Style and Looks

In the first look, Playstation Vita looks like a usual Sony PSP and makes us think that this is just another portable game console in the PSP series. Performance and features talks more than the looks of this Sony portable gaming device. While comparing Sony Playstation Vita by just looks with other game consoles in the market, it looks bulkier and bigger than the rivals. The end to end length is 7.2 inches, top to bottom height is 3.3 and depth of 0.73 inch makes it hefty. We can say it is a curvy game console as it is oval shape. It looks exactly like a normal handy game console and we can’t say it is stylish after looking at portable game consoles from other brands.

Feel the game with capacitive touch screen

Sony Playstation Vita has a 5 inch capacitive touch screen with OLED display which is very responsive to play the game even without the help of the keys. It is much more comfortable to play in the touch screen than playing with the buttons as it really gives a lively gaming experience. For example, while playing Uncharted – Golden Abyss in Playstation Vita the carbon rubbings can be rubbed as if you rub manually using the capacitive touch screen. In this handheld game console, the rear touch pad is one of the most attractive features. It can be used in games which are compatible and ensures the maximum gaming comfort. The six axis motion sensing system, senses your moves and helps getting a realistic gaming experience, specially while playing racing games.

Hardware and Graphics Quality

More than the style and looks, we expect a game console to have great hardware to support hardcore and hassle free gaming. Sony made no mistake in the PS Vita’s hardware. It has the powerful ARM Cortex- A9 core processor which is the fastest quad core processor and fastest among any handheld game console. The video RAM of 128MB and 512MB RAM buffers the games in a better speed. SGX543MP4+ Graphics processing unit is one of the high quality GPU available these days produces extreme quality graphics. The resolution of this gaming beast is 640 x 480, which is one of the great resolutions available for the handheld devices. All the above features help PS Vita to perform to the high level sophisticated gaming device.

All in one media centre

We often wish our loveable gaming device to be useful for our other media needs. Sony Playstation Vita Handheld Console  fulfills that wish with its handful of media features. This handheld portable device comes with two cameras, where the front camera for skype and video calling, as well as to show yourself to your friends while playing a game witht them and the rear camera for taking still and capturing videos. However, you can also take pictures with the front camera and video recording. Make sure your friends don’t tease you with your face expression after losing a race or any other game with them, as they will be watching you through the front camera. When it comes to camera quality, we always expect Sony to give the best with its trademark quality. But we are really disappointed with the camera quality of Sony Playstation Vita. Both of the cameras are with 0.3 megapixel resolution, which is not a real Sony product should have. Sony must have thought that whoever buys the device, they are going to be a hardcore gamer who don’t bother about the camera and other media features which is not into games.

This is the era of social networking, people started expecting social networking applications and support in every multimedia devices. Why not the gamers have that capability in their game consoles? Just like other flavours of Playstation game consoles, Playstation Vita has support for social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. Photo sharing applications like flickr are available with to share your photo with others from this game console. Just like Playstation 3 you can create your own party to chat with your friends in other Playstation devices or join party created by others. It also allows you to voice chat as well as text chat during games, so it would be more interactive and give a lively feeling that you are playing with that person for real.

The inbuilt microphone as well as the front speakers allows the user to voice chat even without any microphones, yeah sometimes we don’t like headphones hanging around our face and ties the game console with our body. It’s a great thought by Sony that they built-in a microphone for a wireless gaming experience. Anyhow, you may want to use a heaphone for personal hearing on the move, so there is a headphone jack given to connect your headset. It has Sony’s near, an application gives the provision to update your location, your gaming achievements, and sending public messages and interact with other gamers in your locality. It is totally helpful for social gaming as well as making new friends to compete in games through Playstation Vita. This is one of the most innovative features of this gaming beast. We are sure that this is going to be an appealing one for the social gaming fans.

Keys and Controls

As we mentioned earlier, the PS Vita is pretty heftier than a standard handheld gaming device. Even though it is said negative, it is positive in the usability point of view. The button positioning and the well placed shoulder ensures the comfort of gaming while playing action and adventure games like Army Corps of Hell and Gravity Rush. The rear touchpad is the most welcomed feature in Playstation Vita portable gaming device. The index fingers will be used more with the rear touch pad. Gamers had a problem while throwing grenades in shooting games, as they might get open to the enemy fire while we target and throw, but with the help of the touchpad it can be done accurately without facing such difficulty of being shot by the enemies. Even while playing turn-based games, the rear touch pad is very helpful to launch multiple targets in a single blow.

The comfort of gaming takes the new and unique level, as Sony gifted dual analogue sticks. It was a dream of any gamer who have experience with the predecessors of Sony Playstation Vita with a single analogue stick. The up, down, right and left buttons are in the left and the triangle, circle, cross and square buttons are in the right. There is a Playstation button located below the left analogue stick. The 5 inch capacitive touch screen senses multi touch and gives an accurate control over the game, as you can swipe, tap and pinch with your finger tips. It is very fast and sensitive enough to give a speedy response for any action done with the touch screen.

Connectivity

With this newest member of Sony Portable gaming devices family, you can get a two modes to connect the device to the internet. There are two models of this Playstation handheld game console available, they are Playstation Vita Wi-Fi and Playstation Vita Wi-Fi and 3G. The Wi-Fi only version can connect to the internet using only with an available Wi-Fi connection and the Wi-Fi and 3G version can access internet with both 3G with a compatible mobile network and Wi-Fi. There is a slight difference in price between these two models.

Verdict

There is no doubt that Playstation Vita is an ultimate gaming device, with high quality display and controls. The 5 inch OLED screen with higher frames per second gives an impressive gaming experience. Near will be inspired by any gamer who loves interactive gaming than playing single. Rear touch panel is the other cherry on the cake, as we mentioned earlier than this is the most useful feature next to the dual analogue stick. Even though all these features make it a recommended game console, it is pretty expensive when we compare the price of its rivals. Overall Sony Playstation Vita is a great choice to have an immersive gaming experience on the go.

Sony PlayStation Vita Game Console – Technical Specification Table

Nintendo Wii U game controller – The Magic Wand

Yes, the game controller is like a magic wand for every game. We cannot use the game if there is some problem with our game controller and it plays a great role in enhancing the gaming experience. A good game controller should be east to use, comfortable to handle, as it might be used for hours. Many gamers used to think, that it will be great if their Nintendo DS can interact with their LCD television and play Super Mario Bros in a bigger screen for a better enjoyment. Anyway they were convincing themselves that they cannot get everything in one.

Many people who bought Nintendo Wii are happy with what they got. The only problem they got is from their home, when their mom or dad wants to watch something in the TV. They got no other way than giving the TV remote controller and sit bored in the corner of their room. They were feeling that they couldn’t enjoy much with their ultimate gaming machine, as their friends play games all the time and keeping themselves busy with their Nintendo DS.

It looks like Nintendo are going to satisfy almost all our dreams. The Nintendo Wii U game controller itself looks up-to-date, there is no need to press the keys much, everything can be done by the same way we do physically.

The buttons are kept, just for the comfort of ultimate gamers who are really practiced with banging the button like anything when they get too much immersed in games. Obviously the controller is wireless, there is no problem of getting messed up with too much of wires around the TV area. Nintendo didn’t miss their traditional Nunchuk analogue stick, as they embedded them as analogue circle pads in the both top corners of the controller. The controller can be recharged, it has home button, power button, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons.

Nintendo Wii U Game Console has a 6.8 inch touch screen in the middle of the controller. Although the touch is pretty easy enough to tap around with fingers, the stylus is given to doodle something in the touch screen while taking a break while playing games with the controller. Any gamer will find the 6.8 Inch touch screen very useful, when someone is forced by their family members to change the TV channel to let them watch their favorite TV programs. There will no need to to worry that the game has to be stopped to let them watch TV. As the game could be played in TV screen as well as the controller screen, we just have to switch over from TV to the controller screen.

Features

The most unbelievable feature we found in the Nintendo Wii U preview is, that golf can be played virtually by using our hands just like we do in a golf club and the game targets can be aimed, zoomed, and shoot with the new controller by viewing the angle through the controller screen and the cross hair which appears in the screen to get an accurate aim of the targets.

This tempting game console can support Up to 4 controllers can be connected at once. The compatible controllers which can be connected to the new Wii U are Wii remote (or Wii remote +), Classic controller pro, Wii balance board, Nunchuk Controller, Classic Controller. Sometimes we might want to see some photos or videos in which we see in the control screen. It can be done by loading the content to be seen in the TV screen and just swipe the touch screen away towards the TV screen. Virtually, it will be like they are flying into the TV screen. It supports video chat through its inbuilt camera in the new Wii U controller and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can be accessed.

Games are in development

Nintendo is getting ready to release this ultimate gaming machine with its compatible games. They announced that a version of Super Smash Bros have been developed for both Nintendo 3Ds and Nintendo Wii.

The Wii U version of Tekken will be released with the new feature of drawing the game characters.

The action packed Assasins Creed will be released shortly after Wii U.

Darksiders fans will be excited as Darksiders 2 is announced to be released with Nintendo Wii U itself.

Ghost Recon Online, Batman Akham city, Dirt, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razer’s Edge and Killers Freaks from outer space from Ubisoft are the other games under development for the new generation game console from Nintendo.

Electronic Arts (EA) announced that they will be supporting Wii U with their games and the releases will be unveiled shortly.

Technical Features

Technically, Wii U Handheld Console from Nintendo has very strong and latest features to brag about. It can support full HD 1080p. The CPU is IBM Power based multi core processor; it lets the player dive into the games with greater speed and quality. There are four USB cords are included to support more USB devices. It is build to be backward compatible with Wii games and controllers.

Verdict and Release

Above all, the new Nintendo Wii U will be a great hit among the hardcore gamers. The unique features and quality are expected to be the best as per the unveiled specifications. The manufacturers of this revolutionary game console, says that it will be better than PS3 from sony and Xbox 360 from Microsoft.

Nintendo has announced that, the game console will be released by June 2012 and the compatible games will be released once the console is released. Although we have a lot of questions in our mind, we just have till we get some more information.

We will be updating our article as soon as we get some more information on Nintendo Wii U.

Nintendo Wii U Game Console – Technical Specification Table

Latest Developments:

Keeping up with the technology:

The Nintendo Wii Sports Resort is a collection of twelve very creative and attractive games with very good graphics. All these twelve games are related to either of outdoor and indoor games and sports. A few of the games are also seen on its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii Sports. Some very new and exciting games are also added and the whole gaming experience is altered and taken to a whole new level. The developments in this edition include the use of motion sensing technology in almost all the games. This, according to Nintendo, gives an immersive experience to the users as they involve in the game completely while playing, rather than just relax on the couch with the joysticks in hand. The Wii Sports Resort also takes full advantage of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk.

Thanks to the developers at Nintendo, the players in the games also look better and more lifelike, rather than being mere lifeless images. The movements of the players, the scenarios, and the graphics are very good and also provoke interest among all kinds and ages of people. They hence never bore you even after playing for scores of times. Older people no more feel silly while playing such games. The accuracy of the players and their games is also revamped and made a lot better and now you can expect better results when playing such cool games.

