Pocket-lint.com : Xbox

NEWS: 10 perfect Christmas presents for...console gamers

Dan Sung — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:33:39 +0000

PS3, Xbox and Wii gaming goodies they won't already have

We've already brought you the perfect gift guide for PC gamers but today is the turn of the console lovers and there are many, many, many of them out there. Quick show of hands? Yep. Many.

Each of the three big players in the field have all sorts of accessories all of their own, but what we've done here is to come up with a list as universal as possible. So, whether it's PS3,Wii or Xbox you'll find 10 excellent presents right here. Enjoy.

Points & Subscriptions

Whether it's for downloadable content, new outfits for your avatar or for movie rentals, everyone needs virtual points for their console of choice, with their upkeep is probably one of the biggest bug bears for gamers. You can never have too many. So whether it's Nintendo Wii Points, PSN Live Cards, Xbox Live Points or even an Xbox Live Gold subscription, you can guarantee that it will be appreciated.

Memory

Slightly less exciting this one but nearly as important is getting more memory space to save all your gaming adventures and whatever content you may have downloaded and can't bring yourself to prune. As far as the Xbox goes, a nice big 120GB expansion pack for ?56 would be very well appreciated and you can get just about any kind of SD card for the Wii that you have the budget for. The PS3 involves a little more effort for your giftee than the other two, but present them a whopping great 2.5-inch 500GB HDD like this one and they'll happily work their way through a simple online tutorial of how to upgrade it themselves.

Controllers

There are tonnes of these things for all three of the consoles and it really depends on what your gamer does and doesn't already have. For the Wii, the obvious new addition is the Wii Motion Plus for finer movement sensitivity or you might find that an extra Wii Remote and/or a Nunchuck could well go down well if they only have one already.

On top of that, the Nintendo console is an absolute magnet for all sorts of weird, wonderful and very game specific devices such as bowling balls, machine guns, babies, jogging devices and of course, the Balance Board.

Comparatively, it's all rather more sedate on the Xbox but a racing wheel for the 360 is available if you think that a more useful wireless controller might be dull. It's a similar situation on the PS3, but if you happen to know what game your loved one is into then something like the Modern Warfare 2 controller or the Street Fighter IV game pad would be a well chosen idea.

Battery Packs & Chargers

There's little more annoying than the batteries on your wireless remotes running out, particularly when in mid-gaming flow. Multiply that by 20 if there are no spares in the house.

With the PS3, you're rather stuck with what's inside, so the best gifts here are the docking stations with models like the Venom Pyramid and more standard look dual charger to choose from. Neither costs much, they get rid of the cables, they look quite nice and they generally encourage you to remember to charge up your kit.

There's some choice with the Nintendo Wii. The Wiimote power packs are, of course, removable and a two pack of spares will only cost around ?14. That's enough for a two-player change mid-contest which buys enough time to remember to put the next lot on charge. For an absolute bargain, you can even go for a four-way charging dock which even comes with four spare battery packs too. All for just over ?20.

For the Xbox 360, there's a few different schools of thought. Each works equally well. The unexciting but practical suggestion is to by a job lot of AA batteries. After that, the choice is between the completely wireless Quick Charge station for around ?17 or the Charge and Play kit for ?13. Both solutions are excellent and either way, make sure to pick up a couple of spare battery packs.

Headsets

Online play is now a massive part of gaming, so a headset to communicate with team mates is a must. The more wireless the better and the one of choice for the PS3 would be the Logitech Vantage Bluetooth headset. It's got a noise-cancelling mic, delivers more than 12 hours of play time and recharges via USB or a wall adaptor. Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and complete cordless freedom up to 30 feet. Yours, or theirs actually, for ?17.99.

For the Wii, it's arguably less important with a much smaller number of games that use the Nintendo headset Wii Speak. Nonetheless, it's a decent addition to the console and only ?14 as well.

Last of all, the Xbox 360. There are plenty available and you don't have to spend the cash if you'd rather go for the standard wireless ones but the best headset in town is the Turtle Beach Ear Force X3. It's got an excellent boom mic system eliminating bleed and background noise, really thumping bass and they look good too. Around ?80, but worth it.

Gaming Chair

It's tempting to go with a suped-up stereo rocker seat for bum-buzzing game involvement but, in actual fact, a lot of these things aren't actually that comfortable which is rather the point in the first place. If you do want to go down this route though, then the Pyramat Game Bag 2.1 is more bottom friendly than most, but instead we'd rather recommend the pure massive cushions of the Sumo Omni bag or the IEX Game Bag. All three around ?100. If you can really afford it though, then it's all about a La-z-boy.

