Reviews

3DTV

It actually came with 3 games (Uncharted 3, Motorstorm: Apocalypse, Resistance 2) I also have Killzone 3, Batman: Arkham City, Super Stardust HD. Probably others actually. I already have Uncharted 3, so I can sell it for some money back. Gizmodo got 2 pairs of glasses with theirs which pisses me off. Reviewers shouldn't get more than the people who pay for them. It thankfully does not require HDCP. Something I wish reviewers were smart enough to warn me about in advance. It is quite thin too.

The glasses aren't that comfy. But I can fix that with some soft material.

The TV itself, you already know most of my complaints since I've predicted them beforehand (No XMB, no USB port*, no port for PSeye (though the base is large enough for it, there's nothing to hold it in place), no PSP TV-out auto-scaling) It doesn't even seem like it supports firmware updates, though there is a hidden port*. I knew it had no remote in advance, and it's not an issue at all given I have a Logitech Harmony. If enabled, it will also auto-turn on when it detects a signal.

The buttons are actually on the back. And if you press any of them, there is an on-screen overlay showing which button is which. Unlike Steel Battalion, the handle on the box actually supported it's weight. It actually adds another warning to the start of any supported game. Ironically, the XMB itself doesn't support 3d. Which is stupid since all it needs is some layers, and ironic cause it does support layers in-game. The TV's menu is plain, but nice looking. A high resolution font, no graphics, with translucency. Unlike other products I own, the indicator LED is actually a little small. Which is good, cause at night with everything on my room looks like Vegas.

As for the 3d effect itself, it is a lot more pronounced than the 3DS, as it should be at 1080p vs 400*240. I've tried Uncharted, Arkham and Stardust so far. Arkham looks a bit flattish, which is probably because it's only generating one frame and modifying it to appear 3d, like they do for 2d movies. Stardust looked perfect. Uncharted, while amazing, has some weird sync effect. Like the frames aren't lined up properly. It decreases as I decrease the 3d strength, but it's still their even on the lowest setting. That and I don't want the lowest setting. I would have preferred it to be bigger, but I actually don't have any more space for one. And the only cheaper ones are passive displays (which run at half the resolution in 3d mode) or ACER's (which doesn't work on PS3)

I'm picking up on glitches in games though. I saw a Z-fighting texture, and for some reason, text for a specific weapon wouldn't show up on the right frame in Arkham. Uncharted wouldn't detect the TV the first time it booted (afterwards was fine)

Also, turns out that weird ghosting issue is actually crosstalk between frames. Other reviewers have complained about it too. Which means either: the fresh rate of either the TV or the glasses is simply too slow, or the timing of the shutter glasses is wrong. While the 3D effect itself is much better than 3DS's, the visual quality due to the crosstalk is lower than 3DS. Arkham and SuperStardust don't have the ghosting issues. And they are both darker games. I would assume that is how they avoid it.

I have to turn my lights off to get rid of the glare/reflections.

Another annoyance 3Ds doesn't have, is that the option to enable 3D and change the depth are hidden, in that they aren't available immediately on the pause menu. You have to go into Settings/Options. Most games do ask when they boot if you want to enable it but some don't (ie: Arkham) On the 3DS, the option to enable it and change the depth is available at all times via the slider. Obviously Sony can't add one, but they could have mandated it be on the pause menus, or even the Hold-PS-button menu.

EDIT: There is a hidden USB port on the back, in the bottom-left hand corner

Arkanoid DS spinner

I have to say I love the feel of it. It has a tiny bit of ball-bearing resistance, and if you let go of it while spinning it, it'll keep spinning a bit. It makes playing the game a whole lot more arcade-like. It makes the scroll wheel on my mouse feel amateurish in comparison

And yes, the irony of me buying a DS game for the gimmick despite hating DS games for being too reliant on gimmicks instead of actual gameplay, is not lost on me.

Oh this game is awesome, it has the gran turismo effect.

You get money for playing which you can use to buy items, like backgrounds.

Some are of bubble bobble, others lost magic and exit.

You can get different frames/borders, and different tile sets for the bricks. Including one of the space invaders aliens.

You can also buy different paddle looks, and music.

Nice job Taito. Not many developers can make a DS game worth paying for.

OMG, it even manages to impress me on a technical level. The music has vocals. Low quality audio, but still better than Nintendo does in their own games. making it even more impressive.

Not only does it have a stage mode (like star fox for n64) but it has challenges (ie: get all the red blocks in 30 seconds) versus computer, and versus other players via wifi. Even online. Easily the best DS game I own.

Assault Rifle

The good:

It has a speaker to make gun noises, the box shows they put more effort into the packaging than a lot of companies do. And the gun does look nice.

The bad:

Like most low-quality third-party controllers, this one uses a dongle instead of just using bluetooth. It also uses batteries (of course, not included) instead of using a battery pack or even telling us to get a PSP battery pack for it. It also has no SIXAXIS compatibility. The box claims it's solidly built, to which both I and the person next to me responded "no" when I read it out loud. It feels very cheap. There is a cap to cover the hole where you insert the removable stock, and when the cap is off you can look inside the controller and see all the exposed circuitry. The removable and useless scope is very hard to insert/remove. The trigger is extremely low quality and will probably break with time. Some of the buttons are no where near where your hands will be most of the time.

If they really wanted to make an FPS controller, they should have made something like the FPS Master where the face buttons are moved to the grips. Or the XFPS where they use motion sensing for the right analog stick. Or the SplitFish where they use a mouse for the right analog stick. Overall, this doesn't improve your game at all. In fact, you'll probably play worse with it.

BattleTag

The minimum requirements for Vista/Windows 7 are 512 GB of RAM... GB... That's some typo. They're off by a factor of 1024. They somehow managed to fill over 500 MB for the interface...

The software apparently requires Aero to be enabled on Vista/7 (or so I've heard, but that makes no sense since it runs in XP. Surely compatibility mode would get it to work) runs in fullscreen, and doesn't support multiple monitors. I'd recommend they make PS3/360/Wii versions of the software available for download. Though Wii doesn't even have enough flash, so a DVD would probably be better suited, plus PS2 could get it as well. The UI is very flashy. It's also got an announcer.

The UbiConnect base lights up, and acts as a target. It would have been neat if you could use one of the guns as a mouse/wiimote to control the UI, but no such luck.

All it would have needed was an infrared camera in the base instead of just a simple diode.

Both the base and the guns have upgradable firmware, and of course don't come with the latest version installed.

The kit is also, not portable. By the time I got home from carrying it from the mall my entire arm was numb. Which means I am also unable to bring it to a friend's place to test it.

And of course, batteries not included. Each gun takes 4 AAs. $192 (w/tax) and they couldn't throw in batteries.

And given the cost, it's unlikely you'll ever play with more than 1 other person. The fun of lasertag is directly proportional to the amount of players.

People on the forums are already saying the extra gun kit is a ripoff, you're better off splitting the cost of a full kit with someone.

Big Button Pad

Where it goes right:

-It's wireless. There are wireless Buzz controllers as well, I just didn't find one

-It has more buttons than the Buzz controllers, those being Start, Back and the Guide button

-The big button is actually a big dpad. A big, bad dpad, but still a dpad. Pressing in the middle also acts as a center button

-The back half is color-themed like the big button

-The bottom edge of the B buttons have a little dot sticking up (like the F and K keys on a keyboard) to make them easier to find

-The A/B/X/Y buttons are proper buttons like those on actual controllers. The Buzz controllers use microswitch buttons which suck

Where it goes wrong:

-It doesn't use the existing XBOX360 battery packs

-It doesn't use Xinput (like every other XBOX360 controller must use) or USB HID (which Buzz controllers use)

-The dongle is unnecessary. XBOX360 has a built in infrared port. They could have just went through that, and cost even less

-The Start/Back/Guide buttons are a bit out of the way/hard to reach

-The A/B/X/Y buttons are smaller than the BUZZ buttons

Chameleon X-1

The packaging is well designed, with an opening to see the mouse.

It comes with a driver mini CD which is completely unprotected and unnecessary with modern OS's, but appreciated. It shows up as a mouse, game controller, and keyboard (for remote mode)

The receiver is tiny! It's properly designed though, it's got a lip to it for easy removal. The USB connector inside is red like the outside. Nice touch. What I love is that the receiver can fit inside it for storage. It's even held in place with a magnet

It switches between modes via holding the Select (remote) or Start (game) button for 4 seconds. Coincidentally, when held upside the red LED will blink once per second (once you switch modes it shuts off, of course) The buttons have icons to indicate what mode they switch to, and every button has an icon to indicate what button they act as in remote mode.