The Scenario:

The designers of the game of Wii Sports Resort have decided that the games will be played in a resort environment and hence they thought that it would provide some relaxation to the players too, apart from being pleasing to the eye. The whole scenario is set in a sort of beach resort on an archipelago which is known as the Wuhu Island, a fictitious name. There are twelve different sports that are available for you to play. Most of the sports need the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The games and the way they are played resemble reality and hence the Wii Sports Resort video game has of late become quite famous.

The Games:

Let us now have an elaborated discussion regarding each and every game that is featured on the Nintendo Wii Sports Resort gaming console. As discussed earlier, there are twelve games in all. Here is an in depth analysis of the twelve game package, one game by one.

Swordplay:

The Swordplay continues to be one of the top rated games of the Wii edition and is also considered as one of the most followed games by Wii’s fanatics. Right from the point of discovery of the Wii Remote, people wanted to play a real simulation of one on one swordplay game. And it has taken quite a long time for their dream to come true. The designers are Nintendo were finally able to come up with a wondrous swordplay experience with all the new graphics and visual experiences added to it.  And with the motion plus feature one can see some flawless performances by the players on the screen. The movements and fight modes are revamped a little and you can hence see better performances. The sound effects are pretty awesome and when the swords strike each other, that is, when you feel like you are in a battle field. One will be able to play as one of the Mii characters. The game can be played in different modes like Duel, Speed Slice, or Showdown.

Duel is a fight between two players. It can be played either by one or by two persons. You can either fight against each other or one person can challenge the computer for a duel. The fights normally take place on a circular platform, and one wins by hitting the opponent into the water that surrounds the platform. There are three rounds with time limits and the best of three will be elected as the winner. If no one wins even after the third round, then there is the sudden death match, will be played on a much smaller platform. Speed slice mode is all about cutting objects in front of you with accuracy and also into the right proportions as shown in the computer. Eighteen types of objects are ready to get cut for you. And then there is showdown which is a single player game. Here, the player will be attacked by rival Miis. One needs to clear all of them to win the round. Overall, the game is pretty awesome and it surely provides some recreation.

Wakeboarding:

Wakeboarding is another game that looks pretty lifelike. The style of gaming is also pretty close to reality. One will need to hold down the Wii Remote on its side as if it were a rope which is connected to the boat. You need to pull some amazing tricks off the player in order to score lots of points. You can jump off the wooden ramps positioned at random places as you follow the boat which is ahead of the player. Jumping higher gains you some good increase in the points. You can also earn some serious points by shaking the remote when the player is in the air after the jump. This makes the player do some funny stunts and hence earns you points. But the thing to remember is that one needs to land flat. Or else, no points will be awarded either for the jump or for the stunts. As you go into tougher levels of difficulty, you will see the rope getting intertwined or the ramps steeper. Overall, it is a fun provided game for both kids and adults.

Frisbee:

Frisbee is quite similar to the far famed game, Frolf. Here, there are two different modes of game play. In one of the modes, one must toss their disc so that the puppy dog can catch it, and bring it back to you. The farther you throw and the more your dog catches the discs, the more the points will be. But there is a better choice for you if you feel this is too childish for a game to be played.  Known as the full game mode, it is an eighteen hole game of Frisbee golf. This game is way simpler and much more interesting than the conventional game of golf. Instead of hitting golf balls into holes, you will need to throw the Frisbee into one of the given eighteen circles. And there comes you dog again. If the Frisbee is about to fall exactly in the circle, the dig catches it. The farther the circle in which the Frisbee falls, the greater the points you will earn. Needless to say that the addition of motion plus has really pumped up the game and the graphic performance.

Archery:

Archery is one of the first few games developed for the Nintendo Wii Sports Resort Game Console and is also seen on the Wii Sports video game. Playing the game of archery on the Wii Sports Resort console could be fun and entertaining. Of course, this is also more interesting than the traditional form of archery. All you need to do is aim at the spots with the help of the Wii Remote and then pull back the string with the help of the Nunchuck. The greater you press the Nunchuck, the faster and farther the arrow travels. One your finger is released, the bow will be released and the arrow is shot towards the aim. The goal of the game is obviously to hit the centre of the target, just like in the traditional game of archery. The closer your hit is to the target, the better you will score. And it is worth noting that this game uses both the controllers and therefore one will need to get used to it and it takes some time before one could play quite effectively, with full control over the game. The hands also must be kept completely still until the bow is released. Otherwise, the target is missed by way too much. This may hence help in developing your concentration levels, according to Nintendo. If you play the further levels, the speed of the wind and some other conditions will be taken into consideration. The game also involves hitting a lot of food items and it could be really entertaining if one gets involved into the game completely.

Basketball:

Though there are some high end games of Basketball in the market which have some stunning graphic performances, the cuteness in the game of basketball seen on the Wii Sports Resort makes it very special. But the game is not strange here. There are similar modes of play when it comes to basketball. There are two different modes of play in the form of three pointer shoot out, and pickup game. The former can be played by as many as four players while the latter can be played by two players at the most. But the mode of winning is the same. The player who ends up with the most points at the end of the round is declared as the winner of the game. Each and every round is time bound. Pickup Game is a three on three basketball game, while the three pointer shoot out allows you to shoot the ball up into the basket using the Wii Remote.  The player has to only shoot, steal, pass, and block and the rest of movements are looked after by the computer itself. The graphics are fantastic, thanks to motion plus.

Table Tennis:

If you are aware of the game of Tennis which featured on the Wii Sports video game, and also the game of table tennis title seen on the Wii Play video game, this game will not strange to you under any circumstances. The players on the screen will be automatically moved toward the ping pong ball, but the player must hit the ball using the controllers on the Wii Remote. This is really very nice to play and since the graphics are good, you will feel good when playing. The scenario resembles a pool which surrounds the table where the game is played. This is done in order to restore the feeling of a resort. Since the rest of the games are played in a sort of resort background, table tennis also follows suit. Anyways, it is something new but it did work well in the end.

Golf:

Though the game of Golf was already there in the original Wii Sports video game, the one which is seen on the Wii Sports Resort video game is made even better with the help of motion plus and some other features. Some new game modes and features are added so that it attracts a greater multitude of people. In addition to this, the game also offers more strategy options and also more game courses. There are twelve holes in all, out of which three are straight from the Wii Sports, and the remaining nine of them are introduced in the new game seen on the Resort version. Playing golf on the Resort is pretty easy. You need to some simple gestures for hitting the ball. All you got to do is imagine that the Wii Remote is your club and then swing the remote. The ball will automatically be hit in the game. The harder you swing, the farther the ball travels. That is how simple it is. The angle of the club can also be changed by changing the angle of the Wii Remote. Players can also practice the swinging before they actually hit, just like in reality. As many as four players can play the game of golf, one after the other.

Bowling:

Yes, Nintendo has finally included the game of Bowling. Of course it was already there on the original edition of the Wii Sports, but a few changes are made as far the graphics and the motion flow are concerned. And then when it comes to the bowling mode, it is after all similar to that of the game which was featured in Wii Sports. But hey, there is a lot of improvement regarding the precision. The accuracy is up scaled to meet the current improvements in technology. The locked games see in the original version, which can be unlocked, are also seen in this version, but the difference is that they already come unlocked. There are also slight changes to the game modes. For example the 100 pin mode is altered so that you can play multiple games until you earn a total of 3000 points. In the end, it is a cool game to hang out with and it entertains you completely.

Power Cruising:

Here is another game that needs the cooperation of both the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Now you need to hold them both imagining that you were grasping the handles of a Jet Ski. The motions are the same and you move your hands as you would do to move on a real jet ski. The main aim one needs to achieve in the game is that the player will need to get through the goals before time runs out. This is also one of those few games on the Resort, which need the use of Nunchuck. The two controllers must be tilted in way which is corresponding to the direction the player in game needs to go. This game will entertain the kids, in particular and since the motion plus feature works really well, the graphics end up being top notch.

Canoeing:

Canoeing is always fun, be it in reality or in the game. Now when it comes to the game of Canoeing on the Resort video game, Wii Remote is used as the paddle which the player holds. There are two different modes, namely VS and Speed Challenge. The Speed Challenge mode is a cooperative game which can be played by as many as four players. If there are multiple players playing the game, then all Miis will be in the same canoe and each player has to complement the movements of the other players so that they move speeder. If the movement is random, the canoe moves sslowly and a particular direction will not be maintained. All of them need to reach the finish line within the given time and points will be awarded accordingly. There will be lots of obstacles coming in your way and you will need to encounter them properly to reach the goal. Now coming to the VS mode, it is a group event where there will be two groups competing against each other. The rules and the scenarios are the same. There is no need to collect either stamps, points or any items. This game is purely a canoe race and hence is really a cool game.

Cycling:

Yeah, there is cycling too. In this game of cycling, you will be matched against thirty other passionate animated cyclists who are ready to win over you. The cycle race will be around an island. Since the player needs to cycle, you need to move the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck up and down, in a manner that simulates pedaling. Change in the direction of the Wii Remote will lead to change in direction. The player also gets tired when you move the remote too fast. In a three level mode, you will be matched against 50 players and the race will be even tougher, even though the conditions remain the same almost throughout the course.

Air Sports:

Well, we are not going to tire you much as we are now nearing the end of the games list. The last and final game seen on the Nintendo Wii Resort is known as Air sports. The Air Sports game is comprised of a lot of sports which are played above the ground. Games like Skydiving, Flyover, and Dogfight are very promising on the look and they are also pretty cool to play. All the three games take the assistance of Motion plus and hence are very good when it comes to the graphics part of the game. Again, the game play is same. One needs to wave and move the Wii Remote in the air as if they are holding the equipment and thereby the characters in the game follow suit.

Hence, all the games mentioned above are designed to provide you some serious entertainment whenever you need. Especially designed for the kids, these games are not only for entertainment, but they are also reported to provide fitness to the users since all the games involve the movement of hands and body. Hence, this is a good sign for all because there is no one under the sun who does not want to stay fit.

Verdict:

Though there are many games for the Wii, there is no better collection in the world than the Wii Sports Resort. You cannot get a 12 game package anywhere else for the same cost the Sports Resort bears. There are also a lot of improvements made, when compared to its predecessor, the Wii Sports video game. It would be entertaining, not only to the children, but to people of all ages. Hence, everyone who owns a Wii is advised to purchase the Wii Sports Resort.

Super Oval:

Sony has named the shape of NGP PSP2 as Super Oval Design. As far as the dimensions are concerned, the NGP is not one of those ultra compact types, as you will have to stretch your palms quite a bit. Measuring (W x H x D) 182 x 84 x 19mm, the Sony NGP is bigger than the PSP 3000, but a little thinner. The size of the display alone is as big as an iPhone 4. Being a lot wider than the 3DS, this is not going to fit into your pocket, unless you are still in the 80’s wearing baggies. It will not take too much space in a handbag or your backpack, but, do keep in mind the NGP is always going to be something of a headache to carry around.

Two Analogue Sticks:

One of the biggest criticisms the original PSP got was that, it did not have two sticks, well, this one has. On the front of the Sony NGP Handheld Console, you will find two analogue sticks that will make game playing on this device, as though you are using a controller, for a household gaming console of this era. With a 5″ OLED touchscreen display of resolution 960 x 544 pixels, we do not think that the NGP’s display will be an issue. The pixels seem to be plenty, but as we all know, there is a lot more to an amazing display than just the resolution, we are hoping that the panel will be quite bright and vivid. Sony has its work cut out with the OLED display as this 5” screen is going to just suck out the battery juice, which does not sound ideal for a device that is meant to be for portable gaming. Though you can always dim and preserve some battery, this will result in inferior gaming. We are quite eager to find out how Sony is going to manage this issue.