Slanket

Winter's setting in and sitting still under the hypnosis of the console can be a little chilly. The ultimate antidote is the Slanket. The fleecy half dressing gown, half blanket bundle of goodness gives you total body coverage while allowing easy access to your game controller and bio-fuels. There's even a double version out specially for this Christmas but the single will probably do.

Faceplates

No, this is nothing to do with the gamer's face but instead are a bunch of stick on fronts to personalise ones game controllers. You can get them for just about any big name games you could care to think of and the best part is that they don't cost much either. Perhaps not the best choice for the older gamer but they might just rock a kid's world.

Bags

Sometimes, you want to take your machines round to some Luddite's place who doesn't yet have a games console. Now, it's easy enough to stuff your unit into one backpack or another but there's nothing quite like using a bag that's been specially built for the job.

The Enigma Wii bag isn't hugely exciting but it has excellent compartments for all the bits and pieces and is both highly competent in its task and pretty damn cheap at just ?12. Things get a little more stylish for the PS3 with the 4Gamers messenger bag but the Xbox is probably where it's at with slightly more colourful merch such as this one.

Games!

Yes, of course. We wouldn't forget the most important part. Now, make sure you find out what your loved one has already got, but new titles we'd recommend are: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Battlefield 1943, DJ Hero, Left 4 Dead 2, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus, amongst many others.

Or...

...of course, if you feel really flush and actually want to buy someone an entire games console or anything else for that matter, then take a look our Top Products section which will help guide you through to a suitable model and offer you only the best of the ones Pocket-lint's reviewed. And, as always, if you have any red hot tips for gift ideas of your own, then do let us know in the comments below. Good luck.

NEWS: Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - gaming hardware

Dan Sung — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:00 +0000

What gets your vote?

2009 has been something of a glass ceiling for gamers. Yes, the software has continued to come and in more inventive ways than ever, but it's been pretty much the same kinds of consoles available on the shelves. At the same time, at E3 this summer, we saw some of the most ground-breaking and exciting projects for years with motion sensitivity and augmented reality the stars of the show.

Unfortunately, there are no prizes in the Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 Best Gaming Hardware category for anything still caught up in the ether. The fact is what we need is feedback from people and that's exactly what we hope you give us in the comments below. Which do you think are the worthy winners?

The Machines

With the major boxes and handhelds still in their place, 2009 was very much a year of upgrades. The bloated PS3 went slim, the Nintendo DS got itself an "i" and the PSP, controversially, ditched its UMD slot favouring digital downloads with the PSP Go. With rumours already of a PSP-4000, you wonder whether that's a move that Sony regrets. Even the new gaming conundrum that is the iPod touch/iPhone only got a minor perk in power and performance with the new iPhone 3.0 software, and 3rd generation and 3GS releases. But, with apps getting all the more sophisticated, it's no longer a platform we can ignore.

Perhaps more interesting on the hardware side was the advance in PC gaming that's once again on the rise owing to a clutch of hugely popular and painfully addictive titles. Asus came out with two turbocharged super-PCs with the W90 and G60 - both featuring over 1GB of memory on the graphics units alone as well as all the usual trimmings. 2009 was also the year that Dell decided to hand Alienware the complete set of keys to its gaming line and brought out both 17 and 15-inch laptops in the familiar sci-fi-look colour schemes, complete with Alien language and more chip ports than you could shake a stick at. Even budget specialist Medion took the time to get involved with the launch of the Erazer. Naturally, it's a lot cheaper than the others, despite impressive specs, but the catch is that she ain't much of a looker.

Game controllers

With the machine manufacturers taking a breather - relatively speaking - it's given the peripheral gang an excellent chance to both catch up and really push themselves to get inventive. Naturally, those unleashing the limitless potential of the Wii have been having a lot of fun. To add to the already brimming closet of unused plastic you can now bag yourself a Wii Bowling Ball, a slightly disturbing baby doll controller for Baby and Me, a series of machine guns - as well as one that transforms into a sawn-off - and some dumbells. Mercifully, there have been some serious technological developments with the Wii Motion Plus improvement to the original WiiMote, as well as the addition of the Jog for Wii controller for fitness fans everywhere.

