January 2009 Archives

My New Year's Resolution was to get a Porsche 911 this year. We are still in January but I have managed it!

It looks beautiful, the paintwork shimmers, the body is sleek and sexy - the car of my dreams.

One slight problem, it's only the size of a cigarette box!

I have been road-testing the latest boy's toy this week in the form of a superb wireless Porsche 911 complete with flashing headlights and a boot that opens up to put the batteries in!

Ok it isn't the real thing but it is very snazzy indeed the Motormouse is the latest executive gadget to hit the market, and is a must-have for any car enthusiast.

Motormouse is a classic sports car wireless mouse with exquisite detail including the smallest 2.4G wireless receiver in the world and three different sensitivity settings.

With a high quality paint finish chrome alloy wheels and real rubber tyres, Motormouse offers a smooth ride and even comes with its own super-glide mouse mat and soft carrying pouch.

I am having to hide this from my colleagues at the moment!

BOLT!, the new canine adventure game inspired by the hotly anticipated family film which launches in February 2009 tells the story of a canine TV star that is accidentally shipped from the TV set in Hollywood to New York City, where he begins a cross country adventure home and makes the surprising discovery that the super powers he had in the TV show do not work in the real world!

We have got our hands on a sneak preview copy of the game on the Nintendo DS - we handed it over to Katie Smith aged 11 who had this to say.

I quite rightly said that my game of the year last year was Fallout 3.... I stand by it.

In fact the more I play this game the more I am totally mesmerised by it. This is gaming at it's best and to me I cannot remember a better game in this genre.

There's certainly no shortage of games that simulate taking care of
animals, looking after babies or anything else that takes your fancy.

Equestrian Training is one those that tackles the normally labour-intensive
job of keeping a horse. The three different game modes let you groom your
horse or try your luck at either the selection of obstacle courses or the
endurance events.

Dreamworks Animation's new Madagascar movie was always going to be a big hit with the kids due to the cutesy characters and cracking animation. It's almost inevitable these days that any big-budget film release get a video game release too. These can vary from turgid to triumphant - 10-year-old Katie Smith told us which category this game fell into.

"You don't have to have watched the film to enjoy this game, it's great fun from start to finish and is has a lot in it that the film doesn't.

"The characters are all really bright and colourful and it actually looks just like it does at the cinema. The graphics are so good you feel like you are in the middle of the film.

"You can choose the main characters from the film such as Alex, Gloria, Marty, Melman, the penguins and a new character called Moto Moto.

"The aim of the game is to work your way through the levels, there are 12 of them and every one is bursting with action and adventure.

"It's not a hard game too play but it is never too easy that you get bored, it's very good fun to play and I laughed a lot at the crazy characters.

"I like how Alex can jump and scare away enemies. Gloria can swim under water and can jump on enemies and she uses it to close the suitcases at the beginning of the game. Melman can head-butt enemies and he can fly and spin. Finally, Marty can run really fast.

"There are 8 multiplayer mini games which are located in the Africa Arcade where you can have up to 4 players!

"This game is full of fun and will make you cry with laughter. It's a great game and will keep you entertained for hours. "

Tinker Bell is a color-rich, deep and detailed game that mirrors the beautiful Fairies world that girls have come to love and cherish. In the game, Tinker Bell invites players to discover her mystical world, embark on adventures, explore their fashion tastes and complete fun quests to prepare for the coming seasons. Fans of the franchise will see even more of Pixie Hollow with the DVD release of the first Disney Fairies film, also entitled "Tinker Bell."

That's the official line on the latest Disney game on the DS - here's what our reviewer Katie aged 10 had to say...

"Tinkerbell has been one of my favourite Disney characters for ages so I was really excited playing this game which bring Pixie Hollow and Tinkerbell to life.

"In the game you have to use your stylus to do all kinds of things like finding and fixing things, doing some magic and designing fairy dresses.

"The Pixie Hollow world is full of other little fairies who you can trade with and have fun with and the game is so good that it even snows in the winter when it should.