Touch Sensitive Rear:

On the rear side of the Sony NGP PS2 Game Console there is a touch-sensitive area that is about the same size of the display in the front. This area works much like that of a trackpad on laptops.  As you can imagine, it is pocked and stroked while gaming. There is some real potential in this new idea. The combo of touchable front and back is fascinating, as Sony refers to stuff like “grab, touch, trace, push and movements. Actually, we really cannot wait to try it on our own, and the developers who will create really cool games is going to be incredibly interesting. There might be some cursor on the main display that will indicate where you are poking below; otherwise, it is going to be tricky to keep track of what your finger is doing. Audio wise, you get twin speakers and a microphone.

We can imagine that the display will be the most exciting aspect of the Sony NGP handheld. Staying with the successful template and at the same time increasing the power of the handheld will be nice, but we would like some innovation. Only time will tell how this particular aspect of the NGP will prove to be. Sony is also going to equip the NGP with the front and rear cameras. There is also a great deal of internal sensors that will allow the NGP fully equipped to deliver everything that is required to offer some reality.

Connectivity:

As far as connectivity is concerned, you will get 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and 3G. With this connectivity option, you get to download content and also browse the net if you have strayed away from s WiFi hotspot. We are not sure on how you will be paying for mobile-data usage; you may end up paying some monthly subscription or pay for some 3G SIM card. Of course, Sony can always make 3G usage free, like Amazon has done with the Kindle, but we will be surprised if it does. SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment) claims that every NGP’s game title will be allotted a space named the LiveArea where gamers will be allowed to share the excitement and fun with other gamers.

Internet capabilities:

Hope that Sony will also facilitate online gaming with 3G, rather than restricting the internet facilities to just browsing and social networking; another thing that we have to wait and see. Word has it that the the Sony NGP PSP will soon offer access to one of the version of the PlayStation Suite, which is an online games store for Android that us under development. This suite allows you to download some of the classic PlayStation titles and also access the PlayStation network, from where you get to download heaps of other game related stuff. With this feature, PSP2 gets to play Android games and Android phones can play PSP2 games. However, when it comes to the latest games, the NGP will just stick with physical media. It seems that the Trophies system of Sony that was present in PlayStation Network, so you will be able to score points whenever you play, even on Android phone.

Games on Cards:

Fortunately, Sony seems to have had a clean break-up with the Universal Media Disk.  It has got back to housing its games on cards that can be slotted into the NGP itself. These cards are of the same size as that of the usual SD memory cards, but we will be really stunned if they turn out to be real SD cards as we know well that Sony prefers using its own Proprietary formats.

Hardware:

The insides of the Sony NGP are very thoughtful. You get a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor powering this handheld delight. For seamless gaming, there is an SGX543MP4+ graphics unit, which is an incredibly potent piece of hardware. Just hope that, by the time NGP comes into the market, it is not outclassed by something else. We are also worried if this powerful hardware will also put a great deal of strain on the battery.

GPS and Sensor:

Since the NGP has built-in GPS, Sony promises some interesting location aware games through the PlayStation Network. You get an application called Near, which will let you know if your friends are near you. You also get the three axis gyroscope, three axis accelerometer and three axis electronic compass.

Conclusion:

We are sure that the Sony NGP is going to be a great handheld gaming treat as far as performance is concerned. A few great ideas such as the inclusion of 3G and touch-sensitive area in the rear, will make the PSP 2 very special. Our major concern is that, it is going to be released so late, that the tech world might have just moved on and will no longer seem to be enticing. Make sure that you come back for our detailed review on the Sony NGP handheld gaming console.

There came a time when we could not just deal with the wires anymore, and we switched over to wireless controls with some buttons. This is the era when we cannot stand there fiddly buttons and D-Pad either and wish for more control. Nintendo was the first manufacturer to come up with the fling sensitive Wiimote of the current generation, which was, after a long gap, followed up by Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect, which too intends to do the same thing. Now THQ is attempting to do its own little thing by launching its uDraw Game Tablet on the Wii and supplants the wavy wand with a stylus. We could not think of a better new Wii accessory. So, is this the next hot revolution in the gaming industry? Is it a tool to unleash the torrent of creativity? Or, is it just a half baked third party accessory? Read on to find out.

Design:

Wiimote controlled:

At the very first look at the uDraw Game Tablet for Nintendo Wii, it might feel as if it is a bit fat, but in fact, it falls into your hand quite nicely. It may be about half an inch thicker than the standard Wiimote; one is actually placed to the device’s left. This is actually the only way by which the device gets connected to the console itself. And, it is also good to know that it does not require any batteries of its own. You will be provided with a tiny cable that clips on the Nunchuck port, just wedge the Wii Remote in that slot and you are ready to go.

Build:

The tablet feels quite a bit bulky too, which is kind of odd considering that there is not much of circuitry inside. However, despite being a third party add-on, it feels more like that of Nitendo’s work. There are no creaks or squeals and the plastic on the uDraw feels very high end, and this includes the fat stylus that sits flush in the bottom. The stylus looks something like a futuristic pencil for stubby fingers. At the sliver ring, where there will usually be a rubber in the real time pencils, this one has a two way button towards the pressure sensitive tip, and there is a short tether keeping it from disappearing. The 5.5 inch stylus is slightly smaller in diameter than your basic magic marker and is attached to the tablet with a foot-long cord. There is a storage slot in the back, and an inkwell type holder on top.

Intuitiveness:

Not everything on the uDraw Game Tables is all good and intuitive. To begin with, as we had just mentioned, a Wii remote snugs into a slot on the left which leaves its buttons exposed, however, it does cover up the sensor at the front and hence, there is no space on the top of the tablet in order to let the Wii Remote’s infra red sensor to peer through. As you will not be able to use the uDraw outside of the supported games, you will have to pull out the wiimote to interact with any of the system menus and put it back again. Maybe it is just a nitpick, but this really bugs us; Wii remotes tucked into Guitar Hero guitars, for instance, navigate the main menu just fine. You will also be able to see the remote wedges in on the left side, with the intension that you draw on the 4 x 6” pad on the right. It would have taken just a minor alteration in the design in order to allow the remote to slot in either way, but as of now, that is not possible.

Having a plastic stylus gives an unpleasant sensation to begin with. The 4 x 6” drawing surface is a smooth plastic and this plastic nub drags a bit, it kind of feels like a little stylus on a resistive touchscreen with a cheap screen protector over it, one that is probably with a lot of dust trapped beneath it. Obviously, there is no dust trapped on this thing, but the kind of feeling you get is identical and it is not particularly pleasant. When you touch the Stylus to the screen it displays what you are doing on the screen. It works surprisingly smooth with little lag.

Games:

The uDraw Studio:

The uDraw Game Tablet is bundled with the uDraw Studio, which we would say is somewhat of a Nintendo-ed and super simplified version of the Corel Painter. We are not trying to say that you will be mixing any virtual paints on the digital canvas to create the amazing effects, but you do get to have a good collection of media at your disposal. Naturally, this includes the usual paintbrush, chalk, pencil, a pen, charcoal and an airbrush; that is just about it. You can even specify the size each individually and choose from hundreds of colour pallets. There is also an option to create your own rubber stamp, for instance, to place the fish silhouettes. Using the stylus is pretty instinctive, but it slides across the tablet surface with so little resistance that at times, the control feels slippery, especially given that the tip of the stylus is in fact a button that you push by applying a little extra pressure to the drawing surface, which is the equivalent of a mouse-click.

Drawing on it:

Just as a console for the kids to make some cool pictures, it works well enough and is just good enough for even the adults to make their own cool pictures, the only issue is that, they still look as though they were drawn by kids. You do have the pressure sensitivity option, but the most annoying fact is that, you will have to go into a menu and enable it with each and every tool selection. In fact, you may have to dig into the menu and toggle with a lot of stuff. We understand that it is only a button press away, but it would be nice if users can custom assign some specific tools to the Wiimote inputs. As the settings are, the ‘1’ option will always load the eraser and ‘2’ option always fills the buckets, because this bucket is widely regarded to the tool that is most often used by the real artists.

Transferring media:

Your artistic masterpieces can be exported to SD card through the game, which supports JPEG, or high quality PNG. This results in a curious and decidedly non-high resolution of 576 x 396 pixels, that is complete with an annoying uDraw watermark on it.  We think it is a bit of a fail that importing images from the SD card is not an option. For those who are not so great at paintings, you are out of luck, as unlike Nintendo’s Art Academy on the DS, there are no tutorials available on this game tablet to help you to actually get better at drawing things.

Launch Titles:

If you have not seen the commercials for the uDraw GameTablet for Wii, you may not have been looking very hard. It seems like the ad campaign for this thing, and the two games created specifically for use with it, just came out of nowhere right along with its mid-November launch. These two launch titles available for the uDraw are at a budget friendly cost.

Dood’s Big Adventure:

One of them is ‘Dood’s Big Adventure’, which is a mediocre platformer with a few tablet-specific gameplay devices that just serve to make the game more frustrating to play than it would be without them. Yes, being able to paint your character, that is, the Dood, and his enemies and heaps of random floating animals that hover in the background is a little fun, but if you are looking for more than one hand to count your age you will get really bored with this game before the title screen has finished loading. Still, it is not enough to make up for the repetitive gameplay and the failure to take advantage of the tablet’s unique capabilities. Game-wise, Dood’s is your basic side-scroller, though instead of a single coherent storyline, you are looking at four mini-games of 15 levels apiece. And while they are fun enough, three of them, Roly-Poly, Bubble Trouble and Fan Frenzy, really seem as though they could just as easily be played using a plain old Wii remote and nunchuck, since the stylus and tablet function solely as directional control and attack or jump buttons. The fourth game, Pen Panic, shows a little more ingenuity, since it involves using the stylus to create mid-air platforms for bouncing, requiring some fun with angles and repeated chain jumps sketched quickly with slashes on the tablet.

Pictionary:

The next game is the family favourite ‘Pictionary’. This is one of the games that even adults with adore, and the fact is that, the game is quite reasonable well done. In the standard mode, it is the same as the original game itself, albeit with a game show-style announcer offering prompts and the occasional commentary, while the team’s marker pieces and the game board take detailed animated form in a three-dimensional arena. And the pixelated edition does boast an edge for sketchers in the form of shortcuts like straight-line drawing, instant shape creation, the “minus” button for a quick all-erase, and paint buckets for quick colouring. One drawback is that, there is no head-to-head sketching because the game only accommodates one tablet – the “All Play” squares simply mean both teams guess at the same drawing. This also means you will have to come up with a house rule on ties, since, should both teams holler out the solution simultaneously, you are stuck having to either pick one as the correct guesser, or choose “no correct guess,” which is as good as a win for the non-drawing side.

