Jimi Game Shell Case
Manufacturer: Mr Smith
Site: Buy from Jimi
Price: $9.95


Overview : Jimi™ Game Shell is compact, water resistant and shockproof, and you can attach it to your backpack, lanyard or keyring. Within its recyclable sanoprene liners, each case securely holds two Nintendo DS games, two Wii (SD) cards, or two PSP (ProDuo game or music) cards.

Jimi™ Game Shell's translucent outer skin is made from 100% recycled and recyclable polypropylene. Combined with the cushioning sanoprene lining in planet purple, gunmetal grey, or fire red this splash proof shell makes it ideal for storing your DS and PSP game cards, music or camera memory cards, and it looks really sweet to boot.

Quality/Usability : There have been a couple of vacations where I carried my PSP and DS around with me. Each portable system in its own dedicated case but no place to carry my extra games or memory sticks.

Jimi may be your solution and even mine as well. Jimi is made of durable plastic with sanoprene lining (rubber). You can attach the Jimi to your keyring, bag or string for easy portability. The Jimi is small enough to fit in your pants pocket and light weight that you wont notice it. Jimi comes in three colors of sanoprene lining: Red, Grey or Purple. The plastic shell is all the same clear color.

The sanoprene is removeable. The mold of the sanoprene allows you to hold up to two Pro Duo memory sticks or two SD cards (one on each side) or one of each. Above the memory cards, you can hold two DS games. The memory sticks and DS games are held in place securely. Even if you only had one DS game and the other slot was open and was holding either a Pro Duo or SD, they wont come out unless it was banged on hard.

Conclusion : Overall, the Jimi Game Shell Case is a nice solution to holding your memory sticks and DS games at once and together. I'm not sure if it was my shipment only but it did not come with a keyring like the Jimi Multi-Media Memory Case as that came with a keyring. The price of the Game Shell Case is fairly reasonable as well.

Images via comments ...

Griffin Smartshare Headphone Splitter
Manufacturer: Griffin Technology
Site: Buy from Griffin Technology
Price: $7.49-$14.99

Overview : The SmartShare is a headphone splitter with individual volume controls.

It is ideal for watching movies on a PSP or listening to your music on a iPod, as it allows you to share the experience with a friend – perfect for car trips, plane flights, and waiting rooms. Now you can share your audio, not your volume preferences.

Great design and minimal size make SmartShare a must-have addition to any accessory bag.

Quality/Usability : The SmartShare splits sound between two headphones which allows two people to listen to your PSP or iPod at the same time without having to share headphones.

This is great on those long roadtrips or flights to keep you and your friend occupied. Each splitter has its own volume control. If you're the type to blast the volume, your friend wont have to suffer as they can control their own volume to their likings.

The sound quality is pretty clear and does a great job of splitting the sound. I personally like the volume blasted while my friends prefer to have a lower volume.

Conclusion : Overall, the Griffin SmartShare is a nice product to share sounds with a friend without having to give up your headphones or one of your earbuds. The volume control on each splitter is a nice addition as each person can adjust it to their own likings. This is not only for the PSP but can also be used for iPod, MP3/CD player or any electronic device that has a headphone jack.

Image via comments ...

Dead Space 2, the dismembering space horror sequel from EA and Visceral Games, has taken the top spot on the UK chart in a week of few releases, knocking LittleBigPlanet 2 into second after just a week at the top.

Dead Space 2 is the only new entry in a reshuffled top twenty which sees Black Ops slip to its lowest position yet of fifth. FIFA 11 and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood both gain a place at Activision's expense, sitting at third and fourth respectively.

Interestingly, the addition of Dead Space Extraction: Move to the PS3 bundle didn't quite manage to tip the sales of Dead Space 2 in the favour of Sony's machine - 56 per cent of sales were for Xbox 360, with 40 per cent on PS3 and the remaining 4 on PC.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2010 UKIE Ltd.

Last Week This Week Title
New Entry 1 Dead Space 2
1 2 LittleBigPlanet 2
4 3 FIFA 11
5 4 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
2 5 Call of Duty: Black Ops
3 6 Just Dance 2
10 7 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
6 8 Wii Fit Plus
15 9 Art Academy
11 10 Just Dance
7 11 Mass Effect 2
8 12 Kinect Sports
12 13 The Sims 3
9 14 Gran Tursimo 5
16 15 Wii Party>
13 16 Dance Central
20 17 WWE: Smackdown Vs. RAW 2011
17 18 Read Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare
Re-Entry 19 EA Sports Active 2
18 20 Wii Sports Resort

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...op-of-uk-chart ...

Welcome everyone to the new look DCEmu Homebrew, Hacking & Emulation Website, thanks to many people for their donations and especially Martin who has now not only installed the rather cool VB4 but has also upgraded to a new server, ...

I'm in between reviews at the moment, so I'm taking a little review break with another review. It makes sense to me at least. (I can't find another game to review right now...this should be relieved by at least July 8.) Besides, I've been a Hellboy fan for a bit of time.

Hellboy: The Science of Evil
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Chrome Studios
Genre: Action
Players: 1

This game is currently being used as a coaster.

In Hellboy: Science of Evil, you take the role of Hellboy, a demon operative of a secret underground group who hunt down all things supernatural. You play through 6 chapters following the villain Von Brampt to try and stop him from accomplishing his evil goals.

There's nothing to write here.
No witty comment. Not approving or disproving remark before this paragraph about this games story. The title just about explains it all. The "story" here, if you can even call it that, is the same thing as taking 15 different, totally unrelated ideas and shoving them together and using scotch tape to make them stay together. Alright, enough of that. The story in Hellboy: Science of Evil can hardly be called a story. Its composed of 6 broken and terribly composed chapters, almost all of which have an ending even before the climax. An example can be seen as far back as the first level. You find yourself as Hellboy in a distant cemetery in the-devs-only-know-where chasing down a witch who has stolen a great deal of precious artifacts, and killed all the people who tried and stop her. Now let me stop for a minute to explain something about the cut-scenes these messages are conveyed through. At first glance you may well see a stylish cut-scene, almost even a little bit reminiscent to the comic book. Now just wait until it starts moving. the poorly thrown together, no-voice acted cutscenes are the epitome of a bland and inexcusable attempt at piecing together a comic book style presentation. Characters look extremely different in style from one another, almost as though half of each cutscene was drawn by a different artist. The small feat they do manage to accomplish is get at least a little bit of the point of each scene across, but for the most part they simply cause more confusion. Now back to where we were, with the witch and the cemetery. The entire level basically changes course, and only follows Hellboy as though he's bent on escaping rather then catching the witch. And even after you complete the entire level, the last scene shows you overlooking a village and falling off a cliff, without so much as even a mini-boss fight. Wanna take a wild guess at level two? Probably not, since your most likely wrong. None your fault, though, as you somehow wind up in Japan, where you've apparently entirely forgotten anything about a witch and death and mayhem and blahblahblahblah. This games story is the most broken I've seen since Ghost Rider the game.


Hellboy has never looked worse
The strangest thing about the fact that this game looks depressingly terrible is that the original movie actually got many awards for its great cinematography and costume design. The comic book has gotten many awards for great artistry. So you'd think, at least by a little, that the devs here would have at least put a bit more effort into the graphical component to this game. Well besides story, this is easily its worst part. And what better way to explain then by example. Textures disappearing: I walked past a door at one (or more) points in the game, only to find the door wide open when I couldn't access it. So I walk back three steps to go in only to find that the door never moved in the first place. So I ended up just having to leave the ghost door in place, without ever knowing if it was opened or closed. Clipping issues: When throwing or finishing off enemies, they have strange tendency to clip straight through the floor and fall under the level. Also, when thrown they also sometimes go straight through a solid wall. Fence posts and the such move back and forth straight through the ground as you go away and to them. Bland menus: The death screen isn't an extra screen at all. It simply brings up a menu no different then the main menu and asks me if I want to start checkpoint over. All menus look exactly the same. Back to normal style graphics section explanations. The HUD actually doesn't look all too terrible. the colorful bars of health and Rage bar offset an often boring and repetitive background. About backgrounds, each level does sport a different background, for a while at least. The problem with each is they tend to be bland and overall are extremely linear. They also share the exact same pale color pallet, which looks nice for a while, but loses its small charm before the first level is even over. The different ...

PSP RPGs are here and there, they're everywhere they're up the stairs and behind the chairs. Yes, i did make that off the top of my head as I went but the point stands that there is an abnormal amount of sh**ty PSP RPGs out there. And then there are some good ones. Then there are some o.k. ones. Yadda yadda. Breath of Fire III seems like your average RPG, turn based, plot, stuffzes that make it an RPG...you know how it is. So lemme get to the review before you jump to conclusions....

You start out as a dragon (huh?) that ends up being found, abandoned as a human child, found by a duo named Rei and Teepo, 2 juvenile thieves. You soon become family, and have a time together...until two assassins named Balio and Sunder attack you and your family, who presumably kill Rei and Teepo after you black out. You soon set out to try and find them, in the way learning of your origins as a half-dragon, half-human race, and the most powerful in existence. Along you way you befriend a princess, a guardian, a wacko scientist, and a list oft friends as you journey to find out just what happened to you and you dragon race.

Graphics are sprites. But they are some darn fine looking sprites. However, for the first part of the game, the main character's sprite doesn't look much like the character himself, so it really doesn't matter. backgrounds are full 3D, however, and look pretty nice, not terrible and not stunning. They're just what they need to be.

Now for a turn based RPG (which I used to hate, btw) this one is pretty deep. Physical attacks, magical attacks, over 100 spells, weapons, armor, secondary armor, rings, quite a lot of stuff you can customize your characters with. but theres different strategies that you have to employ in every different battle, as all enemies have resistance, weaknesses, abilities, stats, all that may seem normal for RPGs, but Breath of Fire forces the player to take each one of these factors into consideration, as your normal strategy will almost never work all the time later on in the game. Each character that joins you, too will have they're owns abilities you must factor in. You may find yourself frustrated at times, but I'm just a really impatient person myself. But boy, playing as dragon Ryu sure is fun!


