XCM XFPS Storm Light Gun (PC)
Review by: TrialSword
Provided by: DCEmu Reviews
Manufacturer: XCM
Site: Buy from Play-Asia / Buy from Divineo China / Buy from Divineo France / Buy from ConsoleSource / Buy from GoldenShop / Buy from Amazon
Price: $99.00


Overview : XFPS Storm Light Gun brings first person shooters to a whole new experience. With the XFPS Storm, you can snipe your foes with precision aiming using this unique light gun. No more keyboard, no more mouse and having to rest your wrist with point and click. Simply point and shoot.

The Storm will support CRT, LCD, Plasma, DLP as well as Projector. It supports every gun shooting game on PC. Storm can be upgraded via software and is compatible with Windows XP, Window vista and Windows 7 operating system. Now you can enjoy gun shooting games with your LCD, Plasma or any other display you have.

Quality/Usability : The XFPS Storm Light Gun peripheral for the PC has one simple goal: to turn your first person shooters into a more interactive, contextual experience. With it, the player can aim, move, fire, and perform other in-game functions using an assortment of shortcut buttons and a very familiar motion tracking mechanic. Is this something to pull the trigger on, or should you check the safety first?

The Storm Light Gun sports a relatively safe design that champions utility over style. The grip is sizable and designed to hold with one hand. Attached to the side is a smaller grip that can be detached and appear very much like a nunchuk for the Wii. Shortcut buttons can be found here and on the gun itself, on both sides. This is aside from the two analog sticks, which can also be pressed in, and the trigger. The material feels sturdy but is a very benign, shiny blue plastic. Liken it to the look and feel of a shiny blue lego. Sleek is hardly the word that comes to mind, but despite the lack of flair I could not say that it is cheaply constructed.

The technology at work here is almost exactly that of the Wii. The Storm Light Gun comes packed with an IR sensor that could easily be mistaken for the same one packed with the Wii. It is intended to rest on top of your monitor, so make sure there's a home for it or that your monitor can accommodate. Both the sensor bar and the gun itself connect via USB, so two free ports are necessary to use the Storm Light Gun.

The good news is that this peripheral is completely plug and play. Once you've plugged it in, the IR tracking serves as a proxy for mouse navigation. The trigger is the left mouse click and the shortcut buttons can be remapped in-game as a regular gamepad would. The gun conveniently transfers the controls to most PC FPS games in an accurate, intuitive way: The analog stick on the nunchuk lets you move your character, the trigger fires, and you can aim your weapons by simply aiming the gun itself. If you have played any FPS on the Wii at all, one can easily gain a sense for what they will be turning their game experience on the PC into.

There are a few snags, of course. The IR sensors can be spotty at times, resulting in the player character reeling their aim into the far corners of the map, but when responding appropriately can provide a surprising degree of control and accuracy. In addition, the sensor bar requires that the player be about 3 feet from the monitor at minimum, which is further than many PC gamers are used to.

I tested the Storm Light Gun with a number of games:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Half-Life 2

For games with relatively simple control schemes, the gun provided a fun, new experience. Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 accomodated especially well, requiring few button shortcuts and few opportunities in which you won't be running and gunning. For all the novelty, however, it never really crossed my mind that this could be a legitimate replacement control scheme for the games I was playing. This rings especially true for the more complex games, which require more context-sensitive button presses. Having both hands full with the nunchuk and the gun's grip also makes it somewhat cumbersome to even reach the buttons at times. Chances are, a player will be dead long before they have found the time to navigate to some of these buttons.

Because the gun is essentially a plug and play gamepad with IR tracking, it does not always perform the same for every game encountered. For instance, Modern Warfare 2 requires little in the way of shortcut keys and a simple mechanic for firing/aiming that accommodate the gun very well. Games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, however, have many contextual button presses that would be hard to map or reliably execute with the gun, such as piloting any vehicles or arming/disarming bombs.