It also has a Mania mode that throws a lot of odd challenges at you, like drawing on a rotating piece of paper or giving you a limited amount of virtual ink. Instead of the board’s coloured squares representing clue categories like “object” or “action,” they assign twists to the play itself. Land on an orange square, for instance, and you are stuck drawing your clue using only the straight line tool; blue means you cannot lift the stylus from the tablet and must create your sketch in a single stroke; red means you are drawing with whichever hand you do not usually use. By far the toughest is the pink square, which means you are drawing with your eyes closed. With the right crew, this game is genuinely entertaining, but then, this is the case with the pencil-based one too. Neither of these is exactly a system seller as it were, and of course the million dollar question is how many more uDraw games are coming in the future.

Warranty:

The THQ uDraw Game Tablet for Wii comes with one year warranty for parts and labour.

Verdict:

Overall, as a Wii accessory, the uDraw tablet itself is fun and functional. Though the Nintendo Wii uDraw Game Tablet is not the most powerful artistic creation on earth, in right hands, it really can be a lot of fun. And, to be specific, those hands have to be right-dominant and belong to a youthful minded, if not youthful person for it to be really worth the purchase. If you have a cousin or sibling kid who is oozing with creativity, but one who you cannot trust at home alone with the art supplies, or of those really games obsessed ones who cannot be bothered to pay attention to anything without a game controller involved, then the uDraw Game Tablet could be a very powerful gift. However, if you are a bit older and mature, have a computer, you may have to forget about this and look for something that is a little more serious; say, a similarly priced Wacom Bamboo might help. Overall, the accessory made by THQ does exactly what is advertised. It gives you the opportunity to draw pictures and make nice looking artwork using your Wii. The kids are going to love it!

THQ uDraw Game Tablet Gaming Console – Technical Specification Table

Now, after about four years and a whopping 75 million worldwide Nintendo Wii sales later, both Microsoft and Sony have given their high end answers to wii-mote and they could not have been more distinct. All these three major game consoles have motion controls that are more or less similar in one way or the other. Unlike the Sony PlayStation Move and the Wii-mote, Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 has decided to chuck out the buttons, or even a controller for that matter, relying solely on the voice commands and body gestures. As the 500 million dollar campaign says, “You are the Controller”, for better or worse. Microsoft is hoping that you will completely forget the controllers, those old things you used to make games work, before Christmas. Read on to find out more about the amazing Kinect.

How the Technology works?

So, here is how it works: The Kinect sensor sports an RGB camera and a depth sensor which tracks your movement. This sensor measures the positioning of 48 key joints in your anatomy and by tracking the movements of these joints and, amazingly, it can figure out exactly the position your body is in. Want to know more, the views are 3 dimensional by the input being overlayed that is obtained from a depth sensor enabled RGB camera. Meanwhile, multi array microphone on board scrutinizes the room seeking your voice, Yes, you read it right, your VOICE! The Kinect also allows you to control your Xbox 360 using just your voice commands. It sounds almost too good to be true, is it not? This is a dream come true for every 6 year old child. This is the kind of technology we have always dreamt about in the 60s as grumpy little kids. But, we are really talking technology here, not fantasy. And so, like most of you, what we nervously want to know is, does this thing really work, and is it any good at it?

Design components:

As far as the design is concerned, the Kinect Sensor itself is quite glossy complementing the look of the new Xbox 360. But, this also means that dust and fingerprints settles on the surface well too. The motorised stand that is mighty sturdy, tilts sensor vertically for calibration. The bar itself measures around (W x H x D) 284 x 70 x 70mm.  In the fascia, there is a small green LED light to indicate power and also the above mentioned three cameras. The one in the middle is the RGB camera, and in other words, it is a 640 x 480 pixels camera with 32 bit colour and at 30fps. And, the outer pair of cameras consist of the depth sensors, which is a blend of an infrared projector allowing Kinect to have a 3D of the room in an array of lighting conditions. Note that, the darker rooms seem to work better and in the “near-pitch” black settings, the tracking improves considerably, but the cost it pays for this is the RGB camera virtually sees nothing. And, finally, you get a quartet of microphones too. For all of this stuff to work, there is the, as Microsoft calls, “Special Sauce” which is a software that takes all this information and parses through it for skeletal mapping and facial or voice recognition. Since that is software drives, it demands a little processing power that was reserved for Kinect, but it seems to be pretty minimal; about 60MB of the 512MB total for the Xbox 360 memory reserved especially for the motion sensor. Since that is a fixed amount that cannot be lowered, we hope the developers make the most of it.

Purple for Kinect:

Kinect’s colour is purple. Yes, we say so because, while all of Xbox games so far have come in that distinctive green DVD cases, the cases of Kinect come in Purple. Hence, from now on, be aware that a Purple case means, it requires a Kinect Sensor and if it is Green, it is the normal Xbox 360 game. For those games which actually do not need Kinect, but do have the Kinect for Xbox 360 features for the sake of those who have it, will come with a ‘Better with Kinect’ sticker on the casing. This is Microsoft’s way of avoiding bewilderment in the console games market. Hence, there will be no juicing out your brain if something is compatible with Kinect or not. Well, our final word is, if it is Purple, go for it dude and divas.

Value for your money:

The Kinect Adventures mini-game bundle together with the sensor bar plus would cost you £125, or you have the option to purchase the Kinect that is bundled together with the Xbox 360 Slim 4GB for £250. We know that it probably would not have escaped your notice that £125 is rather a lot of money. After all, you can pick up a brand new Xbox 360 console for just about £140, and on the other hand, a PlayStation Move controller costs just £40. Nevertheless, despite this, you don’t really think Kinect to be a comprise in terms of value for money, and the reason is as follows.

The Kinect for Xbox 360 Motion Sensor detects as many as 6 persons in a room supporting 2 active players at a time. Hence, that £125 brings with it two player gaming from the minute you buy it. This would mean you end up paying £127 for the corresponding PS eye along with the PS Move setup together with the 2 Move controllers and navigation controllers. Our only quibble with Kinect is that, if you have no friends (a highly unlikely situation) and just wish to play on your own, you still to have to fork out the full £125 regardless. While this is a gripe, the single piece nature of the device does not allow it to work any other way.

Connect the Kinect:

There are two different ways to connect your Kinect to the Xbox 360. If possess got one of the new, slim models, you will find a proprietary connection on the rear, into which, you can directly plug in the Kinect. This also doubles as the power supply to the sensor. However, if you are one of the few unlucky ones stuck with an older model, you can still connect the Kinect in by using one of the two USB ports on the fascia and you will also have to plug it into the wall for power using this method, too. Preferably, the Kinect’s sensor will need a minimum of six to eight feet of distance between the device and you, to work without any issues. Again, it would be ideal to keep another five feet plus or minus distance on either sides of the room such that you get to move around freely. We are actually talking a bare minimum; here you would not want to have any lesser space than that.

This sure does seem to be a handicap with a lot of eager Xbox gamers who run short of this kind of space requirement, especially when they are residing in apartments or dormitories. Note that the specified six feet is just not a recommendation, but a requirement. A small consolation would be that try placing the Kinect Sensor on your TV top as against placing it below or in the front and this might prove to be a bit helpful in this regard. In this way, the camera has more to look at, and you can also make the most of the room you have if you have got limited space available. And, it is as easy as that. Once you have managed to position the Kinect sensor, just switch on your Xbox, and you are then taken through a very simple setup process.

Interface:

Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 comes with its own menu system which can be accessed from the dashboard of Xbox 360. Inside this menu, you will be able to access all the available Kinect compatible entertainment features. In addition to this, you can also browse through these features without using the Xbox 360 controller. The whole Kinect experience begins as soon as you switch on your 360.

If you decide to set up the play space, there is a “smiley face” calibration kind of cards. Assuming that the lighting conditions are ideal, that is, not too bright for infrared and not too dim for the webcam to detect anything at all, you have to be walking to and fro a lot as you try to line up the card with the help of the on screen glasses. Then, as with Nintendo Wii’s Mii, you have to calibrate your Avatar ID, looks like Microsoft wanted to have some fun at our expense here. If you wish to be signed in automatically as soon as you walk in front of the Kinect sensor, you will be asked to move around the play space and lineup with a series of grids while at the same time doing various antics with your arms reminiscent of the antiquated dance routines, like the robot arm slump and the disco finger point. We just hope that this is not some plan from Redmond to record us secretly on the goofiest poses possible.

On reaching the dashboard of the Xbox, waving at the telly once more will navigate you to the special all new dashboard menu. From this menu, you will be able to access all Kinect-compatible contents which include the existing game in the device, Sky Player, Zune music, Last fm, ESPN etc. You can also navigate via your Xbox controller, but what Microsoft really intends you to do is, make use of the hand gestures. And this is the point where you make a decision if Kinect is your kind or not; If you don’t fancy waving your hand, no worries here because you can navigate ESPN with just mere voice commands. Well, it is a shame that we cannot say the same for the other two services, as voice search does not exist either.

Who do u interact with?

At most times, you will be interacting with the Kinect dashboard and with most Kinect games too, you will be doing it in the same way. If you hold your hand out in front of you, a hand icon appears on the screen. You need to wave your hand such that the icon mimics your action moving to the option you want it to and if you want to make a selection, just hold still for a few seconds. You will see a circular progress bar going around your hand icon displaying the amount of time you will have to hold still. We found it to be a bit of a tedious experience. Few games like the Dance Central, makes use of a point and swipe action that is much more intuitive and less messy. You might get used to it after a while, but to be frank, we cannot see why anyone would want to navigate an Xbox menu by holding their arm in the air, instead of just pressing a few buttons on the controller. We accept the fact that there is a certain novelty aspect to it, and while you will try not allowing yourselves to go back to using the 360 controller, you would certainly want to do so at times.

Voice control:

Possibly, the most fantasy like feature of the Xbox 360 Kinect is its voice control capability. While using the media services such as Sky Player or the Zune music service, you will be able control your Xbox just by using your voice. You will be able to get the attention of the console by saying “Xbox”, and then a list of commands pops up from the top of the screen. If you are playing music or watching a video, then these commands typically include pause, play, stop, rewind, fast forward, faster and slower. We will let you know how well all these commands work on the performance section.

Video:

If you possess a good quality VGA camera and a powerful mulity array mic, video chat is a kind of no barrier. The good news is that, this part on the Kinect actually works great, that is, once you manage to get this thing connected. The sensor will not be too fond of you sitting down, with the lighting conditions being the biggest trouble maker with the device’s inability to gesture your hands. Fortunately, you have some options to use a controller here. Even if you are just looking at using Kinect for audio alone (like a mic) it can be done so as smart noise cancellation  is any day better as against wearing a headset.

Games:

As we had mentioned earlier, it comes with a free copy of Kinect Adventures, which is a title with lots of mini sub-games. To be clear; it is like Wii Sports, simply devised to showcase the various capabilities of the sensor. We will give you an idea about this title considering that this will likely be the first and in some instance, the only Kinect experience for the gamers. The Adventures is by all means and intent, you requisite pack of the mini-games that is meant to give you a taste of Microsoft’s campaign of “body as controller” experience, under the disguise of a jungle theme. And for that, it does a pretty good job. There are totally five games and each comes with a multiplayer component, which includes the River Rush and the Rallyball. It would be easy on you if you just think of this as a basic party game and not really expect much of replay value outside of an occasional round of show off to your friends.

