Now here’s a project that I think I could take on – not because I need another computer, but mostly because I could use having a gaming PC that doesn’t take up as much space as my current tower does. The beauty of this rig is that it’s up to date and can play pretty much anything popular today, and has enough horsepower to play some of the biggest titles planned for release this year.

If you’re thinking about updating your gaming rig and you want a solution that doesn’t take up a world of space, take a look at this how-to guide. The slideshow walks you through every step of the process.

[ PC Mag :: How to Build a Powerful Portable Gaming Desktop PC ]

I wrote about Trudi over at Geek.com, but couldn’t resist mentioning her again. She’s adorable, she’s cute, she’s clearly a little baby turret, and Jonathan Guberman put so much time and love and care into her that she needs to be shared with the world.

If you’re a Portal fan like I am, you probably have a kind of love/hate relationship with the Sentry Turrets. I mean, they have so much personality, but at the same time they’re clearly trying to kill you (unless you trick them, but no spoilers, okay?) whenever you move across their path.

Still, that didn’t stop Jonathan from building a sentry turret of his very own using an Arduino, some elbow grease, and a good friend’s help. Check out the resulting video:

You can read more about Trudi and how to make a Trudi of your own over at Jonathan’s blog, Up, Not North:

[ Up, Not North: Portal Turret Plushie ]
[ Portal Turret Plushie is Interactive, Adorably Awesome ]

One of my colleagues at Geek.com wrote about this today and it was so great I had to share it with the world. The video posits the question: what if Mario had a Portal gun?

Well, the honest answer is that he’d be kind of a dick, really – but in the most hilarious way. You know, the way you probably would if you actually had one in the game. I almost feel really bad for Bowser there too, that’s pretty rough the way Mario did him in. Twice. Check out the video:

[ Dorkly :: Mario with a Portal Gun ]

PC Mag took your votes in multiple categories to come up with a definitive list of the most influential products of all time. From mobile devices to gaming to desktops to operating systems, they laid out the candidates and the public voted on which products have made the most impact in the technology world.

I wouldn’t have included the image of the Atari 2600 if it hadn’t won in the gaming category, but the original Nintendo Entertainment System was pretty close behind, nipping at its heels. The battle in the operating system category between Windows 3.1 and MacOS was pretty fierce, as was the battle between the Apple Macintosh and the Commodore 64 in the desktops category, but you’ll have to click through to see the results of that battle: I’m not about to spoil it for you.

[ PC Mag :: The Five Most Influential Tech Products of All Time ]

This is a story I covered very happily over at Geek.com, but I had to share it again. One man, 2 actuators, 4 motors, and a ton of Lego pieces – oh, and toss in a passion for all things Starcraft, and this is what you get – a working RC siege tank. Check out the video:

Isn’t that a thing of beauty? Like I said there, I just wish he said “I’m about to drop the hammer and dispense some indiscriminate justice!” but I’ll take the true-to-game sound effects that the RC tank makes. Read the whole thing over at Geek.com:

[ Geek.com :: Starcraft 2 Remote-Controlled Siege Tank Made from Lego Bricks ]

I mentioned this over at Geek.com first, so head over there for more in-depth analysis of the game and the production of the crossover title, but I had to share the gameplay video here too. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fighting game fan, and I adore crossover titles like Marvel v. Capcom and Capcom v. SNK.

Street Fighter X Tekken (note that’s an “X,” not “cross” or “vs” in any way) looks like it’ll be one of the first Tekken games that I’ll enjoy in a good long while, and that’s partially because it borrows the visual style and themes from Street Fighter IV.

The game is scheduled to come out sometime in 2012, with nothing more specific than that provided. Still, I can wait. I need to save up for a pair of fight-sticks, anyway.

[ New Street Fighter X Tekken Gameplay Video ]
[ Street Fighter X Tekken Crossover Arriving in 2012 ]

Over at Boing Boing, this fantastic homage to classic gaming really hit home with me. Partially because I could identify so many of the games (even though I’m much younger than some of the oldest in the video) and have played a lot of them – even up to some of the most recent.

It’s also worth noting that the single SNES game that ate a good bit of my life when I was younger, a side-scrolling shooter called UN Squadron in North America but better known as its original Japanese title, Area 88, is represented. It’s only for an instant, but it’s there. And even though I already loved the video enough to share it with the world, this made me love it more.

The music is an 8-bit remix of Mad World by Tears for Fears, and I think it’s appropriate. Enjoy!

[ Classic Arcade Deaths (Boing Boing Video) ]

I wrote about this once today, but I simply have to share it again because it’s absolutely hilarious. Just when you think the Angry Birds ship has sailed, someone like the folks at Rooster Teeth go and do a hilarious trailer for a war film that will clearly never be made about the premise.

Real pigs, odd buildings, bird puppets, a badass slingshot, and human characters with more depth and personality than a lot of feature films, and you have yourself a really hilarious video. Do yourself a favor and press play below, right now.

While Mashable is careful to make sure to attribute each gadget to its individual manufacturer, I’ll go a step further and point out that virtually everything on the list is available at ThinkGeek, beloved retailer of all things geeky and such.

The list is full of goodies, like the arcade stickers shown above, some awesome Atari Arcade Pint Glasses, these incredible Pac Man Ghost Lamps, and the above arcade magnets.

There’s a bunch more – although I can’t imagine why they left off the Atari Wall Decals – those things are amazing. Maybe not quite ideal for the office, eh?

[ Mashable :: 16 Rad Retro Gaming Accessories for Your Home or Office ]

So Crysis 2 comes out in North America today, and as part of the launch event the folks at EA have taken the wraps off of a new trailer for the game that pays homage to the town in which you’ll do battle: New York City. Even the music is an entertaining, hip-hop tribute to the setting of the game.

If you weren’t excited for Crysis 2, this trailer probably won’t change your mind: but if you were excited, or even marginally excited, this might very well put you over the edge. Enjoy!

[ YouTube :: Crysts 2 Launch Trailer ]