A set of not that heavy on ear headphones. A novel touch that you notice immediately is the slim red and blue rings that sit in the centre of each earpiece to help you decide which way the earpieces fit without looking for the little L.
Alex Hunter is your typical Private Eye or some might prefer the term of Gumshoe. Typical that is if you exist in a world inhabited by characters created by authors such as Mickey Spillane and Raymond Chandler. This slightly more refined Private Eye, than those Spillane and Chandler originals, is your role in the Epic Star developed game of Alex Hunter Lord of the Mind.
Very decent home cinema projectors can now routinely be had for around 500 quid. But how do you pick a winner you'll be happy to live with from this cheap and cheerful bunch? As the TV industry hurries us ever upwards towards 4K (four times the number of pixels in a regular HD TV screen) punters tend to view pixel count as the prime requirement. Chris Bidmead thinks there are more important factors to look out for.
The latest headset to arrive from Creative contains some features I had not previously encountered before.
Described as an epic makeover of the ancient tile matching board game, Age of Mahjong (one of the various spelling used for this Chinese board game) combines a series of Mahjong board layouts with a story line that spreads over 56 levels. This Adept Software developed game was originally published by Alawar and now forms part of Avanquests GSP games catalogue.
Often such devices fail after a few feet, here is one I could leave my lounge, move to front door and then out into the street. Now that is what I call Wi-Fi and unlike some that only work for things with a 3.5mm jack these will work with RCA jacks as well.
Somewhere in the virtual world of adventure game play is the Palace of Laroche. Built to serve and protect the family of De La Roche as they rule their kingdom, Laroche Palace has recently become a place of mystery as everybody within this magnificent building has succumbed to a deep sleep - everybody that is until you awake. Initially you will have no memory as to who you are or how you came to be there. So starts the game of Mystery Murders: The Sleepin
I first saw some Sonos speakers around eight years ago, great sound but very expensive and only at that time for Apple. Over the years they have become more affordable and now useable with Apple, PC, Android and IOS.
Set in a nightmarish world, this next title sets a mother against a clown in a battle over a husband and a daughter. Just who will win?
On this occasion both sets are available at almost the same price. Both have wired connections so have at least two things in common. So would I prefer the Giotech EX-06 or the Nine Audio Vega, read on to find which my ears preferred.
If you are hoping for a relaxing sea cruise with this next title then you could be disappointed as gigantic waves make an appearance.
First from Sony something of a lightweight offering so maybe ideal to take with you out and about the a set of headphones designed to go in an audio outlet for studio quality units but unscrew it and you have a 3.5mm jack.
The thing that enticed me to look at Roku 3 was its ability to stream sound so that you can have no sound from your TV and still hear sound through the ROKU 3 unit to headphones or earbuds, ideal for those who dont want to disturb others.
It is time to embark on a task to rescue somebody who has been taken prisoner by a succubus in a Hidden Object Adventure game.
Here I am looking at two sets of small speakers, the first from Creative are a wired Bluetooth unit that is similar in size and shape to the second from Bose, a name I associate with high end audio but here at a cheaper price.
Drawn is a magical kingdom with mythical creatures and an on-going battle between the forces of Good and Evil. One defining factor of this land is that pictures play an important role in its existence.
Velodyne, the California based design and development company specialising in audio equipment and responsible for the vFree headset reviewed recently, has a second headset model entitled the vQuiet. Manufactured in China, this new headset offers over-the-ear noise cancelling functionality as you listen to your favourite music in solitude but only if you really want to (see later).
As part of its Signature Series, Creative has developed its T4 Wireless product.
With the same three main characters, the next episode in the Haunted Halls series arrives to challenge your Hidden Object Adventure game-playing skills.
The first a name that has been around in audio circles for a long time, the second a name I had never heard before. So here two sets of earphones. The first has quality the second has new ideas so the choice is for your ears, neither of them are expensive.
Fate, they say will eventually catch up with you. In the case of Madame Fate Carnival, the catching up could be considered to last over four years as this was the interval between my looking at the original Madame Fate title and the arrival of the sequel in the form of a Collectors Edition of Mystery Case Files: Fates Carnival from Big Fish Games. This gap was more than long enough for my memory to erase any
Everything is not how it seems as this next game goes to prove as your investigations take you to Black Isle.
Adding to its expanding range of audio products, HDMX has released a wireless headset.
As with all such devices it is not just a TV but also an entertainment centre so you can send and receive emails, Skype, search the web as well as watch catch up TV all via Ethernet or Wi-Fi so the review period always needs to be longer.
Rather than let the train take the strain, you can take the train in this next Hidden Object Adventure game and not worry about being punctual because it is a Timeless experience.
A basic Blu-ray player did just that and played Blu-ray and DVDs and possibly also CDs. Now this offering from Samsung can update any TV that has an HDMI port to connect to the Internet and also connect to iPlayer and ITV Player etc.
Many modern games strive to be as realistic in the appearance of graphics as possible but some of us can remember when things were different.
Call of Ages is a new game developed by Playrix and available from Alawar in Collectors Edition format. This is a match-3 game that has a certain resemblance to some of the earlier titles developed by Playrix but does add one or two extra features to freshen up the concept. Along with the main game you get access to various wallpapers and the music soundtrack which are stored in separate folders plus a number of bonus levels.
It all started with a Family Secret. Later the Palm of Zoroaster took the focus of attention. Now we have the third instalment of House of 1000 Doors entitled Serpent Flame. Originally published by Alawar, House of 1000 Doors Serpent Flame, a Hidden Object Adventure game, is available in Collectors Edition format from Focus Multimedia.
On a recent visit to a UK preview of an American Consumer Electronics Show, I was introduced to a product designed to stream content from various sources. This product is Roku 3.