The obvious statement to make here is that anyone attempting to use this gun for multiplayer in lieu of a traditional keyboard and mouse will always be at a disadvantage for virtually every game they'd want to play. I cannot recommend it for any level of competitive play or for any game that will have your character regularly changing control schemes. The plug and play nature of this peripheral is a double edged sword: while it provides a mostly unilateral experience for any FPS, another obvious statement is that every FPS is different, and none are made specifically for this method of control.


Conclusion : Any attempt to alter or simplify controls for the FPS is a battle in itself. No contender has managed to dethrone the classic keyboard and mouse combo, and unfortunately, the XFPS Storm Light Gun does not come close to that vaunted status. Instead, it provides a solid, reliable and effective method of altering the controls in a way engaging enough to facilitate a second or third romp through a personal favorite title or two. It suits the mentality that games are to be played for fun and spectacle, not necessarily as a serious engagement or a competitive grudge match. In this way the Storm Light Gun is much like the games it's meant to play: the experience is entirely what you make of it.

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NEO N64 Myth Flash Cart SPEC v2
Manufacturer: NeoFlash
Site: Buy from IC2005
Price: $199.00
reviewed by wraggster


Overview : The Neo N64 Myth is a flash cart for your Nintendo 64 that lets you transfer games from your PC to a cart via USB. This features support for ROMs up to 512MB, all save types (it will even let you back up the saves on your PC), up to two games at the same time, and more.

Features:

• Support the N64 ROM size up to 512M
• Support all save type perfectly included the flash save, not need the same save type N64 game cart to work together
• Support 100% N64 games perfectly
• Download games from PC to NEO2 cart directly via USB port
• Upload/overwrite game save to PC via USB directly
• Multi-CIC support, can use any N64 cart to boot Neo Myth on N64 console
• Support Multi games, can download 2 games at the same time and swap the game via switch
• Can select the N64 menu run from Neo2 game cart or N64 inner menu flash (under developing still)
• Upgradeable! Support upgrade the N64 Myth cart CPLD logic core through the NDP upgrade kit

A Little about the reviewer

Ive been an emulation and homebrew fan for as many years as i can remember (since around 1996 i think) but nothing i repeat nothing is better than playing on the real hardware.

Back in the Megadrive (Genesis) and SNES days i owned a Super Wild Card and a Super Double Pro fighter, both cost about 300 pounds and ill admit that it was a great way to play games that i would never have been able to afford or because of stupid region lockouts.

So the day when Neoflash announced they were working on a Flash Cart for the Nintendo 64 called NEO Myth 64, i wanted one so badly, the chance to relive the best of the N64 and to play games I've never played was too much of a thrill to behold.

Now i must point out that being a webmaster of a homebrew site makes me no expert, I'm just as clueless as most newcomers, i like websites and i like posting news, i like to know that if i need a certain release i should be able to find it on my sites (hopefully :P).

Packaging: First off here's some screens of the N64 Flash Cart in and out its Packaging:

Front Side View in Packaging



Back Side view in Packaging



The NEO N64 Myth cart



Neo 2 Flash Cart - Which Holds SD Cards up to 8GB



The Neo n64 Myth Cart and the Neo 2 Cart split apart



The USB Lead



You also get a Mini CD with a load of Drivers on for all Neo Products.

Getting Started

The N64 Flash Cart did come with a Mini CD of drivers but sadly there was no actual drivers for the N64 Flash Cart, so first off you need to head on over to Neoflash Forum to download the latest version of the software, once you've downloaded it (15MB) then click on to install to the directory it wants to, pretty straightforward for anyone.

Clicking on the Neo 2 Ultra Menu Icon (look on your desktop or in new programs) will lead you onto a screen that looks like this:



Now get your Neo Myth N64 Flash Cart and making sure that the cart that says 512M is inserted (or the Neo 2 Card with an SD Card inserted), connect the USB Lead to the Cart and Plug it into your Laptop or PC.