Probably the most interesting developments in the field have been in the controllers for the software explosion that is still the Rock Band and Guitar Hero games. You no longer have to put up with having Fisher Price-looking toys in your arms when striking out on a solo. Logitech brought out some enviable wireless instruments plus, of course, Harmonix splashed out on making guitars and even a drum kit that ape those of the Fab Four for the release of The Beatles Rock Band. Just a shame we're still waiting on the availability of the Krator Orpheous WG-07. Beyond that, Activision broke the mould with an entirely new device for DJ Hero, however there are very few opinions on just how well that's worked out as yet.

Of course, for Logitech, there's nothing peripheral about peripherals and it wasn't just music games where the company spent some money. Naturally, there's a load of mice and keyboards with their logo stamped on, but the Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and pedals complete with VR3 racer was quite clearly a drool-fest for petrol-head gamers and the G940 Flight Simulator was equally well-received by the specialists.

Last of all was the highly entertaining Novint Falcon gun controller for the PC, riding on the back of the success of games like Left 4 Dead. Anything with a realistic sense of recoil is always guaranteed to get a smile out of gamers.

Keyboards and Mice

Of course, if it's all about PC gaming for you, then there's no more important tools than your keyboard and mouse and, as ever, 2009 has seen advances here too. Whether or not, they help you get more kills is another thing altogether but at least it might make it a little easier to keep up with the pack. Logtiech has been as busy as ever with the highly inventive G19 keypad as well as the full G110 board and the G500 mouse and headset too. Razor has honed in with the RazorNaga MMO mouse with more buttons and shortcuts than ever right where you need them - all very well if you can remember what they're for - and Sidewinder has stuck with wireless and produced the X8 mouse which the company considers to be the fastest in the world.

Audio

Audio is rarely top of most people's lists for gaming, but add the right piece of kit and it can add a profound finish to your experience. If you need to do things on the quiet Verbatim, Sennheiser and Creative have each come up with excellent value solutions at a respective price increase. Whether you're after a heavy sub, some in-ear isolation or on-ear noise cancelling, they represent something for everyone.

Of course, if you're happy to blast the premises, Creative and Logitech have sculpted and tuned several high quality and good looking options for serious desktop power and Altec Lansing have gone and invented something highly unique for the home in the shape of a stage-monitor type speaker for guitar console games. You can even put your foot on it like you're really there having underwear thrown at you. Hello Cleveland!

Displays

Last of all come the screens on which you get to enjoy your interactive entertainment, and 3D has been the new projector in 2009. Yes, the likes of Epson, Optoma and LG are still supplying some wonderful hardware to make your Street Fights 60 inches tall, but ViewSonic, Nvidia and Vuzix are working on the idea of your avatars actually leaping out and punching you in the face. Admittedly, this works with varying degrees of success, depending upon whether you're going for a goggles or traditional monitor solution but it's certainly a serious edge that can add to the fun.

What do you think?

But these are just some of the fantastic choices our readers have had in 2009. What would you like to see held aloft as the winner of Pocket-lint Best Gaming Hardware 2009? What have we missed out? Which are your unsung heroes and of those we've already mentioned, which would get your vote? Let us know in the comments below and you can help our panel decide which make the shortlist of nominees to be announced here on Pocket-lint on 16 November. We'll have all out coverage of the Vodafone Pocket-lint awards 2009 right here. Don't miss a minute of it.

NEWS: Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2009 - games

Dan Sung — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:30:19 +0000

Who gets your vote?

The Best Game nominees for the Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadgets Awards 2009 are likely to be much more of a fight than last year's cut and dry selection. Without quite such monumental hits as Little Big Planet, GTA IV and Wii Fit, the field is wide open and there are one or two more platforms of maturity to compete with the big three consoles. Who would you choose?

The Blockbusters

Somehow sequels are infinitely more respectable in video games than they are at the movies, which is fortunate for the industry seeing as pretty much all the big hits this year have been just that. The annual releases of FIFA 2010 and PES 2010 probably take the award for the longest running of the lot but with Resident Evil 5 and its slightly awry publicity stunt zombie hunt coming in close behind. Back from the dead came Street Fighter IV with all your favourite faces plus a few new ones just waiting to be pummeled by a few well placed Shoryuken and a cheap 100 hand slap.

COD looks like it might just squeeze in its sixth episode in time for the deadline with Modern Warefare 2 but it looks as if both Left 4 Dead 2 and the hugely anticipated Tony Hawk Ride have left it too late this time. Probably just so they can be hot favourites for our pick of 2010.

