One of the hottest competitions in the motor industry does not take into account excellent handling, amazing reliability or a great drive train. It does however look into a mixture of the most lacklustre attempts at all of these and more items in cars.
The worst car of all time, itâ??s a statement used commonly for poor cars. But, what really is the worst car of all time? So, letâ??s see what cars really kick up a stink and can really claim the title dishonourably.
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Diesel
The Cutlass was one of the bestselling petrol cars of the 1970s, unfortunately, GM decided to add diesel in 1979. The 4.2 litre diesel engine was the first attempt by GM to use the fuel and ended up as a disaster. The underpowered GM auto blew up and broke down repeatedly and is seen as one of the pivotal factors Americanâ??s never used diesel cars. Quite an accomplishment considering it was only sold for one year.
Trabant
This was Communism at its very worst and a possible additional cause of McCarthyism. The East German built two cylinders, two stroke auto was supposedly the Eastâ??s answer to the VW Beetle. It wasnâ??t. One of the issues being it was a bad car to begin with in 1956 but never changed throughout the following decades â?? making it an even worse car by the end.
Saturn Ion
Though it initially was seen as a hopeful also ran, the refresh of the Saturn Ion by GM in 2003 killed it. Many motor critics decided it was the worst car ever driven. Though built in 2003, it was uncomfortable, noisy and had a terrible interior. It also had very lacklustre build quality and to make matters worse had to compete with the excellent Civic and Toyota Corolla. The company shut down in 2009, mainly down to the fact it couldnâ??t compete with the Japanese auto market. Do not buy or take car leasing on any of these cars.
Yugo
A common car on the worst car ever lists; the 1987 Yugo was a terrible car in each and every way and was based on the thoroughly outdated Fiat 127. It was worse that you would actually expect a Serb version of a Fiat 127 to be.
Pontiac Aztek
The Pontiac Aztek is the worst car of the 21st century and also ever. This was the car that destroyed Pontiac. This car killed one of the longest established auto brands in the world in one foul sweep. It was possibly one of the ugliest cars every made, though to put things in perspective, its styling was considered its best feature.
Cormac Reynolds writes for First Vehicle Leasing a UK car leasing company that does not lease any of the above cars.
If you have ever wanted to run your own business then you need to consider going online.
There are some amazing business opportunities available over the web. Expert web design services can help make your online business dreams a reality.
Making Business Dreams a Reality
A few years ago I spotted a niche in the marketplace and considered setting up my own business. I spent nearly 6 months drafting out my business plan and researching the marketplace in more detail. I was convinced my business idea was solid but the lack of funding was holding me back. I did try to get a business loan from the bank but I was told my credit rating was not good enough. This was very frustrating as I knew if I waited too long someone else would spot the niche and jump in ahead of me.
Then a friend suggested I set up an online business. I looked into online costs and realised that this would be a good deal cheaper than setting up a traditional bricks and mortar business. In fact it seemed that a successful online business could be achievable on a very modest budget.
Calling in the Experts
I have only ever really used the Internet for leisure use and so did not have the first clue about how to set up an online business! I knew if I was going to make a success I would need as much help and advice as possible from web design services. The great thing is that web designers can offer you a range of different packages. You may be a complete beginner like me and need full support from the conception stage of your website right through to the design build and SEO. Alternatively you may be an experienced online business person and only need a small amount of help to revamp your website and get your business back on track.
Web design services can offer you as much help and expert advice as you need with tailor-made packages to suit you. This means you could start up a website from scratch or just get the professional finishing touches you need to your existing site. Donâ??t hesitate to get professional web design help if you need it.  Web design services made all difference to the success of my online business and I donâ??t know how I would have got started without their help.
What do Web Designers do?
This will depend on the type of service you want and which services you call in. Web design is a broad field and web design companies can offer many different services. This can include things like:
Website design and build
Market research
eCommerce
eBooks
Search engine optimisation
Online and offline marketing and promotion
Problem solving
Technical support
Website enhancement and development
Graphic optimisation
Script and code development
Getting Started on a Modest Budget
So what do you do if you only have a very modest budget for setting up your own website? Well donâ??t worry as there are still plenty of options available.  The great thing about web design services is that you can get affordable professional advice that wonâ??t wipe out your budget.  However you do need to allow enough money for your business start-up to do things properly.  It is important to be very careful with what you spend, however by scrimping too much you could actually be doing yourself a disservice.
