Mass Effect 3 will be expanding its narrative and providing players some more combat via its new iPad iOS game, Mass Effect Infiltrator. While the Mass Effect series is a sci-fi role-playing game known for its over-the-shoulder shooter gameplay, its iOS version will be all about fighting.

The backstory on the new iOS game is about a soldier named Randall Ezno and his travels to track down alien species across the universe. It starts to overlap with the storyline from Mass Effect 3 as he starts to feed information and various items to Commander Shepard, the protagonist of Mass Effect 3. And to keep players interested in the new iOS game, items and info collected in it will also appear in the console game for Shepard to use. While Mass Effect Infiltrator gameplay will focus on short bursts of action, its graphics are pretty on par with those of the actual console game. As one of the best-looking mobile games, players control Ezno via touch-based analog-sticks, with shooting controls working by tapping on enemies for aiming.

The game will be available for all iOS devices, including iPad, iPod and iPhone. There’s no news on price or an exact release date yet, but EA reps mentioned that it would be released around the same time as Mass Effect 3.

The iCade was a smash hit as soon as the vaporware piece of kit hit the webosphere.  Such a big hit in fact, that the product became reality thanks to Thinkgeek and ION Audio.  Well, as they say, all good things come in pairs.  The iCade Jr. is a miniaturized version of the original iCade, yet it’s specifically designed to fit your iPod Touch or iPhone.

Much like the iCade, your pocket sized iOS device connects to this gaming cabinet over Bluetooth, though for charging you can add Apple’s 30-pin cord thanks to a pass through slot.  Aside from the retro stylings of an arcade game past, the iCard Jr. boasts not just a joystick and four forward facing buttons, but four rear trigger buttons.  Without a hands on it’s a bit tough to say, but we’re gonna go ahead and assume that the trigger buttons are designed for games that don’t require a joystick since it would be difficult to reach for both.

ION Audio hasn’t said how much or when, but if we had to wager, it will be $50-75 and release sometime in March.

A new Xbox design, and a new Media Remote with it. When Microsoft announced the Slim Xbox 360, with a glossy case and black instead of the once proudly-displayed white matte finish, it only made sense that followup hardware would follow a similar route: slimming down and gaining a sleeker design. This holiday Microsoft released a few peripherals, one of which was the Xbox 360 Media Remote. I’ve used it since it a ton since IPTV through the Xbox became a reality, and it’s a great piece of hardware to own.

For comparison, let’s take a look at the original Xbox 360 media remote. It’s roughly the same length as the newer model, but is stockier, and has an overall larger feel. The white design is easy to see and matches original 360 consoles, but the size makes it inconvenient for a living room setting. It’s wider and thicker than almost every cable box or TV remote I’ve ever seen. Compare that to the Universal Media Remote, which is much larger and bulkier, and now you have a new king of remote controls by size alone.

The new model is thin and sleek. It combines the Universal Remote’s use-anywhere traits and the smaller size of the original Media Remote in an even smaller form factor. This new Media Remote is by no means thin at an inch thick, but it’s comfortable in the hand, far more than either two remotes before it. The button layout leaves a lot to be desired, however, depending on how you use it. As a universal remote the channel buttons are too low and video navigation (pause, play, fast forward/rewind, etc.) are too high. For Xbox 360 use, the button scheme is exceptional, though it feels better for the left hand than the right hand.

The Media Remote is much smaller than the universal remote. Unfortunately I've lost mine, so no direct size comparison

My bigger concern isn’t with the remote so much, but the lack of proper software implementation on the Xbox 360 itself. When watching TV through the game console, it’s impossible to switch to specific channels without going through the guide or flipping through one at a time.

The overall experience of watching TV through the Xbox with just the Media Remote isn’t as great as it can be. It can easily be improved in two ways: speed up channel flipping (right now there’s a 2-5 second buffer delay between channels), and allow for a more cable TV-like viewing experience. Today it just feels too slow and too cumbersome.

At just $20, it’s more expensive than most universal remotes but a much better option for Xbox 360 owners. Even if you just have the game console, new video apps like Crackle, and streaming apps like Hulu Plus and Netflix make owning the Media Remote worthwhile. Even if it spends most of its days sitting quietly on your coffee table, this remote is a solid, simple and worthwhile purchase that you can’t regret.

Editor’s Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Great

Bottom Line: A great remote that’s better than the original, and does everything you need for a good price.

Pros:

• Smaller, slimmer, better than the original
• Packs two prior remotes into one with a solid build and design

There’s one thing that Playstation 3 gamers have always held over the heads of Xbox 360 owners, and that is headsets. The PS3 supports Bluetooth, so any wireless headset of your choosing will work for both your phone and console. The 360, meanwhile, had only one wireless headset, from Microsoft directly, and it only functioned with the Xbox 360 (or a PC with the wireless receiver). Without building Bluetooth into the console, Microsoft solved the other problem: a multi-function headset.

The Xbox 360 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth is exactly that, a single headset with both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz built into a single device. It’s big and sleek with a glossy finish, and simple with just four buttons and a single switch. Power, connect (with the Xbox controller ring), volume rocker, and the Bluetooth/RF switch. There’s also a tiny sync button behind the earpiece.

This headset is huge. It’s more than twice the size of the Plantronics Marque M155, though the dark design doesn’t make it stand out obnoxiously, remaining large yet elegant. Until fingerprints collect on that glossy surface, that is. The large size poses another problem, one unique to most headsets: the earpiece is made to wear outside the ear. This design choice is good for gaming – after all, in-ear headsets block sound on the side they are worn on – but for standard use has no noise cancellation. Considering that the Wireless Headset w/Bluetooth is designed to work for and outside of gaming, this may prove too much for some consumers.

I tested the headset for both phonecalls and gaming, and there are two highs and lows of the device. First, switching between “game” mode and “work” mode is a simple flick of the switch. What makes it great is the coloring on the switch: when set for Bluetooth, the open section of the switch (see picture below) shows blue. When set for gaming, it shows green. I never had trouble between the two modes because of this. Second, the headset can get very loud thanks to the larger earpiece, and likewise has fairly good battery life. With on and off use I’ve managed a week of use before charging, playing on my Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and for occasional phone calls.

The lows may be the bigger worry. Once again, the size is a limiting factor because the it’s heavy. If you have sensitive ears and generally find Bluetooth headsets uncomfortable, this one will fare worse than most. I found it uncomfortable to wear after 30 minutes of continuous use, but then again I need very light sets. The second, again, is that the earpiece itself sits outside the ear. This makes the headset almost always feel like it’s sliding off even when perfectly stable, and not offering the level of comfort and security found on the traditional Wireless Headset or typical Bluetooth headsets.

The type of user who would be most interested in the Wireless Headset with Bluetooth is someone who owns multiple consoles and plays on both online, or someone who has a workstation that seats both consoles and a computer. The headset is made for the multi-tool user, the kind of person who is connected in multiple ways at once, through as many platforms as it takes. Playing on a PS3, 360, and switching between my iPhone, desktop computer, and a handful of Android phones was a cinch. Not only because most of the devices sit at one place – my workstation – but because the headset never leaves. It charges via MicroUSB like my wireless mouse, and remains on my desk with a small pile of regularly used peripherals. It’s the perfect multi-use gaming headset.

I’d prefer something smaller and lighter, because I personally don’t like heavier headsets, but even then Microsoft’s design is very solid. I recommend it to all but the most sensitive-eared users, and not to anyone who wants to just use it for telephony. The Wireless Headset with Bluetooth is made to be worn while still, seated. Not while walking about. The only thing that’s missing is a charging dock, which I’d gladly keep on a coffee table or my workplace to keep things tidy and organized.

Editor’s Rating:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

Bottom Line: The Wireless Headset with Bluetooth is an excellent option for multi-console gamers who play in one space. Great for gaming, not good for walking around on the phone with. Bulky, with good battery life.

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Simple RF/BT switch
• Great to use with multiple devices and consoles

It turns out that Amazon was totally B-S-ing us with the release date of December 31st, 2012 for the game Kinect Star Wars.  Today, we learned that it will release April 3rd, which if you recall is what we “half expected.”  On top of that, we’ve also learned that it will include five dynamic modes, allowing you to control a Speeder Bike, fight Count Dooku and Darth Vader and even boogie (yes dance) to your favorite Star Wars inspired tunes.

