Shop til you drop

IN the last two weeks I’ve managed to perfect a new dance move on the streets of Plymouth.
It’s the sort of move which sees you walk a few steps forward, then a few steps back, side-to-side and then repeat (in no particular order).
And bizarrely you don’t need music.
All you need are a handful of young families – complete with obscenely huge prams, a few doddling old dears, a couple of charity workers or survey gatherers, oh and large ‘sale’ signs.You see I popped into the city centre on Boxing Day, and in the days after, and it was hell.
Pure hell.
After perfecting my new ‘move’, I escaped the madness, went home and switched on my shiny new iMac (yes my G5 Powermac which featured in my previous blog update died).
And from now on every year I will be sales shopping online.
It’s a). much easier; b). much quicker; and c). much less stressful.
No queues, no weirdos and probably cheaper.Anyone who’s got a few quid left over should visit websites like Amazon.co.uk or eBay.co.uk for general bits and bobs.
For CDs and DVDs you’d be hard-pressed to find better deals than on cdwow.co.uk or play.com.
For clothes try M&S’ website, or even Debenhams which launched its sales stock before they did so in store.Moneysavingexpert.com is also worth a look for a wide view of how to save money on high street prices.
If you know specifically what you’re after then try Kelkoo.co.uk to compare prices on a variety of other websites.
Also try googling ‘January sales UK’.


Here are the latest games reviews:

Title: Grand Theft Auto 3: 10th Anniversary Edition
Platform: iPad
Genre: Action
Price: £2.99
Hit count: 92%

Cranking up this app will bring mixed emotions.
Firstly a combination of nostalgia and sheer excitement at being able to once again play through one of the best sandbox games ever.
Secondly, amazement at how far the GTA series has developed in terms of graphical and gameplay achievements in just a few years (around seven since GTA 4).
Nonetheless, this port to the iPad plays out incredibly well, despite replacing the multi-button control method of the old PS2 pad with a streamlined touchscreen.
Every car-jack, cop chase and explosive mission plays out perfectly, with the story of Liberty City just as engaging as it was a decade ago.
Some occasional camera quirks during combat may frustrate, but that’s a small price to pay for a portable piece of gaming history.
GTA V may only be a few months away, and if it can stand the test of time 10 years down the line like this, we’ll have yet another Rockstar classic on our hands.

Title: Infinity Blade II
Platform: iPad
Genre: Action/Adventure
Price: £4.99
Hit count: 91%

Infinity Blade has held ultimate bragging rights in the iOS gaming world for a long time, but now its big brother has finally entered the fray.
Delivering another uber-polished 3D adventure, the sequel further refines the combat experience with three new styles of combat allowing you to choose from multiple classes of weapons, armour and spells.
Removing the ability to dodge your way through battles, too, proves to be a revelation as you progress through the stunningly robust and dynamic 3D world and delve deeper into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans.
Combat feels more varied, tactically more challenging, with your enemies just as breathtaking as those that have been conquered before.
This was undoubtedly one of the best (and last) app releases for your iPad in 2011 and, needless to say, it’s an essential purchase.

Title: Bike Baron
Platform: iPad
Genre: Action
Price: 69p
Hit count: 87%

When you spot that the only controls in Bike Baron are to lean left and right and hit stop and go on the throttle, you may get the impression that this is simplistic, pretty, yet disposable gaming.
Don’t be fooled – once you’ve tackled the first couple of learner levels, you’ll realise that this 3D side-scrolling stunt-biking showcase requires precision, patience and some serious dedication to complete the dozens of levels on offer.
Stars are awarded for finishing courses, beating target times and collecting all coins available, but you’ll also find your own amusement in trying to dish out the most destructive ending to your biker by falling on explosive oil drums or simply flying over your handlebars when a back-flip goes pear-shaped.
Ridiculously good rag-doll physics make every tumble a joy to behold, but behind the frivolous fun, there’s a serious two-wheeled challenge for you to conquer here.

Title: W.E.L.D.E.R
Platform: iPad
Genre: Word puzzle
Price: £1.49
Hit count: 89%

No, this isn’t a game that’ll teach you how to carry out minor metal repairs around the home.
But it will restore your vocabulary to tip-top condition by fusing traditional Scrabble-board gameplay with some interesting tile-shifting twists.
In its fullest form, W.E.L.D.E.R. (or Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment) is a fantastic puzzle game that affords you the time to consider each move strategically, as tile swaps, reverses, grouping and jumps slip away from you all too quickly as you try to hit the word target on each level.
Only by cleverly maximising the use of multiplier tiles and other powered up letters will you make serious progress in the game, and it’s a fantastic example of how a bit of love and attention to an existing genre can create something fresh and unique for everyone to enjoy.

Is Apple's fruit an iCon?

SO the iPad has been named as one of the coolest gadgets of 2010.