The other popular games include the crowd favourite Dance Central, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride. Hormonix are the makers of the Dance Central, which is a rhythm game that is a Rock Band with the dance choreographed. This is one of the games that really exhibits the capability of the Kinect; track your movement, teach you dance and offer all the embarrassment you ever asked for. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved is Ubisoft’s exercise game that has a handful of games, complete lesson plans and also keeps track of your progress too. In this game, the menu system is quite fast and the on-screen avatar is eerily accurate. Kinectimals is very much similar to a pet simulator that focuses majorly on minigames. While Kinect Adventures is a similar version of Wii Sports Resort, the Kinect Sports is nothing but plain Wii Sports; and this we don’t mean on a positive note. The games on the Kinect Sports are not extremely accurate.  The Kinect Joy Ride is a racing game that requires you to stand up, which is sure to frustrate a number of people to begin with.

Performance:

Beyond doubt this Xbox Kinect does pack some fantastic technology and is sure enough a fairly impressive system, but then if you wanna truly take full advantage of it, you will have to minimize your expectations in terms of what it can and is not capable of doing. If you are expecting your on screen avatar to mimic exactly what you do rapidly and in complete sync with you with absolutely no lag, amidst playing a game, well be ready for some disappointment. You just cannot do that in all games. To be more precise, Kinect is more about thinking your body to be a controller and less about mimicking your precise real world motions that appears on screen in real time.

The irritating lag:

For instance, the Fighters Uncaged is a 3D Beat them up title, where you will be controlling your fighter with your fighting moves. But you will witness a significant lag between the punches and kicks that you perform and the same being actually mimicked on your telly screen. By letting rip with a yanking uppercut, you might have swung even before your avatar mirrors your move. This goes true for all games. Again, in the Kinect Adventure’s minigame of River Rush, you are required to bend and jump if you want to shun barriers. But then your avtar doesn’t really sync his jump with you and there is a split second delay.

Across the board, with all games and apps, this delay is totally dependent on your speed of movement. For instance, a slow, gradual movement has almost no noticeable lag at all, and so, the quicker you move, the more pronounced the lag is. And again, no matter how high you jump or whether you tuck your knees in or anything like that, your on screen avatar will just jump in the same way each time. Do not expect it to mirror your exact movements. This is why, with most games, your movements simply trigger a pre-animated reaction in the game, instead of the avatars exactly mimicking you. This will bother you a lot for the first few times you play with the Kinect and will prevent you from having the kind of fun you might have envisioned, when Microsoft announced the product for the first time. However, if you manage to get over with this issue, it will not be all doom and gloom.

What is with the other games?

However, the good news is this lag issue is kind of irrelevant in majority of the games anyways. For instance, Harmonix’s Dance Central, the makers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero is simply all about skill, precision and timing. You will have to do the right dance moves in time with the music and dancers on screen, in order to get anywhere near a good score. Here, the lag does not come into, because you are simply mirroring the dancers, rather than the dancers mirroring you. Here again, there is a plethora of health and fitness related games such as The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout. It is more about body position and balance as against flying kicks, quick moves or punches. Just imagine a Yoga game wherein the on-screen tutor is more into analyzing your postures and teaches you to improvise your Downward facing dog position. Kinect is just as much about this kind of stuff as it is about the hardcore action titles. And hence, what it has done is, it has gotten the Xbox a more preferred gaming console for the casual gamers; something that is not offered by the PlayStation Move.

Accuracy:

As you must have guessed by now, it does take a while to get to grips with the Microsoft Kinect Sensor. Just ignoring the lag issues with some games, the other major issue you will be facing is to get the hang of a new kind of hand and eye coordination. A few of you might find it really hard enough to catch a ball or donk a ping pong ball in real life without messing up and with Kinect, you will have to do all of this on behalf of your on-screen character. You will be forced to relocate your thinking into your avatar’s body timing the precise movements for it, and it is kind of tricky that what it sounds, particularly keeping the lag in mind.

When you consider the games such as Kinect Adventures, throwing obstacles at you, you will find yourselves wanting to wait until that obstacle reached the screen before performing the appropriate tactic, rather than waiting until it reached the on-screen avatar. This means, you will be often too late to perform the jump or sidestep. Once again, this is something which you will improve over time. However, this again simply represents a hurdle between you and the game. As any good gamer will want to, you will want to feel inside the games you were playing. But in general, with the Microsoft Kinect, you will not get that feeling at all and, remember, you are still just controlling a character, who is not actually you on the screen. As soon as you have got the hang of it though, Kinect will prove to be perfectly accurate enough. If you like to know when you have got into terms with it, here it is: on messing up you tend you blame yourself as against blaming the game.

Confusion:

There are instances when the Kinect gets kind of confused, the frequent one being when someone steps into the vicinity of the Kinect’s sensor with someone else gaming. In such scenarios, Kinect tends to lock on the wrong person, causing a lot of mess. Imagine if this happens when you are in the last level of a game with a high level of difficulty and have just about one life to finish it off. We also noticed a few problems with the voice control.

Voice control works?

Controlling the Sky Player with voice commands is major fun and while it is a limited function time to time, it is almost perfect. The voice command informs the console that you are commencing to talk to it, and the on-screen options, which resembles the original Monkey Island command menu pops up quickly. The Xbox 360 more often than not did exactly as we asked it to, it is really great fun and the kids will love it for sure. However, we are not trying to say that it is a perfect system, because it is actually not. For instance, there are very high chances of someone saying “Xbox” when you are playing with your Xbox. While it is not unusual for your friends in the room to utter “Xbox,” it unfortunately triggers the voice command feature erroneously. This can be easily remedied if there was any kind of individual voice recognition system, wherein you could instruct your Xbox to only respond to a particular individual’s voice. But alas, this is not possible – not yet, to say the least.

The second quibble with voice control was while is it effortless to just say “Xbox — pause” with something inevitable popping up, it is even more effortless to just hit the pause button on the controller. Hence, for this sole reason, we can imagine many gamers simply abandoning the voice control system completely. But, on the other hand, we can also see a just as many people being so fascinated by this feature that they never want to go back to their controller. Talking about Pause, Xbox has also made up a new universal pause gesture. You got to get used to this one; place your right hand down at your side and raise your left hand, palm out, 45 degrees outward from your side and then wait a few seconds. You will see the Xbox guide popping up from the dashboard with a unique pause menu for every title. Looks to be a just a necessary evil to us.

Package:

Microsoft has retained its packaging aesthetics in the Xbox 360, with the biggest and noticeable change being the slit in the cardboard to accommodate the Kinect Adventures. The retail package is covered by yet another slim layer of cardboard and ads that keep the game in place. Opening the top flap reveals a very purple interior (remember? Kinect’s colour choice). You will unearth a USB extension cable, a handful of brochures together with an AC adapter behind the sensor making the Kinect compatible with the older version of Xbox 360 models.

Verdict:

From its date of release, the Kinect has had a bit of a rocky ride. There had been plenty of criticism, but in fact, it is actually pretty good. The issue will be, Kinect will be most anticipated by the hard core gamers who have got a mountain of games and looking for something really new. But, this console is actually not for that type of a gamer. It is true that there is plenty of Kinect games that are aimed at the hard core gamers, but it was actually designed to get the Xbox 306 to a wider set of audience.

On one side, we loved the voice control which works quite well and never has any issues with dealing with the games or apps and misunderstanding what you command. The Kinect opens up the Xbox 360 into a much more of a well rounded console. And on the other side, we hate having to point the arms in the air to make selections from the Kinect menus; it is really annoying and we bet, you would prefer the point and swipe method that is employed by some games. The need of space can also prove to be a big issue for most consumers who just do not have enough space in their living rooms. Lag gives a feeling as though the Kinect is not a finished product while such delays exist. And finally, it certainly is more expensive than we would have liked it to be, but this is a point that is hard to criticize on, as the Kinect is one of its kind. Overall, though Microsoft Kinect is not perfect, it is a lovable console and a very impressive piece of technology. In the months and years to come, we are sure it will spawn out some truly revolutionary games.

Microsoft Xbox Kinect Motion Sensor – Technical Specification Table

Though the Nintendo 3DS really doesn’t bring out the same impact on the video game arena that big brother Wii did around 4 years ago, looks like it has more to it.  Looks like Nintendo has managed to pull out their trump card at the right time when they require it the most. The firm has managed to keep up their promise that they made 5 years ago when unleashing the original DS – the promise to make gaming more exciting, and they have very much lived up to that promise by giving us an entirely novel way to see gaming.

Design:

As always, let us deal with the design factors first. And the form factor of the 3DS is quite similar to its predecessors. With the dimensions of (W x H x D) 135 x 74 x 20 mm, making it around the same size as the Nintendo DSi and weighs just 228 grams. Now, instead of white or black there is a selection of colours including Purple, Green and Red. The dual coloured glossy shell adds to the gorgeousness of the device.

The two screens:

There are very few new features too; for instance; when the clamshell body is popped open, it reveals two screens. The one in the bottom is a 77mm or 3″ resistive touch-screen with a maximum resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The top screen is a w ider, 3.5” one, with a much higher resolution of 800 x 240 pixels than the lower one. Usually you will not find anybody appreciating the 800 pixels, but as the 3DS portable Game Console has assigned 400 pixels to each of your precious eyes, it makes the 3D effect actually work. This allows the images to appear to have a 400 x 240 pixel resolution, which is still a significant step-up in resolution compared to previous versions of this console.

Fun with the slider:

You will find a slider on the right side of the top panel, which can be used to adjust the depth of the 3D display. Fiddling with this itself is entertaining in itself, as it lets you flatten the image by degrees, until the display is completely 2D. You would not ever have to adjust the slider, but it is a welcome feature, and even allows you to fine-tune the display goes a long way towards assuaging our fears that the 3D effect could be overwhelming. And the very fact that the 3D effect can be turned off in just a moment’s notice as against relying on the game’s menu clearly makes it evident that Nintendo treats it as just a visual enhancement that is optional rather than a prerequisite.

D-Pad sacked:

You will also get used to the new analogue stick, which allows for 360 degree movement, and bumps the famous Nintendo d-pad downwards. We found the stick to be a welcome addition, as it feels quite smooth and comfortable, and your fingers will not slip off the top, which was a common issue with the Sony PSP portables. The instinctive and comfy controls seem less ‘clicky’ responding promptly to even a gentle rub in any given direction. Also its huge size proves to be a perfect fit to your thumb, especially with its enclave surface ensuring that the fingers don’t slide away.

Features:

Memory:

There is the SD Card slot that takes care of expanding the unit’s memory. That being said, Nintendo prefers not to comment on the unit’s internal memory. Games will come on carts of a size indistinguishable from the current DS.

No specs:

As you can imagine, not having to wear glasses to enjoy the 3D effect feels extremely liberating. To begin with, you will not have to wear or carry around a pair of bulky specs, and looking at the display of the 3DS in the context of the world around you, creates a feeling of immersion that you will not get when your vision is disturbed by glasses. In addition to this, it is devoid of any colour draining that can be witnessed in the conventional stereoscopic 3D that is glasses-based, which is a consequence of the specs having the light filtered prior to hitting your eyes. The 3DS also packs the most sharpest, brightest and vivid 3D display witnessed until date.