With five dynamic modes – Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off and Duels of Fate – “Kinect Star Wars” makes it possible for Star Wars fans of all ages to delve into immersive Star Wars experiences. In addition to the previously announced Jedi, Podracing and Rancor modes, Xbox 360 and LucasArts have today unveiled new additions to the game, including:

New experiences within Jedi Destiny Mode, including:

Space battles:As you travel the Galaxy to face an evil that threatens to undermine the fabric of the Republic, you’ll engage with forces of the Empire in intense space battles

Speeder Bikes and Landspeeders: Pilot iconic Speeder Bikes and Landspeeders on your epic journey

New duels:Battle opponents like Count Dooku and Darth Vader on your journey to become a Jedi

New Duels of Fate mode, a battle-by-battle experience to sharpen your Jedi skills against the Dark Side.

New Galactic Dance Off mode loaded with Star Wars-themed pop tunes where those still honing their Jedi skills can take a break to battle Darth Vader on the dance floor or bust a move “Solo style.”

Additionally, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Kinect Star Wars” console bundle will feature an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for Dance Mode. With these new reveals and the ability to play in 3D,

But that’s not the only good news we have for those of you holding out for the latest Star Wars game.  Major Nelson let it be known that the Star Wars Xbox 36o, the one we told you about last July, will ship on the same day, with the game, a C3PO inspired controller, Kinect camera, a 320GB hard drive and Star Wars noises for $449.  If you’re so inclined you can preorder one from Amazon right now, where upon it will show up at your door neatly wrapped in time for Easter.

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Boy how we did love us some Laser Tag.  We’re not talking about those stand alone Laser Tag geek centers.  Nope, we’re referring to the at home game that included a chest mounted sensor and black guns that looked like they were 20 years from the future.  The sensors allowed you to be shot up to 4 or 5 times and then you were “dead,” that is until the next battle ensued.  You could play the game any where at anytime, provided you had a direct line of site to your opponent and were willing to strip on the gear.  So how about getting back to your routes without all the plasticky parts?

The Xappr is a gun specifically designed to complement currently up to 10 iOS games on your iPhone.  It’s not clear how it works, but we’re assuming it links over either Bluetooth or the iPhone’s 30-pin port, allowing you to pull the trigger on the gun and pick off foes on your handset’s screen.  The company also plans to kick out a mini-Xappr, which we can only assume is a smaller, more portable version of its big brother. But wait, there is more!

And for those of you looking to get nostalgic, as in Laser Tag, MetalCompass, the maker of the Xappr, has plans to release the first real world multiplayer first person shooter for smartphones – ATK.  In other words, any where you go you’ll be able to play a game of would be Laser Tag with friends.  Just whip out the Xappr, mount your phone and you’ll be able to choose between three modes of plays (Death-match, Last Man Standing and Teams Mode) and a variety of weapons that include guns, rifles, grenade launchers and powerful pulse weapons.  We don’t know what ATK will look like, but clearly it will be a location based app that will allow you to virtually shoot your friends (or enemies) in the real world.

You can preorder the Xappr today for $30 plus $15 for S&H.

There are controllers, and then there are controllers. Today, most of us just use whatever comes with the console, and nothing else. Microsoft or Sony did a tremendous job with their gamepads, but it has taken 3rd parties too long to match or better that quality. They just haven’t been as good. That finally changes in a big way.

The MLG Pro Circuit box is expertly crafted

Mad Catz decided to best the millions of man-hours and research put into the 360 and Dualshock controllers by aiming for the high-end consumer and not the everyman gamer. I’ve gotta say, the MLG Pro Circuit Controller fits that bill.

Available for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the MLG Pro Circuit Controller shares the 360 gamepad’s shape, but what sets it apart is one feature: interchangeable parts. Faceplates are secondary. The d-Pad, analog sticks, faceplate, wrist holds, even the cable are all detachable, replaceable, and customisable. It may seem useless, but consider you’re a PS3 gamer who likes the concave 360 analog sticks. It’s an easy switch: twist the convex ones out, put the concave ones in, and done. The snap-on system isn’t as easy to open as they should be, more akin to opening a bottle of pills with that child-safety lock. Both the 360 and PS3 models are identical (save for the Xbox/PS button).

In the box is the controller, a set of analog sticks in both PS3 and 360 style, d-Pads for both, a 9′ braided cable that screws onto the controller, two weights (35g each), and a carrying case for all of the above. It isn’t wireless because it’s a pro-gamer controller. Wired controllers are faster, more reliable, are also the only ones allowed in tournaments.

I’ve been using the Pro Circuit for the past week and it’s a real pleasure to use, not just because it’s a good controller, but because of the interchangeable parts. I played through the Metal Gear Solid HD collection on the 360, but clearly the game was designed for the PS2′s Dualshock. For that game, I switched the d-Pad to the PS3′s and put it on the top left, put a 360 analog stick on the bottom left, and kept a PS3 analog stick on the right. For me, this setup was the most effective. Fast paced 360 shooters, like Modern Warfare 3, are easier for me with the PS3 right stick and 360 left stick.

In a sense, it’s like having both consoles wrapped into one. The only sad news is that because of licensing, there’s no way to get one controller that would work with both consoles.

But the Pro Circuit isn’t perfect. The face buttons are a bit mushy, especially so out of the box. They’re better after being broken in, but the style of the buttons may not appeal to all players, including pro gamers. The buttons have a lot of give, compared to the mouse-like buttons of the Razer Onza controller.

The Pro Circuit with both back panels, with and without weights

It’s also expensive. For $100, the Pro Circuit is an investment, one that may prove to save money. Like I wrote in my hands-on preview, I have a stack of working but worn out Xbox 360 controllers, four with completely worn out indents on the analog sticks. A set of analog sticks will be available for purchase for $15 each, which will make the controller worthwhile for the long-term. It just depends on your gaming habits. I just feel that Mad Catz is a little late to the controller game. If the Pro Circuit came out at least a year ago, it would have a much better chance to succeed and prosper. With today’s rumors of a new Xbox and Playstation within the coming year, even if the current controllers work with new consoles it limits just how well a new controller can do today.

Mad Catz will also put out additional parts for the Pro Circuit, including different style faceplates, different length cables, and potentially even different style joysticks. The MLG Pro Circuit Controller is a very solid gamepad, one with an exceptional switch system for analog sticks and d-Pads. I think that the Pro Circuit can be better over time, as more faceplate, palm rests, joysticks and d-Pads become available, though right now it’s still a great controller.

Editor’s Rating:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

Bottom Line: The MLG Pro Circuit Controller is a great gamepad that thanks to interchangeable parts is highly customizable, more than any controller before it.

Pros:

• Comfortable gamepad
• Interchangeable parts are a brilliant direction for a gamepad
• A good long-term controller investment

3D displays have been pretty good over the past few years, though they are still rare. The first sets only released three years ago, and every year since has only seen two or three new models. In late 2011 ASUS released the first 27″ 3D monitor, the VG278H, which is the best thing for 3D. The only way to really improve the quality of your 3D gaming at home is to increase the size of your screen.

As far as monitors go, aside from built-in 3D Vision support, the VG278H is pretty bland. It has high-end specs like 400cd/m2 brightness, 120Hz refresh rate, internal speakers and a 2ms grey-to-grey response time, but that’s all powering a 1920×1080 resolution. For a 27″ panel, that’s pretty low, and it’s noticeable, especially if like me you have at least one other monitor. But let’s take an organized look at the display.

Hardware

As mentioned, this ASUS is a high-end gaming display. Response times are fast, the screen gets deathly bright, and the speakers are pretty good to boot. Not as good as the Playstation 3D Display‘s, mostly from muffled bass and some tinny highs, but otherwise good.

Let’s talk about screen resolution. Today, widescreen (16:9) is the standard for most PC displays, though few still sell as 16:10. My opinion on the matter is that 16:10 is better, and that if you’re going to have multiple displays, the best way to do it is to have them side by side vertically, so you get a 3600×1920 display, instead of 5760×1200. That’s just more sensical to me, and if that’s the case, why is it any different with two monitors? Especially for gaming.