It Should have no problems and automatically find drivers installed when you installed the software above, I had no problems using Windows Vista but with Windows XP Pro SP3 it wouldn't load the drivers properly, i did post a thread at Neoflash and was given instructions on how to fix this. (Try a different USB Lead it may be that)

Adding ROMS, etc.

Ok carrying on from the screenshot above if everything went ok you'll be able to start the juicy part, first off i did a quick format of the card, it took around 30 seconds to do, so no real biggie.

Next on the list was to add ROMS to the Cart (Homebrew ROMS and Emulators can be found at links Below)

Adding Roms is as easy as clicking the add ROM button and going to whereever your roms are, for some strange reason the cart/software at the moment only holds 2 ROMSbut i would think that will change in later versions of the firmware/software.

Once you have added the ROMS you require then click on N64 Burn, depending on how big your ROMS are will depend on how long it takes to copy to the cart, give it a few minutes, it also verifies each burn.

Now one thing to take into consideration is that if you have a USA N64, you will need a USA game plugged into the back of the N64 Myth Cart, If you have a Pal N64 youll need a Pal game plugged in.

I have both a USA and UK (Pal) N64 and thankfully the Power supplies/TV Leads are universal so im able to swap at pleasure.

Here's a pic of the Cart plugged into the N64



Now for Homebrew roms you dont need anything else to boot them but say you want to boot one of the games that requires the Expansion Pack



Games that need the Expansion Pack are the likes of Donkey Kong 64 and Zelda--The Majora's Mask and Perfect Dark, it also ups the resolution on many other games too.

Onto the Gaming

Ok you've burnt your games onto the Flash cart and you have the Flash Cart installed in the N64 with the correct region game in the back, now its time to turn on:







It loads automatically into the game as you can see, if you did burn 2 games there's a little lever on the top of cart that you push over if you want the other ROM to load at the start before you turn the console on.

Games I've Tested So Far

Donkey Kong 64 - Perfect
Star Wars Battle for Naboo - Perfect
Diddy Kong Racing - Perfect
GoldenEye 007 - Perfect
Perfect Dark - Perfect
PilotWings 64 - Perfect
Killer Instinct - Perfect
Star Wars Episode I - Racer - Perfect
Stunt Racer 64 - Perfect
Yoshi's Story - Perfect

Over at Neoflash there's a more complete list of whats working and save issues etc.

Conclusion : Today was one of them times when i was took back to the reasons i truly love the homebrew/Emulation scene. The Flash Cart seems easy to use, The adding of ROMS to the cart is as easy as they come so a big plus factor there, its a shame at this moment in time it only supports 2 ROMS, hopefully that's one thing that will be updated soon.

Having no drivers and documentation on the CD will make it a little hard for newbies but i would think that most people that are going to buy this are the hardcore N64 fans of old.

On the whole the ROMS it plays is great and if you have the expansion pack you can play just about every single N64 Game released and all homebrew and emulators too.

The price for the Flash Cart is $199, so it will put a lot of people off but to retro collectors/major emulation fans it will be very worth it, if you owned one of the back up systems for the N64 this will be much more preferable as theirs no moving parts to break. Yes for that price you can buy a heck of a lot of the games but there's some genuine gems that are very hard to trace these days and the homebrew factor makes it worth it for me.

My advice is to those who are tempted is go for it, the flash cart does what you really want it to and that's play Nintendo 64, a big thumbs up for Neoflash on this retro cart.

I suppose like everything it depends how big a fan you are and what finances you have to spend on gadgets, for me it does what i want it to and its also seen the re-emergence of a Homebrew scene for the N64, we have already seen releases of ScummVM for the N64 and there's also SNES, NES, MSX, Master System/Game gear and Gameboy Emulators for the N64.

