Gambit’s Blog

Twitter is down… and i can’t even tweet about it!!!

Arghhhhh!!!!

I had a problem which needed solving.

I’ve just bought a Dell 2709w Monitor which takes DVI and has 5.1 output using the standard PC solution of three 3.5mm jacks, coloured Green, Orange and Black. I had hooked up my Xbox 360 via HDMI to the monitor, and the sound comes out of these (unfortunately only in Stereo since it’s in Dolby Digital, but that’s another story). This would be great, however there is no similar input, meaning that I have the issue that I had to keep swapping the jacks on my subwoofer if I wanted to get any sound from my PC or the Monitor. Having carried out much searching on the internet, I was unable to find a box that does this, and while many people seem to have similar problems, very few people have a solution.

My first test was to simply try a headphone splitter in reverse on each individual subwoofer channel. This didnt work, since the computer’s output always took presedence over the monitor’s output. It was then that I came across the following article on Bl3nd.com - 5.1 Audio Switch. It’s at this point that I decided to contact Joey Hazlett, the owner of the site to get some information and increase my knowledge on building such a device, with a mind to do it myself. I have to say that Joey was masses of help and the following guide wouldn’t be possible without him.

Joey’s guide was good, however in the UK I was struggling to find many of the parts. It was then I decided to use three switches to control each channed independently. So, here i a guide to building a box like I have now got…

Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’ve just read that NOE Marketing Director Laurent Fischer has been quoted as saying that Wii storage is not a problem, and that the issue is only relevant to Geeks and Otaku.

I don’t care what he says. I have 2 VC games and 2 WiiWare games and my console is full. Perhaps I fit into those above catergories, but that’s irrelevant - surely that’s the audience that will be spending their money on these games.

If the big N really want to get into the downloadable content game, they need to sort this out soon. Lets just hope he’s building hype in preparation for an announcement at E3…

For now, I certainly wont be buying any more VC or WiiWare games until they release some external storage - it’s just too much of a hassle.

This morning I received an e-mail from YouTube claiming that I’ve infringed upon copyright.
Now, I don’t use YouTube much, i’ve probably put no more than 10 videos up in all the years I’ve used it, and as far as I was aware, none of these were breaching copyright. The culprit video was entitled “Goo Goo Dolls - Give a Little Bit (Live!)” and was a recording that I took of the Goo Goo Dolls performing Give a Little Bit at the Carling Academy in Birmingham.

The person who claimed the infringement was apparently a guy called Roger Hodgson. A name that after googling I should probably have known, but I didn’t. So I wondered who this was - as far as I was aware, he was nothing to do with the Goo Goo Dolls, and I was right. Roger Hodgson is the guy who wrote the original version of Give a Little Bit, and member of Supertramp.

This brings up an interesting situation in my mind. At what point does copyright kick in? Roger Hodgson has clearly given the Goo Goo Dolls permission to use his song - it’s on one of their albums, and they regularly perform it at gigs. I clearly had permission to watch the original performance as I had bought a ticket, and there was nothing to stop me taking a video or photographs; in fact at points during the performance the ‘Dolls actively encouraged it. So in my mind this means that I have the right to this video. But I stick it on YouTube, and Roger Hodgson can have it removed. Now, I’m not really angry or even bothered by this at all - it’s not me who’s missing out on seeing it, it’s not me thats missing out on the potential publicity from the video, and it’s not me that’s missing out on the potential revenue that could come from a greater knowledge of this song.

Am I wrong? Should Roger Hodgson have the right to remove this song, even after he has passed the permission onto numerous others? Or should it be allowed to stay up? I’m not knowledgeable on copyright law, so I really don’t know, but I’m interested to hear other people’s opinions on this… I suppose the worst part of this is that there are a lot of other versions of this song on YouTube, both by the original artist, and by the Goo Goo Dolls (even at the same gig as I was at!)

Why is it me that has be singled out?!

