November 23rd 2007
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Gaming, News
We’ve known Super Mario Galaxy has been a long time coming and although the hype surrounding it may have only been contained to a small circle of Nintendo and Mario faithful, the game has certainly made a splash since being released in an unprecedented way.
Super Mario Galaxy is the latest instalment in the Super Mario game series and brings the traditional quest to rescue Princess Peach from his evil nemesis Bowser. This new title takes place in a series of galaxies within each is a series of planets and other objects like asteroids and space ships (among the other usual objects you associate with Mario). The object of the game is to collect stars which further your reach into the Universe allowing you to reach ever distant galaxies and eventually harder and harder enemies.
I’ll admit to you now that the only Super Mario game I’ve played before was Super Mario Sunshine, on the GameCube, which didn’t really create any buzz within me. This game was an impulse buy because my Wii was starting to gather dust and I wanted it to have some company.
Graphics
Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and PC gamers don’t have a reputation of praising the graphical power of the Wii. I myself am the owner of an Xbox 360 but Super Mario Galaxy produces some of the best graphics I’ve seen on the Wii. Whether or not it is the case, it seems to me that anti-aliasing has been turned on and textures look really nice. Water and ice effects are used heavily throughout the game - at least throughout the part I’ve played - are are put to good use.
Gameplay
This title makes use of the Wii’s motion sensing capabilities in a number of ways. Throughout the game you use the Wiimote to point at the screen and collect gems, or star bits, as well as some other novel uses. These include ray (as in sting) surfing and a hamster ball-esque riding mini-task. Basic controls are well layed out and intuitive enough that as you learn them you always remember them. For example, spinning Mario to disorientate enemies or break up crystals to free your friends is initiated by flicking the Wiimote from side to side. It is surprisingly good at differentiating unintended flicks from intended.
From what I’ve played so far, there is a small amount of puzzle solving (as you would expect) that you experience on your adventures. So far they’ve been simple but still manage to make the game fun. Unless you play the game non-stop, you can expect to get some pretty decent time out of this game. When you’ve completed the game - spoiler alert here - you get to play it all over again but as Luigi. Luigi acts and behaves differently to the environments so you’ve got to play differently. I would say that you could play many levels over again, just for fun.
Throughout the game, Mario is able to transform into things that provide helpful skills that allow you to complete the level. For example, there’s Bee Mario which can fly, Rainbow Mario which is invincible, Fire Mario which uses fire and more.
A Few Niggles
I would say the game is perfect but not for a few niggles, as with any game. The camera can be controlled to a limited extent in limited parts of the game. Sometimes this is understandable but other times, such as when Mario becomes upside down, it becomes rather uncomfortable tilting your head to see where Mario is going.
Super Dooper or Super Pooper?
Super Mario Galaxy is a truly awesome game and a must-buy for all Wii owners. I think that this game could just be a game on its own and do just as well on sales and rankings - it doesn’t need to be under the umbrella of Super Mario to share the same success. There is a lot of playability to this game and many levels could be played again and again and still be exciting.
If you’re a Super Mario fan, buy the game. If you’re not, buy the game anyway. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.
October 1st 2007
Life, News, Technology
The computer literate will be thinking that the WTF in WTF Magazine stands for a less than polite interruption. Well, it stands for “What’s the Future Magazine”, to put your minds at rest. This new publication is the result of one company having too much money and too much time. For this, I’m actually quite greatful. The well known online electrical retailer eBuyer has created this bi-monthly publication to fill our brains with more news and reviews than you can shake a stick at. There are a few drawbacks which I will go into but so far, it seems a pretty decent and interesting magazine.
WTF is this?
WTF Magazine is a new publication brought to us by that well known UK online retailer eBuyer. It features reviews of hardware such as laptop comparisons, flash drives and what not. At the moment, it also offers a few competitions which some pretty nice prizes although I feel some of the things you have to do to enter have to relevance to technology whatsoever.
It’s a welcome sight to see a full colour technology magazine which is free to subscribe to. Obviously, with this positive comes a few negatives. Even my other favourite technology magazine, .net, is relatively padded with advertisements and this is no different. Also, it’s not as long as some other magazines and there’s no freebies or discounts with it as of yet. But that’s not all you get this stuff for is it?
A Worthwhile Read?
Sure, the magazine is a nice bit of reading but in all honesty, it’s just a catalogue for eBuyer with some articles slipped in on some pages. Granted there’s a bit more detail in the product descriptions than on the e-commerce site and it’s nice to see a catalogue for an online shop.
To sum up, it’s a free technology mag that is worth a read if not to learn a bit more about recent technology and products then to pass some time either on your commute or on the toilet. If that isn’t a enough a reason, then get it for the obligatory photos of the woman wearing a tight plastic jumpsuit.
