Net Jet

$25, Windows XP with Internet

Teaches: logic, timing, classification

CTR Rating: 82%

CTR Review

For casual game players tired of pop-up ads and other browser clutter, here's a new way to purchase online games. Designed for Windows-based computers, Hasbro's Net Jet combines a $25 game controller with a collection of $15 game keys, sold at traditional bricks and mortar stores, or online at www.netjetinfo.com. The keys themselves don't store the games, they merely provide access to them from a specialized full-screen browse�when they are inserted in a port on the controller. A typical game is about 20 megabytes in size. While it can be downloaded and tried, you don't get the full version without the key. So in a way, Net Jet is an online catalog as well. Each key unlocks up to four games and can be clipped to the controller.First, you plug the PS2-like controller into your computer's USB port, which is automatically recognized as a new device. There are no disks or batteries. After the software installation, you press the "Start" button to launch the Net Jet Browser, listing over 40 games with self-describing titles, such as Marble Blast XP or Mission Paintball (mostly basic shooters and racing games that can keep you twitching far into the evening in a quest for that slightly higher score). Note that we could not get the Net Jet browser to work with Windows Vista. We've been informed by Hasbro that a fix is in the works.