According to the feature list of the Apple website, the UK will not be getting the iBooks and iBook Store at launch.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the UK consumers view on the iPad as this was touted as one of the major features. Seeing as Steve Jobs said he is beginning talks over 3G connectivity outside the US, I’d assume the same talks will apply to book publishers, so its probably just a matter of time before iBooks makes it other countries iPads. Still plenty of time for this all to change though.

So what is it, think of an iPhone, but add 6 inches to the screen. You get the picture. It has a 10 inch multitouch, LED screen dominating the front with a an inch bezel around it and the same home button at the bottom, seen on the iPhone. It measures in a 0.5 (aprox 13mm) inch think so is relatively thin, but thicker than an Amazon Kindle, and 3mm more than an iPhone. So its not too bulky. Under the hood is a custom made 1Ghz processor which according to Engadget is an ARM processor. So there should be plenty of omph.

OS is the new iPhone OS 3.2, this will be the big deciding point of whether Apple are onto a winner or not. So what does the OS look like? Well its just the iPhone OS a bit larger. The default apps have had an upgrade so now the widescreen email program has a list of emails to the left and the actual email to the right. The calendar app has had a major over hall so it now appears like a diary, and the photo’s app has been updated to take advantage of the bigger screen. Apple also showed off an iPad version of iWork (Apples office suite), all looked relatively easy to use and had context specific menu’s popup (pop up menu’s appear to be a major new part of the OS).

All current iPhone apps will also work on the iPad, and will be synced when you plug in to iTunes. The apps can either be viewed at their native iPhone size or stetched to fill the entire screen. This of course has different affects depending on the app.

So is it good or bad? Well Steve Jobs likes to see this as a netbook killer. But I don’t see it. As with the iPhone, the iPad appears to be a very content viewing device rather than content creating. Yes iWorks looks like it will allow you to create documents and things, but you are still locked into Apples own iTunes/App/iBook stores (yes books, more in that in a second). Theres no USB port for linking to say a camera or even an iPhone, you’ll have to pay more for an adapter to copy photo’s direct from a camera. I see this device aimed at casual users who need a bit more screen real estate that the iPhone offers. I personally have a laptop at home which is kept in our living room purely used for browsing the net without have to go into the office and start up the full PC. The iPad is the perfect replacement for this. You’ll get access to relatively cheap games too and other useful apps,  but its not good for working on the move or replacing a full laptop.

iBook, ok I’ve given this a section on its own. E-Readers are slowly growing in popularity, with Amazon currently leading the way with its Kindle. I am in the process of drafting my Kindle from a UK users view, review at the moment, so won’t dwell here. iBook is a new app on the iPad which is basically an e-book reader. It has its own book store for purchasing books too. Now, part of reading a book is the way your imagination is captured, the pages almost disappear in your hands. For me this is where an e-reader would struggle, but the likes of Amazon and co have gone to great lengths to design a product that seems to vanish in the hand. And it works, the devices might not be the sexiest on the planet, but they do what they are ment to very well. iBook instead employs fancy graphics like 3D page turning and book covers opening etc, pages are also coloured to look like textured paper pages. All of which I believe will distract from the book you are reading. Plus the screen is a back lit LCD, this causes problems when reading for prolonged periods of time. LCD’s tire your eyes after extended periods of use, hence why its recommended to take a break from an LCD every hour. I believe reading on the device will be a little uncomfortable for prolonged reading. Time will tell with this, but I can’t see iBook touching a dedicated e-reader for this.

So thats a brief overview from whats been announced so far. I would like to point one thing out. The iPad, I stated earlier, looks more for consuming media rather than creating it, but it only time will tell what third party app developers will come up with. Its possible Adobe could release iPad versions of its Photoshop tools, and already demoed was an iPad version of Brushes, an very popular iPhone drawing app which works really well with the big screen. So as with the iPhone, the iPad will be made or forgotten about by what apps the community can come up with rather than the device itself.

Conclusion? It looks good, it has the potential, but out of the box is very limited. But I guess all PC’s start of this way aswell, it will all come down to what the app developers can do with it. I do think it will make a very good casual internet/media device. Say for when you watching TV etc. At $500 for the base 16GB model with WiFi up to $830 for the top 64GB model with WiFi and 3G (at an extra monthly cost), pricing is a little steep but probably alot better than might have been expected with Apple products. Of course UK pricing isn’t available yet but I’d say change the dollar sign for pound and you’ll get the idea.

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With this version of Call Of Duty, Infinity Ward have completely re-designed the online multiplayer portion of the PC version.  Most PC multiplayer games allow for dedicated servers to be setup. This basically means there’s a computer somewhere with a copy of the game on it running as a server. The owner of the server can set it up with rules, mods and maps that they decide. This has been scrapped for MW2 in favor of a match making system more akin to that of console games. Rather than dedicated servers being setup, the games are run on a p2p service. Say you are going for a game of Team Deathmatch. You select the game mode from the main menu and you are then entered into a lobby system. IWNET (InfinityWards game matching server) then finds other players with similar skill levels, location and a ping rates which are ment to allow for the smoothest game play. Once the server finds all the players it then checks through for the best “host player”, this host’s computer basically becomes the server that everyone else connects to. You’d never know if it was you though as its designed to be invisible.

This brings about some plus and minus points. Dedicated servers are good as alot of the servers are in big data centres meaning they have fast connections and guaranteed uptimes. Also they allow for a lot more people to play at a time and also allows the owner to install their own mods etc. The down side is you have to hunt through a long list of servers to find one you want to play, then try them to see if the rules suit you. This is ok when you have found a couple of servers you like but I always found it a little intimidating if you tried a server with a few weirdo’s on it. For a newbie to online gaming this is less than ideal. With COD4 the server list was also very untidy with server owners giving the servers some very odd and colourful names!

