Mood Beams

Ambient lights have been around for a while now, sitting there glowing different colours and generally being fun for about 5 seconds. After that point you usually decide they look a bit silly and then get up and turn the lights back on. Mood Beams are a little different, they combine the “ooh-aah” feeling of glowing ambient lights with the “oh my god it’s so cute” ideas behind every cuddly toy you’ve ever seen. Oh and they throw in a little bit of iPod culture for good mix as well.

"Oooh"
I had no idea what these little blobs were when they arrived in my mailbox this morning from Radica UK. In true caveman style I found hitting them around the head did the trick, and soon found myself rewarded with a cool light show. One gentle pat on the head (or anything that pushes down a little button on their backsides) starts them glowing in all sorts of mental colours. As with any old ambient lights that can get boring quickly, So there’s a couple of other modes thrown in too.

Additional pats of your Mood Beams head activate these other modes. The best of which is a “Beat Sensor” mode. This is activated by holding down their heads for two seconds. After this you can put on some nearby music and watch them glow to the music. It’s almost identical to the iDogs you may have seen around who shake their heads to music from your iPod. The difference is Mood Beams are far less annoying, and you don’t have to worry about entertaining the damn things every five seconds. So Mood Beams 1, iDog 0.

Moon Beam and Bob. Separated at Birth?
If one Mood Beam isn’t enough you can collect all 4 and then pair them up for a little light show. I got the “Silly” version who will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen the movie “Cone heads”. Other Mood Beams go by the names ‘Shy”, ‘Surprised’ and ‘Curious” each with little poses that reflect their names. Most places are shipping these out at random (even though you can see which one you get inside the box!) so don’t be surprised if you order two and end up with duplicate Mood Beams.

Other features that vary between Mood Beams are their special colours and a little heart symbol which glows in a different colour for each one. Again it’s another one of those little things designed to make people go “aww” when they see one.


If ambient lights are your sort of thing you’ll love Mood Beams. They put on a great show and if you pair them up with a nearby set of speakers they’ll go on for hours. As you’ve probably established by now if you’re the sort of person who needs a cute blob for your desk or bedside table, Mood Beams will be happy to light up your life.

Totally RelentlessEnergy Drink Review

Relentless Energy Drink

For an energy drink that’s twice the size of Red Bull and the same price you’ve got to laugh at the brand’s key tag line - “No half measures”. It’s almost like a big slap in the face to the competition, but for an energy drink that appeals to extreme sports fanatics, and people with a passion for their craft that’s not a bad attitude to take.

Sure some will laugh at the size of the can, but you can get 24oz can’s of this kind of stuff in America (ROCKSTAR drinks for example) so we’ve still got a long way to go before we catch them up! Personally I feel 24oz’s would probably make me achieve some sort of zen like state of super energy, so I think that a single can of Relentless should be enough for now.



Taste wise the drink tastes exactly the same as Red Bull only without the nasty aftertaste, which means less kids spitting on the streets (hooray!). The can is nicely designed and you won’t find many drinks these days with huge pulsating heads on their cans. As for whether you can drink a whole double sized energy drink that’s another story. I tried, got half way through and failed and that probably means that I’m just not hardcore enough. Or maybe writing a blog just isn’t as tiring as surfing…

This is a sports drink for groups of professionals, it’s the perfect size to share and pass around and it’s got the street cred to go with it. It’ll also work well with relentless jobs that require constant energy: Truckers and Bouncers up and down the country should take note!



So as I can’t even finish a single can what am I going to do with my crate of Relentless? Hold a party of course! It tastes the same as Red Bull and has twice the volume. Vodka & Relentless anyone?

For sports related shenanigans check out Relentlessenergy.com & Relenetlesscore.com

Perplexed by Perplex City - Review

Perplex City

I'll admit I was captivated by the whole Perplex City craze way before receiving a free packet from GAME this morning. A cross media game where you can win £100,000 by solving a series of clues. Whats not to love?

The ‘game’ comprises of 256 cards which are set to be split across 4 series, or waves, of packs. Wave 3 has just been released which means 198 cards are already out there for you to collect. Each of these cards contains a puzzle, and by solving each puzzle you gain points that can be redeemed online for clues. These clues should then lead you to a “Receda Cube” and by finding the cube first you’ll bag yourself £100,000.



Sound simple? Well getting started it definitely a doddle, packs cost just £2.50 for 6 cards and in each pack you’ll find a mixture of easy and hard puzzles. Some give their answer away in the title, others require a search on the Internet and the rest will take hours of head scratching. In 3 hours I managed to solve almost all the cards (1 is still a bitch!) and for £2.50 that’s fantastic value. Each of the cards contain spectacular artwork, which you can even buy as full size posters from Firebox.

As I mentioned at the start of this review the game is “cross-media” which means in order to solve the puzzles you’ll also have to explore websites and visit real world locations for clues. It’s probably the best example of viral marketing I’ve ever seen and without even trying I found five websites all with further information on the world of Perplex City and the Receda Cube. Die hard fans will no doubt be searching the Internet the world over for further information.



However, like any collectable card game (which is essentially what we have at the heart of the game) you will get duplicates and you will have to fight your way through pack after pack to get the “rare” cards. What is even more likely to destroy your dreams of winning is that 36,000 players have started already which means it’ll be a while before you can catch them up. Needless to say even if you don’t win the £100,000 you’ll still have a fantastic time solving puzzles, racking up points and even meeting new people through the Perplex City site.

So if you don’t mind a challenge you could do a lot worse than picking up your first six cards for only £2.50 Perplex City is an intriguing place of mystery, where every action you take will lead you closer to solving a global mystery. The real world just can’t compare….