That said, at 27″ most displays in the past have bumped up the resolution to 2560×1600 or 2560×1440, depending on the aspect ratio. The VG278H does neither, and likely for two reasons: reduced cost and less stressful for gaming. Because of how hard processing 3D is (or rather, how it basically requires twice the graphics computing power because it’s doubling the image), running a game in 3D is already twice as hard. Upping the display from 1080p, or even 1200p, to (in this widescreen case) 2560×1440 is a big step, one most gamers don’t go to.

There is an unwritten expectation from screen sizes, one that ASUS is disrupting under the guise of 3D. Acer will release their own 27″ 3D display as well, also 1080p. I don’t like this decrease in pixel density. It only works if players sit farther away from the display, and in this case, that doesn’t happen. I’ve tested a number of games in 3D (with more write-ups, like Skyrim, to come), and yes, sometimes pixels are visible. They’re more visible when not in-game, and impossible when playing in 3D, but dropping to 1080p isn’t progress. Keep the stupid widescreen, but leave the resolution where it belongs.

The VG278H has an HDMI 1.4, Dual-DVI and VGA port, as well as audio in and audio out. Menu navigation is conducted through four buttons, plus a preset button and power button. The buttons are all easy to press, but not nearly as simple as the touch-sensitive buttons on BenQ’s XL2420TX or Dell’s Alienware OptX from two years ago. There’s also a dedicated display switch between HDMI, DVI and VGA.

Finally there’s the Vision 2 built-in IR transceiver, which sits at the very top of the relatively small bezel. It’s adjustable about 40 degrees, which is very convenient for gamers who like to kick back and stay below the monitor.

Color Reproduction and 3D

I’ve tested the VG278H in a number of ways, including picture editing, vision-based benchmarks, everyday use, and gaming. Out of the box the VG278H is pretty accurate, and required minimal adjustment and calibration. As mentioned, the display gets uncomfortably bright, which is especially good for games. I tested all of Skyrim on the VG278H and even with Lightboost (built into the monitor) not active, at max brightness the active shutter glasses couldn’t drown out that much light. After 30 minutes my eyes were watering.

Video and game quality is great, but would be better if the display were glossy. Glossy screens are troublesome for a few reasons, mostly that they are highly reflective. I thought it might be a problem, especially while wearing reflective glasses, but as I found with both the Playstation 3D Display and the VG278H, that’s not the case. 3D gaming on the VG278H during daytime, however, was infinitely easier than on Sony’s display.

The built-in presets are also very well calibrated for their intended uses. Theater Mode is bright but manages colors very well except for a slight green hue (especially in darks), while game mode has slightly higher color saturation and vibrancy. With Skyrim, though there isn’t such incredible color in the game, the VG278H did help bring the world to life with color oversaturation and incredible brightness. And, of course, 3D and the larger 27″ size.

Image from PC World

Though in my rant above about regressing in screen density, with the VG278H I was able to really sit back and chill out while 3D gaming. The 22″ displays are too small and 24″ screens are big, but not enough to kick back with a gamepad. The 27″ is big enough to pull that office chair lever and lean back after a hard day’s work. That extra distance, of course, makes it more difficult to notice the lower screen density.

3D quality is also very solid, though that’s more of a software issue versus hardware. I noticed no screen slowdown when playing in 3D (except for occasional graphical hiccups, from the GPU strain). Built-in Lightboost is convenient, though I only found it helpful when playing in a room with plenty of sunlight.

The real benefit of the VG278H over other 3D displays specifically for 3D is the adjustable 3D Emitter. The 20 degrees of rotation is a huge improvement over the standalone emitter, which has to be set for however you’re sitting. For players like me who change how they sit based on the game, mood, or time of day, that’s a lot of hassle gone out the window.

Conclusion

For the retail price of $680 (available for as low as $620), including one set of 3D Vision 2 glasses (retail $150, available for around $70), the VG278H is an expensive panel, even at the lower prices. Then again, I haven’t found a single 3D display that can provide the same high-quality 3D gaming. There simply isn’t one. BenQ’s offering is still a 24″ panel, and we’ll have to wait and see how Acer’s upcoming 27″ competitor stacks up. But considering their last penny-pinching display, it may save on price but skimp out on quality. We’ll have to wait and see.

Right now, there is no better 3D display than the ASUS VG278H. It provides excellent picture quality straight out of the box, is easy to use, and provides almost all of the amenities one can hope for in a monitor. For the price, I’d have expected touch-sensitive buttons and a better swivel stand, which while adjustable tends to turn the whole stand instead of just the screen.

Editor’s Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Great

Bottom Line: Excellent picture quality right out of the box. Very bright, very big, and with a built-in 3D emitter, very convenient.

Pros:

• Great picture quality
• Very bright, even in sunlight
• Larger size makes 3D gaming way more fun
• Swivel 3D emitter is a gift from the heavens

I’ve seen many TVs, but few have the simplicity, style, and dazzling high-quality picture as…a Playstation branded TV? Yes, you read that right. Not only is Sony’s first “for-gaming” TV crazy good, it’s an HD 3DTV for $500. I can’t remember the last time I played console games on a display that looked this good. The clarity, the accuracy in colors, the excellent backlight that only brightens the picture and not the screen…color me impressed.

It’s sad then that the only reason I can’t recommend it to everyone today is the tiny size and first-gen design quirks. Almost nothing else limits this brilliant TV.

Inside the Box

The Sony Playstation 3D Display a TV that doesn’t follow typical television nomenclature (Vizio VX32L, Sony Bravia XBR HX929, other terrible names that mean nothing to users.). Whoever started naming TV sets must have hated marketers, and this TV bucks that trend. Instead, the full name is too long. “Sony Playstation 3D Display” is too long. PSTV, or Playstation 3DTV would be far simpler and better. For the purposes of this review I’ll keep the name PSTV.

Out of the box, two realities immediately hit home: it’s a small TV and the TV is all you get. The PSTV is a 24” TV, as small as home TVs get. For comparison, most 24″ HDTVs are 720p and under $300. The PSTV is strange for it’s screen size; it’s a small TV but a large computer monitor. The integrated speakers are like elephant ears, and take up a lot of horizontal space. More importantly, the display itself is awfully small for a TV set, whether it’s for games or TV viewing. But more on screen size later.

When opening the box, users will find only three things: the PSTV, a set of 3D glasses, and the power cable. It really is as bare-bones as TVs go, which is good because Sony keeps things simple, but how about a remote? No remote is included and Sony currently doesn’t have one available (media controls are available through the Playstation 3 using a Bluetooth remote or controller). The PSTV does have an IR sensor, so universal remotes do work with the set.

Build and Design

The PSTV is slim, and surprisingly so. For a 1080p display, it crams all of the essentials while maintaining excellent picture quality. With a completely black coat remeniscient of the Playstation 2 design (the older finish, not the newer PS3 original glossy decal or updated gunmetal matte), and it looks great. Product shots provided by companies of their own products generally make those products look better than they actually do. In this case, Sony is dead on. The PSTV looks great, and on the whole it is really well designed.

But piece-by-piece, there are three major snags. The first is the lack of ports, or rather, the lack of a coaxial port. The PSTV includes two HDMI ports and Component ports, and that’s it. For a TV, this is a surprise. The only way to watch cable through the PSTV is to have an HD-ready cable box (which most of us still don’t have), or through your game console. My office cable box is SD-only, but I was able to watch streaming TV through my Xbox 360 (thanks to the Verizon IPTV app). Unfortunately TV streaming for the PS3 is still in its fledgling stages in the US.

The controls are also very oddly placed on the back right of the PSTV, and they are hell to reach. With no included remote this is especially tiresome. The menu system is designed with those poorly placed buttons in mind. It points to which button to press for what action, and the menu navigation is very fluid and easy to use, the best I’ve ever seen on a TV.

Picture and Audio Quality

As I said above, the picture quality is excellent. When I met with Sony representatives a few months back, they said the PSTV was completely a Playstation-branded initiative. Sony Electronics, which builds Bravia TVs (among many other things) didn’t make it. The focus was clearly on perfect picture quality, and they did a damn fine job. The only thing that really matters with any display is great visuals, and the PSTV nailed it. I’ve never seen a TV that looked this good for under $1,500.