You can find the text of the original e-mail after the break…

Read the rest of this entry »

I know that there are a few gamers who read my blog, so I want to point out a brand new site that myself and John Griffin have launched: SteamReport.com.

To quote the site, Steam Report:

“aims to be the foremost place for news, releases, patches, updates and editorials centered on everyone’s favorite platform; Steam.”

If you use Steam, or even if you don’t (you should be), check it out. We appreciate any support in the launch of this new venture!

Before I go any further, I want to state that these are my best games of 2007. I am not saying that they are necessarily the best over all, but they are the games that I have played and enjoyed the most this year. There is a severely limiting factor in this - I don’t own an Xbox 360. The reason this is limiting is that I am pretty certain that there would be at least 2 games that would make my list had I been able to play them - Mass Effect and Assassins Creed. However, I cant comment, as I haven’t played them.

So, without further ado… My top 5 games of 2007:

1. Team Fortress 2

So the winner is… TF2! I decided to separate out the Orange Box since it is a collection of distinct games that can be purchased individually. Team Fortress 2 is by far my most consistently played game, and I would really struggle to put anything else here. It’s high paced action that is simply the most fun that can be had on the net. Now all I have to do is wait for the Team Fortress 2 Quiz Mod to come along

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2. Super Mario Galaxy

I am in a unique position when it comes to Mario. I’ve played the originals, but I never got around to playing the highly acclaimed Mario 64 (in any of its incarnations), and while I look forward to it on my DS (when Amazon finally get them in stock), it managed to pass me by. Bring on Sunshine, which try as I might, I totally didn’t enjoy. So my hopes weren’t high for Galaxy. I watched the trailers and unlike some people, wasn’t blown away. But it’s Mario. And it’s an Nintendo console. So I had to get it. And, having collected 87 stars and well on my way to finishing Super Mario Galaxy, I can say that is is the most fun that you can have with a plumber. Period. And the most fun on the Wii. Very deserving of the second place.

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3. Portal

Do I really need to say anything about Portal?! All you need to know is that the cake is a lie. Oh, and it’s the best, most puzzling 4 hours of you’re life that you’re likely to have. I’d say that I wish it was longer, but I think if it had been, the game would have lost its charm. Thank god that there are lots of people developing custom maps to keep us going. Long live the weighted companion cube!

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4. Bioshock

Bioshock must be the most talked about game of the year, and when it’s as good as it is, why not?! I must admit, I still haven’t finished it, but my first new year’s resolution is to get my ass in gear and get to the end. I think a key word when describing Bioshock is the atmosphere - you really do feel like you’re there. My only complaint is that there’s no Anti-Aliasing, but that’s the Unreal Engine’s fault, and not Bioshock.

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5. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure

When I started Zack & Wiki, I thought I’d be returning it fairly sharpish, it looked childish and I didn’t necessarily think it would be my cup of tea. However, after playing the first level I realised that at it’s heart it is a modern day recreation of the Gobliiins trilogy. Level based puzzlers, that have humor and fun combined with lateral thinking. If you haven’t played it, don’t knock it until you have!

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Honorable Mentions
Resident Wii-vil (aka. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition) - Ok, it was on the Cube, but the addition of some great controls and the fact that I haven’t played it before give this a mention.
Link’s Crossbow Training - Not a great game on it’s own, but combined with the zapper and a couple of friends, this turned into a lot of fun. At a bargain price as well, who can complain?!
Peggle - Not you’re traditional game, Pop-cap Games have developed a really addictive little game. Download it, play it, buy it. Simple.

So another year comes to an end, another one begins, and we start the whole routine of the previous year all over again. It’s not pretty, but every year brings us plenty of TV to watch, music to listen to and Films to see. With the writers’ strike going on, who can say if next year is going to be the same, but this year was certainly entertaining.

And therefore, before further ado, I am going to present you with my picks from last year!

