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November 18th, 2009, 16:01 Posted By: Bratman Du
Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Codemasters
Release:
NA: October 6, 2009
EU: October 8, 2009
AUS: October 15, 2009
UK: October 9, 2009
Genre: Military Sim / FPS
Players: Single-player, Single-co-op, Multiplayer, Multiplayer-Co-op
Age Rating:
BBFC: 15
ESRB: M
PEGI: 18
USK: 16
Billed as an infantry sim, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, makes many claims about it's size, it's realism and it's hardcore difficulty. This is a game I had been looking forward to, I always wade in on the hardest difficulty of any game I have right away. I hadn't played the first Operation Flashpoint game, but I damn sure liked the sound of bullets causing you to bleed out, super hard enemies who spot you a mile off and the need for finely honed military tactics to complete missions.
I was beginning to wonder if the days of hardcore PC only shooters were dead and gone. Halo and Call of Duty and their kind have given us '30 seconds of fun' gameplay, regenerative health, and all the other console/casual devices we've grown used to. So the PC fps games of the late 90s and early 00s didn't really make the transition to consoles at the time, mainly because consoles of that era didn't have the power to compete with PCs. But now that the performance divide between PC and console narrows, we see more and more multi-console-PC releases, often to the detriment of PC versions, and earning the malign of PC owners.
But for those of us who aren't rich enough to keep up with the latest PC hardware, PC games on consoles is very much welcome for the most part. Bohemia Interactive's original Operation Flashpoint was praised by PC gaming mags and websites the world over, however a fallout resulted in Codemasters becoming both developer and publisher of the 'sequel', Dragon Rising.
It shows. What I mean is, this game was developed and published by Codemasters, and it shows heavy signs of design by committee. You can almost tell the parts of the game where some one higher up the food chain at Codemaster decided that being able to put blurb facts on the back of the box took frontseat to a rounded gaming experience.
Let's take the bit of blurb on the back of the gamebox, a 220 km2 open world battlefield. That's all well and good but none, NONE of the missions in the game make much use of this fact, and as of yet there is not free roam mode. Maybe I'm missing something as a mostly console gamer (nowadays), but what is the point of a 220km2 open world environment, when each of the game's 11 or so missions require you to follow orders within a set area. Roaming around outside your mission area usually results in failure. Though I have to admit, it's great to have the option to approach a mission from any angle, but it really feels like there's a lot of wasted space. I'm told there will be a free roam mode added with DLC, but I'm focussing on the release version of the game here.
50 vehicles are your to command! Yet 95% of your time will be spent running. Vehicles are largely irrelevant to most tasks, save for a few missions. They'll either draw too much attention and get you shot, or be so uncontrollable and useless that you're better off on foot.
Ok so far I've gone in angry. Maybe not angry as such, more, annoyed disappointment, but there are some excellent features in the game, graphics aren't something I usually focus on, but I'd like to mention that missions start at a certain time of day, and, from there, they occurr in real time. This means that, when you begin mission 2 for example, at 5:30am, it is initially dark. Take more than half an hour on this mission and you'll notice the Sun rises, and the map gets brighter, negating the protection and stealth that darkness afforded you, and beautifully lighting up the trees and grass. Then you see a badly textured low poly bush and the immersion suffers a bit, or you notice how the fire effects and explosions look like they were created with MS Paint.
When the gameplay works it works well. I really enjoyed a lot of the missions, in both the stealth and firefight sections. Getting your guys (and occasionally gals) in position, forming a tight wedge and ordering return fire only. For a time it's exactly what the doctor ordered. But, there are numerous bugs in this title at launch, and although a patch is promised to update the sometimes great, sometimes erratic AI behaviour, it's pretty poor form to have this many glaring errors at launch.
Two things about this game in particular really bugged me. First, the collision deteciton. I was in a building, looking out a window - standing up - not crouching - aiming my gun out the window, with the muzzle pointing right at an enemy. As I opened fire, the bullets seemed to hit off the window sill below. Now this happens in many games, GTAIV, Halo, Red Faction, Call of Duty. It's usually not a problem. But here I had the gun clearly looking out a window, there was no way this should have been hitting off the window sill.
The second big annoyance, was the weapon selection. Now, I understand that in a 'realistic' military sim, it takes a short time to get weapons out, you have to put the old one away, and take out the new one, and if it's a launcher, lay it down on the ground, and set it up, etc. That's fine, I can deal with that, however, to actually select the weapon is the part that should take no time at all. What happens when you want to switch weapons? You hold 'B' on (XBox360), and about a second later the weapon menu comes up. Why it takes a full second for a simple menu I do not know. Then, to add to my exacerbation, the menu for selecting weapons has a delay, so when you tap up on the dpad or analogue stick, it doesn't move the selection, so you tap it again and half a second later you've gone one past the weapon you wanted.