The only problem I’ve found is the very glossy display, which because of the screen’s small size and how close I regularly sat in front of the TV to see it, compounded glare and reflections. The closer you are to a reflective surface the more reflections and glare you’ll see, and the PSTV is oh so guilty of the crime of reflection.

I am also very impressed with the backlight, which produces no lightbleed or oversaturation at any brightness. This is uncanny among both TVs and monitors, and damn amazing for an LCD panel. Colors are very accurate, and the framerate is consistently excellent. This is because of the 240Hz refresh rate, which seems incredible but is designed for two people simultaneously playing in 3D (more on that in ‘3D Quality’).

The built-in speakers produce adequate sound for a display of this size. I wouldn’t recommend them for serious gaming though. I regularly had trouble placing directional audio, and the sound in general was light and at higher pitches tinny. At higher volumes the sound cracks. For regular TV viewing or light gaming the built-in speakers are good, but more serious gaming or for watching movies I recommend using a dedicated 2.1 speaker set.

3D Quality

3D is unique on the PSTV because it uses Sony’s own developed technology called SimulView. SimulView displays two different images on the same screen for two different people to watch simultaneously, and each will only see the picture intended for them. It works by using the included (1) shutter glasses to only show half of the picture. That’s why the PSTV has a 240Hz refresh rate: 60Hz for each eye, for two players.

Today there are only games that support SimulView, including Motorstorm Apocolypse, Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 3, and Super Stardust HD. I tested all of the games, and SimulView works great. It greatly improves playing coop on a single display. I never found a lack of clarity, and there shouldn’t be. The human eye sees at 24/25Hz, so 60Hz per eye is more than enough.

General 3D image quality is also excellent, though it really depends more on the game than the display. The screen produces crisp 3D picture, and there is very little movement from bobbing heads (moving your head side to side produces a slight movement of the image on the screen). It isn’t the best 3D I’ve tested, but the combination of excellent picture quality and very good 3D quality makes it the best 3D display to date.

My only concern regarding 3D is the small display size. Over the years my biggest complaint for 3D gaming is that the screen needs to be large for the 3D effect to be meaningful. Computer monitors max out at 27″ for 3D, and 3DTVs can get very large but often come with their own 3D glasses and technology. Even with larger screens 3DTVs are relatively smaller because of the greater distance from the TV than a computer monitor. PC gaming has so far provided the best home 3D setup, though that will likely change with better 3D projectors.

At 24”, the PSTV is small for both a TV and a 3D display. This minimizes the 3D effect unless you’re sitting very close to the screen. Because 3D today goes into the TV (deep) instead of outside the TV (in your face), closeness to the screen is only a problem your grandmother will complain about (“if you sit that close to the TV you are going to go blind!). The overall 3D experience, unless you’re very close to the TV, is lacking. For two players this poses a unique problem of being very physically close to one another while playing, though relatively speaking a single 24″ display provides more picture than a 50″ TV going split-screen.

Conclusion

The Playstation 3D Display has the best video quality of any TV three times its price. It may be one of the best gaming products ever built, and I hope to see more in the future. As the first Playstation TV it has a few design mistakes (no remote, poorly placed buttons), but the exceptional build of this TV is undeniable.

The biggest problem, both for everyday users and 3D gamers, is the size. 24” is small for a TV. It fits on a computer desk, though it doesn’t make the best monitor. Text isn’t very clear, and it doesn’t make for the best computer monitor. But for anyone with one display interested in getting a second, the PSTV is a great option for viewing media, playing games, and even for applications such as picture and video editing.

As a standalone TV, the PSTV lacks a coaxial input but works well with today’s game consoles. If you’ve forsaken cable TV for internet TV and videos or have an HD cable box, the PSTV will fit right in. College students and anyone on a budget can’t find a better deal than this. Assuming it meets your needs, I highly recommend the Playstation 3D Display. If it doesn’t, wait until Sony puts out a model twice the size. With this kind of quality, the company would be crazy not to.

Editor’s Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Great

Bottom Line: The best TV you can buy for $500. Excellent video, perfect for gaming, but it needs to match your conditions. A perfect display as a secondary PC monitor/game console TV at a workstation. There’s a reason why it fit in multiple gift guides.

Pros:

• Excellent video quality
• Solid 3D reproduction
• Minimalist hardware and software design

Sony’s Vita isn’t exactly destroying sales records.  The portable console went on sale in Japan already and reports have flooded in stating that it is anything but the run away hit the company needed.  As a result, and to help bolster sales here in the US, Sony will be rewarding those who preordered the Vita as well as those who stand in line on launch day, February 22nd.

For those that preordered the $350 bundle, Sony will now toss in 250mb of 3G access for anyone that activates the device on AT&T’s network, as well as one free Playstation Network game.  Remember, this is in addition to the included items, which are a 4GB PS Vita memory card, a limited edition case and the Little Deviants game.

And for you folks that plan to stand in line on February 22nd, you’ll be rewarded with a an 8GB PS Vita Memory Card, 250GB of AT&T DataConnect Pass and a PlayStation Network game all for $299.

The Star Wars brand will echo into eternity. Ok, it might be an exaggeration, but the brand is iconic and to this day could sell ice to eskimos. Unfortunately, the Star Wars video games, at least of recent on the latest generation of consoles has been lack luster. Hopefully that will now change as Lucasarts has finally announced the release date of Kinect Star Wars.

This game will incorporate Microsoft’s Kinect camera allowing gamers to finally fully emerse themselves in Jedi action without a controller. Players will be able to slice and dice their foes by cutting the air with a would be sword as well as move objects utilizing the “force” just by raising their hands in front of them.

Based on the demo video above, it looks like the game runs on a wire system, which means once you defeat an enemy you’ll automatically walk to your next destination, where upon you might be faced with a “force” task or jump that can be achieved by performing the correct hand or body gesture. At the end of the day it’s probably not the Star Wars game for the hardcore fan, but it should provide some much needed fun for those looking to blow the dust off their Kinect.

Kinect Star Wars will release December 31st, 2012 and is currently available for preorder from Amazon for $50.

Since that date is so far away, we’re half expecting the game to change as well as the release date (it doesn’t make sense to release it after Xmas).

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that comparisons between the iPhone and Playstation Vita were abound, even though they are very different devices. The iPhone, obviously a phone, and the Vita, obviously not a phone, still carry a lot of the same characteristics. And for better or worse, even game consoles like the Nintendo 3DS, DS, and PSP have had a run for their maker’s money because of products like the iPhone.

Then again, considering how the two devices are so vastly different, this comparison won’t be a direct head-to-head. Instead, we’ll compare both based on equal ground, or as close as they get to it.

Display

From my testing of the Vita and the iPhone 4S, along with a number of other handhelds and smartphones, this is a tough call. The iPhone 4S has Apple’s retina display, a 326ppi 960×640 resolution screen that is extremely dense. It uses a high-quality 3.5″ TFT capacitive touchscreen that has, ever since the original iPhone, worked well in direct sunlight.

Meanwhile, the Vita has a 220ppi 960×544 OLED display, which is significantly less dense while on a 5″ screen. On the one hand that means that colors will be more vibrant and saturated, with darker blacks, but the downside is that the display won’t be nearly as visible in bright conditions. Recent OLED displays I’ve tested, including the Samsung Galaxy S II and Epic 4G Touch, are visible in direct sunlight, but that’s thanks to Samsung’s double-pane SuperAMOLED+ system. Sony uses a different glass model for their OLED display.

The benefits of OLED are this: more vibrant colors (to the point of exageration), deeper blacks, and less power drain. TFT, however, is brighter, more accurate, and has been used for decades (and is thus a more refined technology). So what really makes the difference here is the size and density. The Vita is bigger at 5″, and for video and gaming the density won’t be as important as for reading text.

Winner: PS Vita, but it’s close. If the iPhone were larger, or perhaps if we compared a different phone like the HTC Rezound (which has a 720p TFT display), the results would be different.