Best Show: Doctor Who

This was a tough one, but for me, Doctor Who had it’s best season yet this year. David Tennant just is the Doctor, and Martha Jones was the most interesting companion we’ve had to date. Some great episodes, some great guest appearances (Jon Simm anyone?!) and altogether very deserving of this year’s Best Show.

Runners Up: Battlestar Galactica (consistently excellent), Entourage (still one of the funniest dramas on TV), Psych (one that seems to miss many people’s radars, but is still an amazing comedy that deserves a mention), The Tudors (taking over from where Rome left off, an amazing show in a similar style that is definitely on a par with its spiritual predecessor), Who Wants to be a Millionaire (after x number of series, this is still the best quiz show on tv) – ok, the last one’s a joke…

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Best Newcomer: Californication

Possibly a controversial choice, but Californication was brilliant. Constantly stepping over the line, always enjoyable, and some great performances - David Duchovny at his best. If you haven’t seen it, you must – Califonication is in a class of its own.

Runners Up: Dirty Sexy Money (like The OC, but better, and for adults), Journeyman (but has hit an untimely end), Moonlight (some really bad acting combined with some really good acting, but for some reason this keeps me coming back week after week)

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Best Comedy: Saxondale

Possibly the hardest category for me to judge, as I’ve been watching some past comedy this year too that can’t win it for this year – Arrested Development and Jeeves and Wooster to name two. I was never a fan of Alan Partridge, but Saxondale is just right on the button. Brilliant show.

Runners Up: Entourage (comedy or drama?! Who knows, who cares), Flight of the Conchords (musical genius), The IT Crowd (geeky, but brilliant – perfect)

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Best Short Series: Oliver Twist 2007

A new category this year as there were two series that I really wanted to mention but didn’t fit in anywhere else. Oliver Twist was an adaptation that I was totally going to miss – we’ve all seen the story a million times, who needs another. But the BBC nailed it with this one – the kids were brilliant, and as always Timothy Spall was amazing as Fagin. Definitely one for the DVD boxsets collection.

Runner Up: Secret Diary of a Call Girl (never been a huge Billie Piper fan, but she was superb in this – hugely entertaining, porn for the masses!)

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Best Factual: Human Weapon

It’s interesting, it’s factual, and it has martial arts – what more can you want. The history of all the modern martial arts, and them put to the test by two American Mixed Martial Artists. You learn the culture, you learn the techniques. Great factual TV.

Runners Up: Mythbusters (as usual, though it seems they’re clutching at straws a bit now), Jonathan Ross’s Japanorama (it’s entertaining and interesting – that’s what you want!), Top Gear (not sure this really fits in this category, but still excellent viewing!), QI (Stephen Fry is simply brilliant)

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Most Improved: Robin Hood

I know, I know, what am I thinking?! For those that bothered to stick with this show, it was worthwhile. It doesn’t fit into the other categories since it still isn’t that good. But it is entertaining, and brainless. If you want some Saturday night swashbuckling Robin Hood style, and if you turn off your reality filter, Robin Hood does stand up on its own, and it’s enjoyable. And the second season was much better than the first…

Runners Up: Lost (I still thought that this season was the best so far. I wish they’d hurry up and end it still, but it did grip me far more than the last season).

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Get your act together: Heroes

This category is for those shows that really were good but need to buck their ideas up. Heroes was still great, but lacked the magic that the first season had. They have apparently realised this and will be sorting it out, so here are my fingers crossed for the New Year…

Runners Up: Spooks (most people seemed to love this season. I didn’t. Go back to the old formula – it worked), Stargate Atlantis (I still tune in, but it isn’t a patch on SG1. Please get it right)

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And finally…

Most Disappointing: Bionic Woman

I thought this had a lot of promise. I was wrong. Simply awful TV. Switch Off.

Runners Up: Dexter (still an amazing show, but after one of the best first seasons I’ve ever seen, how could season two really live up to my hype), Bones (still dragging out the love interest. Still love the show, but sort it out!)