The mouse itself is comfy, and looks pretty. It is made for righties, due to the thumb cradle

If you have a rechargeable battery, there is an inconveniently placed USB port inside of it to charge the battery. This should be on the nose/tip outside. I doubt it can be used in wired mode since the connector is inside.

The cover has these tiny pegs that will probably get broken. It does come up easily (not so much for putting it back), and is not attached so it can get lost.

It only takes 1 battery, which they included. Unfortunately they didn't make it rechargeable. Oh well. Better than nothing like some companies (MadCatz) The manual does warn you that trying to charge a no-rechargeable battery wil make it explode.

The scrollwheel feels nice, you can feel it click as it turns unlike the new MS mice. It does not tilt though.

There is a second smaller wheel to lock the mouse buttons in place when in gamepad mode. I didn't realize it was locked at first and thought it was the worst mouse ever since they didn't click. But they do click nicely.

There are 4 shoulder buttons, but they are on the right side making them hard to hit when in mouse mode. In mouse mode, they act as back/forward and DPI switching. It also has a proper power button, unlike a lot of wireless mice I've seen recently.

The buttons have a comfortable amount of travel click, which is odd considering it's a low-profile controller (like DS/GBA SP/PSP go)

The holes around the buttons/dpad are large enough that I'll probably be able to use it with long nails.

The biggest problem, is that each direction of the dpad is pretty far apart. It uses the split/PS kind, and it looks like there is almost a full centimeter between them. It's still usable, but not ideal.

The start/select buttons are ok, better than PSP go's. There are 2 tiny, really hard to hit buttons but that's ok since they put your PC to sleep in remote mode.

The analog nubs are really tiny and flat. Which is surprising since they tried so hard to be better than PSP go but they failed in this regard. They also don't have much travel to them. Like the dpad they feel ok, but not ideal.

L1/R1 are easy to hit even with my small fingers, L2/R2 are a little difficult but ok.

Overall it's ok, but I would make some changes

Classic Trackball

It's actually pretty big, almost a foot wide. The ball is like 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Buttons on either side and turbo. It works as a standard PS1 mouse.

The ball has no spin to it, I think I can even feel it scraping against the sides inside. I prefer a smooth spin, like the arcades or the arkanoid DS wheel.

EDIT: The trackball from my first purchase attempt arrived and it does not suffer from this flaw. It has a smooth spin, but no inertia.

It's got a nice heft to it, and rubber feet so it won't move on your table. I'd kill for a version of Rampart that uses it

Dragon Warrior/Quest Battle Road Victory Controller

This thing is huge, shipping cost me almost as much as the controller!

Despite the classic control scheme in the front, it's not meant to be handheld. You have to leave it on your lap.

The buttons are nice and big.

The hilt turning aspect is weird, it turns just the hilt when it should turn the whole sword.

I find it odd/stupid that the controller is so big, but offers no place to store/hold the Wii controller.

It also comes with a code to unlock some avatar items for the game, but you have to pay for the program to read the code, and it only works on DSi!

Dragon Warrior/Quest Slime Controller

It's not as big as I thought. It's about the size of a grapefruit. I was worried it would be too big for my small hands but it fits me fine. Its like a smaller, OG XBOX controller, but rounder

It uses a Nintendo

cross style dpad!

It uses the evil Gamecube

c-stick style analog thumbsticks, though they still click in for L3/R3 and have a bit of a lip

The L1/L2 and R1/R2 are seperated (so L1 and L2 can't be pressed by the same finger anymore)

L1 and R1 are shaped like Cubes Z button, and L2/R2 are circle trigger buttons

The wire detaches for display on an included cheap plastic stand

It's cuter than I expected

I got it pretty cheap, at $20 it's my cheapest special controller.

Dragon Warrior/Quest Slime DS Slime Speaker Stand

It's adorable. +1 pts

It's made by HORI. +1 pts

It solves the stupid ergonomic issue of when you use the touchscreen, you're only holding it with one hand. +1 pts

Unlike whatever retards made the PS3 wireless "Collector's edition" Chun Li fightpad, the box the Slime came in can be opened without destroying it. +1 pts

Unlike the Hori Dragon Warrior Slime PS2 controller, the thing is somewhat plushie, to make it feel kind of like a slime. Only, not slimy. +1 pts

The headphone cable retracts when you pull it out, like a seatbelt. +1 pts

There is a seam down the middle. -1 pts

It's not portable at all. It comes in 2 parts. -1 pts

Batteries (4xAA) not included. -1 pts

No AC adapter port (Hell, it could have used DS's adapter and charged the DS!) -1 pts

It cost way too much. -1 pts

If anything is sticking out of your DS (ie: A GBA game) it won't fit in the stand. -1 pts

It doesn't hold the DS in place very well, and wobbles. -1 pts

It won't fit a PSP. Can't really deduct points since it says DS on it...

Total: -1 pts

Easy Piano

I saw many sites that said it had 8 buttons. I saw 13, but figured "hey what do I know? I don't even have the thing". Well I was right, it has 13 buttons. I am no Picard.

It has a small piece that comes off for original DS's, this makes it fit both DS's better than any previous device I have. It holds the whole DS up a bit so it's above the buttons. But it holds it flat, instead of an angle which would have been better. The buttons are pretty thin, so it's hard to fit both hands on it. It also would have been nice to have the little pedals like a real piano, giving it the equivalent of a whammy bar. And it comes with colored stickers, so you can color-code the buttons (the black buttons have a black square in the sticker) what's stupid is the colors of the stickers don't match the colors used in the game! Yellow and orange for example are confusing. It's got that effect of those cards where it says blue on it in red text, and it confuses your brain into saying the wrong color. I used the remaining blank parts of the sticker sheet to attach more info to the piano (location of notes for the treble and bass cleff, and the duration of notes/rests)

The software side is pretty neat. It has a tutorial to teach you how to read sheet music, and completely irrelevant minigames. There's a mode pretty much the same as career mode in Guitar Hero DS. You play the song, if you get higher than 80%, you unlock the next song. It has Classical, Jazz (which sucks), Pop (Imagine), and Children's songs (twinkle twinkle). Unlike Guitar Hero there are only 2 difficulty levels. Guitar Hero equivalent, where you're only playing some of the notes. And Virtuoso where you're playing all of the notes. What's retarded is the equivalent of star power is triggered by touching the LCD. It does have an option to calibrate the mic in settings, so it probably lets you use it to trigger star power.

And the last mode it has lets you edit sheet music, using one of the worst editors I've ever seen. For starters, it's missing notes! I was reading the sheet music for Tetris, and I couldn't do some of the lower-than-C notes! I can't get it to do those multi-notes where they join up with the next one. Well I can, but it won't join with the right ones. I managed to reproduce most of the Tetris theme ok, but near the end it sounds like crap. The program is not touch screen optimized, in that many elements are too small. It's not efficiency optimized, in that things take more actions than they need to. To place a note, I have to drag from the too-small note icon to where I want it. I can't just click the note tool, and click wherever I want to place notes. It reeks of programmer-who-didn't-test-their-own-program. It does let you record 3 songs, up to 3 minutes each. Which is stupid, since it should be the number of notes you can save in total and then divide that up amongst however many songs you can make with that space. Worse, the game stores 3 separate profiles. So if you want 9 songs, you need to store them between the profiles. The DS is a one-person device. You only need 1 save.

Sound wise, it's bloody midi. I've heard better on the DS. In a rhythm game! Guitar Hero used recorded music, this game could have easily.

Graphics wise, you'd think I couldn't complain since it's a piano game, but there is this girl in the game who is in pretty much every part of it who they tried to make as realistic as they could, on the DS which can't handle it. She looks creepy as all hell. Like the women at the end of Death Becomes Her.

Interface wise, I've covered pretty much all I can. It's poorly done, not optimized, not field tested.

Gameplay wise, the minigames are annoying as hell. But they are optional, and thus irrelevant.

In closing, it is neat, it gets the job done. Don't expect to be able to put every song on it you want.

The next song I need to put on it, Dr Mario.

EDIT: It doesn't have the range to do Dr Mario either. And if it decided that the keyboard was unplugged, you will lose all unsaved work in the editor and won't be able to use the keyboard till you reset. Guitar Hero DS had the same problem, only far worse since the piano attachment keeps your DS flat on a table

EMS TopGun I

I've been wanting a PC/HD compatible light gun for my PS2/XBOX for a while. No longer do I need to keep an old cathode ray tube around.