Now these are seemingly minor gripes, but if a game is going to claim to have ultra realsim, it can't seriously expect us to navigate unresponsive menus in the middle of a firefight can it? If a game wants realism, we need collision detection that doesn't ruin a perfectly lined up headshot. On the hardest mode, with no checkpoints in a mission, you often can't fire a shot until you're ready, as you would give away your position, so when you finally take it and it hits something way below where you're aiming, due to poor collision detection, it's a little bit frustrating going back to the start of a mission which could be anywhere between half an hour to an hour's work.
I respect the decision to try and bring hardcore-ness to the FPS genre once again, but this is not what fans of the series or newcomers were looking for. Codemasters clearly wanted a game that sat apart from the CODs and Halos, but at the same time, they need to think more about how those games came to dominate the FPS genre.
I'm not saying OFDR should have been 'consolized', but if you're bringing such a hardcore traditionally PC only game to consoles, you need to make some compromises, and think about how to make complex controls and game mechanics work with a controller.
Also, I think what defines 'hard' between 5 - 8 years ago and today, has changed. It's no longer about lives, continues, psychic AI and no checkpoints, it's about carefully thought out level design, smart AI that can adapt and react to you and the world around it. As such, I think the hardest difficulty in OFDR, goes too far. I'm not claiming it's too hard, I'm saying taking out checkpoints doesn't make it harder, it makes it annoying. When you've proven you can beat a section of a level or mission, why should you have to do it again when you die at a later, often unrelated part of the mission. It makes it feel like progressing through the game is not about getting better, it's more about doing a mission over and over until you know where to go and what to do, which is just learning by rote.
Even with the promised patch AI fix, I feel there are always going to be major control issues, and often a lack of direction. Coupled with poor interfaces, unresponsive menus, and a lot of running, it's hard to like this game.
Multiplayer is unfortunately not much better. Again, promised fixes for netcode aren't even an issue. Even without lag I feel it would still be a mess. It's never really clear what the point is, it's like Codemasters are making it harder by not telling us anything about the game. Even the manual has precious little info on gametypes and objectives. I usually don't even have to read manuals anymore for most games, usually game feedback and menu items are clear enough to get you having fun in no time.
In one multiplayer mode I believe (but can't be sure) that there four people on each team, with each person having an AI squad at their disposal. Call me crazy but I thought the point of multiplayer was to play against humans, not crazy AI? Save that for co-op. Speaking of co-op, I played a couple of missions this way, but lag and the problems of single player cropped up all too often to be enjoyable.
Summing up, it had so much promise, and when things all come together you can have a lot of fun with this but it doesn't take much googling to find message board after message board about the problems with this game and how angry long term fans are with what was done with this game. Ultimately it fails at what it set out to do, and when it's so alienating to both the casual gamer, and to the dedicated Operation Flashpoint fans, you have to ask - who did they think would like this?
A noble effort to bring hardcore gaming to a console, with some great ideas, let down by some strange design, interface and gameplay implementation choices. When it works, it works well, but mostly, it doesn't come together enough into a cohesive experience.
Bratman.
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November 18th, 2009, 15:53 Posted By: Bratman Du
Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Codemasters
Release:
NA: October 6, 2009
EU: October 8, 2009
AUS: October 15, 2009
UK: October 9, 2009
Genre: Military Sim / FPS
Players: Single-player, Single-co-op, Multiplayer, Multiplayer-Co-op
Age Rating:
BBFC: 15
ESRB: M
PEGI: 18
USK: 16
Billed as an infantry sim, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, makes many claims about it's size, it's realism and it's hardcore difficulty. This is a game I had been looking forward to, I always wade in on the hardest difficulty of any game I have right away. I hadn't played the first Operation Flashpoint game, but I damn sure liked the sound of bullets causing you to bleed out, super hard enemies who spot you a mile off and the need for finely honed military tactics to complete missions.
I was beginning to wonder if the days of hardcore PC only shooters were dead and gone. Halo and Call of Duty and their kind have given us '30 seconds of fun' gameplay, regenerative health, and all the other console/casual devices we've grown used to. So the PC fps games of the late 90s and early 00s didn't really make the transition to consoles at the time, mainly because consoles of that era didn't have the power to compete with PCs. But now that the performance divide between PC and console narrows, we see more and more multi-console-PC releases, often to the detriment of PC versions, and earning the malign of PC owners.
But for those of us who aren't rich enough to keep up with the latest PC hardware, PC games on consoles is very much welcome for the most part. Bohemia Interactive's original Operation Flashpoint was praised by PC gaming mags and websites the world over, however a fallout resulted in Codemasters becoming both developer and publisher of the 'sequel', Dragon Rising.