Rightly so I feel. I’ve not actually held one, or even seen one in the flesh (or metallic casing), but it does look pretty sexy in every picture I’ve seen.

More to the point, a world-wide search has begun to find its missing USB port and SD card slot.

I find this issue winds me up even more than the ridiculous price bracket it has here in the UK.

NOTE: £429 for the cheapest (16GB) wifi version and £529 for the cheapest (16GB) 3G version.

Lord Jobs says the iPad bridges the gap between the iPod and a laptop.

Maybe the price yes, but not in its user-friendly sense.

I mean, a glorified mass storage device WITHOUT USB port? What is the point in that?

Of course the answer is simple. Apple want people to download movies and games etc through iTunes.

I’d rather transfer movies and games etc from my home mac onto it.

And there’s the reason. They want us to spend more money on filling it full of software.

While writing this I’m now told you can actually buy an ‘adapter’ for the iPad to allow you to connect other mass storage devices in order to transfer data.

I mean come on. The question has to be: a). is the iPad what the world has been waiting for? A technological breakthrough equivalent of what toasters did to bread?

Or b). Is the iPad a technological breakthrough designed to milk every last penny out of its buyers.

I’m not a betting man but I’d go for the latter.

I’m also sure the world will prove me wrong and each and every one of us will have at least one in our household in the future.

But for now I’m reserving judgement.

Anyway, it’s been a bit of a blinding fortnight for games releases.

Half the reason for my relative no-show on here has been down to those nice people at Rockstar for giving us Red Dead Redemption.

Here are the reviews:



Title: Red Dead Redemption

Platform: PS3

Genre: Action

Price: £49.99

Hit count: 5/5

Rockstar Games releases don’t come along that often, but when they do, they’ve almost always been worth the wait, and invariably justify every last bit of hype that surrounds them. Well, here we go again, as Red Dead Redemption comes swaggering into town, jingling its polished spurs with every step and gunning down pretty much every sandbox action adventure opposition that dares to stand up to it. A huge open-world environment set in the final years of the Wild West is the backdrop to the story of former outlaw John Martson’s adventure across the American frontier. So much to pack in to so few words, but let’s just say it’s an essential purchase – huge rolling regions of towns and outposts, cracking characterisations, a morality system based on your own gaming actions and Western-themed mini games are all in the mix. And, of course, you can ride horses. Yee-hah, just get a rootin’ tootin’ move on and buy it!




Title: Split/Second

Platform: Xbox 360

Genre: Racing

Price: £49.99

Hit count: 4/5
The Burnout series has turned lavish, explosive arcade racers into a fine art, and there’s no doubt that Split/Second is aiming squarely at a similar gaming market. The intricacies of suspension, engine tuning and other simulation options are forgone for the fabulous feeling you get from blowing up a trackside building to wipe out the two cars in front of you. Yes, your drifting around corners and jumping and slipstreaming all add up to god-like power-plays that can transform a track – and a race running order – in seconds. And that’s your key skill as you progress through 12 extreme racing episodes, unlocking more motors from the credits you earn and more lethal races for you to enter. It’s big, ballsy racing from the outset, with sharp reflexes and a power-play sense of timing required to succeed. Burnout may have blazed the trail, but Split/Second is certainly following up with a fiery flourish.



Title: Alan Wake
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99

Hit count: 4/5

Alan Wake will have been a game on the radar of action thriller fans for some time, and after what seems like an eternity (over five years), you can finally get your hands on it. Alan Wake is a famous novelist with a serious case of writer’s block, which he seeks to cure by upping sticks from New York and settling down in the village of Bright Falls. However, when night falls in his new place of residence, the shadows that have haunted the area for decades rear their head again, sending Wake on a superb psychological adventure, delivered masterfully in TV-style episodes. The pacing is impeccable, with Alan’s atmospheric narrative musings building the tension and moving the story on seamlessly. It’s darn creepy too, with numerous freaky beasts lurking in the shadows to scare your socks off. If story-driven chillers float your boat, a trip to Bright Falls will be one visit you never forget...



Title: Skate 3

Platform: PS3

Genre: Skateboarding

Price: £49.99

Hit count: 4/5
EA has taken the skate-gaming world by storm with its Skate series, riding toe-to-toe with anything that Tony Hawk can turn out, and producing what is arguably a more authentic analogue experience than its competitors. And for the third instalment we’re moving out of San Vanelona to an all new urban playground called Port Carverton. And that’s not all that’s new – a career mode brimming with devilish skate challenges awaits all newcomers, as you set about building a your own board brand. And you can get a little help from your friends here, too. Co-operative gaming allows you to tackle challenges together, get yourselves photographed in action in the same shot, and a host of teammate-based benefits. The online aspects of Skate 3 are what makes it really stand out from the crowd, but even if you’re more of a solo skater, there’s more than enough in this new city to keep you kick-flipping into the early hours.