It resembles a Pietro Beretta, and has no gaudy orange tip on it.

There are 2 buttons on either side of the barrel, A and B.

2 triggers, the bottom one isn't that easy to press so it's not suited for games that need you to hold it down (Silent Scope, Time Crisis) SS seems to ignore A/B but uses Select.

Start and Select/Back are on a box that sticks down from the barrel, which has a laser pointer in it. It's only active when it can see it's sensor bars or in calibration mode, and you can use a switch to turn it off.

It has real forcefeedback if you plug it into a second USB/XBOX controller port.

It works just like the Wiimote does, in that this is what Nintendo copied.

It's also pretty much as laggy/inaccurate as the Wiimote...

Though it has 2 sensor bars instead of one, and they are mounted on the side of your monitor which is harder to keep them there than Wii's one top/bottom mounted one.

Though I followed the calibration procedure, it got the axis' mixed up. I had to start at the bottom left and go clockwise. I could probably put one on the top of the TV and one on the bottom and figure out what order to put it in.

It claims to work as a mouse, but the model I have does not work on Vista/Windows 7. It gets detected as a USB Hub. If you disable it in device manager, it will let you update the driver. I have uploaded an edited INF file that SHOULD let you install the TopGun drivers but Win7 hasn't let me install ANY of my controller drivers, it claims the files are in use.

I did get to play Silent Scope for the first time in a long time, so I am happy.

Expansion Analog Nub

It comes with a wrist strap, but the string is really rigid which makes it a pain in the arse to get it to turn the corner of the hole in the 3DS. I had to use a needle to push it through. 3DS has holes for it on both sides, but the attachment only lets you use it on the right side. Doesn't affect me cause I'm right handed, but lefties beware.

It comes with a battery, as most (if not all) Nintendo things do. Oddly enough there is a screw (the kind that uses a coin, like the ones on the Gameboy Player) on the battery door. It is completely useless, as the normal hatch-style door would have sufficed. Worse, the door is in-between the controller and the 3DS, thus covered by the 3DS for the most part.

It does cover the LEDs from some angles, though they are visible from above the 3DS. It completely covers the wifi switch, and does not cover the volume slider. It also covers the stylus slot and the game slot itself, so you must remove the 3DS from it to switch games or get the stylus.

Since your right hand is no longer on the 3DS itself, it adds a redundant R button, as well as R2 and the right analog nub. It unfortunately does not add a redundant L button, or even cover it with something to make the button match the size/positioning of the R button. So it feels both non-symmetrical, and harder to press since it's now in deeper than the R button. The back of the unit (with the infrared-to-3DS interface, and the part that covers the game slot) also goes too far left, which gives your index finger less space, especially if you have long nails (as I do, most of the time)

The L2/R2/R1 buttons have slightly more travel than a microswitch button does, and slightly less click. L2/R2 are vertical like the Z button on an N64 controller, as opposed to horizontal like the L/R buttons on the 3DS. The analog nub feels exactly the same as the one on the 3DS. The back of the unit has a nice curve to it, like the original Wii Classic controller. It does make the unit more comfortable.

Unfortunately, you can't use it for every game. I didn't expect you to be able to use the right analog stick in every game, but I did expect you to be able to use the redundant R1 button. It would have made the 3DS a lot more comfortable to hold. So for games that don't use it, you must actually remove the 3DS from it. It is held in place by 4 rubber pads that just increase friction between it and the 3DS.

It is very comfortable. More than I expect Vita to be given it's flat, and the 2ANA doesn't have to worry about space concerns. The positioning of the analog nub is perfect, where on Vita it'll be lower. I expected L1 to be more annoying than it actually is.

The 2ANA turns itself off after a while too. To turn it on you just push L2/R2. It ironically has more power management than the 3DS itself.

I am pretty disappointed they left out rumble. They could easily make another one, and at $20 it's not much of a loss.

The ResEvil demo uses it perfectly. Not only does it autodetect it, but it has lots of options. More than Beyond Good and Evil HD did. You can invert individual axis, it has speed settings. It swaps the button icons the game uses to match the control scheme you select. It is really nice to finally have a ResEvil game with proper dual analog, move-and-shoot controls. It's still not as good as Dead Space, but it's close.

FFX2 Tiny Bee Controller

As many of you know by now, I collect unique controllers as a hobby. Well today one of the rarest of all controllers have arrived. Cost me an arm (literally) and a leg. They are in perfect condition, and appear never to have been used.

This thing beats Wii's

record of hurting my wrist, I started to hurt after 2 minutes! (Wii took 15) Luckily since they are guns and not a remote, I can hold them with my arms flat against my legs, so I managed to play FF-X2 for about 45 minutes before I had to stop. And my wrists still hurt.

There are 2 triggers per gun, the main/normal trigger acts as L1/R1, while the secondary trigger below it acts as X/Triangle. There are 2 buttons (1 on each side) of each gun at the top (like guncon) for L2/R2 and O/Square. The left gun has a dpad, the other has an analog stick. Yup, only one analog stick, there is a switch on a base station that switches which one the stick controls, along with the analog light/button. The base/grip of the gun has start/select underneath. Awkward? Yeah, I thought they were for ejecting the plugs that fill the holes of where you plug them in when not in use. There is no light gun or motion sensing tech in here to replace the other analog

They are not wireless

Though I'm partially glad because that means no batteries. The triggers are made of metal, the rest all plastic. The cables are abnormally thick. And the plugs abnormally big (think S-video*2, or really old keyboard ports) They feel heavier than guncon/wii, not as heavy as the SilentScope rifle (thank god) but since they are held with one hand each they are probably just as bad. There is some weird writing (klingon?) on the barrels of the guns. And weird quarter-circle things that clip on to cover the dpad/analog stick when on display. The display has a soft (rubber?) covering to prevent scratching I guess. It's nice how they fit into it.

There is a peice of paper detailing what button does what, which of course I didn't find till AFTER I was done playing with them. Also some cute icons showing what not to do with them (beat people with them, drop them, put in a suitcase and go on an airplane, harass cops) and a piece of paper which I assume is warrantee information. They do not look exactly like the drawings on the box though. The box is big, not Steel Battalion big, just a bit longer than a PS3

box, and not as tall. About the same thickness. Though the shipping box was the size of Steel Battalions box

I tried it in FF-X2, could not figure out how to use it to trigger her special attack though. I like how battles consist of me holding down the left secondary trigger teehee. The dpad and analog work great, though the analog stick is closer to cube's c-stick than a normal analog stick. Plays great with FF-X2. Killzone on the other hand, it was nigh useless with since it only controls one stick. I didn't check if I could switch the controls so movement would use the dpad.

Guitar Hero DS Fretster

My wrist started hurting after about 1 minute, I finished one venue and my whole arm is sore. The DS lite is simply too heavy to be held by one hand.

I like that it's only 4 buttons. It makes it much easier without having to move my nigh-useless pinky finger. It includes a Guitar pick-shaped stylus that you use to strum the touch screen. The Guitar pick even fits inside the Guitar Hero controller, let's call it the Fretster for shortness sake. Annoyingly, the game doesn't come with a standard DS game case. It does come with a mini one, just a bit bigger than the game card itself. It would have made more sense to have the game fit in the Fretster as well. The Fretster also has a velcro hand strap, and mine came with headphones for preordering. I figured being a music game they would have been good headphones, but no. They sucked. I'll stick with my Zune premium earbuds. It also includes an adapter to use the Fretster on old-style DS's. (I refuse to call them "Phat" DS's like some retarded gangster wannabe) The Fretster itself does not fit very well into the DS lite, it's somewhat loose and can come out easily if you shift your hand. The top 3 buttons are comfortable, but the last one isn't. But that's due to the uselessness of my pinky finger. I keep having the urge to lift my fingers after strumming a note.

The Fretster's faceplate is removable, and you can insert a new skin. While it's off you can also remove the hand strap (nice touch). 2 sheets of stickers are included as well. There is no tilt sensor, you have to yell into the DS microphone like a retard, or push a button. It would make sense to let you push the L shoulder since your finger is right there, but no, that button doesn't work. You have to actually stop strumming notes and push ABXY or select. As you can guess, I am not please with how star power is triggered. Luckily, they planned for me and either turning the micrphone sensitivity up while watching TV just triggers it, or it triggers automatically once it's full. So my complaint is negated. I like when complaints are negated.

The buttons give about 3 mm, and a little tactile click as well. They are quite spongey.