June 11th 2007
Blogging, Internet, Life, News, Technology
Today Steve Jobs announced the availability of Safari 3 via a public beta. Although this was interesting news, what was more interesting was the announcement that Safari 3 is now also available for Windows! To some, this may be the news they’d been wanting to hear for a long time but to others it may just be another sign of impending world destruction. My personal opinion is that this move is at least one step in the right direction for Apple. It will certainly make my life as a developer much more easier as I won’t have to rely on services such as Dan Vine’s iCapture or annoyingly have to ask friends to screen shot my sites on their Macs.
First Impressions
My first impressions are that this is indeed true beta software. My experience is that it is rather slow and feels rather heavy as an application. As with all Apple software, the user interface is indeed nice. It’s not clogged with buttons and only the bare essentials are shown but it still allows for nearly as much customisation as Firefox, although it’s not quite on par at this stage. The traditional brushed metal theme has only been on my screen for a few minutes and it’s already growing on me. Although it’s default font choice as Times New Roman isn’t to my taste, it doesn’t take anything away from the browser.One thing I will say is the option to resize most text areas is a nice feature.
Get it Now
Go and get the beta from the Apple site, try it out and return here. Mac or PC users can download the beta and I advise that you do. Give it a go and come here and leave a comment! Below are a few screen shots to tickle your fancy.
January 31st 2007
Life, News, Technology
So, Microsoft’s next version of its popular Windows operating system, Vista, has officially been released. Hundreds of millions on pounds have been spent in the UK alone advertising and promoting it and Bill Gates certainly seems very excited about it. But, is all the hype about Vista really going to encourage people to buy it? Is all the over-promotion going to make consumers look past the hefty price tag, costly minimum requirements and insane restrictions applied to the software? My opinion says yes.
Windows Vista has been five years in the making with over 1 billion beta testers during this time and 140 families from seven countries helping to make Vista the most tested operating system ever made by Microsoft. It’s the safest operating system they’ve ever made and probably the operating system that has been in the public spotlight the most. Vista has relatively high hardware requirements to run its most advertised features such as the Aero theme and it’s Media Centre add-on.
Sky’s the Price
There are several different versions of Windows Vista - and even more here in Europe (N versions) - and each has their own feature set. There’s Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate each increasing in price and features. A comparison chart can be found at the official website. The prices for retail editions range from £180 for Home Basic up to £370 for Ultimate. I personally will not be paying over £300 for an operating system and I don’t think the average consumer would knowingly either. The average consumer would just have bought a new computer, most likely especially for Vista, and spending maybe half of the new systems cost on the operating system seems insane to me.
Unlike most consumers, I know about OEM versions of the operating system. Although, as with XP, there is a severe limitation on how many times you can install the software, the price is under half of the retail price - a very good incentive. But, as you can only install it on one computer it means that the computer I install it on would have to be a new one. This is the main reason why I have no plans to purchase Vista just yet.
Hefty Requirements
Vista demands more from the hardware than ever before with the recommended requirements now pushing up the standard configuration you’ll find in laptops and desktops you can buy in high street shops. This also means increased prices for the average consumer - he or she won’t build their own computer; they’re more likely to turn to Dell or take a trip down to their local PC World store or Currys.
Most computers bought in the last three or four years will run Vista without a sweat but for those without a computer or those with computers that are not up to the challenge will either have to buy a brand new computer or upgrade their current configuration - most consumers won’t consider upgrading it themselves and most will see buying a new system as the easiest and sometimes cheapest option although this is not always the case.
Brainwashed Buyers
Microsoft have made a lot of public fuss about Vista and by rights they should be able to celebrate a project that has finally materialised after over five years of development. I feel though that there is a more sinister objective in Microsoft’s efforts to spread the word. The aim for every business is to maximise their profits and I think that Microsoft is sort of pushing information at its discretion into the public’s ear. 
For example if consumers do buy from a company such as Dell or Ginger6 then they cannot reinstall Vista on a different computer due to the restrictions on it. Consumers seem to not know this and when the time comes, they’re going to wonder why they ever spent £300 on it.
My Thoughts
There are several reasons why I have no plans to buy Vista in the near future. Personally, the price isn’t really an issue with me. I would go and buy an OEM version of Home Premium or Ultimate tomorrow but my main reasons lay with my current hardware configuration. I don’t want to buy Vista and install it on a computer that I think isn’t quite up to the job. My current rig will run Vista, as I have been doing with a few of the beta versions, but I don’t want to install it on outdated hardware.
Vista seems to have me asking myself whether to buy a new computer system or upgrade my current one. I don’t know why I am even asking myself this as I have a perfectly good computer that does what I need it to do and more. There are not much benefits to upgrading to Vista and those that do make it worth while can be achieved on XP with a little extra work.
Microsoft’s made a big effort to get the word out about Vista and I think all their marketing efforts will be rewarded but I fear that spending £370 on an operating system that is to be eclipsed by the next version in 5 years time is just not worth it. Spending maybe £500 on a new computer just for Vista isn’t worth it - there has to be some other reason too, not just because you want Vista.
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