Fiction is actually stranger than truth

AS a child of the 20th century I can’t help but believe in fiction over truth at times.
With the birth of the internet and like-minded technology, it’s easy to get hooked on a futuristic idea — no matter how silly the idea might have seemed just a few years ago.
The film Minority Report for instance is a prime example.
Remember the grab screen technology Tom Cruise uses throughout the film?Well, if you google ‘Microsoft Surface’ you’ll see that the technology is just around the corner.
Also remember that scene when Tom Cruise is chased through a cyber city and tracked down by the authorities when digital newspapers begin automatically updating with ‘breaking news’ over his escape really set my mind racing.
Well again, it isn’t too far from the truth.
While we are still a way away from an actual digital handheld newspaper, one could argue that we are already seeing substantial steps towards just that with the launch of Apple’s iPad.
While I — like many others in the UK — am still waiting to get my hands on one, I’m told that you can read books on it turning pages much the same as you would normally, watch movies on a huge screen and do just about anything else you can do on an iPhone.
Another film which has dared to predict the future? How about Star Trek?
Whenever any of the cast had a problem, they grabbed their communicators.
Those communicators could be likened to mobile phones.And we now have robots (albeit mainly in Japan) which have ‘feelings’ much like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit.
The latest film to look into the distant future is Avatar with a human ability to take on the body of another being.
While this — together with Bruce Willis’ recent film Surrogates — may well be a step too far to believe right now, who’s to say it won’t be believable in the future?


Here are the latest releases and charts:

Title: Lost Planet 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5

Capcom did a fantastic job with the original Lost Planet, creating an action shooter that gave gamers some of the best graphics and gameplay around alongside a world that they desperately wanted to return to.
Cue Lost Planet 2, which picks up 10 years since the events of the original, to reveal the lush tropical jungles and other new environments that have appeared since the big thaw began.
The story has also advanced beyond the original hero Wayne Holden, and you can now follow the exploits of your own customised snow pirates on your quest to seize control of the planet.
The single-player campaign offers an impressive gaming experience, which is actually bettered by a cracking co-operative offering.
However, you’ll need to look beyond some slightly frustrating control issues and seriously challenging stages to fully appreciate Capcom’s second stab at the series, but overall it’s a welcome return to EDN III.


Title: Iron Man 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 2/5

Robert Downey Jr is currently wowing filmgoers with his portrayal of Tony Stark, highlighting Iron Man 2 as one of the biggest Marvel successes in recent years – at the cinema, that is.
The game of the first film proved a flop, doing little to buck the trend that movie tie-ins invariably soon end up in the bargain bin, and you’d be a brave gamer to suggest that Iron Man 2 will go anywhere else this summer.
Even though you’re offered the choice of Iron Man or War Machine in this game, you’re still left with the same sluggish action smash, which is too repetitive to give you any chance to hone your combat skills.
It all feels a little dated, if not rushed, and though the big explosions and odd sojourn in the sky may bring snippets of gaming pleasure, Iron Man 2 falls way short of an Oscar-winning performance.


Title: Wings Of Prey
Platform: PC
Genre: Air combat
Price: £24.99
Hit count: 4/5

Successful air combat sims have been pretty few and far between in recent years, but Wings Of Prey takes to the skies to provide a polished selection of large-scale aerial combat and ground military operations set during World War Two.
You can take part in some of the most famous battles piloting fighters, battle planes and bombers across a range of thrilling missions set across six theatres of war, from the Battle of Britain and Stalingrad to Berlin and Sicily.
The game gives a good combination of arcade and super-tough simulation modes, and is absolutely stunning in every visual aspect, particularly the detail of the terrain that you’ll cruise over.
The action is intense, whatever mission you’re taking on. It’s a shame that the multiplayer mode doesn’t quite hit such dizzy heights: If it had, Wings Of Prey would have been loop the looping towards a five-star performance.


Title: Tap Tap Revenge 3
Platform: iPhone / iPod Touch
Genre: Music
Price: Free
Hit count: 4/5

The original Tap Tap Revenge must have been one of the first apps to grace the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The game brought a Guitar Hero style of musical gameplay to your mobile, as you tapped your finger across one of three different note lines in time with the beat to rack up a cracking score and progress through the song.
Things have moved on somewhat now in the franchise, with an online track store now accessed through the game, allowing you to tap along to your favourite tunes from the likes of Rhianna and Coldplay.
Music videos, special effects, countless achievements to unlock and a super-slick interface make this a hardcore music game for handheld rock-stars – and it’s free!
Just save your pennies for the best tracks a little later down the line...

GAME CHART: ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE

1. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
2. Super Street Fighter IV
3. Just Dance
4. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
5. Grand Theft Auto – Episodes From Liberty City
6. Wii Fit Plus
7. Wii Sports Resort
8. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
9. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
10. God Of War Collection

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd