Ok, yesterday I decided to hook up the Nintendo Wii to the Internet over the wireless connection. The first problem I had was that I didn’t remember what the parental control passcode was. Not a good start really, but a quick search on the Internet showed me how to reset that.

The next thing was setting up the Wireless connection, which was easy enough to do. The Nintendo Wii did mst of the hard work there with me only having to enter the WAP passcode. I had to download a new update for the Nintendo Wii which took an absolute age. Once this was done I was connected.

I wasn’t that impressed with it to be honest. Sure there were good things, but I didn’t have any games that I could play online. So the next step is to get hold of some games for the Nintendo Wii that I can play over the Internet.

It wasn’t a bad experience really and I can see that many people must get enjoyment from connecting the Nintendo Wii to the Internet (ones who have games to play online obviously), the set up process is simplicity in itself.

Suggestions for games to buy in order to make the most of the Nintendo Wii’s connection would be appreciated. Leave comments on this post for me. I can assure you that I do read all of them.

Last week I decided that I’d like to start gaming again. I’ve not played any proper games for a long while now, although I do own a Nintendo DS. The gaming console of choice for me was the Sony PSP 3000.

Why the Sony PSP 3000 I hear you ask. Well, I had one of the original Sony PSP’s a long time ago and found it to be ideal for what I wanted. The Sony PSP 3000 has come a long way sine that original model came out.

For starters, the Sony PSP 3000 is thinner and lighter than ever before. This is great for gamers because you’ll be able to play longer without getting sore wrists. Although, having said that it’s not that much thinner. The Sony PSP 3000 now has a built in microphone and a better screen as part of the upgrade features. That built in microphone will allow you to use Skype or for online gaming. There’s a TV-Out socket on the Sony PSP 3000 too, which allows you to connect it up to almost any television set and play your games via that screen. You could, if you wanted to, use it to watch movies too.

The battery on the Sony PSP 3000 will allow you to play games for between 4 and 6 hours, or watch movies for between 4 to 5 hours. The battery life could be better, but it would see you through a long train or car journey quite easily. I’m pretty sure that there’s an in car charging kit available too.

Priced between £129.99 and £159.99 the Sony PSP 3000 is cheap enough for almost anybody these days. Don’t let the low price fool you into thinking that the Sony PSP 3000 doesn’t pack a punch, because it does. The graphics are crisp and sharp and playability is awsome. I’ve taken the Sony PSP 3000 with me on my travels and it really does help to pass the time. All I need now is for buses to provide power outlets to re-charge the battery.

Yet another add on device for the popular Nintendo Wii entertainment system. But what is it and what does it do? The Jog for Nintendo Wii is a device that attaches to your controller and is placed on your waist to measure every step you take.

The Jog for Nintendo Wii registers your steps in order to control your character on screen which moves in the direction you point your controller. That’s all you have to do with the Jog for Nintendo Wii, it’s that simple. You’ll be immersed in your game in no time; and there is a huge list of games available that are compatible with the Jog for Nintendo Wii already.

The Jog for Nintendo Wii displays the number of steps you’ve taken on a small LCD screen that’s built in and you can also see how many calories you’ve burned by playing your favourite games.

I can see the Jog for Nintendo Wii becoming a huge huge with fans of the Wii Fit but in a totally different way. No longer will you be confined to exercise type games.

The Jog for Nintendo Wii takes interactive gaming to a whole new level and its available now through PriceGrabber for under £25

This brings back fond memories from my childhood. Many an hour was spent playing on my beloved Sega Mega Drive, sometimes for days on end and to see the Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console available to buy bought them flooding back.

The Sega Mega Drive was THE console of my generation. The Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console is that console revived for the 21st century! It still has the same 16-bit graphics and uses the original cartridges. It even uses the same controllers as the original. So if you still have your original console and controllers you’re in a win / win situation.

Not only that the Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console has 15 built in games which I will list for you now:

• Alien storm
• Altered Beast
• Gain Ground
• Alex Kidd
• Arrow Flash
• Columns III
• Crack Down
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Bonanza Bros.
• E Swat
• Golden Axe
• Fatal Labyrinth
• Decap Attack
• Flicky
• Shadow Dancer

Quite an impressive list of games by anyone’s standard.

The Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console is also much smaller than the original Mega Drive so it’s ultra portable. This is great if you want to take it round to your mate’s house for a challenge. The Sega Mega Drive Twin Player Console costs under £40 which isn’t too much a price to pay for a touch of nostalgia from your past.

I want one of these desperately because I have a shoebox full of games in the attic somewhere.

The Nintendo DSi is the newest hand held console to hit the market. I’ve not seen one, let alone thought about buying one. I have a Nintendo DS that I hardly use because I can’t find the charger for it.

So what’s new in this new Nintendo DSi console? Well there’s the Nintendo DSi Camera and Nintendo DSi Sound. The Nintendo DSi has two built in cameras that allow you to take snaps and manipulate them on the DSi using 11 different photo lenses. You can then save these snaps to the internal memory of the DSi or on to an external card. The photos can also be shared wirelessly with other Nintendo DSi owners.

The Nintendo DSi Sound allows you to record sounds directly to the DSi with it’s built in microphone, but it also allows you to play AAC formatted music stored on SD Cards. This is great if you don’t want to be carrying a lot of separate devices around with you. There’s also a DSi Store which allows you to customise the look of the Nintendo DSi even further.

