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Totally in love with your video games? Give your thumbs a lot of exercise, but maybe a bit worried that couch potato syndrome might be creeping up and there's a beer gut with your name on it somewhere in the not-too-distant future?

(Okay, so maybe we're laying it on a bit thick. Maybe.)

It sounds like help might be on the way with BodyPad video game hardware. Gets you right in the game.

"Imagine becoming your favorite Wrestler, Boxer, or Martial Arts Champion. You can do this with BodyPad! Get into the game yourself. You can now be a part of many exciting games, including but not limited to the following: Tekken(TM), Dragon Ball Z(TM), Dead or Alive(TM), Mortal Kombat(TM), Virtua Fighter(TM), Soul Calibur(TM), Dance Dance Revolution(TM), Jungle Book(TM), Athens 2004(TM), or Track N Field(TM). You will experience your favorite video game in a totally different way, and you can actually get in shape or stay in shape while you are having fun!

BodyPad will turn your body into the Controller and you will take the gaming experience to realistic and accurate levels never thought of before! The game adjustment system allows your body to make moves while sticking with the realism of the game content movements."

The BodyPad is currently available in Europe, but will be coming soon to North America.

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We'd suggest you swing by the Yarukinoki.net Swinging Pendulum game site only when you've got some time because it's quite addictive. The instructions are in Japanese, but courtesy of Pocket-lint's instructions, we were able to give the game a go (again and again and again). Here's how you play: Click on one of the grey bars at the top of the screen, and hold down your mouse button. Your spacecraft will fire out a rope up to where you've clicked, and your ship will swing back and forth. What you want to do is let go of your mouse button (and therefore the rope) when you've got a nice bit of momentum going (note - you want to go forward!). When you let go, your spacecraft will fly. You've got to click on the grey bar again in order to get another rope going, or your spacecraft will crash into the jagged spikes. Keep going for as long as you can. We're not even going to talk about our "high score". Via Pocket-lint.

Looks like Google's launched an online game that's tied to the release of the Da Vinci Code movie: The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google.

"The quest, which began April 17th requires skill, intellect, and perseverance. Over a span of 24 days ending May 11th, you will encounter unique challenges. These daily puzzles will pull you deeper into the world of The Da Vinci Code. Answer all 24 puzzles correctly for a chance to win untold riches."

Technorati Tags: da vinci code, games

This game, courtesy of Pepsi Japan, is not easy. You've got to break through the icewall or else you end up smashing into it (as you can see from our pic above).

(Don't worry - it includes instructions in English.)

Via Adverblog.

How awake are you really? The Sheep Dash! Game checks your reflexes. You get darts to throw at these poor sheep that are trying to escape.

We couldn't clock in any faster than Bobbing Bobcat. We're going to try again tomorrow, after we've both had a whole lot more coffee (which is the way we like to start our Mondays).

This one isn't easy. Escape from the room, in the Inside the Firewall game, is a promotion for Harrison Ford's new movie, Firewall.

The setting is rather eerie, and we couldn't find the instructions (always a good way to start a game) so we just clicked around, which we think was what we're supposed to do. You know what we always say ... if we had more time, of course we would have finished the game (Well, some instructions would have helped. Actually, no - more like, massive hints would have helped.).

It did get us interested in the movie, that's for sure. February 10. Just in time for a Valentine's Day night out, with dinner afterwards to discuss (that's what we do on our dates. We discuss.)

Via AdRants.

If you've ever pined over playing paparazzi and snapping shots of the likes of, um, Nikki Sheraton and, er, Jackson Michaels, then Paparazzi - Adventures on the Red Carpet is definitely a game you'll enjoy.

You only get 12 shots, so you've got to make them good. At each level, you're told what celebrity you're wanting shots of, and you earn money for each shot you get.

Actually, it's kind of fun even if you've never hankered after being a paparazzi, although we never thought a paparazzi's life was quite like that.

Via Adverblog.

One of us loves Jelly Bellys (or should that be Bellies?) Which is good (for us), because in order to play the Jelly Belly $250,000 Mystery Flavor Game, you need an access code, and you can only get one from - you guessed it - specially marked bags of Jelly Belly (Bellies?)

(Apparently you can also send in that self-addressed stamped envelope and request an access code, but we can see it coming in the mail and wondering, what the heck is this for?)

Via Adrants.

If you've been gearing up for the annual Monopoly marathon with all the family over the Christmas holidays, this mgiht come in handy: Hasbro offers a PDF file that lets you print your own Monopoly money.

And if you're leary about wasting all your ink on printing out fake money, RealTechNews has a good tip: buy yourself some colored paper that matches the denominations you need, and print the money on the colored paper using black ink only.

Now you're all set - total domination of the Monopoly board, anyone?

(If you're missing some hotels, you can always use those processed cheese cubes ...)

Via RealTechNews.

So, we're going to take a guess. You figure you might not be able to snatch an XBox 360 off the shelves before Christmas so there's a kid on your list who's going to be XBox-less?

Chances are, that kid probably owns PSP and/or a Nintendo DS. Are we onto something here?

Well, here's something that might make up for it. The Pyramat PM220 is a vibrating chair for gamers. It's got built-in speakers and a subwoofer. It's available at Target, for a mere $129.99.

Something a little bit different, we figure.

(And if you did manage to grab an XBox 360 and it's under your tree, the chair's compatible with that, too, apparently.)

Via CNet News.