You need to make sure you have everything in place that you need for your business to start attracting new customers from day one. Â This is particularly important if you have very limited funds and need more money coming in to keep on going. Â I got started online with very little money and I needed my website to begin earning for me straightaway so that I would have an influx of capital to keep me going.
It didnâ??t take very long for my web design services to set up a completely operational website for my new business.  I soon started to see the benefits and orders began coming through on my website in just a few days.  This was ideal as it showed that my business idea was sound and that there was a market for the products I was selling.   Not only did this give me a cash injection but it also really boosted my confidence.  This gave me the push I needed to keep moving forward with my business plan and keep taking things to the next level.
If you want to make a blockbuster website on a b-movie budget then contact web design Manchester services now. These experts have the skills and talent you need to make your modest website budget work hard for you.
Science fiction has plenty of characters sporting cool and trendy eyewear. However, these visual accessories do not really do much and are generally there for aesthetic purposes.
No one believes that Clark Kent’s nerdy glasses are actually the reason why nobody can figure out that he is Superman. However, ever so often, a sci-fi character comes along sporting a visor that is feature-packed and has fanboys salivating over the prospect of owning a replica. Here are three sci-fi characters that don the best visors in the business:
Geordi La Forge
It is well known that Star Trek has inspired numerous real-world technological marvels. From the mobile-phones to mp3 players, real life scientists have often taken a cue from technologies featured in Star Trek. One gadget that scientists are trying to replicate is Geordi La Forge’s VISOR (Visual Instrument and Sensory organ Replacement). Blind since birth, the Chief Engineer from Star Trek: The Next Generation depends upon the VISOR to be able to perform his duties on the USS Enterprise. Besides allowing Geordi La Forge to live a normal life (as normal as life can get in an episode of Star Trek), The VISOR allows La Forge to see the full range of electromagnetic spectrum, which often helps him see and find minor things that would never be detected by human eyes. Geordi’s VISOR was undoubtedly one of the most important prop pieces that defined Star Trek for an entire generation of Trekkies.
Cyclops (Scott Summers)
One of the most-underrated X-Men characters, Cyclops can find solace in the fact that he sports the most ridiculously awesome visual accessory in the franchise. In a universe where mutants with superpowers are quite common, Cyclops stands apart thanks to his “optic blast” ability. Sure it makes looking into a lover’s eyes a hard thing to do, but does that really matter when you can harness as much power as a nuclear reactor? If not kept under control, his powers can end up causing massive havoc (ironically, Havoc is his brother’s mutant name). This where is uber-cool visors step into the picture. The visor allows Scott Summers to harness the power of his optical blast and focus them onto a target with spectacular results. A blast from his visor may not cut through Wolverine’s adamantium claws, but is strong enough to pierce through almost every other material known to man. The visor also allows Cyclops to manipulate the intensity of the blasts, allowing him to cause varying degrees of damage and letting the beams bounce of reflective surfaces. When not blasting Sabertooth or Sentinels into oblivion, the visor allows Cyclops to view his surroundings normally, albeit with a red tone.
Iron Man / War Machine
Okay, so admittedly the armor suits are the main reason why anyone bothers to follow the adventures of Tony Stark. However, the visor in his helmet is undoubtedly the most crucial piece of equipment in his armor suits. Most fanboys will be up-in-arms at this point. How could the visor possibly outshine all the impressive firepower that the suits pack? Anyone who pilots the armour suit needs to be fed with important and relevant information all the time. From flight controls to weapons system status, all the information is fed to the pilot using the visor. What makes it exciting is that is a very similar system to the visors employed currently by fighter and attack helicopter pilots. No one would like to see the results of Tony Stark trying to pilot the Iron Man suit without a properly functioning visor. The new Iron Man 3 movie will feature new armored suits for Iron Man and War Hammer, but the trusty old visor, complete with JARVIS, continues to be an integral part of all the suits.
