WiiWare Wait Over!

It's Wiiware day folks and what's this? Nintendo are spoiling us with an actual demo of a game as well?! They're really getting the hang of this new fangled interweb online thing aren't they... but hang on, there's some small print... you can only play the demo if one of your online friends has bought the full version! Way to go Nintendo! Which bright spark thought that one up eh? Oh well, we should all be grateful it's actually here and we finally get to see Lost Winds and Final Fantasy Chronicles, after we've deleted some channels, copied a load of VC games on to the SD card to make some room on the 48k of internal memory and then checked the Wii points website to find that once again they won't be adding any more until 3:37am on the 3rd Tuesday of next month.

I jest of course, it's here! What more could you ask for? I mean it's not my birthday or anything... well, actually it is but lets keep that quiet eh ;)

Let us know what you'll be buying on the GAMEOV3R Forum

How Blatent Is Your Patent?

Nintendo has recently been ordered to pay $21 million for an infringement on a patent relating to its Wavebird and Wii Classic controllers. The company known as Anascape also sued Microsoft who chose to settle out of court. Nintendo are set to appeal and they expect the amount to be significantly reduced.

Anascape patented a 'Variable Conductance Sensor' in 1999 as well as others over the past 7 years including…

'Game Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor'
'Remote Controller with Analog Button'
'Variable Sensor with Tactile Feedback'
'Analog Controls Housed with Electronic Displays'
'3D Controller with Vibration'

Of course as usual I have no idea what I’m talking about but some of those do seem very vague… which got me thinking about what strange things I could find that people have patented.

Electrified table cloth - Designed to discourgage bugs from crawling on a table cloth. It says that the most humans would feel would be a slight tiggling sensation but I'm sure you could have some great fun at parties with one of these.

Stud Spectacles - These are glasses that don't need a frame because they attach to body piercings on your face.

Device For Moistening The Adhesive Coating On Postage Stamps - Describes a device containing an applicator to moisten stamps, but reading further it contains the following quote "The applicator may be in the form of a human tongue".

Head bird feeder - See nature up close and personal with your very own cranial bird table. You no longer need to sit in a dark and damp hide to view nature's finest. Simply sit in the middle of the lawn and wait.



That picture is actually in the patent documents believe it or not.

Are you bursting with useless ideas? Then you'd probably make a great member of the GAMEOV3R Forum

Lasting Impressions?

I finally caved in and got GTA 4 on the 360 even though I've never really taken to the series before. The number of perfect scores meant the curiosity level was just too much to bare.

Now I've only played it for maybe an hour and a half and a fair bit of that has been cut scenes to get you involved in the story, but so far the niggles I've encountered have outweighed the fun.

I'll start with the auto-centreing camera. It's a little annoying and I think it's this that makes Nico feel a bit odd to control. In an enclosed space like the apartment or when you go shopping for clothes it's clumsy. It's hard to put my finger on exactly but something doesn't feel quite right, although maybe in time it's something you adjust to. Why don't you get analogue control either? No matter how much you move the stick Nico walks...slowly, meaning you have to hold 'A' to run.

Secondly the cars seem to have worse handling than a shopping trolley. They have faulty brakes too! Once you do build up some speed they suffer from massive understeer and using the handbrake usually results in you continuing to travel in the same direction... but sideways. Maybe I need to drive them in a more realistic way (slower) but that doesn't seem fun.

Thirdly I've had one date with a girl called Michelle which to be honest involved a pretty uninspired mini bowling game, and lastly the amount of swearing feels a bit forced. Now I know this is GTA so what did I expect right? Used well, swearing can really add to a script and be funny too (and sometimes it was), but often it left me feeling like it was added for the sake of it with no attention to how effective it would be, and dare I say in a slightly immature way.

I'm fully aware that I need to play this a lot more to form a complete opinion and I'm hoping these very early impressions get completely turned around once I've given the game the amount of time it deserves, but I wondered if anyone else felt any of these things initially?

The GAMEOV3R Forum awaits you...

They're Watching You

Having launched yesterday for some regions and coming to the UK on the 30th May, the new Nintendo Channel keeps you up to date with upcoming games with access to trailers, mini-documentaries, product demonstrations, gameplay videos and even the ability to download DS demos straight to your DS.

It seems part of this new channel allows Nintendo to collect all kinds of data about you should you let them, but here's the catch... if you don't opt in you lose access to those DS demos.

So what information does Nintendo collect from you each time you use the channel then? Well there's quite a list which you'll find here. Quite a substantial amount of information I think most people would agree, but it's ok, it's all non-personal and completely anonymous... unless you have your Wii linked to your Nintendo account...

Does sharing this information worry you at all? Will you be opting in or bowing out? Come and vote on the GAMEOV3R Forum

Warhawk

I've never really got into online shooters too much other than in co-op mode. The ones I have tried briefly have been completely dominated by gamers that eat these types of games for dinner, and the results are that I end up being the pudding.

Then I played Warhawk on the PS3. That's right... a positive PS3 story!