"Tinkerbell is just fantastic for Disney fans who are girls like me, it's a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, I can't see any boys playing it though!"

Just complete for seasons in your Nintendo DS game and visit Queen Clarion
for your special item, open the magic book and enter the secret code:

Secret Code: 097745843869 Secret Item: Tinker Bell Blue Party Blouse

Secret Code:657248096680 Secret Item: Tinker Bell Blue Party Skirt

New Tomb Raider and the return of Lara Croft - if that's not reason to get excited then I don't know what is.

This game for me got lost in the festive hullabaloo, it's worth a second mention now the festivities have died down.

Once again you are transported to different continents and cultures each with their own superbly designed environments... although for me Venice will never be topped!

The best way to describe the game is as a 'classic' Tomb Raider game - that at its guts keeps everything that was good about the originals, then it adds a huge next-gen paint job and physical makeover.

The game was always popular for a number of reasons, the perfect gameplay, the brilliant settings and the atmosphere - all of these are here again in abundance and with big shiny bells on.

IF YOU'RE anything like me and you seem to lose most of the fiddly little pieces that come with a board game, then Monopoly on the Wii is perfect for you.

Not only do you not have to worry about keeping all that cash, cards, houses and hotels safe, but you don't have to spend ages afterwards clearing the game away.

There's also the added bonus of not having to keep track of your cash - because this version totals up your spending for you.

My hubby Pete is a devoted fan of the original game so he was the perfect person to seek an opinion from on the computerised version and he loved it. He was particularly impressed with the way the rules are strictly adhered to and the fact you can choose from various boards - including a cheese themed one!

And Mr Monopoly - the little old man with the twirly tash and top hat - pops up to talk you through various procedures, like buying a house or hotel.

The only downside is it's quite a long game especially if you are playing against the computer.

But other than that it's worth having in your Wii collection of games.

ANUJI VARMA

Legendary (Xbox 360)

WHAT'S in a name?

When it comes to computer games you might think not too much. After all some of the best games ever made have rubbish names, consider if you will; Pacman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Resident Evil and Halo.

All leave a little bit to be desired but all were classics of their time which gave untold hours of fun to millions of players. So imagine the snidey comments and play-on-words I could have tried to pull off with the distinctly average game which is Legendary.

But I decided not to.

After all why should I extend myself when the game designers here barely got out of first gear?

Legendary is the story of Charles Deckard, a high society thief who is conned into stealing a mysterious box from a New York museum which turns out to be Pandora's Box.

What follows is a formulaic and repetitive adventure in which you, as Deckard, have to fight through the hordes of supernatural creatures you have released into the world.

Such a mythological setting should surely have allowed the designers to play with the first-person shooter genre but the truth is the only way you'll be impressed is if you're ten and this is your first game on your first games console. Otherwise it's about as Legendary as a wet Wednesday in Tipton.

ADAM ASPINALL

Meet the escape artist who will answer the call of anyone in a life-threatening situation and can get them out in style. Wherever they are, whenever they need him, Mr.ESC has got the nimble body and sharp mind to make the impossible, possible..

When you first start the game, without any practise in saving those in distress, you don't want to ruin Mr.ESC's perfect record. Instead, you have to train in any of the ten stages, mainly because when you begin, training is the only situation you can select.

You are then guided through whichever stage that takes your fancy with the instructions displayed on the top screen as you come across the obstacles. To move Mr.ESC, you use your stylus pen and touch screen, dragging your pen in certain directions to get him over walls, down ropes, up stairs and everywhere else.

There are many situations from flaming hotels to sinking cruise liners that you can move through with the help of your companions and some handy items. But remember, there's no room for standing around with the clock ticking away the time you have to reach the exit.

Exit DS is a puzzler that shows you 100 levels of bite-sized chunks of enjoyment. I liked its steady pace, comic-style images and the challenges that, after a few trials, slotted into place as I progressed to later levels with pride.