A few bits of buzz I’ve been hearing: Hasbro’s new electronic version of Monopoly falls a little flat, having done away with the play money and adding a “Big Brother-ish infrared tower that acts very much like an airport control tower, telling all the players what to do when.” That doesn’t exactly scream fun to me.

And the superheros are out in full force. Promotions for “Green Lantern,” “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Thor” included piles of merchandise, including action figures, boards games and movie collectibles. The stars themselves even came out to check out the goods.

And, like everything else in the world, Toy Fair 2011 has indeed fallen ill with “Bieber fever.” The Biebs’ merchandise includes the Justin Bieber Real Hairstyle doll and the Justin Bieber Rockin’ Tour Bus and stage Concert playset.

What will they think of next?

Pretty much every gadget that could possibly be tied into Tron: Legacy has already been tied into that film… a library of tat comprising every gizmo from glowing Tron controll

ers to Tron mice to real-life Tron lightcycles and more.

How about a new Tron watch to go on top of all the other stuff? Granted, this Tron watch is just a concept made by designer Abhinav Dapke, but we certainly like it a lot more than the Tokyo Flashdesign that was floating out there back in October. This really looks like the sort of time piece you’d use on the grid.

As usual for this style of watch, the way you tell time is unconventional: while the band will easily tell you what hour it is, you’ll have to count hexagons to figure out which five minute period during that hour you’re currently inhabiting… kind of a pain when you’re squinting at your watch in the middle of the night, trying to figure out how much longer you get to sleep.

Those of you enthused by the recent spat of new fighting games, we’re talking Street Fighter IV andBlazBlue, will be pleased to know another much-loved fighting series is making a return.

Namco designer Daishi Odashima created a Twitter account on Christmas Day to announce to the world that a new game is in development. The tweet simply said:

SC is BACK! Get ready, fans!

It was also backed up with an image that showed Daishi holding a pen over the easily-recognizable Soul Calbur sword.

Here’s hoping for a return by the series on a par with what Capcom has achieved with Street Fighter IV.

I still remember countless nights playing the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast. I’m hoping for more of the same, but using the full power of the PS3 or 360.

I don’t know about you, but during the 90s I played a lot of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, and Mortal Kombat 3; even more than the Street Fighter games. Ever the last decade, however, the series has seriously lost its way and become a real joke. In fact, aside from Mortal Kombat vs. DC (which is considered MK8) not many people can name off Mortal Kombats 5-7. Well, now with Warner Brothers Games owning the franchise, and the Chicago-based development team re-branded Netherrealm Studios; things may be looking up for the fighting series.

This April a rebooted Mortal Kombat is due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (with a PC version a remote possibility). The game is going to focus on the classic characters from MK, MK2, and MK3 and is promised to be a return to traditional 2D gameplay, although with current three-dimensional graphics. The HP, LP, HK, LK controls are being replaced with a Tekken-style system where each button corresponds to an arm or leg. And the online system is planned to be extremely robust with a lot of attention paid to recreating the competitive nature of the old arcades.

The game is coming out in a standard edition, and there will be two different special editions. There’s a Kollector’s Edition that includes a Scorpion statue and art book, and a Tournament Edition that comes with a pretty nice arcade stick that almost looks like it was ripped out of an old Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet. The Kollector’s will go for $100 while the Tournament will set you back a whopping $150, but some people feel that’s worth it for an arcade stick.

Smartfish’s Engage keyboard, which we’ve heard about a number of times over the past two years, is finally available for sale. The company is billing the keyboard as ”the world’s first intelligent keyboard that prevents Repetitive Stress Injury”. It does this using “a patented motion system that studies your typing frequency and subtly changes your hand and wrist position while you work.”

I know what you’re thinking: “Huh?” This will help:

The patented “ErgoMotion” technology adjusts the keyboard as you type in order to reduce the risk of RSI. As you can see from the video the changes are subtle, so we are only talking about a few degrees of tilt or rotation of the keyboard halves. It determines how and when to move based on your typing frequency (though it’s not clear whether they mean how often you type or if your are, say, using the number pad a lot). The minor change in hand position decreases the likelihood of repetitive stress injury

1. Solving the Smallest Rubik Cube In the World
At 0.39 inches (10mm) this is the smallest Rubik Cube in the world and the smallest piece of the 80s you can have in your hands-this side of Simon Le Bon’s fake eyelashes.

2. TRON Controllers Make Any Game a TRON Game
Prince of Persia, Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption-it doesn’t matter what you’re playing. Just know that it’ll be better with one of PDP’s glowing TRON controllers.

3. Hurl Snowballs 150 Feet This Winter With These Jai Alai Scoops
I can understand not wanting to be the guy who brings a jai alai xistera to a snowball fight, sure, but if you want to start tagging up your enemies (neighborhood nine-year-olds) at distances of up to 150 feet, well…

4. Who Needs an Indoor Ball? YOU Do, Apparently
Today’s Nerf guns are exceedingly complex, with automatic firing and reloadable dart magazines. But Nerf’s eureka moment arose from a decidedly more primitive scene: some cavemen chucking boulders around an office.

5. Hawk Eye RC Chopper: Your $65 Personal Spy Drone
Flying an RC helicopter? Sure, that’s fun for a little while. Flying an RC helicopter that can shoot both video and still photos? That’s good for a lifetime of creepy stalking memories.

6. Solar Powered Transforming Robot Teaches Your Kids the Important Stuff
Namely: the awesomeness of robots. Secondarily: the joys of sustainable energy. The £13.00 T3 Solar Robot/Tank/Scorpion will help impart both of these lessons, guiding your child to a promising future as a sun-harnessing super-scientist (or a robot army-commanding supervillain.)

7. A Working 62-lb Remote-Controlled Excavator Can Hardly Be Called a Toy
Let’s say you want to dig yourself up a little garden or terrorize the local rodentia. Or both! Well, meet the EC280 Excavator. It’s a tiny little monster with a kickass demo soundtrack. Everything about this is ridiculous and wonderful.

8. So This Is What Nerf Guns Are Like Now, Huh?
After discovering video games, I didn’t really keep up with my old friend Nerf. But last night I got to shoot (and get shot by) the Stampede, a new, fully automatic Nerf rifle with a tripod and replaceable magazines. What!?

9. 10 Classic Sci-Fi Toys
If you grew up in the 60s or 70s, you grew up with the futuristic creations of Gerry Anderson on the TV. These toy replicas of his designs are screaming to be zoomed across the kitchen table and into the air.

10. Toys With Mental Illnesses-Seriously”Oh, what gift to offer the bipolar six-year-old nephew this Christmas…I know! These German toys with mental illnesses would please the little tyke. Would he like the depressive turtle Dub, Kroko the water-phobic crocodile, or the personality disorder-affected sheep Dolly?