It shows. What I mean is, this game was developed and published by Codemasters, and it shows heavy signs of design by committee. You can almost tell the parts of the game where some one higher up the food chain at Codemaster decided that being able to put blurb facts on the back of the box took frontseat to a rounded gaming experience.
Let's take the bit of blurb on the back of the gamebox, a 220 km2 open world battlefield. That's all well and good but none, NONE of the missions in the game make much use of this fact, and as of yet there is not free roam mode. Maybe I'm missing something as a mostly console gamer (nowadays), but what is the point of a 220km2 open world environment, when each of the game's 11 or so missions require you to follow orders within a set area. Roaming around outside your mission area usually results in failure. Though I have to admit, it's great to have the option to approach a mission from any angle, but it really feels like there's a lot of wasted space. I'm told there will be a free roam mode added with DLC, but I'm focussing on the release version of the game here.
50 vehicles are your to command! Yet 95% of your time will be spent running. Vehicles are largely irrelevant to most tasks, save for a few missions. They'll either draw too much attention and get you shot, or be so uncontrollable and useless that you're better off on foot.
Ok so far I've gone in angry. Maybe not angry as such, more, annoyed disappointment, but there are some excellent features in the game, graphics aren't something I usually focus on, but I'd like to mention that missions start at a certain time of day, and, from there, they occurr in real time. This means that, when you begin mission 2 for example, at 5:30am, it is initially dark. Take more than half an hour on this mission and you'll notice the Sun rises, and the map gets brighter, negating the protection and stealth that darkness afforded you, and beautifully lighting up the trees and grass. Then you see a badly textured low poly bush and the immersion suffers a bit, or you notice how the fire effects and explosions look like they were created with MS Paint.
When the gameplay works it works well. I really enjoyed a lot of the missions, in both the stealth and firefight sections. Getting your guys (and occasionally gals) in position, forming a tight wedge and ordering return fire only. For a time it's exactly what the doctor ordered. But, there are numerous bugs in this title at launch, and although a patch is promised to update the sometimes great, sometimes erratic AI behaviour, it's pretty poor form to have this many glaring errors at launch.
Two things about this game in particular really bugged me. First, the collision deteciton. I was in a building, looking out a window - standing up - not crouching - aiming my gun out the window, with the muzzle pointing right at an enemy. As I opened fire, the bullets seemed to hit off the window sill below. Now this happens in many games, GTAIV, Halo, Red Faciton, Call of Duty. It's usually not a problem. But here I had the gun clearly looking out a window, there was no way this should have been hitting off the window sill.
The second big annoyance, was the weapon selection. Now, I understand that in a 'realistic' military sim, it takes a short time to get weapons out, you have to put the old one away, and take out the new one, and if it's a launcher, lay it down on the ground, and set it up, etc. That's fine, I can deal with that, however, to actually select the weapon is the part that should take no time at all. What happens when you want to switch weapons? You hold 'B' on (XBox360), and about a second later the weapon menu comes up. Why it takes a full second for a simple menu I do not know. Then, to add to my exacerbation, the menu for selecting weapons has a delay, so when you tap up on the dpad or analogue stick, it doesn't move the selection, so you tap it again and half a second later you've gone one past the weapon you wanted.
Now these are seemingly minor gripes, but if a game is going to claim to have ultra realsim, it can't seriously expect us to navigate unresponsive menus in the middle of a firefight can it?
I respect the decision to try and bring hardcore-ness to the FPS genre once again, but this is not what fans of the series or newcomers were looking for. Codemasters clearly wanted a game that sat apart from the CODs and Halos, but at the same time, they need to think more about how those games came to dominate the FPS genre. I'm not saying OF R should have been 'consolized', but if you're bringing such a hardcore traditionally PC only game to consoles, you need to make some compromises, and think about how to make complex controls and game mechanics work with a controller.
What defines 'hard' between 5 - 8 years ago and today, has changed. It's no longer about lives, continues, psychic AI and no checkpoints, it's about carefully thought out level design, smart AI that can adapt and react to you and the world around it. As such, I think the hardest difficulty in OFR, goes too far. I'm not claiming it's too hard, I'm saying taking out checkpoints doesn't make it harder, it makes it annoying. When you've proven you can beat a section of a level or mission, why should you have to do it again when you die at a later, often unrelated part of the mission. It makes it feel like progressing through the game is not about getting better, it's more about doing a mission over and over until you know where to go and what to do, which is just learning by rote.
Even with the promised patch AI fix, I feel there are always going to be major control issues, and often a lack of direction. Coupled with poor interfaces, unresponsive menus, and a lot of running, it's hard to like this game.