The box is neat too. Has a little transparent part to show off the Fretster. Opens easily without breaking. The Fretster, adapter and game came in a plastic shell that just pops apart and back together quite easily, not like that crappy blister packing that requires a laser cutter and surgery to fix your wounds (like the PS2 Retrocon came in).

As for the game itself, most of you know what to expect. It's Guitar Hero. You start with one venue, 4 unlocked songs, and you get 1 encore song once you beat them. And then another venue once you're done that. Your multiplier increases as long as you don't miss notes. Notes come down the "highway" and you have to hold the corresponding button on the Fretster and strum the touchscreen at the right moment. You get paid like $2000-3000 a song, but it's brought down to like $75 after expenses (fired extinguisher, torn clothes, noise violations, shattered instruments, etc) You can use the money to buy new guitars and outfits. There is a lefty-switch mode. No way to just listen to the music, the music in the menus stop after like 10 seconds and starts over. I'm hoping Dragonforce is in there somewhere. Everything is very expensive, like $1500 for the first thing I unlocked. So it'll take a while to get anything, I assume you get more money for playing on harder difficulties. Thankfully, the audio quality is rather high for a DS game. Albeit still not as high as even Twisted Metal on PSP, but it gets the job done.

There is also local-only multiplayer, which I will probably never get the opportunity to use. But you can play against the AI.

They have also, annoyingly, started to put Wii-style warnings at the start of DS games. And finally, if you buy the game off of RedOctane's website, you get a case for the game.

HKS Racing Controller

The packaging gets a zero. They used clamshell packaging that has to be destroyed to open it, and risk slitting your wrists. The controller itself is beautiful. The front half is shiny red, the back half is a flat black. It's also got logos on it like a racecar. I don't get why they spelt Hyper incorrectly though.

As for the interface, it's wired. In this day and age I expected wireless, but zero third parties have gotten it right yet so I suppose it's better that they don't even try (Hint: Built in battery, standard USB port, syncs to a PSP Go, and doesn't use a dongle, like Dualshock3/SIXAXIS is doing wireless right) At least it works on PC. Though they shouldn't have edited the wire out of their pictures...

The shoulder buttons are the same shape as Dualshock3, but the L2/R2 buttons just click. No travel. I'm going to have to check if my RealTriggers clip onto them (EDIT: They don't). The blue player indicator lights, unlike Sony's, are actually partially on top of the controller. I'm surprised they didn't order them left to right because of this. The Start/Select/Home buttons stick out nicely and are easy to press. The Home button is like the Select button, unlike the DS3 so the wireless keypad won't really work with this controller especially since it'll block the speed readout.

I expected the wheel to work better if you moved left to right with it. But it's actually more comfortable moving up and down. I was hoping the red things surrounding the speed readout would light up like an odometer, but they're just painted on. The speed readout goes from 0-100. Which is odd since the analog buttons go from 0-255 which means it's not that accurate. It shows the pressure of the X button, and blinks if you're holding Square (I assume brake?)

The foot pedal buttons (X and Square) have more resistance to them than other buttons or even triggers. And you won't be able to hit one and a Triangle/Circle button at the same time very easily. There are 2 switches on the back. One controls which stick the analog stick maps to (left or right) and the other switches the foot pedal buttons to act as Square/X or L2/R2. There's also a macro button that lets you remap any button to act as another. It is not SIXAXIS compatible.

Jet Fighter

It's shaped like a stealth bomber (only SNES grey instead of black), which isn't ergonomic. At all (hint: corners do not belong on a handheld controller). But it does give you a little more of a handle than regular controllers. There is a switch on the back, completely out of the way, to switch between SNES and Genesis mode. It could have worked as a 6 button Genesis controller, but I guess it was made before that as it only works as a 3 button one according to the Genesis button labels in brackets next to the SNES ones. It has 2 turbo speeds and a slow motion (turbo for the start button) The triggers flat out suck. They are completely squishy, no click to them. And small. It used a hybrid Genesis/Intellivision/SNES dpad, where it's a hovering disc thing with Nintendo's cross on the top. I hate disc dpads, crosses rule. It's cable ends with a Genesis controller connector, and includes an adapter (that only works with it as it uses the switch) to convert it to a SNES connector. It says it's model number 70850 for anyone who cares. The switch on the back says Super NES/SFC and Genesis/MD. Neat seeing both the english names and japanese acronyms (Super Famicom/Mega Drive respectfully)

Keyboard Controller

The cube controls are exactly the same as a cube controller, right down to the shape of the handles. The whole thing is about as wide as my normal keyboard. The keyboard part is a shiftkey-less wide as the QWERTY part of a regular keyboard. So the keys are actually slightly smaller than keys on a regular keyboard. They aren't as tall either, more laptopy. And they aren't clicky either, more spongy (which is bad). The upper half is white, the lower half is cube purple and shaped to angle the keyboard slightly upwards when rested on your lap with your legs together. And it takes 2 controller ports.

Kuro Wii Classic Pro Controller

The top half (face) is shiny black like the original PSP, the bottom half (back) is matte black. The analog sticks feel weird since they don't click in. The whole controller feels very cheap/light, many times worse than a SIXAXIS. There are no slots on the back for a wiimote clip like the original classic controller had. There is no rumble support. And worst of all, it uses PS2-style L2/R2 buttons instead of Gamecube style clickable-triggers. The one thing Nintendo invented of all the things they claimed to have but actually didn't, and they choose not to use them. It is comfortable to hold, moreso than a dualshock actually.

LiveView

I like it more than my old Suunto n3 and n3i MSN SPOT/SMART watches.

It's battery life is about the same (about 3 days) and charges with a standard USB cable, instead of the "Shark" clip. But I have to remove it from the strap to plug the cable in.

It's screen is a bit smaller (I think. It's been a while since I used the n3), but it's full color.

I get entire news stories instead of just the first 128 characters. And if I want to see more, I click a button and it opens the web browser on my phone.

Even the "app" launcher/selector screen is better. It's animated with a scaling effect like the XMB.

Since it's reception is dependent on the phone, it should actually work properly at work.

It has more "buttons", what sucks is Sony didn't program the app on the Android side of things to stay loaded (by putting a notification up) so the OS will actually unload it from memory. There's a program to get around it, but still Sony, did you do any testing?

It'll check RSS feeds, calendar events, missed calls, text messages, etc etc but NOT EMAIL! WTF? Someone made a Gmail plugin but I have yet to get it to show my email. Even my n3 got (128 characters of) my email.

I cant wait to get it working in Basic4Android though. The first thing I'm making is Solitaire

I have to add this to the list of things I specifically warn against buying. The disconnects are horribly too common. And 3 day battery life is barely 1.

Logitech MX-1000 laser mouse

I've actually had this thing for years (since when I ran this site off my own computer actually) The mouse has no actual novelty which is why it's not listed here. I was given this as a gift for all the computer work I do for one of my friends. And given that I tend to put up with more issues the lower I paid for an item this review will say a lot.

It's a wireless mouse with an infrared/invisible laser, a built in rechargeable battery with a charging dock/cradle. The scrollwheel is tiltable horizontally and of course clicks. It also has a button above and below it, with 3 more on the side of the mouse and the 2 standard ones. It also has power indicator LEDs that turn off a few seconds after you stop moving it. It even has an on/off switch if you want to bypass its power saving techniques. It even came in a cool box.

I pretty much hate this mouse. Every so often it will fight with me. I will try to push it one way and it will resist my efforts, making the movement very erratic. The scroll wheel is difficult to click. I have to stack about a foot of items on top of the mouse to get it far enough into the dock for it to actually recharge. The only reason I use it is cause my Microsoft Intellimouse optical (my first optical mouse) died.

Mini D.D.R. Fingerpad

Let me start of by saying it was a gift from SharkieGamer. Being free (well I traded her my spare DragonPlus one controller) it does affect my judgment. The less I pay for things, the more I'm willing to put up with it's faults. Conversely, the more I pay the more I expect of it.

There isn't really much to review. It's pretty basic. A flat piece of plastic with 14 buttons. Their is no brand name on it anywhere which you'd think would mean it sucks, but it doesn't.

The face has 3 sets of buttons, 4 big ones for the dpad that light up, 4 more big ones in the corners for X/O/Triangle/Square that don't light up, and 6 small ones for the L/R buttons and Start/Select.

The buttons that light up, only do so in 2 points, the opposite ends of the buttons, along the axis the buttons are. It would have been better had the light been diffused so it lights up the entire edge and the arrow icon in the middle, but it's still more effort than most controller makers put into theirs.