Fully-functional visors may seem like an object that can only exist in the world of science-fiction. But in reality, scientists are taking inspiration from science-fiction and are working tirelessly to develop real-world applications for them.
Tony Blair has contributed a number of articles on health care. With his experience of 10 years in eye surgery, he highly recommends cataract surgery in Melbourne for their excellent results.
There are many reasons for email archiving. These include regulatory compliance, e-discovery, and the management of storage resources.
Email is by far the most common form of business communication; you can analyse a business by looking at the email that flows to and from it.
Over recent years email has become the subject of ever increasing amounts regulatory compliance, and for many organisations there is little choice but to ensure that there exists a central data repository of email and its attachments which is both secure and searchable.
E-discovery is the retrieval of data in response to a legal request, regulatory compliance or any corporate requirement, and it is a frequent necessity for IT departments. If there is not an adequate searchable archive system, the task can be very daunting, requiring huge amounts of effort and expense. Sometimes there are legal requirements on the time allowed for complying with an e-discovery request, and organisations can face fines if they fail to deliver on time. There are also rules on how long email must be retained, and these vary depending on the business sector, and the amount of storage needed for emails grows on a daily basis. By archiving data, email server efficiency can be improved considerably.
The first is an in-house archive. This requires investment in hardware, storage, and software. Usually a dedicated server is required that makes a copy of emails and stores the copies in an archive. Generally software is installed on all employeesâ?? computers to enable search and retrieval.
The perceived advantage of an in-house archive is control and security along with infrastructure integration. However it is expensive to set up and maintain, requiring high levels of IT skills. Also, for complete integrity, ideally duplicate systems should be deployed in alternative locations.
The alternative to an in-house archive is a cloud-based archive from a third party. Here, advantages include the freeing up of IT resources, reduced investment in hardware and software, and the convenience of not having to maintain an archiving system.
One of the perceived problems with remote cloud-based archiving solutions is security. It is understandable that many organisations are concerned that they would lose control of their critical data, thus it is essential to ensure that the third party is able to offer a truly resilient system distributed over various graphical locations, that all email stored is encrypted, and that the system is tamper proof. The best way of achieving this is by carrying out a security audit on the archive provider or looking for standards such as ISO27001.
The need to archive email is clear, and the difficulties of doing this in house are apparent. For most organisations cloud-based third party solutions are the only realistic way forward.
This is a guest post by Adam a new Londoner, who has interests in recruitment, all things techy, a passion for travel and a love of fashion. He blogs about recruitment, travel and IT/technology as well as latest trends in mens and womens fashion. If you want Adam to write you specific content, feel free to message me on Twitter (@NewburyNewbie).
The enduring ethos of modern theme bars and trendy pub chains seems to be that big is better.
Well, thatâ??s not entirely true. Some of the best alehouses are so diminutive in stature that you barely even notice them.
So, if youâ??re partial to a pint or crave something a little quirkier on your travels, here are 5 of the most Hobbit-sized pubs in Great Britain.
1 .The Nutshell, The Traverse, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 1BJ
Listed in the Guinness Book of Records  as the UKâ??s smallest pub, The Nutshell first started serving beer in 1867 in the historic heart of Bury St Edmunds and has been serving a faithful following of customers ever since.
The pub also boasts a selection of interesting historical items, including photos and memorabilia.
The bar measures just 15ft by 7ft – it is also a major tourist attraction, where passing trade can rub elbows with the regulars.
2. The Signal Box Inn, Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, Lakeside Station, Kings Road, DN35 0AG
The Signal Box Inn is named for its location immediately adjacent to Cleethorpes Light Railway. The size of the building is approximately to the same scale as the trains that use the track.
It has five hand pumps serving real ale and a beer garden
It faced opposition for the title of the world’s smallest pub by a few other contenders, including The Nutshell (above).
The size of the establishment clocks in at a small and cosy 5.95 square metres.
3. The Dove, 19 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London, W6 9TA
This is a 17th Century riverside pub that holds the title for the smallest bar â?? as opposed to the smallest pub, which takes in to account the bar and the building combined.
Its clientele over the years has included poets, writers, actors and politicians.
It also has an entrance that only the eagle-eyed will spot and displays a plaque marking the height of the great flood of 1928.