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So, that’s 2007’s TV for you! Check back later for more 2007 goodness

It’s that time of year again. In the next few days, i will be posting the best (and worst) of last year’s TV, Music and Film.

Watch this space…

Happy New Year everyone!

But do not worry! GambitUK.com will still be continuing in it’s former glory (or whatever you’d have called it!)

I’ve just decided that it wasnt worth hanging onto the .co.uk domain name since nobody accessed the site through it, and everything is based at the .com address anyway!

So, if you’re one of the nobody (i’m not sure that is actually a sentence) that has the .co.uk address bookmarked, update it now!

That is all

When the Wii came out, I was the first to buy one, I was the first to sing it’s praises, and when push comes to shove, I was the first to become a Wii fanboy. Now that some time has passed, and I have sampled a good proportion of the Wii’s gaming offerings, I’d like to assess how it has changed my gaming life.

The biggest change that I think the Wii has made to my gaming life is that I want a 360 and a decent PC. I want a 360 NOW. And if I hadnt just bought a new decent PC and I could afford a 360, I would have one.

This may be a strange thing to say that the Wii has caused, but the reason for this is that I want to play some decent games. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great games on the Wii. Some great games that I can count on one hand. To date I think I have played approximately 50 games on the Wii, and I can safely say that I have played every single one of those until it bored me. The hand mentioned above consists of these games: Zelda, Wii Sports, Wario Ware, Mario Strikers and Resident Evil 4. But what have these games actuallygiven me?

• Zelda - great game, but havent I played it umpteen times before?!? And now that I’ve finished it, when will it be back in the blue illuminated slot of my Wii?
• Wii Sports - again, great, but really only one for when you have the mates around
• Wario Ware - i played this on the gameboy, then on the Gamecube. See Zelda and Wii Sports.
• Mario Strikers - frustratingly hard in the later stages on single player. Great with the mates.
• Resident Evil 4 - see Zelda and Wario Ware.

My point is, the truly good content on the Wii has been done before. I know what I’m hearing you say, “but you are missing x game”, but think about it, how many of those games that you put in the x space there havent come out on either the PC or the 360 in a BETTER version. And by better, I mean both Graphically, and CONTROLS.

But arent the Wii’s controls it’s selling point?! Yes. But they are also the bain of my life.

Take Rockstar’s Table Tennis for a case in point. This was a good, fun, easy going game on the 360. Stick it over onto the Wii and “Oooh, there’s waggly controls, we MUST use this”. No you must NOT. Just because the controls are there, does not mean you have to use them. Of if you must, at least give us the option to use it as a normal controller, or plug in a Gamecube pad or something. I dont want every gaming session to feel like a marathon. This is just one example, but there are hundreds of others.

Let’s get back to the 360. I want to play decent games. I want to play Bioshock. I want to play Gears of War. I want to play NBA Live 08… What, NBA Live is out on the Wii?!? I know it is. It just has POINTLESS waggly controls. It is not fun. And that’s what games are supposed to be! I want to play it the way I enjoyed it on the Gamecube. [nb. before the arguments ensue, I am well aware that it is a crime to group NBA Live 08 alongside the other two games listed]

And this is what it boils down to. There just isnt the content for Single Player gaming. The waggly controls work well for multi-player games and minigames, but what happens when you want to play on your own?

You get out the 360 or the PC, thats what you do.

So, to all you Wii/Nintendo fanboys out there, I’d ask you to assess your situation, and ask if Nintendo is really thinking of us gamers anymore, or is it thinking about our mums, sisters and or mates. I don’t know, but I hope that they get us back on track sometime soon.

So until Mario Galaxy proves to be as much of a let down as Mario Sunshine, and until Smash Bros. Brawl comes out, I’m off to play Bioshock, Half-life and Gears of War. Preferably without having to get armache.