Multiplayer is unfortunately not much better. Again, promised fixes for netcode aren't even an issue. Even without lag I feel it would still be a mess. It's never really clear what the point is, it's like Codemasters are making it harder by not telling us anything about the game. Even the manual has precious little info on gametypes and objectives. I usually don't even have to read manuals anymore for most games, usually game feedback and menu items are clear enough to get you having fun in no time.
In one multiplayer mode I believe (but can't be sure) that there four people on each team, with each person having an AI squad at their disposal. Call me crazy but I thought the point of multiplayer was to play against humans, not crazy AI? Save that for co-op. Speaking of co-op, I played a couple of missions this way, but lag and the problems of single player cropped up all too often to be enjoyable.
Summing up, it had so much promise, and when things all come together you can have a lot of fun with this but it doesn't take much googling to find message board after message board about the problems with this game and how angry long term fans are with what was done with this game. Ultimately it fails at what it set out to do, and when it's so alienating to both the casual player, and the dedicated Operation Flashpoint fans, you have to ask - who did they think would like this?
A noble effort to bring hardcore gaming to a console, with some great ideas, let down by some strange design, interface and gameplay implementation choices. When it works, it works well, but mostly, it doesn't come together enough into a cohesive experience.
Bratman.
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November 18th, 2009, 01:08 Posted By: bandit
NEXiLUX Game Genie Turbo 360 Pre-Installed Controller
Manufacturer: NEXiLUX
Site: Buy from TotalConsole
Price: $49.99
Overview : With Game Genie Mod, your controller gives you extra powers. Your triggers are individually configurable with settings from one (1) to ten (10) clicks/second. Whether on a FPS, Fighting game, Sports game, Game Genie mod is your best ally against the adversary.
Features:- Customizable triggers actions: from 1 to 10 Clicks/Second.
- Both triggers can be customizable with a different action.
- Power UP against your opponents in and FPS, Sport or Fight games.
Quality/Usability : Usually, when you purchase a product like this that adds turbo/rapid fire, its either an add-on or an aftermarket controller. Instead of releasing an add-on peripheral or an aftermarket controller, NEXiLUX decided to stick with what is better...the Official Microsoft Xbox 360 controller. Since the Game Genie Turbo 360 is pre-installed, there is nothing you need to do. All the hard work such as drilling and soldering is done for you. All you have to do is open the package, sync controller to Xbox 360 console and wreak havoc! Video's of the installation process can be found on our YouTube page which consists of three parts to the install - [video=youtube;dXg9zKqzaeY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pUmwoz0vxc]here[/url] [1/3], [2/3] and [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXg9zKqzaeY[/video] [3/3].
Since NEXiLUX used an Official Xbox 360 controller, you'll know you'll have a durable and reliable product. However, in order to have modify the controller, NEXiLUX had to open the controller, drill holes and solder wires. Just like opening any electronic, this voids the manufacture warranty on the controller. So if something should happen to the controller, you'll have to go and buy a new one. Nothing is included except for black and white photocopy instructions, controller wrapped in a bubble wrap bag, battery cover and white box with NEXiLUX Game Genie Turbo 360 sticker.
The controller is the same as if you were to buy it from a store minus the packaging. The only difference is 3 buttons added to the back of the controller. They are placed underneath the controller for your middle fingers (two black - rapid/auto fire buttons), while the third button (red - configuration) is located for use with your ring finger or pinky. The two black buttons are on each side and act as the RT and LT but with rapid/auto fire functions. The red configuration button on under the black button on the RT side. To configure the RT trigger auto fire on the controller, press and hold down the configuration button and press the left or right auto trigger the number of times you want to auto fire. So if you press it 6 times, it will auto fire 6 times. Press it 10 times, it will auto fire 10 times. You set it from 1-10 shots/second. Release the configuration button. Now, each time you press the auto fire trigger, it will auto fire. *NOTE: Be sure to set this at a speed that will not get you banned. Doing it too quick can get you banned if you play online. Your original RT and LT trigger buttons will continue to work as normal. So each time you press it, it will fire once. Hold it down and it will fire once.
The video below will show you what is included and how to set it up.
The buttons themselves are sturdy and do not wobble. However, they are stiff when you press them so you will hear a clicking sound when pressed. Since the buttons are thin, it may feel a little uncomfortable when pressed. The location of the buttons were perfect as that is where my fingers would have been, so accessing the turbo buttons was readily available when needed. I have been told that Chatpad works with the controller. I don't own one so I am unable to confirm.