4. The Dog & Bone, Shepreth, Cambridgeshire
Set up by villagers who were angered at the loss of their local pub The Plough (which was turned in to a restaurant), The Dog and Bone may well be the smallest pub in the world (3ft by 3ft).
They bought the red call box from BT for £1 and added a â??barâ? from which the old landlord of the Plough can serve drinks.
5. Bag oâ?? Nails, 141 St Georgeâ??s Road, Bristol, BS1 5UW
Situated on the site since the 1860s and previously known as the American Eagle, Bag oâ??Nails is an alehouse that has seen a few landlords pass through its doors in the past few years and was even closed for eighteen months before being given a new lease of life in December 2011.
Itâ??s a small, quirky pub – with portholes in the floor and black and white pics of jazz musicians, itâ??s like stepping back in time. No LED strip lighting here eitherâ?? the pub is lit by gas lamps which adorn the walls.
Do you know any drinking establishments that could be contenders for the UKâ??s smallest pub
Gavin Harvey is a self-confessed fitness fanatic whose restless spirit for adventure has taken him all over the world. When he can suppress his wanderlust he loves nothing more than to watch classic movies, hunt for the latest gadgets, and blog for LumaLighting.
Mashable recently posted an article on ‘tech nostalgia’ and as the name might suggest this comprised a list of technological sights, sounds and experiences that send us back to tech-times gone by.
Great though the list is, it leaves me wanting more, and there are a whole range of other things that came to mind while I read it, so here are some more technological highlights from times gone by that some of you may remember…
The Spectrum Loading Noise
If you’re old enough to have owned a ZX Spectrum then there’s no way you’ll have forgotten the horrendous screeching noise that you had to endure before loading any game or software. Combined with the scrolling multi-coloured lines this was practically a form of cruel and unusual torture. And sometimes this would last over 5 minutes…
Windows 95 Loading Sound
There are various loading jingles for different Windows products throughout the years, but the Win95 loading sound, and the loading screen for that matter, have a particularly iconic place in history.
Nokia Mono Ringtones
I nearly added polyphonic ringtones here, but even before those mono ring tones ruled the roost. And because everyone had a Nokia these little chirps with obscure names like ‘persuasion’ were everywhere. I always used the spy-esque one and even now hearing it sends me back to receiving texts from the girl I fancied at the time (and leaping across the room to get to my phone).
Animated GiFs
For a while it seemed like most websites consisted of a selection of GiFs that kids had collected in a nice vertical strip. I think the one I saw most regularly was Pikachu being buzz-sawed by a Pokeball…
Marquees
This was about the first thing that anyone learned in HTML, and so they were used on practically every page on the entire internet. That’s probably the reason you don’t see them any more. Heck, I don’t know if they still even work…
SEGA
I don’t mean the company, I mean the little chant at the beginning of Sonic games. ‘Seeeegaaaa’. I love that they’ve brought it back.
Chip’s Challenge
The Mashable list pointed to SkiFree as Microsoft’s best free Windows game, but my personal favourite was always Chip’s Challenge â?? a top down puzzle game that challenged you to collect keys. I loved it because I wasn’t allowed a games console and this was the closest thing I had to a real computer game for a long time. Those are my personal demons though.
BonziBuddy
I seem to be the only person who remembers this weird purple Gorilla that got forcefully installed on my computer when I installed Kazaa. The idea was that Bonzi would help you surf the web while telling jokes, singing songs and helping to manage downloads. Essentially he was a piece of adware, but his likeable appearance seemed to make the pill a bit sweeter to swallow for some people (not me â?? I hated BonziBuddy).
Habbo Hotel
Apparently Habbo hotel is still going and from the looks of things it hasn’t changed one bit in decades either. However it’s still a blast from the past visiting this online chat-hotel that’s basically internet dating for kids… Isn’t that… really messed up?
Snake
As I included the ring tones, we shouldn’t forget Nokia’s most significant contribution to the world â?? the original Snake. This game is to phone games what ‘Pong’ is to PC games, a classic that will never be forgotten.
