A brief look at new and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.
DVD HOLY HIGH-DEF, BATMAN!
No fan could mistake the Technicolor tights of Adam West's campy Caped Crusader for the jet-black garb of Christian Bale's dour Dark Knight. Still, Fox confuses the issue with the sinister logo on today's Blu-ray release of "Batman: The Movie" ($40). The fun 1966 film followed the first season of the hit TV series. (And, no, there's still no DVD news for that show, which is locked in legal limbo.) The disc piles on extras, including an interactive tour of the Batmobile and Nelson Riddle's isolated score. For those not hip to high-def, there's a standard DVD ($10), minus most of the snappy extras.
Today's other best bets: "Mad Men: Season One" (Lions Gate, $50), "Mishima" (Criterion, $40), "Point Break" Blu-ray (Fox, $40).
VIDEO GAMES GIRLS GO FOR GAMING
The stereotype is that video games are just for guys, but female gamers have it going on, too:
• In reply to my recent picks of great Nintendo DS games for girls, reader Roberta Moeschter of Lino Lakes, Minn., said, "I was very surprised that you did not have the 'Harvest Moon' series among your listings." Good call. She and her daughter, now 10, first heard of the farming games when a store clerk suggested one as a popular girls' title. They're looking forward to the release of "Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness" on Aug. 26.
• Colleen Stone, 17, an avid gamer from Woodbury, has set up an educational website about video-game ratings as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The site, Parent Power (www.parent-power.com ), includes a 10-minute video of a seminar she held on the topic. Her hope is that "by educating parents, they would make better choices and fewer children would play video games that are inappropriate for them."
• The award-winning "Nancy Drew" series of computer games is finally coming out for the Nintendo Wii. "The White Wolf of Icicle Creek" is due in October.
RANDY A. SALAS