Below are videos of the NEXiLUX Game Genie Turbo 360 Pre-Installed Controller in action:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Gears of War 2
Street Fighter
Conclusion : Overall, the NEXiLUX Game Genie Turbo 360 Pre-Installed Controller is a great auto fire without the extra frills or add-ons. All NEXiLUX did was take an Official Xbox 360 controller and modded it. You get the same durability and reliability with the added feature. The buttons were a bit thin and stiff. Would have been nice if the buttons were wider, less stiff and maybe closer to the shell of the controller rather than protruding. However, the parts that I suggested probably arent even available or would be compatible or I'm just being too picky (LOL) - [wider buttons are being tested]. Due note that like the XCM XFPS' that allows you to use a keyboard/mouse, some gamers consider this as a cheating device as this gives you an advantage over them. There is no way to detect what peripherals are being used but its how you play that may get you the boot. Use this at you own risk if using this on Xbox Live and playing against other gamers online.
What thing I did notice is that my RB button doesnt really click when you press the button near the edge but it still registers and works. It only clicks when you press near the center. I dont know if this how the controller is or after NEXiLUX put the controller back [I have been told this has been fixed]. The LB clicks no matter where you press. Since NEXiLUX had to gain access to the 7th screw located underneath the serial number/barcode in the battery compartment, they placed hologram sticker that has "2008" and a check mark printed on it [I have been told this is for warranty purposes]. I guess this is for quality assurance and their certificate.
DIGG THIS
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November 17th, 2009, 03:55 Posted By: bandit
Wireless network at home but no means to connect your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to the Internet? Problem solved with the Wireless Gaming Adapter from Mad Catz. Just plug into a PC—with the included Ethernet cable—for a quick and easy configuration process then plug directly into your console’s Ethernet port to let the online gaming, downloading, and movie viewing begin. Take advantage of the fastest Wireless-N Internet speeds that enable up to 7 times faster game play, for an unrivaled gaming experience. Fully compatible with 802.11 b/g/n wireless Routers and Access Points, now you can take advantage of your console’s Internet capabilities without the need for an expensive first-party accessory.
Product Features:- Wireless broadband Internet connection for Xbox 360/PS3
- Fast and easy configuration
- Quick setup button for seamless gaming console integration*
- Connects to console’s Ethernet port
- Compatible with 802.11 b/g/n wireless networks
- System requirements: Home wireless network, broadband (high-speed) Internet connection, PC/MAC with
- Ethernet port for one-time configuration
*Supported by wireless Routers/Access Points featuring WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button
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November 16th, 2009, 17:15 Posted By: westy118
Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank
Publisher : Sony Online Entertainment
Dev: Pop Cap Games
Price: £6.99
Another game from the Playstation Network, Heavy Weapon has all the feel of those side scrolling action games of the Commodore 64 and Nintendo (guess what consoles I had as a kid!), rolling along shooting everything in sight, and simply because of the tank, Metal Slug, but Metal Slug this is not!
There are several modes, campaign, survival, boss battle, and online, rankings too.
A very basic set up, use the left analogue stick to move your tank left and right to dodge bullets and use the right analogue stick to aim (pointing it in whatever direction will fire in that direction, no buttons used). We also have the X/O button for your chosen special weapon (rockets etc) and R2 will detotnate any nukes you have, they'll destroy pretty much everything on the screen, except for end bosses – they'll take a good bit of health off them. Then there's the Super Laser, collect four pieces to get this weapon which will destroy anything in it's path (never actually had it during a boss battle but I'm pretty sure it would FUBAR it!). They only problem with this weapon is that it lasts for so little time after taking a good while to actually get.
Ok getting on to the game the little cut scene story at the start reminds me very much of a DS game, static pictures in a comic book fashion, the world is doomed and the tank is the only hope. Each level is a section of the map made to look like America and each level new enemies are add, getting a little trickier every level (the dive bombing planes are very tricky I found). Difficulty wise the game had a nice learning curve to it, I found myself breezing through the first two levels, ge ting to understand the Super Laser, nukes and your friendly helicopter (it tells you not to shoot it, so naturally I tried to destroy it, I think the bloody thing is indestructible, what's the point!). By level three however it hit the fan and I found myself dying a few times.
This is when I discovered my problem with the game, I was all set to write a decent review on it, I thought I was enjoying it after all, but after losing my lives and having to start the level all over again I found it a chore, it's the same thing over and over again, there's no massive variety of weapons – I loved games like U.N. Squadron and R Type because they kept things fresh with loads of weapons and bad guys, this just does not have that– yes there are different weapons, but none of them enhanced the game for me, it felt no different from what I had in level 1. I found myself playing on in this game simply because I had to finish this review. And as for the bosses, save you nukes (you won't need them during the level) crack them all off on the boss then fire away til they're dead, simple as.