The Tetris Music
Ah the original Tetris music surely must be one of the most classic game jingles in the world. Amazingly addictive, but oddly absent from apps and remakes this sends you right back to throwing your brick-shaped Gameboy across the room… Ah, good times…
Games That Came on Twenty Floppy Disks
One of the most lovable things about floppy disks was that they could hold barely any data. Even back then games like ‘Space Quest’ would come on several disks and require regular swapping. Oh, and who can forget the joy of having to type words by page, paragraph and line number to prove you hadn’t copied the games?
The article is contributed by Jeet, founder of link-building company GetLinksPro and tech enthusiast. He frequently writes guest post on SEO and tech. To get all updates on his work, articles and SEO latest trends, you can follow him on twitter @getlinkspro.
The objective of this game is to complete fuses in a puzzle. The game allows you to see the puzzle area as well as battling ships at the top of the screen. If you are too slow the other ship will shoot at you. Your goal is to destroy the other ship before you sink! Completing fuses sets off cannons and shooting cannonballs will damage the other ship.
The fuses come in many different nodes/directions which can be connected to set off one or more cannons at a time. You can tap broken fuses to rotate them into place. As soon as your fuse touches one burning flame it will set everything off regardless if you have connected the other cannons. So you want to make sure to connect all fuses possible before setting everything on fire.
After the fuses have set off the cannons they will burn out and new ones will fall down to fill the missing spaces. Depending on how many cannons you were able to fire with those fuses you will also get random powerups. If your fuse happens to burn through these powerups it will make your shots even more powerful.
Game Modes:
You can choose from three different game modes in Pirate Gunner HD. In Story Mode you will follow along with the story by finishing each mission and unlocking more. In Puzzle Mode you donâ??t even see the battling ships at the top of the screen like you do in Story Mode. Instead you have limited fuse rotations. That means your gameplay will be challenged by how well you think before changing a fuse as opposed to changing a lot of fuses randomly like in the Story Mode.
The last type of game mode is Arcade. In this version you can battle other ships like in Story Mode but thereâ??s no story. You just keep battling. Precipitation covers the screen so it makes it a little hard to complete the fuses with particles falling down.
Mission Accomplished
This is a classical puzzle game in which you have to complete a line of some sort. It reminds me of classical video games where you would have to angle mirrors in order to direct a laser somewhere. Other variations include broken wires that need to be connected and so forth.
Pirate Gunner brings something new to the table by offering the ship battle at the top of the screen alongside the puzzle; as well as the impending doom the competing ship creates. If you donâ??t finish fast enough your ship will sink and that definitely makes this game more exciting than other puzzle games.
Room to improve
This game does feature advertisements but they are non-intrusive. One problematic thing in Pirate Gunner HD occurs in Puzzle Mode. When you run out of fuse taps you fail the level and you have to play again. To start playing again you have to wait for all the fuses to fall from the top. This starts to waste time if you keep failing the same level.
It would be nice if the fuses were automatically there instead of having to wait for them fall.
Conclusion
Pirate Gunner HD features classical gameplay but also adds in battling ships to make the puzzle aspect more exciting. If youâ??re into easy puzzle games than you might want to give this game a try.
Transcript:
Hey there, I’m Andre from appcomrade.com and today I’m going to be reviewing ‘Pirate Gunner HD’ which looks great on bigger devices such as the iPad and smaller devices such as an iPod Touch and iPhone.
Now, the game actually feels really light and it’s a puzzle type game, you have to connect lines but an original way. Kind of like fuses you have to connect and then you can blow up combos, but I’ll get to that when I launch the game.
The game is really fun, rated at four stars out of 28 ratings which is really good, and the graphics once again are really, really good. I’ll show you the game right now.
In the game right now we have a pretty nice audio setup, it make me feel enthusiastic to play the game. I like how they’ve laid out the menu there is a moving sail on the boat and a moving wooden sign and ‘achievements’ is represented as a life belt.
Right here you can start the game. I finished a lot of the game on my iPod Touch, however, on the iPad I’ve just started. You can see the levels are locked when you don’t have the level finished. But for the first one if I click ‘set sail’ it’s going to teach me how to play. I love games that do this because they do a really great job and I can simply skip it if I want. Once again, they’ve done a great job in teaching people how the game plays.
