There's an interesting post over on Joystiq that highlights a growing need in the gaming community. It's a simple question, what's the difference between a critque and a review?
If you've ever dones serious study of English Literature you probably can answer that question. Slowly, the distinction is even creeping into "literacy" classes that are becoming more and more standard in schools.
Where does it apply to gaming though? The simple truth is this, right now the gaming industry has one type of media to which it panders - reviewers. For the most part, it's hard to find true critiques of video games, instead we see simple ratings of a games appeal. Instead of critiquing a game we see a measure of its consumability.
For some time now I've had a longing to do a true critique of a game, I was glad to see Joystiq's article pointing to someone who has actually undertaken such a journey.
I may start doing somthing similar soon.
I own the PlayGear Street and PlayGear Pocket and they're AWESOME. They're strong, they travel well, and the PlayGear Street even holds a few games. I picked both up right before a trip to Florida and was very happy with them on the plane, in the hotel, and at the conference I attended.
At the top of my DS Lite wishlist is a DS version of either of the PlayGear hard shells. GoNintendo recently found what looks like a temporary solution.
While the "Hard Protector Case" as Lik-Sang is calling it, isn't ideal I think it has some potential. It's currently not available in the US but if you're willing to use an importer, like Lik-Sang, you can grab the case in Navy Blue, Light Blue, and even standard White.
I refuse to buy an iPod - I just won't do it. Maybe it's because I'm not really an audiophile, my CD library isn't very deep and I often choose the radio over personal mixes. This is one of the reasons I really like Napster's $9.99 monthly plan. I can listen to just about anything and not have to pay for it - all I need to do is be online.
What's that have to do with the Gamepark GP2X? If I'm gonna buy a DAP it's gotta have some extra functionality, it's also gotta beat any similar product I may already own. Recently I've been dying to get my PSP playing video podcasts but it just ain't happening. Having to encode everything for playback is a royal time-consuming pain - there is no way I've found, yet, to quickly DL a podcast and get it running on my PSP. (Maybe its me?)
The GP2X has several features which I think trump the PSP pretty fast. First, it's got support for MULTIPLE video formats. The video podcasts I'm interested are inherrently supported; no waiting for conversions, no worrying that some unknown thing went wrong, just transfer and play. The GP2X also supports SD Memory cards, which my two cameras use, and that is certainly appealing. I can actually shoot a video, or take a picture, plug the SD card into my GP2X and play it on the go. Who knows - with the thing running linux I might also be able to do some editting too.
Did I mention it runs Linux?
The thing also has TV output abilities. This thing keeps getting better and better!
Gizmodo, today, pointed out that the GP2X is available in the US through Dynamism - they're asking $200. You can also get it on LikSang for $179.90. My resolve is breaking, I may have one to review soon.
I've had alot of hits coming in from Google which are searching for "Custom GamerCards." The post which covers this topic is mainly about adding a custom image to your GamerCard, I'm not sure this is what people are looking for specifically, so I thought I'd add a quick link to a couple sites which offer "Custom GamerCards" to add to your blog.
Custom GamerCard Services
Currently I use MyGamerCard.net as you can see on my "About" page. If you're interested in sharing your GamerCard on MySpace you'll need to use one of the services which creates an image file - JavaScript or Flash won't make it through their filters.
There is nothing scarier for an XBox360 owner than the appearance of the dreaded three red lights. If you haven't seen them yet be glad. Today I spotted my first set while attempting to log into XBox Live Marketplace to get the Prey Demo.
For those encountering the problem remember to follow the basic steps for trouble shooting a non-booting PC first. Disconnect EVERYTHING, controllers, peripherals like the Wireless adapter and cooling fans, the TV outs and finally the power. Once this is done plug in only your Power Cord. Try to boot it. If that fails go straight to the wall socket.
I'm happy to say that in my case it was a cheap surge protector that caused the problem. Once I plugged straight to the wall I was set. I re-attached all peripherals and was good to go.
For others, especially folks in older houses, you might try plugging into a completely different wall outlet as well.
Now - this won't fix everyone's problems but in my case it worked great. Just give it a try and see what happens before getting worried.
For a little more info straight from Microsoft you can check out Microsoft's XBox 360: Three red lights flashing on the Ring of Light article.
There's also a good post on XBox-Scene titled Error Codes Explained.
Last but not least there's a thread over on the Gamespot forums about other tips on XBox360 crash related causes.