During the level itself, it's easy enough picking off planes and trucks when there's not too many on the screen, and when it does get busy just keep rotating the right analogue stick very quickly, it seems to do the job just fine – and where's the fun in that!
Overall this game this game feel much more suited to the likes of an iphone app or a quick PC game, I don't even feel it's up to the standard of several other games on the Playstation network (Trash Panic being a particular favorite of mine), when you can buy PS3 games for £15 or even less sometimes, £6.99 just does not seem worth it.
**I was going to give this game a 1.5, until I accidentally played this game with Hulk Hogan's 'Real American' playing off my laptop (I was doing research for my job, alright!) it gave me a good chuckle! There I give it a:
2/5 – by no means the best PSN game out there
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November 15th, 2009, 05:19 Posted By: bandit
Starting today through January 31, 2010 all movie trades will be FREE at Goozex! That means you don't need any tokens to get movies on Goozex for the next two and half months.Yay! Free trade days are back again for movies on Goozex! From now until January 31, 2010 you will not need any tokens to trade movies. You will just need the appropriate amount of points to get movies. HURRY before this promotion ends!
Trading Blu-Rays and DVDs is a new way members are picking up a few extra points on Goozex. With a lot of great movies in demand, it’s an easy way to pick up some points for trading on Goozex or to put towards the Goozex Exchange. Movie trading is a great way to recycle your old movies and let you own some of the movies you’ve wanted to watch, but didn’t get around to. Just point, click and add movies to your queues!
Other Goozex Movie Promotion: Trade Any 10 Movies & Get A New Free Movie
Also, dont forget that if you have points accumulated, you can put them towards BRAND NEW items through the Goozex Exchange (BETA)
Source: Goozex Newsletter/Forum
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November 13th, 2009, 01:16 Posted By: bandit
Talismoon Overlife Universal Charger
Manufacturer: Talismoon
Site: Buy from Divineo US
Price: $30.99
Universal Travel Charger (for non-EU users)
USB Power Travel Charger with Plug Converters / Travel All-in-One Universal AC Adapter with USB Power / Universal Travel AC Adapter Plug
Overview : More than a universal all in one charger, the Overlife will store energy to reload any devices independently. It is your ideal nomad companion. Overlife is a small, black shiny design nomad battery.
Just plug it to any USB port or wall plug, and you can directly charge any Motorola - Samsung - Nokia - Sony Ericsson - Samsung - iPhone - iPod - Mini USB - NDSL - NDSi and all PSP models. You can also store energy in, so you can charge any of your devices on the go.
A blue LED indicator shows you the level of charge and the charging status.
This perfect nomad companion will avoid you traveling with numerous bulky chargers, and provide emergency power in any situation.
Features:- High capacity Lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack style
- Charge anywhere, recharge anything - standard USB input and output
- Inter-changeable connector heads charging different mobile phones, MP3/MP4 player, iPod, iPhone, PSP, NDS, etc.
- Power indicator LED shows battery capacity level.
- Impressive 2500mAh storage (recharge your devices and gadgets several times)
- None memory effect, short circuit protection
- Powerful power supply is enough for even the most power-hungry mobile devices.
Specifications:- Battery Type: Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery
- Capacity: 2500mAh
- Input Voltage: AC 100V-240V/50Hz-60Hz DC 5V / 1A
- Output Current: 1000mA (Max)
- Output Volts: 5.4V (+/-0.2V)
- Output Current: 1000mA (Max)
- Charging time: 3 ~ 3.5 Hours.
- Cycle Life: At least 500 times
- Operating Temperature: -10°C / 40°C
- Storage and Transportation Temperature: -20°C / 50°C
- Dimension: 92.5 * 57.3 * 13.8 mm
- Weight: 80g
Quality/Usability : Sometimes I forget to charge my PSP, DS, iPod and most importantly, my Blackberry cellphone. Its worse when you're not near a wall outlet, computer or have your charger on you. These days, majority of portable devices can be charged via USB. Talismoon has developed a product to help give you enough power to beat that boss on the last level or to help you get through you long commute with your music/movie or even that last minute call to your wife/mother.
The Talismoon Overlife Charger has a nice piano black gloss casing but can be a potential to be a fingerprint magnet and scratches. The front has a "CHECK" button. Around this button are 4 LEDs. When you press the "CHECK" button, blue LEDs will light up that will display whether the battery is LOW, HALF or FULL. If Overlife is fully charged, all three blue LEDs will be lit up. As the charge slowly dissipates from charging other products, the LED next to FULL will get dimmer and dimmer. As more charge is drained from Overlife, the LED will get dimmer until it is fully discharged. The fourth LED is when the Overlife is in use (USE) and lights up blue as well.