Here they are advising me to play and connect the fuses. So these are the fuses, as I said and when they are matched from the fire, they’re yellow but when they’re connected to the bomb they’re red. So what you wanna do is basically link the red with the yellow and it will initiate the cannon . . . Boom!
I can do two at once and that would kind of be a combo. Actually I can do more, I can do three or four and I can keep linking these fuses wherever I want. That’s the cool thing about it. You can do whatever you decide. As you can see, all these got connected and that’s a combo right there and it will tell me if I do another three or whatever, another combo, keeps going on and on and the health of the other ship will decrease and it’s listed above. Of course, the other ship is gonna try to attack me too. The other ship’s name is called ‘Fortunate One’ and it’s at almost half its health.
On the other side it’s me ‘Dark Thunder’ – full health – 2500. So, that’s pretty nice. Also I like the graphics for the ships that are sailing.
So, the main focus of the game. Really nice concept, a puzzle type game. You know, I can get extra bonuses, extra money, all this extra stuff, which is really cool and you can do a lot in the game. Sometimes extra features will come down and may give you an extra shot. You can even do a big cannon.
You’ll gain experience points as you play. Right down here you can see that my XP is 4259. I’ll show you guys real quick that there is a puzzle mode. There are three modes and this one where I have to fire specific cannons, one shell at once.
This puzzle mode is not as intense as the other mode as there are not as many sound effects and it’s constant with not many things moving. You have to use your brain more than just clicking around. This is what I like better in the game as this puzzle mode give the game its flavour. I really like this feature that they implemented into the game.
Here I had to try again as I didn’t know what I was doing. So this game is easy and I’d recommend this game. I like how the game looks, great touches.
The 80s was a decade of bad hair, bad fashion and bad music. However, the 80s did produce a surprising number of brilliant cars and bring them to our TV sets and movie screens.
Hereâ??s our list of the top 5 most totally radical cars from the 80s:
De Lorean DMC 12
Of course the De Lorean ranks first on our list, as you just canâ??t get a more iconic 80s car than this futuristic, impractical piece of machinery. With its unique look, the De Loreanâ??s earned its own fame – and heads would certainly turn when one drove by. However, it was the use of a De Lorean as Marty McFlyâ??s time machine in the â??Back to the Futureâ?? series that really secured its legacy as a brilliant 80s car.
Porsche 911
The 80s was all about flashing the cash, and no car better represents the 1980s â??yuppieâ?? than the Porsche 911. Though production on the 911 began in the 60s, sales for the model really spiked in the 80s during the decade’s love affair with style and excess. With its cool curved windshield and classic bug-eyed headlights, this European import was the epidome of 80s classiness and remains an iconic vehicle to this day.
TVR Tasmin
Of course this list wouldnâ??t be complete without some sort of convertible. With its square-edged frame, extended hood and pop-up headlights, this iconic car model is about as 80s as you can get.
KITT Car
OK, so this legendary car from the TV series Knight Rider was indeed just a Pontiac Trans-Am with a few modifications, but it certainly deserves a place in our top 5 list of iconic cars of the 1980s. KITT wasnâ??t just a pretty face, however. It also could drive itself and talk back to its driver, the now iconic David Hasslehoff. How 80s is that?
Peugeot 205 GTI
Named â??Car of the Decadeâ?? in 1990 by Car Magazine, there was certainly more to this little hatchback than what met the eye. Despite its rather unassuming outward appearance, the Peugeot 205 GTI was incredibly lightweight, speedy and fun to drive. It is a real driverâ??s car and, when handled properly, a brilliant machine. However, for the less skilled driver, it was proven too hot to handle.
Well, that sums up our top 5 list of iconic 80s cars. Did we miss any? Which one is your favourite?
Catherine Halsey writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Everybody plays video games. While thatâ??s a slight exaggeration, enough people play video games that itâ??s not far from the truth.
Video games arenâ??t just for teenage boys anymore. American cable news and talk radio host Joe Scarborough admits to playing Call of Duty. Actor Jason Ritter and actress Tara Reid both use the Wii as a way to combine exercise and video games. Even NFL football team members like Tony Romo, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, spends his down time playing Guitar Hero for Xbox 360. But with so many options, which gaming console is right for you?
