Entertainment in the palm of your hand

Do you remember the days when Bandai® & Tomy® allowed you to play such games as Donkey Kong & Pac Man on little handheld consoles? They were fun at the time and very addictive but they were somewhat limiting as every time you wanted to play a different game, you would have to pick up another console!

 

The rise of handheld consoles…

The Game Boy, which was released in 1989, really set the craze for portable handheld consoles, allowing for interchangeable games on small cartridges. The console was only capable of displaying 4 colours on the LCD screen but this didn’t stop it becoming the world’s best selling console at the time. The Game Boy was also the platform that saw the popularity of Tetris (invented by the Russian Aleksey Pazhitnov in 1985) skyrocket during the 90s.

Today, handheld games have come a long way and the devices that run them are also capable of doing a whole lot more. If someone told you 20 years ago that you could play a multiplayer game, with a friend using a different console next to you via a wireless connection, would you have believed them? Possibly not but with the release of Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS, wireless connectivity is just one of the many features open to you.

 

Sony® PSP™ Slim and Lite

 

Well, the most obvious thing you can do with your PSP is play games, and boy, the games and the graphics are outstanding for a handheld console! Once you pick one up, we guarantee it will be hours before you can put it back down again. But should you require a bigger gaming experience, you can always challenge your friends to a wireless game, allowing multiple people to battle it out for bragging rights. The PSP Slim and Light also sports a video out port, so you can connect your PSP to the TV if you want to show the rest of the family what you’re up to!

 

Apart from games, the PSP is also capable of displaying pictures, playing MP3s and displaying movies. Games and movies for the PSP are distributed on UMD discs, which is a new concept in media design. The discs are only 2.5” wide and are encapsulated in a protective case.

 

The PSP also has a slot for a Memory Stick Duo card, where you can store any types of media downloaded straight from your PC. The only stumbling block you may come across when transferring media to your memory stick, is with your own movie files. They need to be encoded into a specific format and given a name that the PSP will understand. There is some free software available that will help you do this called PSP Video 9, which can be found here.

 

If you have a wireless network in your home then your PSP can be configured to connect to it. The PSP has its very own web browser and the ability to subscribe to RSS news feeds. An advantage of having a wireless network allows you to download a lot easier and to ensure that your PSP is constantly up-to-date with the latest updates.

 

Should you get bored at anytime or fancy some new goodies for your PSP, then Sony have a website that allows you to download extra content for games, wallpapers, game demos, music, videos and much more.

 

http://uk.playstation.com/psp/

 

Nintendo DS™ Lite

 

The Nintendo DS™ Lite is a redesigned version of the original Nintendo DS. But, don’t let the word ‘Lite’ put you off, as it still has all the same features as the original but now boasts a brighter screen and a lighter and more stylish design. The battery has also been upgraded to a 1000mAh version, which will give you about 5-8 hours of continual use with all the features turned on and settings turned to maximum. At the last count Nintendo had sold over 50 million of these consoles worldwide!

Unlike the PSP, the Nintendo DS Lite is purely about gaming, game play and introducing a whole new style in which games are played. The console achieves all this with its dual screen displays, allowing games to display important information like maps, inventory & scores on one screen whilst you play the main game on the other. The beauty of the Nintendo DS & DS Lite is that the main screen has touch-screen functionality, making in-game controls and navigation unique and extremely easy. Another great feature of the DS is the ability to use the inbuilt microphone in some games to control in-game events or chat to other players over a WiFi connection.

As well as playing games on the console over WiFi, Nintendo has included an application called PictoChat that allows up to 15 people communicate with each other. This is done via the PicoChat interface by sending messages or by drawing pictures. If you’re quite imaginative you could even make up your own versions of ‘Noughts & Crosses’, ‘Connect 4’ and the very descriptive ‘Dots & Boxes’ game. If you’re not sure what ‘Dots & Boxes’ is, then click on it above to see Wikipedia’s description of it.

When using the WiFi connection, all users will need to be within 10 – 30 meters of each other to establish a reliable connection. This range may differ depending on obstacles in the house like walls and ceilings and the location of the people in your home.

 

Well, as you have read already, the Nintendo DS Lite could be an ideal gift to keep the kids quiet for a considerable amount of time!

---

Pyramat S2500W wireless sound rocker gaming chair

Sitting on the floor playing your games console could now be a thing of the past with the Pyramat wireless sound rocker gaming chair. Possibly the longest name for a product we’ve ever seen, but once you’ve unpacked it, the only word that springs to mind is opulence!