I personally dont know why Talismoon choose this method of display when you check the status of battery. I would of preferred a single LED to tell me if its full, half or low. Having the LEDs dim can get a little confusing considering its a little hard to tell by the brightness of the LEDs. Or even a single LED that changes color to let me know how much power is left.
The charge time on this is a little disappointing. It takes about 3 hours from a drained Overlife to a fully charge Overlife. I can live with 1.5-2 hour charge but 3 hours is a very long time. To charge the Overlife, you can use the included USB cable. However, this USB cable has two purposes...one is to charge the Overlife and one is to charge other devices. Simply connect the USB cord into the USB out port at the top of Overlife, attach one of the heads to the other end of the USB cable and start charging! The USB out port has a rubber cover to protect it. Unfortunately, this cover doesnt come out or pull out. You will have to pull it back. Sometimes, this can get in the way. Would have been nice if it came out further.
I've tried charging a completely dead Sony PSP using the interchangeable head and Overlife, the charging indicator on both the PSP and Overlife constantly blinked on and off. I charged the PSP and at 10%, the Overlife still blinked and the power status light on the PSP didnt change orange but stayed green but you can slightly see orange blink. Despite the LED indicators, the PSP's power source now stated "external" but was not charging (when PSP is turned on). So it seems that Overlife is not powerful enough to charge a completely dead PSP since it probably requires more power in the beginning. You only get a steady orange light is if the PSP is on, you connect the charging cable and you put the PSP to sleep. If you turn on the PSP, it turns on and than turns off. You'll have to unplug the charging cable in order to turn the PSP on.
I was able to charge my Moixa USBCell AA Battery's, DS Lite, iPod Touch 2G and Blackberry Tour. With the output of 1000mAh, charge time didnt take long. I was able to charge my Blackberry Tour within an hour and a half. This came in handy when I was watching a movie on my Blackberry Tour which drained all my battery and my wife called discussing important wedding plans. I wasnt near a computer or outlet but I had my USB cable on me, so I connected the Overlife to my Blackberry and was able to finish our conversation.
Conclusion : Overall, the Talismoon Overlife Universal Charger works wonders...if you're not charging a device that requires a lot of power. Its portable and can charge any USB device on the fly. The piano black gloss look will make fingerprints stand out like a sore thumb...even scratches. The CHECK status can be a little confusing as the LED may look like the same brightness and can be a little bit deceiving. The Overlife lacks a carry case to store the Overlife, USB cable and interchangeable heads. It could be a carry case or even a pouch to store everything. If you live in a country other than Europe, you will need to purchase a universal power plug since the Overlife Charger only comes with a EU plug. Be sure to charge this early if you plan to take it with you because you'll need about 3 hours to charge fully.
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November 12th, 2009, 16:18 Posted By: bandit
Tokyo, November 12, 2009 – SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) announces the release of a ‘Contactless Charger Set for Wii Remote,’ produced especially for Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Nintendo)’s Wii Remote. The charger set can charge one or two Wii Remotes, by accessing power through the USB port on the Wii console. The set can even be used when the Wii MotionPlus expansion device is attached to the Wii Remote to more accurately capture hand motion.
The Wii Remote uses two AA batteries, and there is a need to remove the protective silicon Wii Remote Jacket when replacing the batteries.
Therefore, last year SANYO launched the ‘Contactless Charger Set for Wii Remote’ (N-WR01S), which uses a contactless charging method to enable the easy recharging of Wii Remotes just by placing them in the charger, without having to remove the Wii Remote Jackets for battery replacement.
Now, SANYO is launching a new charger set that maintains the advantages of the N-WR01S, while meeting the needs of users that want to charge two Wii Remotes simultaneously, or that want to charge a remote with the Wii MotionPlus still attached.
The new model is made under license from Nintendo, is equipped with a ‘charge failure detection function*2,’ and offers a high level of convenience and reliability for Wii users.
SANYO will continue to expand the “eneloop” series throughout the world so that people can comfortably adopt a new "lifestyle that values reusing and recycling" contrary to the popular "use and throw away" lifestyle often associated with common products like batteries.
Source: Akihabara News
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November 12th, 2009, 03:32 Posted By: bandit
XCM Universal USB Multi-Charger
Manufacturer: XCM
Site: Buy from Play-Asia / Buy from Amazon
Price: $39.99
Overview : Finally a way to charge all your valuable electronics with one device!
Introducing the Multi-Charger from XCM. This unit will charge your iPhone, PSP (all PSP series from 1000-3000 series), Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, PS3 Wireless Controller, NDS (all NDS series, including NDS, NDSL and NDSi) and more.... (all devices using USB 5v input will be supported, such as the Nokia mobile phone series etc) with ease. No more lugging around multiple chargers, this one does it all. Made with the high quality craftsmanship you've grown to expect from the XCM brand, this charger will surely provide the power you need for many years to come!