A Gaming Console is an Investment
Video gaming is not an inexpensive hobby. Even if you limit yourself to free games downloaded from the indie market, consoles are an investment that offer much more than just gaming. Todayâ??s video game console offers music apps for internet radio, social networking apps so you can connect with all your friends and followers, and video apps that allow you to watch YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu Plus. Once youâ??ve decided on a console, be sure you can afford the accessories.
Depending on the console you choose, you might want to purchase a headset, extra remote, cooling station, or any number of things to enhance your gaming experience. Of all the consoles, the Wii undoubtedly has the most accessories due to the fact that its interactive games require things such as steering wheels, fitness belts, tennis rackets, and aerobic step equipment. Other accessories you might need regardless of which console you have could include HDMI or AV cables for connecting your console to an HDTV, spare controllers, battery chargers, and instruments for music-inspired games.
Some Deciding Factors
Of course, accessories are only one deciding factor when choosing a console. There are other things to consider as well. Here is a short list to help you pick out the right gaming console for playing video games with your friends and family members.
Demographics â?? Each gaming console appeals to a specific demographic. For example, Xbox 360 appeals to the masculine side of its players by promoting games with a primarily male player base, like Call of Duty or Gears of War. Meanwhile, Wii markets to families with children with games that feature popular characters like Mario and Princess Peach. And meanwhile, PlayStation appeals to a broad range of players.
Video Game Library â?? How big of a video game library do you want? The PlayStation has always boasted a larger gaming library than the other brands, and now the PS3 offers backward compatibility allowing you to play games from your PS1 or PS2 all on that same console. The Wii offers also access to its past games, such as the ones associated with retro consoles like the Nintendo 64 and Game Cube, through use of a virtual console feature. Xbox 360 on the other hand has exclusive games such Halo or Grand Theft Auto IV that you wonâ??t find available on the other brands.
DVD Playing Abilities â?? Do you want to play DVDs on your video game console? If so, forget about trying to play them on Nintendo consoles. It also lacks a large hard drive. However, it boasts a lower purchase price than the other models. And while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation consoles cost more, their storage capacity, better quality of cables, and ability to play DVDs make up for it. PlayStation 3 can even play Blu-Ray discs.
People Powered Video Games
Since they were first introduced to consumers, people have complained about the hazards of gaming, from eye strain to addiction. This was true whether it was a handheld game, video game console, or retro Pac-Man game or other arcade game. Japanese video game designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto once quipped, â??Video games are bad for you? Thatâ??s what they said about rock-n-roll!â? But video games arenâ??t ignoring the concerns, and even developers like Shigeru Miyamoto are now finding ways to use video games to combat serious health issues like obesity.
The Wii Fit gets people off the couch and moving with virtual sports such as tennis, bowling, baseball, golf, and boxing. The game uses your age, sex, height and weight to calculate your body mass index and Wii fit age. While the activities aim to give players a core workout, it shouldnâ??t be considered the only option for exercise. Instead it should be used to enhance or inspire people to participate in exercise that doesnâ??t involve use of video games.
Meanwhile the Kinect for Xbox 360 offers fitness games based such as Your Shape Fitness Evolved, EA Sports Active, Dance Central, the Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, and Zumba Fitness. These games are geared towards people who are familiar with exercise routines and leave it up to the player for their preference of stretching, warm ups, and cool downs.
Some Final Considerations
In addition to what games youâ??ll want to play and who will be playing them, consider how your new console will work with your current home entertainment system. Some consoles work better on HDTV than others. Are you going to need a router that allows you to access WiFi with your gaming console? No one console will fit every piece of criteria, but when you do your homework and research the fine points of each one thatâ??s available, youâ??re sure to select something that suits everyone in your household.
Mark Harris is a freelance writer and internet marketer who enjoys working from the comfort of his own home. He and his wife used tips from http://www.menshideaway.com/to turn the family room into a home office where he can attend webinars or write blog articles. But when he needs a change of pace takes his laptop to a local coffee house where the WiFi is complimentary and the coffee carafe is bottomless. In their free time Mark and his wife enjoy exploring the area around their White Rock, BC home with outdoor activities like kayaking and hiking.
Gameplay
Mission Accomplished
Room to improve
Conclusion
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