Processor

At this point, it’s safe to call the iPhone’s A5 processor old. It’s been around since last April in the iPad 2, and the chip in the iPhone 4S is even underclocked to 800MHz. The Vita, according to some developers, has an average clock speed of 800MHz but can go up to 2GHz. However, at that high speed the power drain will be significant, so most games are expected to play between 800MHz-1GHz. Both are based on the ARM Cortex A9 design, but Sony’s chip also shares many similarities with the PS3′s Cell processor. It’s a quad-core chip (compared to the iPhone 4S’ dual-core), though as of now it’s unclear just how powerful the chip is. It will take developers some time to really stretch it out, as it did with the Cell CPU.

The only big difference here is that the next iPad, likely to release in the April/May time-frame, will have an updated processor, likely the A6. The next iPhone won’t have it until the holidays, but I expect it to have the same 1GHz frequency but be a quad-core chip. The Vita, on the other hand, won’t receive any major upgrades, but it will remain more powerful than the next gen iPhone and all other competing smartphones for at least two years. Still, that isn’t a long time. However, today, the Vita clearly has the more powerful processor.

Winner: PS Vita, thanks to a CPU with twice the cores and the potential to be 2.5x as fast as the current iPhone.

Storage

Storage is a big deal…but in this case, not to Sony. The PS Vita requires some sort of storage to play games and get apps, but doesn’t come with any whatsoever. Vita owners have to buy external storage, and specifically need Sony’s new Playstation Vita Card storage, not SD cards. The pricing isn’t bad: $20 for 4GB, $30 for 8GB, $60 for 16GB, and $100 for 32GB. I’ve asked Sony a few times concerning the speed of these Vita-specific flash cards, but haven’t received any response as of yet. SD cards are known to be unfortunately slow, so slow in fact that pro-grade camera manufacturers are dropping the format and creating their own for their cameras.

The iPhone 4S starts with 16GB and goes up to 64GB, with $100 between the three models. There’s no expandability with the iPhone, but at least it has internal memory to begin with. The Vita actually requires it and forces owners to put down at least an additional $20 just for 4GB. That means to match the iPhone 4S, in terms of storage today, you’d have to pay $310 for the Vita and a 16GB memory card. Then again, put down $350 and that amount of memory storage is the same as a 32GB iPhone 4S, which retails for $400 (plus 2-year service contract).

Winner: iPhone 4S, because it comes storage to begin with and doesn’t attempt to cheat buyers out of more money for required data storage. Until Sony gets back to me regarding their memory card speed, and unless it’s faster than typical (slow) SD cards, the iPhone is the winner, though at higher densities the Vita is a less expensive prospect.

Wireless Connectivity

The PS Vita comes in two models, Wi-Fi only and with 3G. The iPhone 4S meanwhile is a phone, though is also limited to 3G speeds. The kicker for the iPhone is that on AT&T, it has access to what AT&T loves to call 4G (though Apple refused to agree to such marketing for the device because it isn’t true 4G), though both Sprint and Verizon iPhone models are stuck on the slower 3G network. 4G allows for up to 28.8Mb/s data transfer rates, and in my experience is as fast as Sprint’s 4G network, offering roughly 8Mb/s down and 1Mb/s up.

That immediately dings the Vita, because it could, theoretically, have double the transfer speed. Worse yet for the console, contracts are only available in the US through AT&T. Without LTE online gaming is impossible, and with only 3G speeds apps and streaming videos will be slower than what nearly every smartphone released in the past six months. Including the iPhone 4S.

Winner: iPhone 4S, thanks to faster speeds and availability on more carriers.

Camera

The Vita has two VGA cameras (640×480), one on the front and one on the back. The iPhone 4S has an 8MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front camera. If that’s not enough, the iPhone 4S is today considered one of the best camera phones available.

If, for some reason you think I need to go on…the Vita has no flash, no hope for taking great pictures, and is only there so developers can potentially make use of it.

Winner: iPhone 4S, because it isn’t a tacked-on piece of junk.

Battery Life

Judging battery life between a gaming console and a phone may appear unfair, but in fact it’s the PS Vita that has the unfair advantage, especially if it’s the Wi-Fi only model. Not only does it sport a beefier 2210mAh battery, compared to the iPhone’s 1432mAh. The Vita’s 5″ display may be more power hungry, but OLED is less power intensive than LCD displays. And the iPhone is always connected because it’s a phone. Even then, Sony averages 3-5 hours of gameplay, 5 hours of video playback, and 9 hours of music playback. The iPhone 4S claims twice the video playback time, 4.5x the music playback time, and can browse the internet for 6 hours over 3G or 9 hours over Wi-Fi.

As for gaming? There aren’t specific numbers for the iPhone 4S yet, but I’ve been playing games like Grand Theft Auto III and the recent update to Rage HD, and it certainly lasts over five hours.

Winner: iPhone 4S, which has a smaller, less-dense battery but still creams the Vita.

Price

Normally, price would be easy to determine because every year a new iPhone released alongside a new iPod Touch. That didn’t happen with the iPhone 4S, meaning the current iPod Touch is the same as last year. It’s as powerful as the iPhone 4, so the iPhone 4S stands alone. Pricing for it is simple: $200 plus a two-year contract, with a $54.99 base price on AT&T. That comes out to roughly $1520 over two years, for the very minimum, and that’s assuming users have the older pricing scheme. Based on today’s minimum pricing, it would be $1640.

Meanwhile, the PS Vita will retail for $250, or $300 for the 3G model with a base $15/month, without a contract.  If there were an equally powerful iPod Touch, the story would be very different. The only alternative for the same power is the iPad 2, which at the base model retails for $500, double the price.

Winner: PS Vita, thanks mostly due to no new iPod Touch.

Gaming Capability

Gaming prowess is by far better on the PS Vita than the iPhone 4S, for three reasons. First, it has physical controls on top of the full touch controls found on the iPhone and any smartphone. That means not only do users get essentially a PS3 gamepad built into the Vita, the large 5″ display is a multi-touch touchscreen, and the back is a touch-sensitive panel to boot.

Second, as mentioned above, the processor is faster, more powerful, and has more cores. And third, the display is much larger (as mentioned above), providing a more inclusive gaming experience.

Winner: PS Vita, because it’s built to be a gaming machine.

Games

It’s a long-standing tradition that game consoles sell because of the number and quality of games released for it. The iPhone (and smartphones in general) have slowly changed that thanks to how easy it is to develop games and how so many people have smartphones.

When the PS Vita releases outside of Japan, it will have 12 launch titles. That number is expected to grow to 30 within the first few months after release. The iPhone, in the meantime, will accumulate at least another 1,000 games between the time you read this and the Vita’s actual release. The sad truth is most of those games will be 99 cents or free and not provide a “true” gaming experience.

However, the iPhone has a large number of excellent games available to it. They may be hard to find, but the fact is the Vita will be lucky to have the kind of game sales that iOS developers get.

For games, the dealbreaker for anyone, there are three important questions: will the quality of Vita games far surpass what we see in iPhone gaming today? Will there be a lot of PS Vita games, both full releases and mini games (ie board games, card games, minor apps that are fun for a few minutes at a time; not traditional console games)? And will the Vita see a lot of hacking, game emulation, and remote gameplay through the PS3? There’s no reason not to expect a higher quality of games coming to the Vita than the iPhone, though there are only 34 planned full-release games that we know of thus far. The Vita has already been hacked for remote play of PS3 games like Batman: Arkham City and Battlefield 3, meaning that the portable console can play full-fledged home console games via Wi-Fi streaming.

However, we already know that the iPhone can do the same thing through OnLive (though the service isn’t currently active on iOS; it is available on Android and waiting for Apple’s approval). Plus games on the iPhone can be played with an external controller, so long as the game supports it. Big-name titles like Infinity Blade 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies are only found on iOS.

There’s no denying that the iPhone has more games, and because of the sheer number will likely always have more better games than the Vita. Furthermore, because of how many iPhones are out there (and all iOS devices), it will take a few years before some developers take the Vita seriously, if at all. It’s sad, but for now, true. So many of the current iOS games sell so well that they can keep lower prices. High-end games like Infinity Blade 2 go for under $10. There are so many deals from developers that many drop down to a buck. The state of gaming on iOS is, right now, way better than not only the Vita when it releases in February, but frankly better than any dedicated console period. It may even be better than the PC.

Winner: iPhone 4S, because the current gaming ecosystem on iOS far surpasses any other gaming machine, dedicated or not.