On a TV this technology does not work as you will need a find a spot to sit tight in order to get the desired effect, meaning the others in the room will not be able to witness the 3D effect. However here as it is just you watching the one screen and your head is in the same spot, it is theoretically not a problem. Hence, do not imagine that this technology will hit the cinema or TV screens any sooner.

The Technology:

Nintendo has managed to keep the details just to exactly how the 3DS works, to itself, mainly to avoid the competitors rushing into the market to make its own kind before the 3DS hits the shelves. The tech behind the device was supposedly a last-minute buy from Sharp; Whilst Sony blares out that it is ushering in the 3D revolution, by slapping a not-so-pocket friendly, £100 glasses on the bridges of our noses to make it happen; Nintendo may have just created the most important piece of entertainment technology in decades. It is like you are looking through a small window into a miniature world. It was certainly the clearest and clearest 3D, outdoing any of the Sony Bravia 3D sets that you might have gamed the PS3 on.

We have a gut feeling that the main screen of the Nintendo 3DS  handheld console has employed the parallax barrier, which is nothing but a layer on the top that is covered in the slits. This kind of a set up allows each eye to view a slightly different type of image and hence creating a stereoscopic display.  However, one major disadvantage of this technology is that, you will have to keep your head steady and at a constant distance from the display for the 3D effect to work. However, there is a thin room that allows you to move your head to about 3 or 4cm to the left or right of centre before the spell is broken. Well not so easy as it may sound, particularly when you are on a bumpy train or bus or if you are just glancing at the bottom, second screen. Then again, it isn’t really hard to get back to enjoying the 3D again. With a notable graphical power boost, the 3DS is sure to beat the PSP hands down graphcally.

Wifi:

We are not sure if Nintendo is taking the device to any film studios, or whether movies would be downloadable via the 3DS’ built-in Wi-Fi or purchased on a cartridge. We did not see the improved WiFi functions, using which you can download extra applications and software ‘as you sleep’, like the Nintendo Wii, but connectivity is subscription free, which is a big plus point.

Camera:

The Nintendo 3DS console has employed two cameras on its lid that can be used to take 3D photos- yet another major step forward from anything we have seen before. We were quite impressed by this feature. If it was not enough to have portable 3D gaming without the glasses, and the ability to take 3D photos, the Nintendo 3DS would also likely support 3D movie playback that can be downloaded directly to the device. It is not called the 3DS for nothing you know. During the process of taking the photos and after that, you are allowed to tinker with the settings in order to make the picture look right. Two cameras in the rear of the device manages to picture your mug and eventually gets displayed on the screen’s top in a super blurry mode. Now use the analogue control to slide these images together till you reach the sweet spot, you get o have a perfect blend of differentiation between your background and you. While the 3D effect is impressive, it is disappointing to see that Nintendo has not taken advantage of the opportunity to upgrade the cameras themselves and you will end up being stuck with the same 0.3 megapixel cameras that is already available on the DSi. But currently, you will find three of the blighters, two on the lid and a front facing one on the inside of the console. With 3DS proving to be a real knockabout playground gadget that suits all ages, its camera looks to a tertiary function that adds spice to it making it simply astoudning.

The Extras:

3D is just one of this little gadget’s many clever tricks. The box houses accelerometer sensors and a gyroscope helping the unit detect both positional and tilting, similar to the Wii Remote. This opens up a range of possibilities in terms of new gameplay in the 3DS. The 3DS Video Game Console also boasts of augmented wireless communication features that seeks and communicates with the other units by default helping you to trade info like scores with rest of the gamers. The current DS has a similar feature, but for it to work you have to leave the game in the system and running in a special communication mode.

Games:

The games that were exhibited during the release of the game include Nintendogs + cats, Samurai Warriors 3D, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample, Mario Kart 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, StarFox 3D, Pilot Wings 3D, Augmented reality, Steel Diver, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, Target shooting, Disney’s Tangled and Kid Icarus. The third party games that were on display include DJ Hero 3D from Activision, Resident Evil Revelations from Capcom, The Sims 3 from Electronic Arts, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample” from Konami, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles from LEVEL-5, Ridge Racer from Namco Bandai Games, Kingdom Hearts franchise game from Square Enix, Dead or Alive 3D from Tecmo Koei Games, Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike from Ubisoft, Hollywood 61 from Ubisoft and Samurai Warriors 3D from Tecmo Koei Games.

Performance:

The good news here is that, our impression on the all important 3D display is very positive. These visuals are not filtered through clever technology in front of your eye. It is an immediate, comfortable experience seamless, and offers a very attractive scale of depth. The image is truly vibrant with the colours convincingly high-def. Hence it wouldn’t be fair to judge the software of the system at this point with any sense of true outlook, but with the upcoming 73 games in their production lab which includes a handful of classic Nintendo remakes, we guess there is absolutely nothing to worry in this regard. In fact, we are pretty sure that their innovative software from Kojima and Miyamoto alone is sure to cause a revolution. While playing the ‘Pilotwings Resort’, in an upcoming flight simulation for the console, we were pleasantly surprised with the fact how the far away distant landmarks seemed.

The 3D effect was at its best when it is simulating depth and distance, rather than poking out the objects out of the screen in front of your eyes. While a few objects seem to protrude out beyond the display, most of the in-game objects had been layered backwards, into the display. The best part is that, you will not lose focus on objects anywhere in your field of vision, nor will be any headaches experience or other massive trauma. The movie, like the photos, was not revolutionary, and seemed more like a layered 2D experience. Overall, the playing experience on the 3DS is a very comfortable one, although your personal experience might vary.

Sound:

Sound was rich and cinematic, aided by Nintendo’s investment in pricey BOSE headphones, mind and certainly as good as anything we have heard via the PSP.

Verdict:

As with any new technology, we received and reviewed the Nintendo 3DS feeling a little sceptical, but were left giggling like kids at a birthday party. The major highlights such as the extremely impressive 3D effect, the mechanical slider that adjusts the depth of the image, smooth controls and the built-in WiFi too. The best part about the device is that, the ‘3D without glasses’ actually works. Though the images do not jump out of the device like James Cameron’s Avatar, the device does make up for this in its clever subtlety.

The 3D is incredible, and yet that is just one of the many clever features of the unit that could result in some truly revolutionary games. As with any games console, the 3DS’ success will depend on the games available at launch and how well Nintendo markets it. We are certain that this 3D powerhouse will not fail on account of the hardware. Attractive, lightweight and affordable, it is a marvel and those who simply scoffed at the Nintendo 3DS as a ‘mere’ hardware update will be left dumbfounded. We are pretty sure the device will enjoy a good deal of success, pre-order yours. The pricing of the console is yet to be determined, but it has been announced that the device will be on the shelves from March 2011.

Nintendo 3DS Game Console – Technical Specification Table

Design:

As far as the design is concerned, it is not that hard to realise that Move has bought the concept of remote style controller that Nintento started off, but the company has made its own se of changes. This Move controller is made out of matte black plastic and also has a rounded, sleek design which complements the latest PS3 consoles.

The Glowing Ball:

The most noticeable fact about Move’s primary controller is the glowing ball on top, well, no prizes for guessing that. That is not decorative as that is how the Move system keeps track of the motion-controller’s location.  When the controller is not active, the orb is soft white, translucent, and looks like the identical twin of a ping-pong ball and it is actually about the same size as one, too. With the controller in full use, the ball lights up in a range of colours allowing it to be tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera. Though the ball seems to be a weak point, with the controller brushing against a lamp or wall or your buddy’s skull for that matter, the spongy thing just pops right back into shape post the impact.

Curvy:

The rest of the Sony PlayStation Move controller has more of an organic look than the Wii remote. It is curvy and becomes slightly thinner in the middle, presumably to be more ergonomic. In the front, you will find the four familiar PlayStation face buttons. However, the fact that they are arranged in a square, rather than a diamond, makes it quite hard to remember which one is where for a while. In between those, you will find the Move button, which is the new inclusion of a thumb size that is obviously the Wii remote’s chunky A button in this Move version.

Controls and Slots:

Beneath those sits the PS button offering a functionality akin to the SixAxis or DualShock 3 or controller – popping up the Xcross Menu Bar. Sitting in a concave position, it smartly averts accidental presses. The controller’s underside for the most part is clear but for a trigger called the T button. This is analogue, akin to right/left triggers featured in the Xbox 360 controller or L2/R2 seen in the DualShock 3, quite the reverse of the crisp clicky button B on the Wii. In the left-hand side, you will find the Select button, which is quite hard to hit, but is rarely needed. On the right side, there is the Start button, which has greater chances of being pressed accidentally, depending on your hold over the controller, though it only happens occasionally. At the base of the Move Controller, you will find a microUSB port for charging, a slot for the provided wrist straps, and there are even two mystery connectors, which we imagine, could be used for accessories in the future.

Feel and Comfort:

To begin with, the Move controller might feel a bit more comfortable than the Wii remote and it is not that wiimote is uncomfortable, but the roundness of Move does help the controller sit neatly in the hand. That said, you get to realize the difference like the Move being faster with prolonged usage, and guess you will have to thank its shape for it. The tapered middle indicates that you are gripping the Wii’s controller harder than required, particularly games that require a hard swing. You realize this a tad earlier with the discomfort creeping in your wrist than it normally does generally while playing an equivalent game in the Wii Sports Resort. Well, to be precise we are definitely not branding the Move as uncomfortable, painful or messy, that is, provided you are not suffering from joint problems to begin with. Also we are definitely not suggesting it to be less comfortable as against the Wii remote, like mentioned already, it definitely seems better to be held, only that it might not be an ideal for demanding wrist games or for prolonged periods.

There are few other characteristics about the Move’s design that seem kind of odd to us. We were just wondering why has Sony added a new button with the Move logo which can just be a squiggly line, so does not jump out at you on-screen, when Sony could have just used X or Circle?

The distracting globe:

As you can imagine, the tiny light globe on the controller proved to be quite distracting, especially with someone else gaming with two controllers, your eyes naturally gets distracted and for the most part is drawn towards it. With the Wii remote designed to be almost inconspicuous, it sure does gel in with you TV remotes and almost vanishes in the hand with it being held, but then this doesn’t hide the fact of it being a bit gaudy. On the flip side, motion controlled gaming has always been associated with a weird factor to it and never has the wild flailing been dignified prior to the addition of the glowing ball. So, guess we are better off being happy with the supplementary possibilities and accuracy that it offers.

Features:

The Technology:

The Move’s design is very much like the Wii than the Kinect. Let alone the glowing globe, the company is mainly looking to take the high end technological road, as in the case of all of the PS3 stuff, and take on the Wii in the field of precision and movement accuracy. The technology used very similar to that of Nintendo’s, but on steroids. If you are not conscious, Wii’s sensor bar, which is placed by the TV releases IR lights that the camera in the Wii Remote identifies in order for the pointer to function. The Move actually flips this around, with a camera next to the TV picking up the glowing ball on the end of the controller. The PS3 can then measure distance from the controller using the size of the ball as a reference. The Move controller also has all of the movement sensing bells and whistles of the Wii remote and MotionPlus attachment.