With MW2’s multiplayer, you simply select the game type you want, wait for the system to find some players and off you go. I am yet to really find any issues with this, I’ve always had relatively good ping rates and not been at all hampered by the P2P system. I did check in on the Official forums a couple of days back and I was amazed the amount of people moaning about the lack of dedicated servers, then having a go at anyone that suggested the system actually worked well. These people are also trying to get others to boycott buying the game. So moaning about a game they don’t own! Alot of the complaints about the limitations of the system just don’t apply to the actual game. Yes 18 players is quite a bit less than the 64 offered by COD4, but it still works, there’s more than enough people on the server so it doesn’t feel lonely, ping rates are great, load times are great. Yes I do miss the bigger games, but I don’t think this detracts from the overall quality of the InfinityWards implementation.

So whats new? Well other than new maps and the new system already discussed. There is now the addition of titles and emblems to make things a little more personal. You now get a bigger selection of kill streak bonuses, not just UAV, Airstrike and Helicopter, but also Harriers, bombers, precision missiles, sentry guns (very funny to watch) and an AC130! (think the mission from COD4 where you’re in the aircraft bombing the ground!) and quite a few others. Think that sounds unfair? Well equip the Stinger rocket launcher and take em down! There’s also new perks and a slightly different way of managing your classes, all big improvements on COD4.

All in all, it is a very enjoyable multiplayer game, something I felt the more recent COD5 lacked. Yes it has a few bits missing but don’t let that detract from the enjoyable game play and to those “boycotting”, just try playing it!

This eclipses the previous record set by GTA 4 last year by I’ve double. I personally believe this to be a sign that gaming is becoming a much more accepted past time.

Industry analysts estimate the game will send 10 millions copies before Christmas and take around £400million. All pretty impressive numbers!

I’ll hopefully get a review of the game up soon once I’ve finished playing through the single player mission and had a dabble with the multiplayer!

Having just completed the latest edition of Uncharted, I thought it would be a perfect time to remenise on the games that have really stood out for me.

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Wafare
Its rare that I ever get so engrossed in a game that I can’t put it down, COD4 was probably the first that really did it for me. Ok this may be because of the games relatively short story, it only took me around 8 hours to complete on east, but that was the best 8 hours of gaming I have ever under taken. Fantastic visuals, that didn’t need a supercomputer to generate, loads of action, and some fun extras. But for me, this game really hit a new level when I opened up the multiplayer option. Great weapons and some great maps make COD4’s multiplayer the best I have tried. Infact, thats to a couple of computer crashes I have actually completed the multiplayer and single player missions at least three times each! Another first for me!  I’m sure I am not alone on this one either, as the multiplayer servers are still packed players.

Of course COD5 has been released more recently, but it just hasn’t captured the imagination like Modern Warfare, and now I am eagerly anticipating Modern Warfare 2!

Rollercoaser Tycoon (all versions)
I first played “RCT” when I got my first computer back in 2000. It came free with my Compaq. Being a lover of theme parks, its the one game that really stood out of the pack. It did take some time to get my head round it though, but after I got going on the Dynamite Dunes map, I was hooked. Watching the peeps reaction to the rides, the insane rollerocasters you can build with very basic and easy to understand controls made this such an enjoyable game to play. The second edition added some great extras although struggled once Atari took over Infogrames and took development away from the games founder Chris Sawyer (this esentially started the games demise) and passed over to Frontier to expand on the game. They didn’t. But what did come out of the deal was one of the most creative and immersive games of all time, RCT 3 (or 3D as it was known to some). Getting to ride the insane rollercoaster creations just added to an already great game. Two addons were released adding just about everything you could imagine in a theme park.

I honestly believe more of my life has been spent in the RCT fantasy world that the real one. Sadly, due to the court case with the game creator, the expansion packs look to be the last release the franchise will see again. Even the games forums are becoming decsolate. Its a sad way for a trully great game to go. Heres hoping Atari do something to revive it!

Flight Simulator
Ok, theres gonna be loads of people hating this being in a top games list. It’s a simulator, its not designed to be a game, but as it’s in the Games section in PC World, it counts for me!

I’ve always been intrigued by the aviation business, I love flying places and have alway dreampt of being a pilot, sadly, due to medical conditions, this could never be a reality for me. So the closest I could get would have to be a simulator. Step up Microsoft Flight Simulator. I’ve not given a specific version, I don’t really see each new release as a new “game” or anything just enhancements on the previous version. The currently version is FSX (or 10), which is the one I’ll talk about now!

So why does this get into my top games of all time list? Well other than because of my desire to be a pilot of course! Its because you really have to understand the scope of this thing. You can fly to nearly any airport on the planet, no loading screens, its the entire globe modelled and ready for you to fly over. Add to that the sheer thousand of community made addons, from aircraft, to airports, more detailed cities enhanced clouds. Theres addons for everyhing. You can get basic aircraft with options to pretty much fly themselves, to aircraft modelled precisely on their real world counterparts. With fully detailed checklists and everything. You can learn alot about the flight which having alot of fun. I do think its something you have to personally be interested in first and want to make an investment in. I’ve spoken to friends that have bought FSX and never played it as it was too hard or didn’t make sense. Which brings me back to my original point, its not a game, theres no ending, theres not really challenge.

Having said that FSX did introduce mission based challenges, eg to land a helicopter on a burning oil platform. These are really just preset flights but are alot of fun to play and just aid in the learning of flying aircraft.

Well worth every penny I’ve spent, on both the game, addons and the PC upgrades to get it running!