Over the years, the female characters in Prince of Persia games have ranged from annoying to useful to absurdly dressed. When it comes to the newest installation in the Prince of Persia series, however, it seems a woman might finally be good for more than fitting through itsy bitsy cracks and pulling levers. She may be a playable combat companion.

Of course, this lady doesn’t get a giant sword like the prince, but she’s a far cry from female companions like Ashley from Resident Evil IV. Hopefully this is an indication we’re seeing a trend in stronger, secondary woman characters — even if they are still secondary.Also, can anyone explain the Sigur Ros in this trailer?

For an intro to the Beyond Babeland series, check out last week’s review.

Pink Pussycat Boutique
167 W 4th St.
212 243 0077
Sunday through Thursday: 12:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M.
Friday and Saturday, 12:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.
Photos

Anyone who hasn’t ventured beyond Babeland will be surprised at the number of sex shops that line West 4th Street. Mixed among glass paraphernalia shops (read: bong shops) and vendors selling Rastafarian hats, these stores are hardly subtle. Their windows are lined florescent lights and dildos.

The Pink Pussycat Boutique, with its bright pink paint job and loving-time glow, has been selling sex toys in the West Village for three decades. Though it sparkles from the outside, the inside is looking shabby. The manager on duty—happy to help—promises she’ll soon be giving the shop a make-over. In the meantime, she’s busy doling out no-nonsense advice to the customers who quietly roam the shop, whispering and pointing.

Pink Pussycat isn’t female owned, but it’s female managed, and most of its clientele is female, too. Management has great recommends for timid beginners (“Try something clitoral; it’s less intimidating at first. Then again, it’s your clit, not mine!”), but there are very few sample toys to inspect out of their boxes—and even fewer to inspect without having to ask. There’s also zero information on safe vs. potentially unsafe toy materials. When asked, “Doesn’t jelly rubber give off toxins?” the previously no-nonsense manager says only, “Those studies haven’t proved anything.” Lame, especially since most beginners probably don’t even know there’s a potential health risk.

While the BDSM selection is low, the porn is uninspiring, and the large joke section screams “bachelorette party” (what in the world is appealing about candy shaped like enormous penises?), Pink Pussycat does have a wide range of vibrators and inexpensive dildos. The high end stuff—like the infamous Hitachi magic wand or the rabbits—still price above Babeland, but since there are so many sex shops on one street, it’s definitely possible to stroll West 4th and compare prices.

Selection: 5
Prices: 6
Helpfulness: 7
Health Info: 3
Skeevines (lack thereof): 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 10

Yes, it’s that time again…

Click Me, “Who Needs Monogamy When There’s the Internet?”
On Tristan Taormino’s excellent guide to nonmonogamy, Opening Up, and how we can apply her advice to sleeping around online.

The Clickable Clit, “I’m All Black and Blue. Thanks, Internet!”
On the return of the awkward LOL, my beautiful bruises, and the annoyances of 321sexchat.

Heartless Doll, “Top 5 Ways Rock Band Will Get You Laid”
That one is exactly as awesome as it sounds. Also:

“Top 10 Emoticons for Flirting Online with Minimal Effort”
Oh, and for heady discussions of emoticon flirting, there’s always Terra Nova.

Now back to work…

I am in possession of promotional cotton swabs.

When I received the sealed, parchment envelope from Tabula Rasa, Richard Garriot’s MMORPG, via Fedex on Friday, I assumed it contained a signed photo for the Women in Games International auction I’m chairing. Eventually I figured out we weren’t expecting anything from them (my closet is already full of more signed game merch than I can keep track of) and opened the envelope myself. What should greet me but:

- A memo from “Operation Immortality” insisting I help save humanity by sending in a sample of my DNA, which would be sent to a storage device in “the far reaches of space” in case our race should “suffer a disastrous fate.”

-A PR waiver to sign allowing Tabula Rasa to digitize my DNA.

-A packet of cotton swabs, a static-free foil return envelope, and detailed instructions of how to take my own DNA specimen.

Needless to say, all of that made me utter a resounding “WTF?!” Luckily, after realizing it was a PR stunt, I remembered this CNET post about Richard Garriot taking gamers’ DNA into space. Still, talk about bizarre ways to stir up publicity. Even stranger is the fact that I moved recently: how did they get my address?

As of yet, my cheek remains unswabbed. Then again, if my DNA gets to hang out with Sarah Morrison’s, I might change my mind.

Tracey from over at MTV Multiplayer has asked me to hop on the bandwagon (off the bandwagon? I can never get that straight) as a judge for their “Who is the best video game monkey?” poll. Personally, after rolling primates around in balls only to fall off stages and watch them plummet to their deaths for years, I’m not sure whether I’m more or less inclined to vote Monkey Ball. Stay tuned for the exciting, banana-eating conclusions.

It makes me so happy that someone else loves these cheap, plastic Viva Pinata toys — someone brilliant enough to make this dark, bizarre new commercial for the game, no less. I knew ordering kids’ meals would come in handy one day!

Gaygamer has been doing a poll of their own. They asked readers which male Soul Calibur character was the hottest. Their answer: Kilik. Really? He’s just so… uninteresting. Then again, I’m probably the only player on the planet eternally rooting for Voldo. Heck, he not only has the guts to appear on the stage of history with no pants, he has the body to pull it off.

The tentative schedule is up for Arse Elektronika 2008, the September San Fran event that combines tech and sex for a long weekend of wonderful dorkiness. Of course you, loyal Heroine Sheik reader, already know I’ll be presenting at the event re: the power of erotic video game fan fiction. Here are some other talks that may pique your interest though — ’cause I know they’ve damn sure piqued mine:

- “Performance, Identity, and Subversion: Sex and Gender in the Age of Social Networking”
- “Mindfuck: An investigation of sex as a symbolic system for non-human communication among UFO contactees”
- “Mechanical morality, Robotic love: the Cultural Representation of Sex Machines in the Modern West”

Yeah, it’s gonna be good…