The big buttons don't work perfectly, in that you have to push them straight on if you want a perfect button press. Pressing lightly or on the edges may or may not work. Depends on how hard you push and which corner of the button.

If you press 2 opposing directions on the dpad, at least in Windows, they cancel out. I'm not sure if D.D.R. games take this into account or not.

The small buttons are curved outwards, and are better than standard Start/Select buttons.

I actually want another one to use as a giant dpad in another project lol.

Move + Navcon

What I hate: (aka: Why I resent not being a beta tester)

• • The face (X, O, Triangle, Square) buttons are microswitches. I hate microswitches. Let me explain for the readers who don't know what this is. Take a Wiimote, the A button is a normal button with rubber underneath to make it spongy. Take the - and + buttons, those are microswitches. They have less travel and just click. They suck, and aren't analog either. Only the Move button itself is a proper button.

  • The Select/Start buttons are out of the way, and game devs are still stupid enough to make you "Press Start to Continue" instead of any button

  • PS3 has built in support for USB mice, when in the XMB it's mapped to the dpad. When in the web browser it acts as a mouse. Sony was stupid enough to not use this code for Move. So it always maps to the dpad (and only when you hold T in, which isn't very user-friendly to begin with). Meaning the web browser doesnt even use it as a mouse.

  • Why are there no player indicator lights?

  • Still no way to wirelessly sync with a system

  • PSEye+Move+Navcon take 3 USB ports total, new PS3s have 2. And we still cant charge when the system is off

  • Why does the NavCon not have Triangle and Square? Why make up new names for buttons (T and Move) when you have R1 and R2 unused? Stick to a common naming scheme!

  • Why are PSEye owners punished? We don't get a demo disc. We don't even get to download all the demos either. And one demo in the Move section of the store (Mini Golf) says Move controls are disabled in the demo. Well then why is it in the Move section? I wanted the Time Crisis demo damnit!

  • Why are the triggers on the Move and NavCon different? They should be the same.

What I love:

• • It is indeed many times less laggy than a wiimote, and far more accurate. Especially at farther distances when the wiimote gets jittery

  • It is many times more ergonomic than a wiimote. It's as if Nintendo learned nothing from NES's boxy controllers

  • Built in rechargeable battery, charged via USB! A huge step up from wiimote's bring-your-own-battery solution.

  • The NavCon will sync with a PSP Go

NEScade

I've wailed on other people's work, I guess it's only fair I do the same to my own.

I've wanted a mini arcade system ever since I saw that mini NeoGeo arcade someone else made out of a PS1 LCD. I eventually designed my own based on the NES theme, and got to work.

The painting isn't professional. There are places where lines aren't completely straight, the squares surrounding the A/B buttons don't match the light grey used elsewhere in the system. The lines of the logo aren't straight either. The LCD itself seems to be squished, as the front panel isn't perfectly against itself making the buttons non-responsive unless the panel is pushed as well (though the remote control works perfectly). The front edges of the wood aren't perfectly smooth either. The logo is obviously 2 separate pieces of plastic, as the middle is poorly joined. The front panel opens smoothly enough, I wanted it to stay open via a hinge but no such luck. It doesn't open very far either, now that there is a joystick sticking up. The inside of the unit hasn't been painted, well it has, but more like that it's just what was missed when trying to paint the outside. Though you won't see the inside very often. It also would have been neat to have the sensor bar hidden inside the unit.

Since it only has 1 joystick and 2 buttons, it's use is pretty limited. It can be used for all NES games, as well as the occasional Wii game that lets you hold the wiimote sideways (like in Dr Mario). You can play other games like Starfox 64, but you won't be able to do things like boost/brake, as the stick also acts as the analog stick on the Classic controller. The Start/Select/Home/Reset buttons are the wrong shade of grey, and rotate when they shouldn't. They are also hard to push. Luckily they aren't critical. The joystick while not a dpad, is quite nice, and the A/B buttons are perfect as well.

Novint Falcon

I've only been using it for like a day, so there will be more info later on. So it finally arrived, a month late, but I can't complain cause the unit was given to me for free. I am the only one in Canada with one.

But anywho, the box it came in is roughly the same dimensions as PS3s box, but twice as wide. I don't know why, but I kept expecting this to be some amateur development, as if put together by a group of college students. However everything is extremely professionally done. The box, the manuals, the install programs, even the discs have proper professional labels. Not just labels overtop of a blank CDR. I am extremely impressed with the quality of everything I have received. They are even individually numbered. I have #372 of 5,000 according to my certificate.

The unit itself (as seen above) consists of a big egg, with a curved foot/base, and 3 arms which join together at one end with a connector for grips.

The egg is rather heavy, as it has to be considering how much force it uses, and you use on it. The foot is made of metal and has a novint logo engraved on a tip, for a very nice touch.

You can't really see them in that pic cause they are inside ATM, but the arms are curved, and go in/out to push/pull the arms that you do see in that pic. And they can use a surprising amount of force against you. There are also 2 internal lights behind the Novint logo in the front. While not in use, all 3 (red, blue, green) light up making it look like a prop from the original star trek. If it ever loses calibration, it will glow red and kill all the humans. I mean, you have to bring the grip back, it'll turn blue and you can keep going. I haven't had this happen yet. It plugs into your PC via a normal USB cable, and includes an AC adapter.

To use it, you grab hold of the grip (d'uh) and just push/pull/etc, similar to the Wiimote, only more ergonomic. I've used it for a few hours with no pain at all. The included grip has 4 buttons, and games also use the keyboard for extra buttons. The system requirements state you need like 512 MB of RAM, a 1 GHz processor and 128 MB of VRAM, but I'm using it on a somewhat weaker system with little issue. Though after using it, going to a mouse feels, funny. If not archaic. Like using a wheeled mouse after using optical for years. The Falcon will even be usable as a mouse once they finish (or I myself) the program for it, and a dev kit will be made public soon (again, if I don't do it myself first)

Installing is a breeze, though it wants me to reset my PC and I don't do that for weeks at a time, so I was forced to use it on my UMPC. Which oddly enough worked fine despite being less powerful. I have spoken with Novint, and the DRM for the games is tied to the unique ID code of the unit itself, so I'm allowed to use it and it's games on a million and one PCs if I want to. Grips also have a unique ID, so games will be able to tell I have a limited edition unit.

As for the games, I installed the unit late at night and didn't get to try much. But I have so far tried the bowling game, and the tutorial. I'll start with saying that they claim the unit will let you feel texture, which I was skeptical. All it does is apply force against you, how can it make you feel texture? Well it does surprisingly enough. The tutorial goes through a few things, the first being textures. A ball is in the center of the screen and 3D space you can move the grip around. If you push the grip towards the sphere, it will react in different ways. For example, the ice texture will make it slip around the sphere. Rubber will resist your force a little, and increase resistance as you get closer to the center. Ice will make you slip around the surface of the virtual sphere. There is a jagged one, which will make the grip move in and out as if pushing an object over hills/valleys. And the sand paper one will do it over even smaller hills/valleys. The honey one will resist a bit, and when you try to pull back it will try to pull you back in a bit. There were a few others but I forget them

The next part of the tutorial has you click a button to make a robot throw you a ball and you have to catch it. And when the ball hits your virtual glove, the grip will push against you with appropriate force. Another tutorial has you pulling it back like a slingshot, and the farther back you pull the more it pulls forward. And you have to let go (by pushing forward a bit, you're not supposed to let go of it when it's pulling/pushing hard) and shoot cans.

The other game I played was a simple bowling minigame. I only played for a minute and I know I'm missing out on some of the deeper elements so don't take this as the full game. But all I did was push a button and a ball was picked up automatically, then I pulled back, then pushed forward to throw the ball at the pins.

it comes with a driver to use it in Half Life 2. From what I've read it makes a big difference. Like using a shotgun will affect your aim as it'll have a big recoil effect and so forth

Nyko Perfect Shot

Now this is what deserves to be called the wii zapper. It's far more similar to the actual zapper than the real wii zapper. I wanna mod one into a NES zapper. I played Link's Crossbow training with it and it improved my score, the Wii zapper had the opposite effect (versus stand-alone wii-mote) I want a Wii classic controller and the Mario Kart wheel.

P5 Glove

It sucks. It's as bad as the Power Glove.

It's 3D sensor is inaccurate, specifically on the Z axis.

As for X/Y, lets just say its minimum requirements are a 100 mhz PC, thus it's expecting like an 800*600 screen, so if you have any larger, its hard to reach to the edges in mouse mode.