Apart from sitting in absolute comfort with the breathable poly-stretch fabric, you can also take advantage of the 3” full range wireless speakers by using the 8 channel wireless transmitter that comes with the chair. With the wireless sounds and the bass being pumped out of the 5” Powersub™ Subwoofer, you can feel everything from screeching wheels to footsteps and explosions. If the music should get too loud for those around you then you either plug some headphones into the chair or ask them to leave the room for a while. If you have the luxury of a wireless gamepad as well, then you’re completely free of wires (apart from the power cable) and you can really immerse yourself in the action!

As you would expect, all the controls for the chair are conveniently placed on the right hand side, allowing you to adjust the volume, base and if necessary, plug the wires in from your console. As well as plugging your Xbox 360 into the chair, it is compatible with the, PS2, PS3, XBox, Wii, Game Cube, Nintendo DS, PSP, iPod, TV, VCR, DVD and MP3 players. The mesh pocket in the side is the perfect place to store any MP3 players or portable consoles.

 

And finally, when you’ve finished with the chair it folds easily in half and there is also a carry handle for you to move it. Although once you’ve used the chair, we don’t anticipate you’ll be packing it away anytime soon!

 

Click here to buy it from PC World.

 

---

Action Replay DS

The Action Replay for the Nintendo DS is the ultimate accessory for gamers. It gives you every cheat available for nearly every game. But why cheat?

Well you probably won’t want to do it at first, but if you are stuck on a particular level of a game and you need help, the Action Replay will come to your rescue. Alternatively, you may have finished the game already and you want to explore other areas without playing the whole game again so you would use the Action Replay to quickly get you where you want to be.

 

It is simple to use, requiring only that you have it inserted when you turn on your Nintendo DS. You then remove the Action Replay and plug in your favourite game. It will automatically recognise the Action Replay software and you then choose which cheat you want to enable. For new games, you can update it via a PC with Internet access so you can retrieve the latest codes.  

 

If the idea of “cheating” pushes your moral or ethical boundaries, just think of it like this: You paid for 100% of the game and the Action Replay is helping you to get the most out of it. Now your conscious is clear, there is no reason not to get one!

 

---

Sony® Go!Cam

Go!Cam might sound a bit like a band from the 80’s but it is actually a little attachment for your PSP.

 

As you can probably guess, it’s a camera. A 1.3 megapixel camera which is probably not as good as the one your phone, but you can’t plug your phone into the PSP. Anyway, the Go!Cam takes still pictures, video records at 480 x 272 and it also records sound. Sony say that if you use a 4GB Memory Stick Duo, you can record about 2 hours of video, which should be enough for most people. The Go!Cam attachment fits nicely into the top of the PSP and gives you a whole 180 degrees of movement . You can even turn the camera to record yourself.

 

One of the main ideas behind the Go!Cam was to use it with Go!Messenger, the free Instant Messenger program released for the PSP by Sony this year. It works in the same way as other IM programs but you can use it on the move as long as you can connect to the Internet. If your buddies aren’t online though, you can always leave a voice or video message for them.

 

Click here to buy it from PC World.

 

---

Guitar Hero: On Tour

If you’ve played Guitar Hero on a console like a Wii or an Xbox 360, then you’ll know just how addictive it can be. You don’t need any previous experience in playing a guitar, just some impressive reactions and quick fingers!

 

Guitar Hero: On Tour (released in July 2008) brings all the fun of playing the game on a large console, straight into the palm of your hand, no matter where you are. And, Instead of having to carry a full size guitar with you, the Nintendo DS has a specially designed ‘Guitar Grip’ which features 4 fret buttons and a strap to hold it with. The guitar grip fits nicely into the Game Boy Advance (GBA) slot on the console, allowing one hand to press the fret buttons whilst you strum the stylus with the other on the touch screen. Just in case you’re wondering, the guitar grip is compatible with both the Nintendo DS and DS Lite.

 

As your strumming your way through each of the songs, the notes will appear on the left hand screen advising which fret buttons to press next. Play this game on easy and you’ll probably sail through it, but crank it up to hard and you could be in for more than you bargained for. The harder the game, the faster the notes come down and the sequences become much harder too. If you’re lucky enough to get enough correct notes to enable star power, then this can be enabled by shouting into the microphone. Just be careful where you choose to play as you may get a few funny looks on the bus to work in the morning!

 

In total there are 26 songs to choose from, which should keep you amused for a while. There is also the option for multiplayer games allowing you to battle against a friend or join a cooperative game and take control of the lead, rhythm or bass guitar, depending on the song you choose. All in all, this is a fun addition to your Nintendo DS’s games library.