Overall Winner: iPhone 4S (by a hair)

It’s close. Very, very close. However, what the better gaming device really comes down to, as it always does, is the value and quality of the games that are available for said device. In this case, Sony is fighting an uphill battle with the PS Vita, at least for now. With the potential to make not just most, but all PS1 (and even potentially PS2) games available for the Vita through the company’s Playstation Certification program (or just making those games available period), that can change. That tide can change overnight.

However, as of now the Vita doesn’t have that capability. Everything else regarding the games available has been bettered by the iPhone, and without the push from PS1 and PS2 games, the Vita will likely never prove to be the better gaming device because of a lack of content. It’s a sad, but clear and apparent truth.

Even then, it’s very close. The PS Vita has better gaming controls and is a better designed device specifically for gaming, even if the display has a lower resolution and is less visible in bright conditions. 5″ vs 3.5″ for a gaming screen is no comparison. The Vita beats the hell out of the iPhone when it comes to control, not only because it matches the touchscreen and has physical buttons and analog sticks, but because it combines both for gameplay and has the rear touch panel to boot. It really is a mobile game developer’s dream.

The iPhone 4S takes the cake in too many categories though. It kills the Vita with a better camera, at around double the battery life (for gaming, and way more for almost everything else), and carriers available for 3G. We all know that the rise and fall of portable game consoles has depended on battery life, and just as with the PSP this is a weakness with the Vita. Only this time, it’s weak against not a Nintendo offering, but against a very capable cell phone.

A few very close points are pricing and storage. If there were a new iPod Touch released with the A5 processor, then pricing would be a clear win for the iOS device. But as it stands now, the iPhone 4S is the only one available (the iPad 2 would lose in pricing because of it’s high $500 price tag), and the two-year contract cost far outweighs the potential pricing of the Vita, even the 3G model for $30/m. And with storage, on the high-end the Vita could win (assuming users purchased the 64GB card and 3G model), but because Sony is releasing the Vita with no internal memory, the result is confused consumers who must spend more money to do the console’s basic functions…like saving games and using downloadable apps. Even then, the storage pricing is still more expensive than all iPhone 4S models (with a 2-year contract) except for the 64GB model, and, once again, only if you get the Wi-Fi Vita.

Based on our scoring method for comparisons, the Vita could have easily won if it shipped with internal memory. External memory is always slower than internal memory, but until I hear back from Sony regarding the speed of their memory cards, that’ll remain a mystery. If the Vita were available through other cell carriers, or if it at least had AT&T’s 4G (HSDPA/HSPA+ 28.8Mbps), it would score better.

What I don’t doubt is that over time these scores will change. The Vita will eventually ship in bundles that are more price friendly and with some storage options. The next-gen iPhone will also likely ship with a new iPod Touch. By this time next year there will also be a handful of Android competitors, and tablet gaming will finally come into it’s own. But when the Vita releases, it will face the fiercest competition Sony has ever faced in the mobile space, from a device that isn’t going away anytime soon. The only way I can see Sony staying ahead is by utilizing it’s enormous catalog of PS1 and PS2 games, and by making prices of those games competitive so everyday iPhone gamers will actually be coaxed into buying a dedicated mobile games console instead of just living the one-device life.

Update~ As TheVerge just wrote, minutes before this article was published, the PS Vita now has a second launch bundle that’s the 3G model with an 8GB memory card, one free PSN game, and a month of free 3G data. That bundle is available for pre-order now through Amazon. Does it change our score?

Because the score is so damn close – not only is it 4-5, but it’s a point of contention in nearly every category – and because this new bundle offers a reasonable amount of storage for the console, it may indeed turn the tide.

As mentioned above, games is the most important thing, which is why I’m going to say that, in this case, the new bundle won’t change the winner in this comparison. However, our scoring system for comparisons is pretty clear cut. So I’ll leave this decision up to you guys. What do you think? Does this new bundle put the PS Vita ahead of the iPhone 4S? Post your thoughts in the comments below and, if the majority of you think we should change the score, we will.

Famed case modder Brian Carter created one insane and awesome customized PC to take part in the competition run by Ruptr. Carter had to choose between crating a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3 themed case. He chose to base it off of Battlefield 3 as depicted by an airbrushed Battlefield image on one side of the case and a massive crosshair intake fan on the other.

But it also features a spinning mini chain gun positioned on the front of the case that can be turned on and off via its huge military toggle switches and it also functions as a drinks fridge that’s hidden in a first aid pack. It’s one hell of an amazing gaming case that any diehard gamer would die for!

The Supaboy pretty much sets the bar when it comes to cheap, old school video games consoles that have been converted into a portable version.  Honestly, we didn’t think it could get much better, that is until we laid eyes on the portable NeoGeo from SNK.  Hard to say how far they’ve gone in the licensing agreement, but considering the NeoGeo has been in the ground for the better part of 15-20 years, does it really matter?

Licensing quips and concerns aside, they say this portable console will ship with 20 legit NeoGeo games stored on its 2GB of memory. The games included will range from the “Art of Fighting” to “Fatal Fury” to “League Bowling”.  Spec wise we’re looking at a 4.3-inch LCD screen, an SD card slot for memory expansion, an analog stick, a set of shoulder buttons, headphone jack, a 2200mAh battery and a body that measures 170x72x15mm.

Unfortunately, there is no word on the launch or price date, but something tells us production will be very limited in light of the Vita recent success, or should we say lack there of.  Also, keep in mind that the Nintendo was popular enough that many folks still have their old SNES games and hence what makes the Supaboy so attractive.  That said, the NeoGeo was never a run away hit due to its exuberant price tag and ultra expensive games ($100+).

Late last year Sony released the Tablet S, a fairly standard tablet with some major design changes over the typical bunch we’ve seen from other Android tablets. The P is an even further departure, with a clamshell build and not one, but two screens that shut like a Nintendo DS to fit in the pocket. We all scratched our heads when Sony first revealed it last year, but after some hands-on time, I can say that clearly the company knows what it’s doing. The question is whether or not it’s the kind of tablet consumers will want.

So let’s set one thing straight for potential nay-sayers: the Tablet P is, in fact, a tablet. It uses two screens that are indeed not attached, but the space between them is minimal and for the majority of Android applications the two displays act as one. There is no difference between the two. If you are concerned about the tablet because it doesn’t fit the notion of tablets that we’ve seen today, put those concerns aside. The Tablet P is, in fact, a tablet in every way.

Now that that’s settled, let’s take a look at how this clamshell design actually works. Because this isn’t a full review (only a hands-on from some 15 minutes of play at CES), I’ll keep it brief. Closed, the Tablet P is just over an inch thick, and open it’s half an inch. Each screen is 5.5″, each with a resolution of 1024×480, providing a combined screen resolution of 1024×960). This aspect ratio (16:15) is unseen in the industry, and is a complete oddity. It’s practically square. Of course, the stranger aspect ratio is with each individual display, which is 32:15. For reference, widescreen is 16:9, most computer monitors in homes today are 16:10, and old TVs are 4:3 (or 16:12). Suffice it to say, watching movies on the Tablet P will be very strange.

In fact, the aspect ratio and screen resolution may pose larger problems for the tablet and applications as a whole. Certain apps like web browsers and simple apps like Twitter and Facebook will actually be easier to use on the Tablet P for two reasons: using both screens will provide the same resolution across we see in most smaller tablets (1024 is the standard for 8″ or smaller tablets) while allowing 33-66% more space going down. Most tablets with a screen resolution of 1024 across are 1024×600 displays. The Tablet P has an extra 360 pixels going down, which means web pages and basic apps will have a lot more room. Users won’t have to scroll as much and will be able to enjoy more of the page or app at once.

Then, there’s the second reason. Because the Tablet P is two separate screens, the bottom display can automatically be changed to a keyboard for typing while the top display maintains it’s current state. Users will have more screen real estate to see what they’re doing while typing, a standard problem with most tablets, especially when holding them in landscape mode. This means if you use your tablet often for typing notes or messages, with the Tablet P you won’t have to constantly scroll up and down to see what was above or below, at least not as often. It may not seem like such an important thing, but for anyone who types on their smartphones often, it’s a serious inconvenience.