It jumps around a lot, and I just discovered why. They were stupid enough to either disable the finger sensors/buttons when it's not detected with the sensor bar, or use the infrared LEDs to transmit the data (which is retarded cause it uses an s-video cable to plug into the sensor bar)

The sensor bar is huge, like a big Metal Gear exclamation mark.

The games it comes with (Ive only tried one) appear to be demos, for like Win95. And they crash, a lot. And don't work very well. I couldn't get Beachhead to shoot. The AirLock demo was extremely hard.

PiStol3

My only complaint is that it's 2 separate pieces, which makes the smaller bit losable. I expected it to plug into the EXT port, but it wasn't needed.

Well, that and it's stupid name. I refuse to call it the Shooting Attachment.

The good:

-The handle is textured to make it easier to hold onto

-The trigger is nice and thin, but has no click to it

-It even fixes Move's bad Start/Select buttons by putting bigger ones over top of them

-Unlike Wii controller shells, it actually takes the wrist strap into account

-It is by far the most ergonomic 'lightgun' since the NES Zapper. It puts all the Wii controller shells to shame. Even the Nyko Perfect Shot feels bulky and uncomfortable in comparison. And the Wii Zapper is just horrible to begin with

Pocket Pokemon Pikachu II

Has a 3 color LCD, an infra red port for GBC linking and a pedometer that converts steps into points which you use to either gamble with Pikachu by guessing if your card is higher or lower than the one Pikachu is showing (the first PPP had a slot machine, which I prefer) or transfering them to Pokemon Gold/Silver to give you items. This could have been awesome, where you feed your Pikachu and have the pedometer count as taking it for a walk to lose weight. But no. Nintendo did nothing of the sort. It's nothing like Tamagotchi.

Pokéyboard

It's chiclet style. And does not work very well with long nails...

Batteries are included (2xAAs)

It takes about 6 seconds to realize it's off before pausing the game

It's kind of weird using a wireless controller on the DS.

The game is completely voiced, which is probably a first for the DS.

It also has this folding stand to prop your DS up on, and a slot on the back to hold the game card

It works on all models of DS/DSi/3DS since it doesn't use the GBA slot.

Nintendo says the keyboard also works on other things (Wii/PC/Android)

The game is import friendly though the Pokemon names are not the same as their English ones. And offers no DSi/3DS enhancements. Which ironically is a good thing since that means it's actually usable on DSi/3DS. Bloody territorial lockout...

The game itself is your standard typing tutor fair. Letters fall down the screen similar to Guitar Hero and you type them. The score builds up in the same way and resets your combo if you miss a letter.

Each button on the KB has it's own level, and they unlocked as you beat others. The level select screen is a picture of the KB with unlocked levels lit up, and ones where you got a medal show up bronze/silver/gold.

The lack of Windows-specific keys (ie: context menu) are annoying, as well as some of the keys not sending the symbol of their label.

PokéWalker

This thing is a huge step up from the previous Pocket Pikachus in all but one way. No color. Why such a step backwards? Well the answer is, to keep costs down. So on one hand I hate going back to 4 shades of grey, on the other hand it was free with the game so it's more than most games come with. Moving on.

Hardware wise, the screen is a much higher resolution than PocketStation or the Pocket Pikachus. I can't even guess, but it's DPI seems to be better than even the original Gameboy.

The buttons, aren't that responsive. But for the most part they don't have to be. Only one game in it really depends on speed. The battery is supposed to last like 3 months, using it for 30 min a day. It comes with a belt clip, but you need a small screwdriver to put it on.

Software wise, it is very complex, this could have been a full Gameboy game decades ago, and would have been better than most of it's games. It's more like the FF8 Chocobo World minigame for PocketStation than Pocket Pikachu/Tamagotchis. Annoyingly, they still haven't taken my suggestion of having you feed your Pokémon to make it gain weight and having you walk with it to make it lose weight. The watts you earn from each set of 20 steps does a lot more than the previous PPs. In this system, you can buy the chance to play 2 minigames. 1 gives you 4 bushes, and a random one will wiggle. You have to click a certain amount of bushes in a row quickly enough to earn the chance to do battle with a random pokemon. Unlike the games, you only have 4 HP, and 3 actions (attack with the chance of doing a 2 HP critical, dodge which attacks if successful, and throw pokéball which works if the Pokémon has 1 HP left) if your pokémon faints you lose up to 10 watts (so if you have 1 HP left, just dodge till your enemy runs away) the other game gives you 6 bushes, and 2 guesses to find an item in them. It tells you if it's near or far away, so if you choose the center left/right one first, your odds are 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 of getting an item. The watts you send back to the DS game let you unlock new areas in the PokéWalker, which like the game have different Pokémon and items (In April, Nintendo is holding a WiFi event to unlock a secret area so look out for that) You can put any Pokémon from your PC into the PokéWalker, and after a long walk it can level up when you send it back to the DS. Which brings me to another complaint, it's not usable out of the box. You have to play the DS game for about an hour first (Another complaint, setting the clock. My DS unlike every other device I own, is DST unaware, my PokéWalker is now an hour behind as a result) Graphically, it's pretty impressive for a "gigapet". They really put the "high" resolution to good use. It pretty much is using the same Pokémon graphics from Diamond/Pearl, just in monochrome.

What's really retarded is it has space for 3 found items (and 3 found Pokémon, but that's ok), but space for 10 items received from other PokéWalkers. Since you're more likely to find items yourself, it makes more sense to give you the space for 10 found items, and 3 traded items. Or pool them together. Unlike Chocobo World, you cannot battle other players. What you can do, is Mystery Gift (receive random item) and trade your current Pokémon team (like in the original Gold/Silver, so you could battle a copy of the other player's team in a certain area)

All in all, I'm pretty impressed with this device. I wouldn't have bought yet another Pokémon game (I want out! I already own 20 Pokémon games!) if it weren't for this.

What's sad is Nintendo announced they are making a new Pokémon game even before HeartGold/SoulSilver even got out here. I hope to God they finally add 3D Stadium battles.

PowerA 3-in-1 Remote

Normally I don't collect or count media remotes but this one does triple duty as the name implies. It's a keyboard (backlit too, better than Sony's official one!) a retro game controller, and a DVD remote. I would have preferred it use bluetooth as well though with its dual inputs I think that might be impossible. And unlike most crappy third party controllers it even has a built in battery that not only charges via standard USB, but includes a cable. I am impressed. Though the home/PS button is a little stiff.

I have gotten the keyboard functionality working on my PC. The dongle is like 2 inches long making it inconvenient for UMPC use, especially since you cant hide it in the controller itself.

Though the manual claims it will turn off after so long automatically, it hasnt really happened for me. I can unplug the receiver and the controller stays on.

Power Shovel Controller

Its smaller than the ps1 flighstick and the saturn/dc twinsticks

The orange is an odd color but fits the construction vehicle theme for the game. Apparently there is a black version out there

Ill try it with the game when i get home

Its got every button a dualshock has right down to l3/r3, even though the game doesnt use them all

Which means its not optimized, in that it wont make the game any easier to play. Which is sad since its controls are very convoluted. At least i can do what i did for the ace combat flight stick and tape the control scheme to it (the stick nor the game or manual gave it)

Pro Gamer Command Pad

It's pretty neat. I was HOPING but not expecting it to just act as a keyboard. I didn't expect it to work as a standard game controller since it used it's own software to map the buttons to a keyboard. But to my surprise, it works as a game controller, with 24 buttons and an analog stick. I didn't even need to install any drivers, I just use Xpadder to handle the mapping. Technically it only has 21 buttons, but there is a 3 way switch to choose which profile to use. So you can have 3 different keyboard mappings depending on which position the switch is in. Pretty nifty. Quite comfy too. It's backlit, and the light changes color depending on which position the switch is in. Though the wrist light stays blue, and there is a red backlit Saitek logo along the front edge distorted by a curved piece of plastic. I got the thing for like $40 (CDN) with shipping off ebay. And with Xpadder you can set it up to have the stick act as your mouse's scrollwheel, have buttons control any media player, etc. I don't even want to bother with it's official software. Xpadder is perfect!

PSP Go

Apparently they've been selling so poorly that the guy didn't believe me when I said I'd take it. He took it from me and put it back behind the counter.

Man was it a pain setting up via hotel wifi, during a once a year event with thousands of people sharing the connection dragging it to sub-dialup speeds. Thus proving why going download only is a bad idea.

It took 30 min to redownload Super Stardust Portable.