Navigation Controller:

If you are in search for some extra control, the company has also some additional peripherals that connect wireless to the controller, known as the navigation controller. Their functionality seem to be very much same as that of the nunchuck of Wii, offering an analogue controller, 2 analogue trigger keys, a D Pad, X and O buttons and a PS button too. Again, if the navigation controller doesn’t seem like a fair buy, a conventional DualShock 3 controller (wireless) would also suffice. Note that, if you are planning to use Navigation Controllers together with the Move controllers, you might want to be aware of the fact that only 2 controller sets get going at a time with the navigation controller occupying a slot all for itself. Hence, while with the Wiimote and nunchuk, 4 of you can play, Move will allow just 2 of you.

Gaming:

While playing a few games with the Move, that were compatible with the controller, we felt a bit limited by the way it was programmed. Unfortunately, this is the biggest quibbles of Wii and also the mammoth problem with the games that use motion sensing in a way that should have actually been done with buttons. That said, the good news is, we are very impressed with the Move, however, it still requires careful implementation. Its ball provides you with the type of accuracy that goes beyond what the Wiimote is actually capable off. While it is not as accurate as a mouse, it is accurate enough that it is capable of some real strategy games. The ball is used as the pointer, but often has a very narrow field when compared to the Wii. Though this is not so bad, it makes navigation through menus quite hard than what you are used to. We should also mention here that it is just perfect at larger distances than what the wiimote can do.

The distance issue:

If you are a Wii user, you will be aware that if you are a Wii user, you will be able to walk into another room and bowl if you wished to, but the case here hardly comes close to this. As a matter of fact if the camera’s field of view is left with the active controller, it ceases all functions inclusive of the buttons. While a major criticism of the Kinect is the lack of space to use it, this kind of goes true with the Move’s controller as well. For instance, the ‘Sports Champions’ requires you to stand 2.5 meter or 8 ft away from the TV and yet you are expected to step back and swing up arms in a full circle. While this will not be an issue on the first case, but in most cases it means that people will have to shift the lounge furniture back by a few feet every time we wished to play, and there is no doubt in the fact that you have to get rid of the hefty coffee table. It is true that you will always have to make some room when playing any game for that matter, but it is nothing like this. And remember, we are talking about the lounges here and these kind of restrictions will simply rule out playing Sports Champions in bedrooms.

The ball and camera restriction:

You might be wondering, why should this hassle with Move while it worked for Wii, a far more energetic and active gaming that could easily be played in the comforts of your recliner or just standing without much of this fuss. Well, it is actually the constraint of the ball and camera system. You should be able to swing your arm well out regularly, and still be on camera. This restriction also follows through into some of the multiplayer games. You will be just fine once you have managed to make enough space if only two of you are playing. Try playing a four-player game like Volleyball where it requires all of you to be on camera together, it proves to be an absolute massacre.

You will be disappointed to know that it is not just Sport Champions that causes the distance issue, because, with the ‘Start the Party!’ game, you will find yourself far too back. This game makes use of the camera and Move controller for amplified reality WarioWare kind of party games, so each player has to be quite close to the camera to be the right size on the display. This discrepancy in distance is another give up for the accuracy on offer, but it is simply a trouble that you will not have to deal with the Wii.

Performance:

The biggest plus of the Sony Playstation Move Game Controller is its incredible accuracy. The additional reality devices move accurately with the device. Though the controller seems comfy, that is not the case with prolonged sessions or hard swinging games as mentioned already. The glowing ball definitely looks ridiculous, but guess that is price you end up paying for your accuracy.

Warranty:

Sony PlayStation Move comes with one year manufacturer’s warranty for parts and labour.

Conclusion:

The Move has got its own pros and cons over the Wiimote. This orb provides you with a great deal of accuracy than the Wii and this preciseness is more than that of what Wii can do with the help of its motion sensor. However, the orb at times looks like a restriction to the controller too. This restricted confined area of the camera is great for one or a pair, but for group gaming, it is a no no. We hope the game programmers of the future will drop the too much reliance on the camera and a range of motion sensors. On the same note, while the precise detection of the depth of the Move is great for a few games, its inconsistency of distance is not that great.

As a gaming gadget, we can recommend the Move to the owners of the PS3. The motion gaming part of industry is increasing at a rapid pace and we can be certain that it is not going off anytime soon. The only main factor that will be troubling most consumers is its steep cost, considering that it is just an optional accessory for the gadget. However, those who make up their mind to buy it will not be disappointed.

Sony PlayStation Move Game Controller – Technical Specification Table

Surviving many a pitfall to eventually reign the gaming industry, we all wait and watch to see what this company will come up with next. Their video game ventures including hand held consoles of recent times, include the Nintendo DS series and the wireless Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo DS series consist of the original DS, the lighter and sleeker Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi and its successor which we will be discussing, the Nintendo DSi XL. The Nintendo DSi XL boasts bigger screens and better quality. We will tell you whether it is a reasonable upgrade or if you should save up for the upcoming 3DS system instead.

Is it bigger and better? Or is it better since it is bigger? Let us find out.

Design:

Compact:

The one feature that has everyone wanting to get a good look at the DSi XL Portable Gaming Console, is the bigger screen which is said to be the star of the show. Weighing at 314 grams and measuring (H x W x D) 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 millimetres, this console is still extremely comfortable once held and does not feel bulky. It comes in three beautiful shades of blue, maroon, white, black and brown.

Dual Screen Interface:

The dual screen interface of the Nintendo DSi XL is enhanced by its 4.2 inch displays. There was speculation about how this would make the picture more pixillated, and hence making it seem blurred. But once the cartridge was put in and the device turned on, it delivered crisp and clear images. The Nintendo Dsi XL is rumoured to have been aimed at the older generation who find it harder to look at the tiny images and text on screen. Well, the DS Lite and DSi have small screens of 3 inches and 3.25 inches respectively and they have never failed to deliver. But a 4.2 inch screen is a significant difference and it shows when a game is played. The controls are clearer within the game. The dialogue and other text is clearer which relieves eye strain. Older citizens are waiting to lap it up. The top has a glossy finish and the rest has the matte appearance. Also the wider viewing angle seems to make it the social device that Nintendo has described it to be.

Navigation:

The detachable component of the system, i.e. the stylus has a new member in its family. The Nintendo DSi XL comes with two styli. There is a longer stylus compared to the previous consoles which fits into the slot that is located on the device itself. The new member is more like a fountain pen and there is no slot for it. This will help those who find it hard to navigate around certain features of the console without their fingers cramping. We will get to those features later.

Connectivity and Slots:

The DSi family sadly, has done away with the popular GBA slot previously provided on the DS and DS Lite systems. This means you can chuck out all your GBA cards as they will not be compatible with the DSi consoles. This is one of the aspects which continues to disturb us as there is still an impressive library of games for the Gameboy. However, they have introduced the popular SD card slot. You can save your photos on the SD card and transfer it to other consoles or upload it onto the internet.

Speaking of the internet, the DSi family does not come installed with software that allows you to access the internet. You have to set up the connection yourself. It does have wireless communication which is what helps you share photos and use pictochat. With its built in WiFi , you can connect with players across the globe and participate in various multi player games. Maintain a range within 65 feet and you can play with other DSi users within the locality without internet access.

Features:

As you turn on the unit, the Nintendo logo will appear after which you will be directed to the main screen displaying options to change your brightness, settings and alarm at the lower part of the screen and in the middle, there will be options like the Pictochat, DS download play and the game that is inserted. The feature list of the Nintendo DSi XL include the Pictochat, the cameras, the new DSi shop, multi playing and downloads, DSiware, the Flipnote studio.

Camera:

The Nintendo DSi family comes with two built in 0.3 mega pixel cameras with eleven different lenses. One is placed internally facing the user and the other is on the outer part. Everyone who has been cribbing about the resolution of the cameras in the Dsi system will be disappointed as they have not improved in the slightest in the Nintendo DSi XL.

Pictochat:

Pictochat is nothing new to existing users of DS consoles. To those of you who have not heard of it, Pictochat is used to communicate between other DS users. It is pre installed into all the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi consoles. It is quite convenient and user friendly with its easy to use interface. After you select Pictochat, you will be asked to pick a chat room. There are four chat rooms each sharing a capacity of sixteen people. After selecting your chat room, you can communicate via Pictochat. There is a range within which your device has to stay in order to participate. Then you can get started. You can use the stylus provided to write on the screen and then click the send button located on the side to submit. It also has an on screen keyboard. Pictochat supports quite a few other languages like French, German, Spanish and Japanese. The pictochat is pretty cool to use for animations. You can create several frames and scroll by fast and watch them play. Many display their creations online too.

Flipnote Studio:

The Flipnote studio is quite popular with those who like to draw and animate. This is a free download which gives a boost to the Nintendo DSi XL. The Flipnote Studio, as the name suggests, is used to bring to life your creations. Its interface is very simple and users seem to love it. You just draw on the screen and tap to move to the next frame. The previous frame will be displayed lightly for your convenience in a light box and it displays up to 4 frames this way so you know how your animation will end up. You can share your creations by directly sending them to your friends who own a Nintendo Dsi or DSi XL console or you can upload them onto the internet via the Flipnote Hatena website. You will also be able to go through the uploaded content of other users which makes it a fun aspect.

DSiWARE and DSi SHOP:

The DSi shop is where you can redeem your Nintendo points to download DSi software to your console. You will require a wireless broadband internet connection to access this through your DSi XL. You will find its icon on the main menu. The DSiware is exclusive to the DSi and DSi XL systems. Nintendo Dsiware is a service that provides games and applications that can be downloaded for free or a price. They can be bought with Nintendo points which are in turn bought with money. The selected game is downloaded onto the internal drive and the Nintendo points are deducted from your account.

Pre-installed Software:

The Nintendo DSi XL Game Console comes with three preloaded software titles, the Brain Age Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters, and Photoclock. These are perhaps the only few features exclusive to the DSi XL without being shared by the DSi. Let us see if they are worth it.

Brain Age Express: Math

Brain Age Express series are well played games. They are designed to keep your mind mentally fit. This is the first version of the Brain Age Express games. The game has been modified slightly keeping in mind the DSi family. It has been made with the intention of spiffing up those dead brain cells and to keep your mind young even if you are not. Solve problems with your stylus as quickly as you can. Your progress is recorded using the internal clock in the console and new challenges are introduced. With internal storage being available, the game play is fun. You can save your challenges and access them later.

Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters

This is the second instalment in the Brain Age Series.

Arts and Letters has seven different challenges. Read on for a detailed explanation.

Read Aloud: You are given reading material and have to read as quick as you you can for a good speed result.
Word Scramble: Unscramble the given words in the required time period. The words become harder as you go farther into the challenge.
Photo Recall: A photo or a group of photos will be displayed on one screen and you will have to pick out the photo that you last saw on the other screen. Sound easy? Check it out for yourself.
Word Attack: Think you are fast? Then, in this challenge you have to memorize and spell out correctly the word that is flashed quickly on the screen.
Piano Player: On one screen, you will have a piano with labelled keys. On the other screen, red arrows will progress along with the given sheet music and when they hit a particular note,you will have to try and play it on the piano.
Meet and Greet: This is an interesting challenge which requires you to memorize the face of a person along with their details as fast as you can. As you progress, you are quizzed upon them. This gets very tricky with multiple people.
Virus Buster: You will have to eradicate viruses by placing them in multicoloured capsules. Align them in order to form vertical or horizontal rows of four like colours.