The Halo series has managed two releases on its own with its first person shooter and strategy lines - Halo ODST and Halo Wars respectively - and if it's shooters you're after, then there's the recent launch of both Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and the highly regarded Borderlands to consider - the latter of which comes with strong RPG elements and a gaggle of console players currently at its mercy.

The trouble with most big games is we hear about them 12 months before they arrive. By the time they get here, they're almost old news. There was a seemingly endless wait for a certain DC title in the dark shape of Batman: Arkham Asylum, but it didn't disappoint when it turned up at the end of the summer. Definitely another big title worth a shout for the award.

Rock Band & Guitar Hero

We were going to use Rhythm Games as a title but frankly these two warring factions pretty much eclipsed every other party in 2009, so between Harmonix and Acitvision it is. Both companies have world domination on their minds releasing multiple titles for multiple platforms. Probably biggest of all was the moment the Fab Four finally went digital with the release of The Beatles: Rock Band but the EA backed franchise has also remembered to think small with the launch of Rock Band for the iPhone as well.

The big release for Activision was a little harder to spot. You'd have to pick between Guitar Hero 5 and and DJ Hero for the largest splash, but with Band Hero out today, there's room for a third party in the debate. GH too went portable with Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits for the DS and brought another band their own version of the game with Guitar Hero Metallica too. The list for both dynasties is set to continue despite Rock Band's latest confession. We're told there's a version for The Who in the pipeline and we're sure there's plenty of acts to get through before they start scraping the barrel with Guitar Hero Color Me Badd.

Portable

Just when you think portable gaming has exploded, it explodes some more. According to one Steve Jobs, Sony and Nintendo have a new kid to worry about now that the app store is in full swing. Whether you believe it has the same potential as a platform or not is one thing, but what we have seen for sure this year is that there are a lot of big titles focusing on an iPhone release.

Rock Band we already know about but some of the other stand out serious titles for Apple have been the wildly addictive Championship Manager, Command and Conquer Red Alert, for those who just can't put the mouse down, and the return of a classic in digitised form with the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy role play series getting an app of its own.

As for the PSP and DSi, there have been hundreds of titles but the two standouts for our money are GTA Chinatown Wars, which brought the first 18 certificate to Nintendo's handheld, and the enormous cult success that is Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

PC

Some games are still just too hardcore for a simple console interface and this year has seen Will Wright come back one more time with the latest chapter of his god game classic, the Sims 3 - even if it did arrive a little earlier than anticipated. But it wasn't just the one classic for 2009. Another season brings us another Championship Manager, but it was the people's champion who made the biggest splash in this field bringing the beautiful game to the Internet with Football Manager Live, and they weren't the only ones to do so. The seminal first person shooter, Quake also hit the Web and ruined worker efficiency everywhere with Quake Live as well.

Thankfully, we also had a few fresh starts in PC gaming or perhaps more accurately computer gaming in this case. Playfish brought out another of their social networking phenomenon games with Quiztastic - to challenge and annoy your friends with and there was also proof that Flash gaming is as strong as ever with the appearance of the Super Mario 63 web game for all to enjoy. Last of all though was another of the big hitters for 2009 in the small and cute form that is Plants vs Zombies. The game is set to take over the world on just about every level as soon as it hits the iPhone but for now you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own computer.

Wii

At the other end of the scale there's a certain brand of games that are only going to work on the Nintendo Wii. The fitness wave rolls on with Wii Sports Resort and more recently Wii Fit Plus but there's also been the resurrection of Punch Out, this time without Mike Tyson. Finally, though, one of the biggest storms in a d-pad was caused by the release of the dark MadWorld beat'em up from Sega, which received plenty of complaints given its launch on such a family minded console. It's unlikely to cause issues when it comes to other machines soon but it's the gameplay that counts and word is that it's one that certainly delivers.

What do you think?

But these are just some of the fantastic choices our readers have had in 2009. What would you like to see held aloft as the winner of Pocket-lint Best Game 2009? Who have we missed out? Which are your unsung heroes and of those we've already mentioned, which would get your vote? Let us know in the comments below and you can help our panel decide which make the shortlist of nominees to be announced here on Pocket-lint on 16 November. We'll have all out coverage of the Vodafone Pocket-lint awards 2009 right here. Don't miss a minute of it.