I gave up for the big stuff and tried copying it via USB from my other PSP. Didnt work. Invalid copy protection data.

The bad:

-The shoulder buttons suck. There is no click to them, just, sponge. Its easy to accidentally hit them. The old big clicky buttons were perfect. Nerds pay through the nose for old clicky style IBM keyboards, controller makers should know this. Tactile feedback is king, its why touchscreens suck.

-All the other buttons and analog nub are low profile and smaller, which isn't a good thing. And they are inside a ditch, which means when I have long nails the Go will be nigh unplayable. And I dont cut my nails for months at a time what with being a girl for petes sakes. Why dont people test for this crap? GBA SP had the same flaw!

-It lets you pause your game to a savestate now, but only 1. Why not 1 per game? And if you have a savestate already, it wont remind you when you try to save another. It'll happily overwrite it. I was taught in HIGH SCHOOL to prompt the user before destroying data. What monkey did Sony hire? Oh but it warns you before you start the game, its not like you'll ever play for a few hours and forget, noooo.

-Still no background downloading/queuing/resuming broken downloads, on a download-only system

-Worse, I plugged it into my PC while it was downloading, it aborted the download and switched to USB mode.

-Still cant charge via USB unless its in USB mode. Even though plugging it into an AC adapter will charge it at any time via the same cable/port. There's no excuse for this

-Games that made you hold the system sideways are no longer playable that way. Nor is 3D mode for MGS Acid 2, assuming its even on PSN

-When downloading things from PSN, it now asks if you want to save it internally, or on memory stick, even if no memory stick is inserted

-Battery info in System settings is gone, the battery is also unremovable

-Bluetooth is nigh useless. It uses an obsolete cell phone profile, doesnt support keyboards, doesnt let you remap unused inputs on a controller to used ones and games cant use them (to be forwards compatible with PSP2 for example)

-Yay for buying all new peripherals! At least since Go is selling so badly you can get them all pretty cheap

-A sliding screen? Aren't those known for breaking down really fast? Yes, from personal experience (A UMPC with one, hell even DS's are known for being fragile) I say this is a bad idea

-If the hold switch is on and you open the Go, it will do nothing, ignoring it. If you close it, it wont ignore it. Selective holding?

-Nintendo still makes a better portable AC adapter with the folding plugs. The least they could have done was put a PSP 2000/3000 TV out port on the adapter, so we could use old cables, since now you cant charge and use TV out at the same time without buying a dock

-It's nigh useless when closed. Had they thought this through, they would have mirrored the Home button on the right side with a user definable button, which would have made a lot more games playable. Even pinball games are hard to play since you cant pause. The home button should have paused games like it does on PS3. Even that would have helped

-The extra 32 MB of RAM added with the Slim for UMD caching, is now completely unused. They could have added things like custom soundtracks, or at the very least in-game manual reading. But no. PSP Go's motto should be "wasted potential"

-The lanyard/wrist strap hole is in an uncomfortable place for small hands. By uncomfortable, I mean so sharp I want to file it down

-If Sony really wants to emphasize downloads, they need to make it convenient to store large amounts of games on this. That means adding: Subfolders to the XMB, sorting/grouping options other than by expiry date, better management from a PS3 (ie: The ability to copy games and save data from a PSP) a way to search/sort your download list, more ways to view the store (ie: By cost)

-Sony announced they'd be giving free games to Go owners, to those who bought it the day after I did. Way to give me the finger Sony. Congrats. I knew what I was getting into for the most part before I bought the Go, but I found it cheap so I grabbed it. But you already have me regretting it after 1 day. *claps*

-Bluetooth cannot be turned on/off in-game

-It doesn't show the battery status of Bluetooth devices

-Bluetooth and USB mode cannot be used at the same time

-When syncing a PS3 controller to a Go, there is no feedback on the PS3, only the PSP

-The PS3 controller is underused (surprise) the right analog could have served as things like Square+dpad, and L2/R2 as Square + L/R in the web browser. They could have let new games use the extra inputs and rumble, like later PS1 games could use dualshock, but they didnt. This would have also made said games forwards compatible with PSP2s added controls

-Games, game data and save data must all be saved in the same place (ie: System Storage or Memory Stick)

-When using a Bluetooth headset, it uses it for all game audio instead of just voice chat. And the audio sucks. It wont let you use the speakers for game audio. And wont support the PS3 headset high quality mode

-The volume/note/display buttons are now both harder to find (completely hidden when the Go is open) and harder to press (smaller)

-Even though the adapter uses a USB port, it won't let you use other USB cables to charge things like a PS3 controller

-If you use a Bluetooth headset for audio, then disconnect it, audio on the system will be muted till you hold the note button down for 5 seconds

-The microphone is blocked when the system is closed

-The adapter should have had a PSP 2x/3x style headset port on it to use old PSP A/V cables. It would have been easy to add the A/V wires to the USB cable and just lead them to the port allowing all Go owners to use TV out and charge at the same time.

The good:

-its small/light, it makes the DSi XL look like a netbook

-it lets you have 2 players in PS1 games, an it lets you do 1:1 control mappping and rumble (using a PS3 controller, L2/R2/Right Analog work as they should)

-In RemotePlay, there is also 1:1 controller mapping

-You wont miss that 1/2 inch from the screen, though there is enough room in the bezel for it...

-The screen lacks the interlacing artifacts from the 3000

-The ridges on the back do make it more comfortable than the flat Slim models

I also bought Coded Arms 2 for $10, which I then had to play on my other PSP... Yay for Sony making a PSP that needs a second PSP if you want the full experience!

PSP Go A/V dock

Let me start out by saying there are 2 kinds of Go docks. Both are labeled as PSP-N340

Type 1 (T1): This is the normal one, it has 2 ports on the back. An 'old' PSP 1x/2x/3x AC adapter port, and a PSP Go dock USB port

Type 2 (T2): The one I have, it has 3 ports. 2 AV ports that look like normal headphone ports, and a standard USB port like the good PSPs use. The packaging it came in advertised all the features T1 has/doesn't have, none of which applied to the T2.

T1 can charge and use USB at the same time. It can charge and use TV out at the same time. It can not use USB and TV out at the same time.

T2 can not charge and use USB at the same time. It can charge and use TV out at the same time. It can use USB and TV out at the same time.

T1 requires PSP Go proprietary A/V cables.

T2 uses standard composite and component cables, which plug into breakout cables included with the dock (the ones in the picture I linked to above)

T1 requires you to have/buy an old PSP adapter to use the charging capabilities unless you use the USB docking cable and Go's adapter.

T2 requires you to use the USB port to charge the PSP, and includes a USB cable to fit the PSP Go adapter. Go's adapter cannot be used to charge anything else (ie: PS3 controllers, the wireless keypad)

T1 automatically detects which cable type you have connected to it when you switch to an external display.

T2 has a switch in a hard to reach place on the back, and you have to tell it what cable type is connected. And if you want to use the internal speakers, you have to turn the switch to Off.

Even though the PSP automatically detects when you connect a dock or AV cables, and switches off it's internal speakers, it will not switch to the external display automatically

Had I made this dock, I would have included:

-The switch in an easier to reach place

-a headphone port on the front

-a port for the old AC adapters on the T2, a standard mini-B USB port on the T1 to let it charge and stay connected to a PC at all times

-Instead of using the PSP Go dock connector for TV out on the T1, use either the PSP 2x/3x headset connector or the PS2 Multi-AV connector

-either an infra red port to use with PS2 remotes, OR media buttons on the front (Play/Pause, Stop, Volume +/-, Prev, Next)

-a USB port to charge other devices such as PS3 controllers, the PS3 headset or the PSP bluetooth remote

-Let PSP Go act as a USB Host device. Having USB hard/flash drives show up in the XMB, and letting it sync to PS3 controllers without the need for a PS3

PS3 Wireless Keypad/Keyboard

The good:

The mouse/trackpad feature actually works perfectly after you calibrate it by holding it's 2 shoulder buttons down

It works with any bluetooth PC/device that supports the keyboard profile, and uses it's own battery

It will go into standbye mode if you leave it untouched for a while

The battery is user-replaceable

The bad:

The web browser doesn't use it to scroll up/down the page so you still have to use the right analog stick

It blocks the lights on the top of the controller, not a big issue but still.

The start/select buttons are now a bit harder to press

The USB port sticks a bit

You now need 2 cables to charge your controller and the keypad

You do have to move your hands up (and off the controller) to use it unless you have big hands

You have to turn it on/off with a switch, unlike the bluray remote.