Having a clamshell design also enables the Tablet P to better fit into the design for Sony’s Playstation brand. Instead of a typical tablet, which is hard to hold compared to portable game consoles like the Nintendo 3DS or smaller smartphones, the Tablet P can utilize the bottom display as a touch controller and touchpad while the top display downscales to 720×480 (480p) or 640×480 (480i). This means Playstation 1 games, and even Playstation 2 games, could be played on the screen while making full use of the touch controls. The Tablet P is Playstation Certified, which is an Android-specific determination of whether or not a smartphone or tablet can play Playstation games (which today includes a small but growing list of Playstation 1 games).

In the hand the Tablet P has a good solid feel to it, and the curved edges and build are comfortable to hold. Because of the hinged displays, it’s actually fairly comfortable to hold, and I’d assume it would remain so for longer periods of time because of the weight distribution. Most tablets are larger and are held in two hands, but the weight isn’t all resting in the hands themselves. With the Tablet P, depending on how users bend the hinges, the weight distribution can be made much more comfortable by keeping the top display upright (the screen facing perpendicular to the ground). The display quality is good, though navigating web pages is odd on two displays. Both are of course touchscreen displays, but it’s still weird to scroll and hit another screen.

I played one game on the Tablet P, Crash Bandicoot, and it ran very well (though this isn’t surprising; the Tablet P has identical internals to the Tablet S). The bottom touchscreen was responsive, though it is and may remain odd to play on a touchscreen. Users can of course play with a Bluetooth Playstation controller as well, though I imagine doing so would be quite strange considering the screen resolution.

The Tablet P is set for release within the next few months, and will be available only with an AT&T contract, at least to start. What the pricing is, both on the contract and for the device itself, has not been released. The Tablet P will not include an LTE antenna, but it will have access to AT&T’s “4G” network (which, as I’ve talked about previously, is significantly faster than 3G and not nearly as battery intensive as LTE).

Skyrim is the biggest game to release in 2011. It may not have the sales numbers of, say, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but it didn’t suffer with over 10 million copies sold. And with over 100 hours of gameplay in a single run, it’s by far one of the deepest and literally biggest games to ever come out. So I did what any sane man would do: I put in 100 hours in 3D.

First, the test rig. My PC isn’t anything special, but it’s powerful enough to get the job done. Here are the specs:

• 3GHz Quad-Core AMD Athlon Black Edition
• 8GB RAM
• ASUS P5N-e Motherboard
• Zotac GTX 580 (courtesy of Nvidia)
• ASUS VG278H 3D display (courtesy of Nvidia)
• Seagate 7200RPM 1TB

• Mouse: Logitech G700
• Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Stealth
• Gamepad (used to play Skyrim [in full lean-back mode]): Wired Xbox 360 Controller
• Speakers: Razer Mako 2.1
• Headset: Logitech G930 (my main headset, though I switched between several tested headsets as well)

Technically speaking, there are 115 hours of logged play time (though roughly 10 hours is unplayed, just me leaving the game on while doing chores or grabbing a bite, while another five are my brother giving it a try). 33/50 achievements have been unlocked, and the majority of the game has been completed. The only main quests I haven’t done are joining a side in the civil war, joining the Dark Brotherhood (when given a choice to join, I chose to kill the Brotherhood interviewer and then kill the rest of the Brotherhood), and actually completing the few last major missions. For all intents and purposes, the game is nearly complete; I expect roughly 10-15 hours to finish, if I complete all additional missions without picking a side in the civil war.

I played countless hours with the Nvidia 3D Vision 2 glasses, which in many respects proved to be one of the best 3D gaming experiences I’ve ever had. I believe this is for two reasons: first, the larger 27″ display is better suited for 3D (the bigger the screen, the better the 3D effects). Second, the world of Skyrim is extremely well done for 3D. It’s not perfect (far from it), but all too often I was left impressed with the quality of 3D employed in the game.

To get the full 3D effect, several adjustments must be made to Skyrim. First, depending on your hardware, turn down the performance. Without 3D enabled I could almost max out the game, but with 3D enabled I turned it down to high spec, turned off antialiasing and anisotropic filtering, lowered texture quality to medium, and turned of FXAA. I hate radial blur, so I turned it down to low (though for performance it wasn’t necessary). I left all viewing distances at max. The screen resolution was 1920×1080.

Next, in Skyrim itself, I did two things immediately after trying to play. First was remove the in-game crosshairs, and second was to lower the HUD opacity. Other players may want to do more to remove static and non-3D artifacts, such as subtitles and navigation arrows as well. All of these take away from the 3D effect because they are in 2D. If you’re feeling especially hardcore, turn the HUD opacity off completely and rough the game without a HUD. With the opacity low enough the HUD bars won’t mess with your vision.

3D Quality

Once you’re all set, the world of Skyrim looks pretty fantastic in 3D. Depth is very subtle, and it doesn’t strain the eyes. It’s one of the few games I’ve been able to play for hours on end looking about and, when I took the glasses off, realized just how far I was focusing into the screen.

Because Skyrim is such a giant open world, 3D helps in several key ways. First is enemy distance. While distance can generally be measured by the size of enemies, those sizes vary greatly in Skyrim. Giants, Dragons and Mammoths are huge, bears are pretty big, people are mid-sized, and there’s a ton of smaller creatures. But when a Dragon attacks and it’s flying around, trying to shoot it with an arrow is tough because it’s hard to gauge the distance. 3D actually helps here.

For combat, 3D is mostly helpful for archery. It makes distance less tricky to determine. While I generally played as a heavy armor combatant, with 3D it actually proved easier to play the part of a thief, sneaking around and closing in on the kill, or keeping enough distance to never be spotted. Distance is extremely important in this sort of gameplay.

Coming back from Vegas, I can safely say that if you ever go, don’t walk to a hotel that looks like it’s a few blocks away. It’s not New York; a block is a mile walk. The reason we have trouble telling that is because of how massive the hotels and buildings are. Then again, most people don’t pay attention to depth perception in Sin City.

In Skyrim, depth perception proved helpful as well. Some distances are just too hard to tell properly playing in 2D. I’ve tried scaling mountains and climbing 90 degree walls (on my horse, of course), and sometimes it’s just impossible to get up a certain path. From a distance, it’s nearly impossible to see  just how far they are.

Throw on those 3D glasses and after adjusting to the depth, suddenly that distance becomes clear. It still takes some practice; after all, we make the mistake in everyday life, so we’re just as likely to make the same mistake in a game. But I will say that with the 3D glasses I was able to avoid trying to scale some ridiculous mountains because, as I looked from a distance and getting closer, it was very clear how far they were (and that the fast travel feature would save me some time and hassle), and that some things just were not meant to be climbed.

Flaws in Skyrim’s 3D

The 3D isn’t perfect though. My biggest complaint is the night sky. Stars appear in 2D, so they appear in double with 3D enabled. And because they’re each tiny specks, that turns out to be a pretty big problem (though how often do we stare up at the night sky, let alone in a game?). The 3D crosshairs (not the in-game, but NVidia’s) aren’t perfectly tuned and jump in and out of focus, especially when the object aimed at is very close.

Additionally, as mentioned above, the HUD layout is completely flat, so when focusing on something very far, health, stamina, magic, and navigation all appear in double. Especially for health this proves to be very troublesome, and I found myself bouncing between focusing on something far and close, but only a few centimeters apart. To feel that experience, imagine sitting on a laptop and staring at the very top, and then focusing on something 20 feet away just above the laptop from your point of view. Then go back and forth a few times. It’s exhausting.

A final issue is depth, or rather too much of it. I turned my depth setting down as far as they went because even focusing on distant objects, I’d have double vision. This generally occurred with static objects, like walls or buildings. Moveable objects appear to be more malleable, but if you look at a chair or wall, very often it appears in duplicate form.

Final Thoughts

Skyrim is definitely a winner for 3D, with several precautions to be taken first. With a powerful GPU it will certainly be a lot of fun, and I think it makes the nature of the game – the entire world as a playground, a second life in an ancient Nord world – more real. More exciting. During my testing I went through several versions of NVidia drivers as well, each offering better performance than the last and fixing minor gripes here and there, so there’s no doubt it’ll look and feel better as time goes one.