Focussed on words and letters, Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters gives you timed, audio and physical challenges which are bound to keep you occupied. So with improved handwriting recognition, unlock new challenges, act out a scene and train the literary part of your brain.

Photoclock:

This is Nintendo’s second clock application. Well, there is not much to say about this software. The name says it all. You can have your desired photo displayed behind the clock and that is about it.

Performance:

Video:

The video performance is definitely its biggest asset. With its bigger screens, it makes you go crazy the minute you open up the case. Even while playing games that are not made for its screens, it pulls off a decent picture and there is not a single noticeable pixel in sight and even if there are, it will not be noticed because you will be busy playing the games in awe. Say goodbye to cramped images and enjoy the larger experience.

Audio:

The audio has also been significantly improved and there is less interference than before. However, the only format supported  for audio files is AAC. It is high time that Nintendo switches over to the widely and more conveniently used mp3 format.

Battery:

The original DS has a battery life of four to ten hours depending on how much you play. The DS Lite gives us five to nineteen hours of play depending on the level of brightness that you choose. It has four levels. The DSi and the DSi XL both have an extra level of brightness. The battery life of the DSi is around three to fourteen hours and the DSi XL gives us about four to seventeen hours of play accordingly. This is a big difference for those avid gamers.

Warranty:

The Nintendo Dsi and Dsi XL systems both come with a warranty period of twelve months from manufacturer defects which are applicable to all the included components, i.e. AC adapter and stylus. The software and accessories come with a warranty period of 90 days. If you wish to extend this period, you can do so by registering your system to your Club Nintendo account. Visiting their official site will give you more information.

Verdict:

So are you confused yet? If you are thinking that the DSi XL Hand Held Console is nothing more than the Nintendo DSi with a bigger body, then you are mostly right. Sure the screens are bigger and there is an extra stylus, but it really does not have much to offer. The audio has improved. If you already own a DS Lite or DSi , then you will fail to understand why you should upgrade to a DSi XL. The DS Lite comes with a GBA slot and is backwards compatible. The DSi, though it has done away with the GBA slot has the DSiWare to make up for it. What does the DSi XL have to say in this regard?Though it will play the DS games, you cannot transfer the games that you have downloaded through DSiWare to your DSi XL console which is a major setback for all those gamers who have a library full of them. This will put down any thought of buying one. Most of those who own a DS Lite did not think it necessary to upgrade even to a DSi as they were quite satisfied just playing games which is what the central idea is.

The introduction of DSiWare provided some incentive for them to buy the DSi but we cannot say the same for the DSi XL. It offers nothing that makes us want to run and get a new console. The screens make us say “wow” but that is just about it. As for their wider viewing angle, it does not really serve any purpose nor is it really necessary. After a while, you begin to notice the low resolution of 256 X 192 pixels per screen. The extra juice provided by the battery powers up those huge screens and still gives you good playtime though. The release of the DSi XL has also been badly timed with another upgrade soon to be available. The Nintendo 3DS is to be released. It boasts backward compatibility with all the existing DS titles till date and 3D experience. The pre installed software though popular is not enough to justify the price tag. We recommend the DSi XL to those who do not own a Nintendo DS Lite or Nintendo Dsi console and are waiting to game. Those who like to buy the latest gadgets or have slightly big hands too can go ahead. But if you wait a little longer, the Nintendo 3DS might be a more reasonable upgrade for the extra dough that you have worked hard to save up.

Nintendo Dsi XL  Console – Technical Specification Table

Design:

The X Factor is here!

From quite a time, we were dreaming of a gaming console that would differ from the norms and that which has a special characteristic that makes it a very unique console.  Well, we were very happy to see the almost dream-come-true console. Everything we dreamt of a handheld console was there in this Nintendo Game Boy Micro Console,  except for the fact that the edges are not that curvy in reality. It is sleek, stylish, portable and most importantly, landscape oriented. This is more important because landscape oriented devices always get the better off their portrait oriented counterparts when it comes to gaming. Imagine playing games on the latter, is it not kind of disquieting? Wowing at the design for some unknown feeling it creates when you take in your hands, we were still slightly disappointed at the same time, to see a smaller screen.

But, nonetheless, as we must accept the reality at the end of the day, we feel that you have got an almost perfectly designed console. It looks pretty stylish and is also not too big (4.0 x o.7 x 2.0 inches), hence its design supports portability. Let us now look further to find more details regarding its design. As usual, the screen takes the centre position and the controls lay surrounding it. On the left, we have the directional keypad, just like in most of the handheld gaming consoles. On the right are the A and B buttons, whose importance will be explained by any exuberant young player, even before you complete your question. Below the screen are the Select and the Start buttons. Another important feature here is that the faceplates of the device are removable and customisable and hence are praised by people because, they allow for personalization. Now, this means that regarding the buttons and the display, everything seems simple, normal and quite common. But still, the way they are arranged and put up makes it impressive for even a very stubborn pessimist.

Display:

The 2.0 inch TFT active matrix colour LCD is used in Game Boy Micro for display. It can produce as many as 32000 colours in all. This makes it ideal for almost all the latest games in the market. The games look all the more realistic when they are played. Since the device is landscape oriented and then the screen takes the centre position, the console is pretty much ideal for playing. You will feel prosperous this way. Now, even though the screen is slightly smaller than usual, we believe that Nintendo has given importance to the buttons this time around. User interface is also very essential and hence the screen is shrunk to just 2.0 inches. But even then, an average gamer would have expected a slightly bigger screen so that he could have had a good visual spectacle. But nonetheless, it is really a commendable effort put in by Nintendo in trying to adjust the available space and also in providing a very good and solid display mechanism. This very backlit screen of the Game Boy Micro is commended well and also received positive critiques for being superior to that of the original Game Boy Advance SP, which is a later model from Nintendo, and it also has been praised for its good visibility. The screen is very uniformly lit, and also the brightness is made adjustable due to the presence of a fine dot pitch. This smaller dot pitch is also accounted for the improvement of the sharpness of the Game Boy Micro’s display.

Features:

Processor: It is Really Sharp!

Now the Game Boy Micro handheld gaming console has got an impressive new processor designed by Sharp, which means that the device runs at lightning quick pace. In general, the Game Boy players do not come with a very fast processor because most of the games they feature require modest graphics and processing system. But this time around, the tables have turned and the 32-bit 16.8 MHz ARM processor (ARM7TDMI) is a really fast processor that makes the Game Boy Micro a very good player and manager of games, and more importantly, it also avoids the little problems, like hanging or delay, that frustrate you. You don’t want your Game Boy to cause problems while you are amidst a game. Do you?

Memory:

With a built in 32Kb cache memory and 256KB WRAM, you can expect the device to perform really quick.  The WRAM is a very fast version of RAM and it helps in the dynamic storage of data in the form of bits. This dynamic storage is important in the field if gaming and the magnitude 256KB simply means that the device is really advanced in terms of technology.

Joystick:

This is the only thing you will find to the left of the screen. The four way directional joystick is of great importance. It has two functions. One is helping you regarding the directions inside the game as you can manipulate your subjects in the game with the help of the joystick only. Another thing is that it helps you navigate through the menu and the other different items in it. But, one disappointing thing is that this joystick is only four way but not five way when it comes to directions. Most of the contemporary joysticks are five way directional, which means that they have an additional feature, which makes it easy for you to select the options by just the press of the centre button. But here, you need to use other button for the purpose of selection. Although this may sound like it is a petty issue, some pro gamers are very particular about this.

Headphones:

In order to make things more personal here, the Game Boy Micro comes with a headphone jack, which is often not seen in many other Game Boys. The Headphone jack is at the bottom of the device and any 3.5 mm headphones can be connected to it comfortably. Most of the times, if not every time, this option gives you better and more personal gaming experience and also it takes you to your own world of gaming without having to disturb your neighbours.

Games:

There are no specific games provided along with the Game Boy Micro, either built in or separately since the device is not provided with sufficient in built memory. This version of the Game Boy only supports the cartridge type inputs for gaming. There are lots of and also a great variety of games available in the market in the form of these cartridges. You should buy them separately as there is none given to you along with the Game Boy.

Customisation: Dress Your Game Boy

The Nintendo Game Boy Micro comes with a variety of faceplates that are available in the form of different designs and colours. These faceplates can be changed at any time by the user themselves in no time. The designs, silver with black, Ammonite, Ladybug, and black with silver, Flame and Camouflage faceplates are available in the market and they are also pretty colourful. The 20th anniversary edition faceplate was also released of late. These colours make your player a very interesting one and the designs are a feast to the eyes. Hence, the customisation option really has helped in boosting the sales of this player.

Performance:

Since this is a very new player and also since it is a revitalised version of the previous hit model from Nintendo, it is natural for anyone to expect that the Nintendo Game Boy Micro performs really well. Let us look at the performance details of this player so as to find out whether or not the beauty is on the inside as well.

Sound:

For you to experience the best of gaming you also need to have a solid audio mechanism on your Game Boy and that is what you can see on the Game Boy Micro. The speakers are revamped and redesigned so that the new ones are able to give out excellent sounds, which is, at the end of the day, all you need when you are on top of your gaming. On the device, these speakers are put in a very unique and new position which helps in giving some really good sounds. But, in order to experience or test the optimum sound experience, you need to connect your headphones. When we did that, we have found that the sounds were really good and they were nicely complementing the games and hence making the games more lively and energetic. We also recommend you to purchase good quality headphones so that you will have a great feel while playing.

Video:

As we have already seen, the screen is a great one and its display is very lucid and good. This is what any pro gamer would dream of. Some of the LCDs in the market are not sufficiently good and they create a few problems while playing and this really annoys any loyal gamer. The re-modeled screen also has a better dot pitch and hence better pixilation. This means that the subjects inside the game are clearly visible and are also distinct. This is really vital for any Game Boy player. And since the processor is also a pretty good one, you will be quite happy to see that there are no errors while playing. Hence, it can be said that the video performance is excellent from the Game Boy Micro.

Graphics:

Considering the array of graphically appealing games that are coming out of late into the market, it is quite necessary for your Game Boy to have a very solid graphics acceleration system. Fortunately, The Nintendo Game Boy Micro has got one such system and this makes your games run at a very good pace. Most if the games you play today need some graphics acceleration and the graphics chip of the Game Boy Micro has enough power to drive even the highest end games in the market.

Battery:

As usual, there is a 460 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery inside the device. This is one of the better batteries you will find in the market. It takes just about 2.5 hours for complete charging and then the battery life is about 10 hours on an average. An external power adapter is also provided for the charging purpose.

Warranty:

The Nintendo Game Boy Micro is warranted against damage for a period of one year from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

As we have come to the end of our journey, we can conclude that the Game Boy Micro is one of the best handheld game consoles available in the market. And it also focuses only on gaming and is so far successful in doing so. Its design is really captivating and its features are somewhat less in number but still, they proved their mettle in the end. The performance aspects also reached the expectations. Most importantly, the device is not highly priced and hence any enthusiastic gamer can afford to buy this one. It is really a commendable effort put in by Nintendo in providing a very good Game Boy for a moderate cost.

Check other Game Consoles from Nintendo and read Microsoft Game Consoles Reviews in this website.

Nintendo Game Boy Micro – Product Specification Details