Features:- 4 USB ports
- Supports any USB 5v input
Compatible with:- PSP (1000-2000-3000)
- NDS, NDS Lite, NDSi
- iPhone
- Nokia mobile phones and many more
Includes:- PSP USB cable
- DS Lite USB cable
- DSi USB Cable
- iPod/iPhone USB Cable
- US AC plug
- EU AC Plug
- Australia AC Plug
- BS AC Plug
Quality/Usability : I must admit, I'm a gadget freak. I have surge protectors daisy chained to each other. There just isnt enough outlets! I'm surprised my house hasnt burned down with all these wires. If I find an open slot in my surge protector, I'll charge my DS, PSP, camera battery, cellphone..thats if I'm lucky to find 1 spot. If I cant, I use my USB port on my computer. Now, my USB ports are starting to become scarce as more portable devices start to use them. Yes, you can purchase a USB hub but majority of the time, they arent powerful enough to charge the device and you get an error message on your computer. Even the ones that come with power plugs gives me an error.
XCM has released a stand alone Universal USB Multi-Charger. No need to plug this charger into a computer or USB port. Choose your AC plug and connect plug it into a socket (AC 100-240V) and the other end into the Multi-Charger. The Multi-Charger has a square glossy white casing with a small LED light that lights up when plugged into outlet and the logo on top. The logo uses a Walt Disney type font. On the front of the Multi-Charger are 4 USB ports. Since it draws its power from the socket, you wont have to worry about overdrawing power or having to wait 5 hours to fully charge a device when it should only take 1 hour or so.
The Multi-Charger measures 5 inches long, 4 inches wide and 1.5 inches thick and comes with four (4) AC plugs (US, EU, UK and Asia). The plugs are short in length so you will not be able to place it on a table or next to your computer. Wires measure about 16 inches long from tip of plug that inserts into XCM Multi-Charger to the base of AC plug (not the prongs). Also included are four (4) USB plugs (PSP, DSL, DSi, iPhone/iPod). You're not limited to using only these devices. I was able to charge my Blackberry device, Bluetooth headset, PS3 controller, Xbox controller, USB battery, pretty much anything I can think of that uses a USB to charge the device. The charge time is about the same time it would take if you use the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) chargers that came with the device.
Conclusion : Overall, the XCM Universal USB Multi-Charger is a great product. I do not have to use all my USB ports nor do I have to leave my PS3, Xbox 360 or computer on just to charge my USB devices. Since some wall chargers are huge and can cover up an empty socket, this also eliminates the amount of wall chargers and bulk. I was able to charge all my devices without a problem. My only complaint is the lack of cord length on the AC plug for the Multi-Charger. I was not able to place the Multi-Charger on a desk. I had to place it on the floor. This is also a drawback for those who need to plug this in the back of a shelf or entertainment center. You can use an extension cord but do you want to go out and buy one or even find one in the house? The price was originally $70 but it was wayyyy to overpriced for a 4-port USB charger. But it seems XCM has lowered the price to a much more affordable price range. However, $40 is still a little pricey. I think $25-30 would be a nice sweet spot.
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November 11th, 2009, 17:59 Posted By: bandit
XFPS 4.0 Speed (for Xbox 360™)
- Connect PS/2 or USB mouse & keyboard to your Xbox 360™
- Compatible with all mice and keyboards.
- Accuracy in aiming and fast response while playing shooting game.
- Easy to map all 360 wired controller keys to keyboard and mouse via PC by XCM software.
- When using with our new coming product (Magic link), the remote player can help you to pass the game level via the internet from his PC.
- 3 level of auto fire function.
Note: need to connect to PC (laptop or desktop).
XFPS 4.0 Force (for PS3™)
- Connect PS/2 or USB mouse & keyboard to your PS3™
- Compatible with all mice and keyboards.
- Accuracy in aiming and fast response while playing shooting game.
- Easy to map all PS3 controller keys to keyboard and mouse via PC by XCM software.
- When using with our new coming product (Magic link), the remote player can help you to pass the game level via the internet from his PC.
- 3 level of auto fire function.
Note: need to connect to PC (laptop or desktop).
Based on the information that is available now and based on the manual provided, rather than mapping the keyboard/mouse buttons using the controller, it is now down by connecting the XFPS to your computer, downloading XCM's software and programming the buttons from here.
I'm also interested in knowing what this "Magic link" they are referring to where a "remote player can help you pass the level via the internet from his PC".
Expect to find both of these products at Play-Asia, Console Source, Extreme-Mods and Divineo when released.
We'll have video and more information when they are available.
Source: XCM
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