Sound is fine, at least for what it is. It wouldn't have killed them to add some voice acting to the scenes, though would it? Music is so-so, and the battle cries are still in Japanese. Eh....

Replay value...well, its standard for an RPG. You should get a good 30 hours of gameplay, but theres little to do except collect items and dragon genes after your done.

Graphics: 3.5/5
Great sprites, decent battle animations. Nothing special, but their fine for what they are.

Sound: 2.5/5
Everything works, but it still would've been nice to have seen some voice acting.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
Pretty nice and deep for a turn-based RPG. Multiple strategies for enemies, all which must be utilized to the best of your characters abilities. Unfortunately, you have to guess the strategy for many opponents.

Presentation: 4.5/5
An interesting storyline through the whole experience will keep you coming for more. Combat is easy to learn as well.

Replay value: 3/5
Like I said, a good 25-30 hours of gameplay, but after that, your done.

Overall:

it was tough debating whether it'd be a 8, 7.5, or an 7...but its age is starting to show. Still, if you want a mix between old school and new age RPG that still is pretty fun, look no further. ...

SSX On Tour
Publisher: EA Games
Developer: EA BIG
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-4
Reviewed on PSP by gdf

SSX is the Snowboard series. First appearing on PS2 in 2000, it has grown and changed over the years, dominating the snowboarding corner of the extreme sports genre virtually unchallenged. On Tour is the latest, appearing on the creaky old PS2, Xbox and PSP. After the brilliant predecessor SSX3, many expected this to be the be all and end all of boarding games, and though it is solid and competent, it doesn't quite measure up to this expectation. Some of the magic has been lost and the title is misleading- the whole game takes place on the same mountain- don't expect to be hurtling down the French Alps one minute and snapping your neck on Mt. Everest the next.

On Tour has made some additions to the franchise; it is the first game to include skiing and there are more challenges to do. Skiing is fun for the first ten minutes but seems to fade when you realise it is exactly the same as boarding. The tricks work in the same way, the characters are the same, the speed is the same, the designs are the same, the levels are the same and the handling is...you guessed it, the same. This poses a problem as all skiing really brings to the game is more challenges, all of which are mirror images of the boarding ones. It is like a driving game claiming to have 50 tracks, but really there are just 25 reversed. Thankfully the handling is good all round anyway, so at least the game isn’t twice as long and a bitch to play at the same time.

The controls work surprisingly well on the handheld. Cross is crouch/jump, Circle and Square are trick buttons and Triangle is the modifier. To flip you press the D-Pad like in SSX of old. This actually works better than on PS2, where EA's bumming of the right analog has led to a poorly implemented "Trick Stick". On paper this sounds more natural, but series veterans will be put off by the fiddlyness and are better off playing on the portable. Unfortunately, the absence of four shoulder buttons on PSP has led to the boost being mapped to Square, so even a tiny lift off the ground could send your protagonist rolling off a cliff because they tried to do a 180 Stalefish three inches in the air.

The boarding itself hasn't changed much, which can be seen as a relief. There is little better than bombing down a mountain at 90 miles per hour, trees rushing past and only your pure, concentrated skill stopping you ramming into one. When this game works, it works beautifully. There are times when you will feel nothing else, hear nothing else and see nothing else; undiluted gaming Zen, but given the skill of this particular reviewer, that headfirst tree-rape comes a little too often! On a more serious note, it has to be said that there are too many tracks. Wait...don't criticise me for saying this. SSX3 had three parts to a single mountain, with a few secret routes here and there. You could, with some practice, learn the course inside out and choose your own way down, knowing where to go next. On Tour has loads of separate courses, none of which are particularly memorable, so finding that personal route is hard to achieve. You may recognise a course, but you won't be able to go the same way time and time again, honing your skills to a knife edge. With this lost, it is all too often that the hardened SXX fan will lose on the easiest difficulty for the seventieth just because they didn't know where to go next.

The visuals in OT are quite impressive, though not outstanding. Motion blur is well done and really adds to that sense of speed as the screen melts in your face. The snow looks really good when it puffs and whooshes out from the board, and you can really feel like Mr Cool cruising down the mountain with a trail of sparkling snow behind you (Sorry if that sounds a bit gay). Character models are fine, but on close inspection can look a bit ropey. The soundtrack is impressive, featuring a raft of great bands. The playlist is customisable too, so if you think a song sucks, you can simply refuse to ever let it piss in your beautiful ears again. The sheer amount of music that has been jammed onto the UMD is amazing, as there is at least an iPod Shuffle's worth of tuneage here.

This review may have sounded harsh, but that is only because the series has offered so much more in the past. Number three was easily the best snowboard game ever, so On Tour is really a bit of a disappointment. It is by no means a bad game, don't get me wrong. It is solid, fun, and well made. Series newbies will love it and enjoy every last minute, but for those of us who have played the previous titles it is slightly flat. If you are buying SSX on PS2, go for the previous instalment, which can now be found for fewer than ten notes. For PSP owners hankering for some mountainside action there is no other ...