eventually became a solid value... at roughly one-third of its original MSRP.

The ATGames Sega Genesis was arguably the most embarrassing of them all, as it did an utter disservice to its source 16-bit system. The audio, the video, the game selection—they were all trash. Every time we heard whispers that Sega might release another tiny Genesis, I involuntarily twitched, assuming the company's handlers meant a reskin of the ATGames disaster.

But, lo, the Sega Genesis Mini arrives this month and nails the basics we've wanted from so many other nostalgia boxes in the past few years. Eighty dollars gets you a diverse selection of 42 built-in games from the '90s, with a mix of obvious hits, cult classics, and weird outliers. That's all rounded out by two nicely molded controllers and an HDMI-connected system that delivers wholly competent emulation on both the sound and visual fronts. I can nitpick this thing plenty (keep scrolling), but as a straightforward holiday or gift list item, this is a pretty easy recommendation. It's exactly the value-packed '90s package that Sega needed to stand toe to toe with Nintendo's SNES Classic.

• 

  Get up and move!

Last week, Nintendo threw up a vague and unexpected video showing people "moving their bodies, doing some kind of activity, and having a pretty good laugh," as the company now describes it. Today, Nintendo revealed more details about Ring Fit Adventure, a turn-based RPG that uses the flexible "Ring-Con" and a Joy-Con-equipped leg strap to transform physical activity into in-game actions.

That means getting around in Ring Fit Adventure requires actually jogging in place, with your leg speed corresponding to the speed of the character on-screen (there is a less active "silent mode" to reduce the heavy impacts of your footfalls in crowded environments). That also means performing various exercise moves—from leg lifts to yoga poses—in turn-based battles against color-coded enemies.

While the Ring-Con might look like just a rubberized plastic resistance band, the electronic device can actually sense how hard and fast it's being squeezed, jiggled, and tilted (with the help of an attached Joy-Con). Squeezing it in can create an in-game blast of air to affect the environment or launch into the sky, for instance. The trailer shows Ring-Con movements being used for everything from paddleboarding to flapping a a wing suit.