Links of Interest
Ic2005.com - Official Sellers of the NEO Myth 64 N64 flash cart and Neoflash Products.
Neoflash Forum for all discussion regarding the flash cart.
N64 Development forum at Neoflash.
N64 Homebrew News and Emulation Site at DCEmu.
Homebrew N64 Games at N64 Scener.
Homebrew N64 Demos at N64 Scener.
Icequake n64 Site

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Extreme-Mods Disc Repair Service
Manufacturer: N/A
Site: Buy from Extreme-Mods
Price: $5.99 per disc + shipping costs (ships internationally)


Overview : Send us your scratched or damaged Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 2 (PS2), Playstation 3 (PS3), Gamecube, CD, DVD, HD-DVD, BluRay, PC discs and have them professionally resurfaced and promptly returned to you. Using specialized machine(s) we are able to get great results that remove all scratches and restores the disc to "like new" condition.

Notice: We do not guarantee ALL discs will be repairable but we will do our best to repair it to its original playing condition. We are not responsible for discs lost in the mail or in transit.

Attention Xbox 360 Users: If you accidentally scratched a game disc in your console like the disc pictured above, we are here to help! This is scratch ring is easily removed with our special machine(s) and techniques. We will restore your disc to like new condition so you can enjoy playing it again.

Quality/Usability : So I know we all had a bunch of scratched disc whether it be from poor handling of the disc, letting a sibling, child, pet damage it or from your player. Upon trying to play the disc, it was badly scratched that we had to either try and repair it ourselves with a disc repairer, have a store try and repair it or throw it away.


Well, I had Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for the Xbox 360. Unfortunately, someone sent this to me from a trade. Upon looking at it, I was greatly disappointed at the condition. I thought it would still work despite the condition and the game would not read or load. I tried taking the disc to many stores such as GameCrazy, EB/GameStop, Blockbuster, FYE and many other retail stores that deals with videogame, movies and music. None would repair my disc. They would only repair lightly scratched discs but as you can see by the image above.

I noticed that Extreme-Mods provided a service on repairing discs. Although they state that do not guarantee that all discs are repairable, I was willing to give it a shot. I have nothing else to lose. No other stores would take it and the disc is already useless. I have nothing to lose.

Cost of repair is $5.99 per disc. Shipping starts at $3.38 for First Class. Depending on how many discs you send and how heavy the package is, price of shipping will vary. I sent the disc with a blank DVD case and it costs around $2.00 via First Class, give or take a couple of cents (depending on location). If you add any extra services such as tracking or insurance and what shipping method, it will cost more. So in total, it will cost almost $12 just to ship, have it done and shipped back to you.

Having shipped the package on a Monday via First Class, it arrived within a couple of days. Extreme-Mods had the item shipped back 2-3 days after receiving it. I received the package a couple days later. So in total, from shipping to receiving, it took almost 2 weeks. Again, depending on shipping method you choose, it could be sooner.


As you can see from the picture, the ring scratch is no longer visible. But upon looking at it very very and I mean, very closely, I can still see a little bit of a ring that was left. This is only visible held in a certain way with the right lighting. Other than that, its impossible to see. Also, the machine used to repair the disc left some very very small hairline buff marks. Again, this is impossible to see unless held in a certain position and lighting.

Conclusion : Overall, the Extreme-Mods Disc Repair Service exceeded my expectations. I was expecting maybe a Disc Doctor type of repair where it would leave huge buff marks or Extreme-Mods emailing me and informing me that it was unrepairable. The disc is useless already...so I have nothing to lose. Extreme-Mods repaired a disc that no other store would perform. Even if the stores said that they can try to repair but couldnt guarantee that it can, I would of given it a shot. But they turned me down.

After being denied of repair from stores, I was so close to snapping the disc in half and tossing the disc in the garbage until I found the repair service. Extreme-Mods says they usually ship the disc back in 24-48 hours but it took about 48-72 hours due to them being a little swamped. Now, I am able to trade this game rather than have a coaster on my hand. So is it like new condition? Yes, definitely. However, the cost of repair including shipping costs is a bit too high and may put a dent in the wallet. $6 to resurface a disc? $3 would of been more reasonable. If sending disc(s) to be repaired, use a bubble padded envelope and place discs in a blank DVD case or something sturdy to prevent it from being snapped during transit.

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