I've heard a lot about this game and all that expectation when I first loaded it up was dashed a little. I didn't know what I was doing, which weapons were good, how the hell to fly a warhawk or why I'd opt to drive a weak little jeep... I wasn't sure I'd ever feel comfortable, but the water and cloud effects looked really nice so lets stick with it I thought.

A couple of hours later and I can't put the game down, and unusually for me I'm right at the forefront of all the action. I even captured the flag yesterday and found out exactly why I'd want to be driving that weak little jeep. I flew in to their base skimming the water to avoid unwanted attention, crash landed within running distance of the flag, (is there any other way to land these things?!) grabbed it, stole a jeep and put my foot to the floor all the way back to our base while bullets rained down around me. The fact I didn't know what to do with it once I got there I won't mention. I did figure it out though, and I have the nice shiny badge now to prove it! I've even managed to advance a couple of ranks which means my little bloke gets a change of trousers, he's gonna need em too when a missile locks on to him while piloting a warhawk!

For many people that might not seem like much, but for someone at my kind of level with this style of game to be able to join in and get so involved is simply brilliant.

I'm a bit late to the party with this one I know but if you have a PS3 you need to buy this game, and if you don't... put it on the list for when you do!

Capture the flag...or something, on the GAMEOV3R Forum

First Steps

The baying masses of GTA hardcore fans have been playing GTA IV since the early hours of Tuesday morning. Some lucky people got to play it even earlier than that. I'm sure some of the gamers that queued up before midnight have already completed the game's main story line.

Meanwhile, back in the real world of life, families, and jobs, I only got to know Nico Belic last night.

The first thing Nico and I did was go for a drive. His cousin, Roman, had met Nico off the boat at the Liberty City Docks and we were heading to his home. Driving through Liberty City was a great feeling and it took me right back to my first experience of playing GTAIII. I don’t think any other GTA has wowed me as much as III did and in a world where concrete wellies might be more appropriate I felt as though I was putting on a familiar and comfortable pair of moccasins. It was great to be back in the world of GTA.

We got to the safe house and after the cousins had caught up on all the news Roman announced that he had to go to work and he left Nico to his own devices in this new city. Rather than go out and steal a car or mug someone Nico stayed in and watched some of the great TV channels that Rockstar have laid on for the residents of Liberty City. Clearly an attempt to keep them out of trouble!

Stepping out onto the street for the first time Nico wandered over to a hot dog stand accidentally bumping into it, as he was about to order. The stand owner lost the plot and told Nico, in no uncertain terms, that he was causing trouble and to get lost. The first opportunity for Nico to flatten some random person had presented itself and he’d only just gone outside. Poor Nico's first taste of Liberty City was a sour slap in the face and not juicy Chihuahua.

I'd been playing for about half an hour when some of the animation began to slightly irk me. People's limbs appeared a bit too bendy and joints moved in inhuman ways. This is also the first 3D game that I've played that has made me feel slightly disorientated from the camera angles and from the slightly odd leaning that happens when Nico is walking. Perhaps it’s just me getting old. Nico does walk with a bit of a cool swagger, as you might expect, but it could be argued that it’s nothing to do with being cool and more to do with touching cloth. When Nico runs down stairs it looks like he has a full turtles head.

Nico did a few basic orientation missions using Roman's taxi. All pretty straight forward. The game eases you into Liberty City. Nico met a girl called Michelle and the two of them managed two dates, one bowling and one at the cabaret, during the first three and a half hours in Liberty City. Not bad going but he didn't "try his luck" as the game offered. Instead Nico opted to be a gentleman and decided he wanted to get to know Michelle a little better first.

Before the dates with Michelle, but after his clothes had been ridiculed by her and her friend, Nico went shopping at the Russian Clothes Emporium. The height of fashion was waiting and Nico and he bought himself new boots, a pair of jeans, a new top and jacket and a pair of glasses to make him look intelligent. All for less than $50. Bargain!

So what else did Nico do? Erm, well he went for a game of pool with Roman. And lost. He met Vlad a small time Russian gangster, whom Roman owes some money to. He took on a job collecting some dodgy debt. Nothing to taxing though.

So where's all the car jacking? The mugging? The shooting and the fighting? Three and a half hours and there’s none? Well no, not really. Nico and I have tried to be as good as we possibly can be in a bad, bad world. So no mowing down pedestrians unless it's accidental. No car jacking unless it's unavoidable. And absolutely no shooting people unless they are bad guys. Because that makes it all ok.

Doesn't it?

You don't need me to tell you that GTA IV is a game that every gamer has to play. You do need me to tell you that the Gameov3r FORUM is great place to come and talk about GTA IV. Or Sunflowers, or beer, or Heroes, even some other games!

The Etch A Sketchist

I'm sure most people reading this will remember the Etch A Sketch, in fact I think you can still buy them. I haven't used one of these since I was a little kid but I do remember how hard it was to create a decent picture using one, which makes this all the more impressive...



Loads more here

Show us your etchings on the GAMEOVER Forum