I’m not sure if I want to own a Nintendo DSi if I’m honest. I just don’t see me using it enough to justify the cost (which is about £145) of the purchase. But you can be sure that PriceGrabber will find the best price for you if you fancy owning the new Nintendo DSi.

Shocking, simply shocking, is what the Shock Ball is all about. About the same size as a cricket ball, the Shock Ball is a great little gadget that will amuse (and shock) you for hours on end. Play pass the Shock Ball with a group of frinds to see who becomes the victim of a surge of electricity.

The Shock Ball delivers random electric shocks to whoever is unfortunate to be holding it when it goes off. This in turn can create a tense and fun atmosphere in which vital decisions can be made. Use the Shock Ball to decide who has to buy the first round of drinks down the local, or even to decide who has to buy the tickets to the next big gig you want to attend.

Costing under £15.00, it’s a great little gadget to have when you’ve got a group of mates round for a few drinks. It can turn a night in with the boys in to an extremely fun night in with the boys. Heck, you could even take it out with you and have fun with random people you meet.

Without a doubt, whatever you decide to do with the Shock Ball, it will make you laugh until your sides hurt. You might even get to feel the shocking power of the Shock Ball for yourself if you’re the unlucky one to get a hit.

It looks very likely that this year’s must have Christmas gift is the Wii Fit. It’s virtually sold out everywhere, or at least the Wii Fit without a Wii is. My sister has been trying in vain to get her hands on one. Sure, she can get one from eBay if she’s willing to pay over the odds for it.

I don’t see the appeal of the Wii Fit personally, but I suppose the kids will love it. Interaction at it’s best possibly?

I remember last year (and the year before) when everyone was trying to get hold of the Wii and it was out of stock. Nintendo are certainly doing well out of this. Is it good marketing or just lack of products? My money is on good marketing and hype generation.

Nintendo have certainly got it right with the Wii and the Wii Fit. There are better games consoles out there. Ones with better graphics and better games, but people seem to love the Wii…. I don’t know why that is. Simplicity of game play perhaps?

It’s certainly true that there will be a lot of disappointed kids all over the country come the morning of the 25th when Father Christmas fails to deliver the goods. I don’t understand why people don’t buy these things when there is plenty of stock in the summer. Oh well, you can bet that the same thing will happen next year too, but with a different gadget.
I’ve searched PriceGrabber for the Wii Fit, but alas to no avail. Even they can’t find any. They do have the actual Wii Console and other accessories though.

I’ve not blooged on here in a few days, my apologies for that. I do have a good excuse though. I recently started sorting out old disks that I had lying in various drawers around the place and found what has got to be one of the best games ever. Transport Tycoon Deluxe! This was a game that I was mad about playing over 10 years ago, so the chance to visit it again was one I could not pass on. To be honest, I didn’t think the disks would install the game on my Windows XP Home edition PC. I was right to be sceptical, although the files installed they wouldn’t run. So a quick search on the internet came up with a solution in the form of OpenTTD.

OpenTTD enhances the original game by adding patches to it, enabling the playing of the game on an XP or even Vista PC.
It also adds some extra functionality to the game.

So what is Transport Tycoon Deluxe I hear you ask… Well, the aim of the game is to create your own transportation empire. You can use road, rail, air and sea to achieve this. The game starts in the 1950’s and you have very limited funds available to start off with. There are subsidies to be had if you build links between various industries and towns. The game grows as you play too, so you need to think about things. The placement of airports is a nighmare because you need to remember to keep space around it for expansion.

If you get the opportunity to get a copy of this game I highly recommend you do so. You’ll lose hours of your working day playing it. It’s such a joy to have found it again. I’ll be back tomorrow with a proper gadgety post.

If you want some retro toys, then have a look here.

Owning a real helicopter can be an expense most of us can’t afford. So the PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter is the next best thing. Small enough to fit in your hand, the PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter is one of those gadgets that you’ll love straight away. The PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter is made from strong foam so those little accidents you may have whilst learning to fly it won’t damage it.

The PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter is controlled via infra red. This might not be the ideal solution in my opinion, but it works well. Charging the PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter takes about 30 minutes and in return you’ll get approximately 10 minutes of flying time.

The PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter has an impressive range of up to 30 feet! More than enough to chase the cat around.

Costing under £20, you’re hardly going to break the bank buying the PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter, and buy it you should.

You’re going to absolutely love playing with the PicoZ Apache Micro Helicopter because of its simplicity. Once you’ve mastered the controls you’ll be zooming around the living room like a pro. Planning your imaginary raids on the sweets on the coffee table, and swooshing over your mates’ heads.

Today I received a Nintendo DS Lite. I had reservations about getting it to be honest, having owned a Sony PSP in the past. I used the PSP for a while, then the novelty wore off.

The Nintendo DS Lite will be different I hope. The ability to play Nintendo GameBoy Advance games on it is obviously an added bonus. Incidentally, I got the black version of the Nintendo DS Lite.

When I get a new gadget through the post I’m like a child at times. I get really impatient waiting for the post, then there’s pure joy and elation when the gadget arrives. Today was no different. The postman was late this morning too, prolonging my torture. But, when he did arrive, it was pure joy. The Nintendo DS Lite is a beautiful gadget, and I’m sure I’ll make a lot of use of it. Obviously in order to use the Nintendo DS Lite to its full advantage you need some games. I overlooked that minor point, but have place an order for the brain training games. I also have GameBoy Advance games, so all it not lost.

If you haven’t got one of these, you really should get one. I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me on my long train journeys.