Still itching for a gaming console for your home, but can’t bite the bullet on a 36o or PS3 since all of your buds have gone the way of PC gaming?  Good news.  Dell has the answer that takes on the form factor of an Xbox 360, yet boasts the guts of a well endowed computer rig.

It’s called the Alienware X51.  It starts at $699, and for that kind of cash you’ll score an Intel Core i3 processor clocked at 3.3Ghz, Windows 7 Home Edition 64-bit, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1TB hard drive spinning at 7200rpms, a Super Drive, built-in WiFi and a 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 video card.  For $200 more you can upgrade your processor to a 3Ghz Core i5 and 8GB of DDR3 RAM.  Throw down another $50 and you’ll negate 2GB of that added RAM, but boost your graphic performance thanks to a 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 555 video card.  And if you’re feeling exceptionally rich, you can spend $1149, which scores you a Core i7 processor burning at 3.4Ghz, 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 555…along with all the other aforementioned fixings.

All models include your usual array of USB 2.0 ports (2 on the front, 4 on the back), 2 USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port and support for full surround sound.  Dell’s Alienware X51 is available now.

Razer may have shown off what many consider a game-changer in the world of tablets, but I think equally important is the Razer Blade, a full-fledged 17″ gaming laptop. It’s not revolutionary in any way but one: it looks as slick as can be. It has the same design finesse of an Apple MacBook Pro, but with the parts and specs of a high-end gaming machine. Put it next to a 17″ MacBook Pro and you’d think that Apple now has an evil twin brother, with snakes growing out the top of its head.

You wouldn’t be too far from the truth for thinking that. Razer, who has over the past year broken out of the standard mold of gaming peripherals into actual computers (starting with the Blade) is making waves with the Blade and with what they call Project Fiona. The Blade, however, is stacked, and isn’t for the mass market. It’s for hardcore gamers who want the finest gaming experience you can get when on the go, or at least on a portable machine. While some laptops can compare to the specs that Razer is showing off, nothing can compete with the build quality or design, at least with what I’ve seen of the Blade thus far.

There are two things that really stand out about the Blade besides for the whole “gaming laptop” aspect. First is that the touchpad is completely gone, replaced by what Razer showed off at CES 2011, the Switchblade. That includes ten buttons, each with an LCD display so it can be programmed to show anything (this is intended to work for hotkeys to open applications like Calculator, YouTube, an Internet browser, etc.), and a 3″ LCD display that act as a touchscreen. The main function of this touchscreen is as a mouse, so users can keep one hand on the keyboard and the other hovering over the opposite side of the keyboard. While it seems like an interesting idea, and will keep users from moving their hand back and forth between the mouse and keyboard, I’ll have to try it out long-term to see how it actually plays out. This, of course, means that the rest of the space is open, so there’s no accidentally resting the left hand on the trackpad and messing up your mouse use.

Stock photos used because my CES shots of the Blade are MIA

The second is the rest of those Switchblade features. The LCD panel works both as a mouse and as a secondary screen, utilizing a proprietary system (I think it may be a separate chip powering it, as similar functions have been available in the past, though not on laptops; Razer declined to comment on how exactly it works or where it gets resources from) to allow completely seamless use of the secondary display without interfering with the main computer. So you can play a game while also streaming YouTube video of, say, a walkthrough to get past a tough area in a game. Or switch the LCD to a number pad for when handling taxes (or even use the 10 buttons as a sideways numpad). There’s no limit to what the panel can do, theoretically. It’s unclear if the SDK will limit what can be done. All Razer shared thus far was that any application can be used for the Switchblade system, but that apps require an icon to appear on the buttons. Otherwise it won’t work.

The specs are as high-end as you can image for a gaming laptop. 1080p display, 2.8GHz dual-core i7, 8GB of DDR3 RAM (1333MHz), Nvidia GT 555 (2GB), and a 256GB SSD. It’s less than an inch thick, has one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI out, and of course the Switchblade system.

A few additional neat features: the keyboard is completely anti-ghosting; I don’t know if that means it connects via PS/2, but it can read all of the keys simultaneously. It’s also completely backlit, and has a similar chiclet design to Apple laptops. The Blade has a 2MP webcam and supports 7.1 audio out.

What’s clear to me is that the Blade isn’t intended to be an on-the-road gaming laptop. The battery is not extremely high dense or extremely powerful; Razer estimates between 1-2 hours of heavy gaming use on a single charge, which is on-par with today’s gaming laptops. So for a flight from LA to San Francisco, it’ll certainly make the trip and then some, but gamers will be carrying around the charging cable. No, the Blade is intended to be more of a desktop replacement that also provides on-the-go gaming, an HD screen, and excellent build so that users can enjoy their computing experience as much as possible.

The Razer Blade is expected to release in February for approximately $3,000.

If you look at anyone’s gamepads, chances are they are the original PS3 or 360 controllers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; both Sony and Microsoft put thousands of hours of research into making their controllers perfect, and though neither is, both are very solid. But after five and six years respectively, has there really been nothing so much better?

I found one that is, and from what I’ve seen thus far, it is glorious. From Mad Catz, who over the past five years has undergone a complete transformation and introduced a large handful of great products. The MLG Pro Circuit Controller is not only the most customizable gamepad I’ve ever seen, it’s also the toughest. I spent a few minutes just pushing and pressing on it, and it’s as solid as gamepads come.

Customization is a big deal for the Pro Circuit. Every controller ships with two sets of thumbsticks and two d-Pads, all of which are interchangeable and replaceable. They come in two styles, PS3 and 360, so thumbsticks can be concave or convex, and the d-Pad can be full or separate button. Even the faceplate and palm rests can be replaced with different styled plastics, like glossy or a textured plastic coating. Additional styles can be purchased separately online. It even comes with weights, up to 70 grams, that are completely interchangeable.

I spent a little while holding and playing with it, and you may be turned off by the $130 price point, but from what I’ve seen thus far, the MLG Pro Circuit may be the last controller you’ll ever need. One problem that Mad Catz has found is people who play often, people like myself, go through controllers fairly quickly because they wear out, break, have ripped cables…there’s always something. Mad Catz thinks it has fixed all of these problems. The cable is tethered and screws onto the controller, the build is solid, and it’s all completely adjustable.

Of course, it is wired, which is because of the “MLG” part of the controller. Pro gamers don’t want a wireless controller because they’re slightly slower and have some lag, and such controllers are illegal at professional gaming tournaments. While I’d love to see a similar wireless controller, or a build that works both wired and wirelessly, this one is not like that. The other thing to note is that while you can get both thumbstick models, there is a difference between the 360 and PS3 models. For gamers who own both consoles like myself, because of branding and licensing issues, there won’t be one Pro Circuit Controller that works on both consoles. Both models will work on the PC.

The MLG Pro Circuit Controller is available now, though I haven’t found it available anywhere except for the Xbox 360 version on Amazon, for $100. That’s for the controller, two sets of thumbsticks and two d-Pads, a 9′ threaded cable, and a carrying case for all of it. Varying and additional thumbsticks, d-Pads, cables, face plates and other accessories will all vary and will be available later on.

Today’s Deal of the Day comes to us from Walmart and is great for gamers or those who have yet to get their hands on the highly popular Xbox 350 gaming console. The offer includes the Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB Holiday Console Bundle with an extra 15 months of Xbox LIVE Gold (you already get three months free) and a game of your choice for just $299 plus $5.91 for shipping. You’re saving at least $44 (depending on the game title you choose) than the lowest total price if you purchased the items separately.

Included in today’s Deal of the Day is the Xbox 260 250GB Console, Wireless Controller, Combined 15-month LIVE card credit, “Halo Reach” Game, “Fable III” Game, and a third game of your choice. You can choose from 26 Bonus Games with titles like “Bioshock 2,” “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation,” and so many more!

The internal 250GB hard drive included with the Xbox 360 console allows you to save your games, store TV shows and more from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. You can also even save full Xbox 360 games on the hard drive. Plus, with built-in Wi-Fi, it’s easy to connect to Xbox LIVE to access tons of great entertainment from HD movies and TV shows to live sports. Already included with the purchase of the console is a free 3-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold and the bundle provides you with an extra 12 months so that you can experience the best in gaming and entertainment that includes unlimited online multi-player gaming and more.