mario

Does Playing Video Games Adversely Affect Children?

...Like comic books of the yesteryears, video games today have become the most popular mode of entertainment among children. With the launch of gaming systems like Playstation, Xbox, game Cube and Nintendo, more and more children are getting absorbed in the addictive world of video games. The advent of the Internet has brought to the fore online games, creating gaming communities that span over barriers of distance and time.

A recent report has shown that almost 45% of heavy video game players belong to the 6 to 17 year old age group. With an increasing number of video games depicting death and destruction, this has become an area of concern, since young minds are more susceptible to violence. Games like Mortal Combat, Doom, Painkiller, Unreal Tournament and Half Life have gory scenes of bloodshed and violence, and are likely to have adverse effects on children. Many studies have related video games to abnormal behavior in children, such as aggression, depression and games addiction.

Perhaps the single most memorable incident that linked video games to violence was the Columbine High Sc...more

To xbox360 or to not xbox360?

...the ability to sync your favourites sites from your PC? That way you don't have to type your www.mywebsite.com just browse a list and update as you wish.

The limitation of media extender to just music and images is a sadly lacking. They should provide some way of copying video to and from the 360.

The ability to benchmark your machine to insure it is running 3 cores etc etc. A simple benchmark app would do the trick.

Support for more formats like Divx, mpeg4 etc. I Know Microsoft is saving money by not including these codecs. But imagine using a PC that would only play WMV movies?

High Definition:

The image quality on a standard TV is good, but to make full use you really need a High Definition television. the 360 has become the "killer app" for high def tv's; meaning more high def tv's are being sold now, purely to use with the 360. Think 32 "" + screen on your PC and you get an idea of the difference it will make (and you can also plug your pc into one).

DVD player:

The movie player is very impressive player all brands of DVD's without a hitch. Easy to manage interface and excellent image/sound (this is also a progressive scan unit for improved image quality). Only pity, no multi region support.

Tips:

Did you want to download different Xbox live content? Go to system and change you locale to American and log out/on to Xbox live and away you go (you also need an email address with mail address in that location) . Different demos and trailers.

Xbox Live arcade:

A strange addiction indeed. The ability to play older arcade games that use little or none of the power of the worlds most powerful console. But, it works. Allowing you to play exact arcade emulations such as joust, gauntlet etc adds another dimension to your 360. My four year just loves playing Marble Blast on live.

Online Play:

I have tried many multiplayer games on the PC platform and mixed enjoyment has been had. Get a good server and all is well. but often or not you waste time looking and waiting for a "none lagging" game. So far I have only tried (briefly) advanced warfighter online. A quick half hour game using a headset with some blokes from the UK. Was it any good. Amazing! Great game, very little lag, no time wasting just simple game selection and a couple of minutes wait and away you go. Voice over IP works well: no silly button presses, just talk.

Although a strange experience allowing everyone hear you shout at yourself when you get ki...more

Xbox 360 Fix

...for it!? Personally, I couldn't think of a worse thing then to send my Xbox 360 away for many weeks or even months! That's valuable gaming time I'm missing, not to mention that there have been many cases where an owner gets his/her system back, only to find that the console STILL crashes! That's just not acceptable.

Luckily, there are actually a few things you can do to that may help to fix your console:

The first thing you can d...more

Pros and Cons for Xbox, PS2 and GameCube - Part II

... For instance, Nintendos GameCube has games based on traditional characters like Mario, Starfox, Wario, Pokemon, Metroid or Zelda. Although the GameCube is lately trying to escape its kids-only image, this home console is the most appropriate if you are buying it for your child. On the other hand, the PS2 is most famous for its Grand Theft Auto series, which are more suitable for adult customers. The Xbox is well known for its exclusive titles Halo and Halo 2. The best thing about this systems games is the feature that they can be played online with and against other Xbox owners. PS2 is also offering online capability, but it is no...more

posted by 1654 @ 3:44 AM