No backlight

Has 2 buttons to access your friends list, but no multimedia functionality

It fits perfectly with the contours of the dualshock controller, making it somewhat less useful/ergonomic to use with anything else. Though you can use it one handed.

When coming out of standby mode, it will ignore any buttons you press

Does not work with long nails

Conclusion:

360's chatpad is superior in almost every way. It's button size/spacing is perfect, has a backlight, fits in the most logical spot in the controller, doesn't need a separate power source or block any button/light on the controller. The only advantages PS3 has is that you can use it on other devices, and the trackpad feature. Sony needs to start using the products they imitate.

PS890

Since a bunch of people are finding my site by searching for "PS890 review" I figure I should actually review it

Physical:

The shoulder buttons are worse than 360's, they have less travel but are more clicky. One of my PS890's (I only opened one) shoulder buttons feel broken, in that it's pushed in a bit.

The triggers are flatter than 360's and are about a millimeter shorter

The face buttons, analog stick and dpad all feel the same

The overall shell feels almost the same, the bottom edge of the wings are a bit pointy/sharp but your hands aren't usually there so it doesn't matter.

The start/back buttons were moved, shaped like tic tacs, a bit smaller and don't have an arrow on them. They are easier to press though.

Visual:

The shoulder buttons and triggers are black, where 360's are white. The start/back are also black. The dpad is also the wrong color. There is also a slight indentation on the top where on 360 there is none. The X logo is gone from the big button for obvious reasons. It's also now a red led instead of green (so now PS3 can get the RROD effect!) The plastic is smoother and brighter, and the grey part on the bottom edge is gone. They just used 2 parts instead of 3 like 360. These differences are odd and most should not have been made.

Overall:

Assuming my shoulder buttons are like every other PS890, I wouldn't recommend getting one. They could ruin your game

RetroCon

I used the Retrocon to play Astro Tripper on PS3. Works pretty well. The stick is nice, the buttons are nice, the game doesnt use the shoulder buttons, though the Dpad doesn't stick out enough. It's a pretty neat game too. The controller has a nice texture and curved back to it. The glow is really neat too, and oddly enough is still glowing even though my PS3 is off...

SCPH-1110 PS1 Flightstick

Suprisingly enough it works as a standard controller on the PS2, I'll have to try it in a dual shock game, but in analog mode the right stick worked in the menu as the dpad.

This thing has 2 analog sticks, making it a HOTAS flight stick. It apparently works with PS1 Ace Combat and Armored Core games which I will have to obtain later on.

On both sticks are 2 buttons on the top for your thumb, a standard trigger (slightly wider than the Dreamcast ones, but clicky/not analog/less resistant) and a little button for your pinky finger.

The right analog stick has a thumbstick on it that works as the dpad. It's more like N64s thumbsticks than the dual shock, in that it is plastic with rings rather than that rubber thing dual shock uses.

The two thumb buttons on the left act as L1 and R1, the trigger is L2, the pinky button is R2

The thumb buttons on the right act as X and O, the trigger is Square and the pinky button is Triangle.

I find this odd as the triggers should've been L1 and R1, the pinkies L2 and R2.

The buttons are redundantly placed on the base as large buttons like what you'd see on a fight/arcade stick. Also with Start and Select.

There is also a physical analog mode switch, not a button like on dual shock.

There are no L3/R3 buttons

The analog sticks are also a lot more ergonomic than the Saturn Twinsticks. They also have rubber pads. The sticks are also farther apart.

The base also has a neat rubber, guard/skirt thing which I like (less dust can get in) and the sticks themselves feel stronger.

And if you thought you were going to get away without me bringing up the fact that this both came out before and was announced before the N64, you don't know me very well. As everyone should know how much I hate that Nintendo gets credit for stealing, but Sony derided for it.

I just played a game of SuperStardustHD, using the PS1 analog flightstick, and it was awesome. I'll start from the beginning.

So I'm playing SSHD with Sixaxis, and I'm sorta pinching the right analog to get better control, and pressing the controller against my leg cause I can't hold it correctly one handed. And I'm thinking to myself, I've got the world's largest controller collection, surely I must have something to solve this problem. So I look to my left and there sits the PS1 analog flightstick model SCPH-1110 which came out before the N64

So I grab it and my PS1/PS2 to PS3

USB adapter and plug it in. Luckily the flightstick is dual shock compatable. Not only did it work, it but it works awesomely. I was playing perfectly up until the snake boss when my arms started going numb

All in all, it was very enjoyable, to the point where I'd say I have an unfair advantage. The L1 and R1 to switch weapons are where my left thumb would be. Turbo/boost is the left trigger, bomb is the left pinky finger.

In case you're wondering I scored ~10 million. Which is pretty good considering it's the first time I've played since I got ~27 million about a month ago. And I had to relearn the controls.

SCPH-1150 dual analog "Proto-Shock"

Oh the extended wings are awesome. It is the single most comfortable controller there is. Going back from SIXAXIS's triggers to the button-style shoulder buttons is kinda weird. The concave thumbsticks make it easier to use and reduces slipping. The longer analog switch button is much better. In short, it makes DualShock 1 and 2 seem, a step backwards. DS3 one-ups it with the trigger style shoulder buttons and wireless+battery. But I'm seriously considering obtaining a second Proto-Shock and another DualShock 3 and putting the DS3's innards into the PS (EDIT: People have tried, the circuitry doesn't fit).

Sharp Shooter

The build quality is a huge step up over the CTA Digital ASSault Rifle.

It's kinda heavy, you won't be using this one handed.

The button redirection works on all existing Move games (So you can use the redundant triangle/square/Move/shotgun)

The shotgun action mechanically presses the trigger of the Move

The Start/Select buttons are just as bad as the PiStol3 attachment

There are holes for the wrist straps to fit through while still attached to the Move/NavCon. It also has a hole for it's own strap (not included)

There is a lock for the redundant Move trigger, which I see no use for

The lock, as well as the mode switch and triangle/square buttons are on both sides of the gun

The stock has a release button, it slides out with almost no resistance annoyingly, but the button needs to be pressed for it to go in.

Unlike the PiStol3, it has no opening for you to charge Move/NavCon while inserted, so they need to be removed to do so.

There is no redundant PS/Home button...

It has a rail for a scope, but none was included. I HOPE they intend to sell a PSP dock for a Silent Scope clone, given a real scope is useless since pointing at a spot on your TV doesn't actually point at that spot in the game.

I would have preferred the spot for the NavCon, be filled with a NavCon clone built into the gun so it doesnt use 2 batteries, and have to start 2 controllers. It would have cost more though, but it would have been more useful/convenient.

Despite being advertised as Dead Space Extraction/TimeCrisis compatible, the controls are not optimized. While this is more the developers fault since they didn't use the NavCon properly... You have to use the X/O buttons on top of the Move controller itself.

The redundant Move button does help, since it's one less button you need to go up top for, which specifically helps in Killzone 3. Sony could easily fix this problems by letting the NavCon pretend to be the same controller ID# as the Move, and let you map it's buttons.

Sidewinder Dual Strike

It is really comfortable, anyone who liked the original XBOX controller will love the feel of this.

Sadly that doesn't extend to it's inputs. What looks like an analog stick, is just a dpad. It is ironically the best feeling dpad MS has ever put out. It doesn't tilt/push-in like a console's dpad. It physically moves left/right/up/down a bit. But given it's for PC I guess that makes sense, as it probably just maps to WSAD.

The triggers are just microswitches. So there is almost no travel, only click. So like 360's "bumpers", but they are flush with the shape of the controller. But they are big, much more surface area than 360's which makes them a lot more comfortable so I won't get Crazy Taxi finger/Gears of Sore.

The buttons themselves are fine. Just enough travel and click. It's got ribs on the back to make it easier to grip.

As for the reason I bought it, the orb. It doesn't work the way I expected, it doesn't tilt on X/Y axis like a joystick. It rotates around the X axis (so you can point it in/out from the other half) then pivots on Y (so you can rotate it up/down) I'd say about 60 degrees of freedom on either axis.

I really, REALLY like this. This is the singular best "normal" (as in, not counting the sharpshooter) controller for FPS's I've ever used. You get to control looking while using the buttons simultaneously. It takes a bit to get used to, about as much as the sharpshooter did. I would love to use it a lot more but I've been told the dpad is fragile.

I'd love even more for an updated version for 360. ie: With an analog stick+dpad on the left, analog triggers IN THE SAME SHAPE as they are now. More buttons.

Sifteo Cubes