Apple TV missing video core

You can trust Apple to do a Media Center style machine with great style but, unfortunately, its Apple TV device lacks substance, for European users at least.

While US customers can buy lots of video content from iTunes (movies, TV episodes, etc), here in Europe there's precious little on offer yet. So to use the Apple TV as a bridge between stuff on your computer and your TV set, you're going to do a lot of manual conversion. That's because Apple TV handles very few video formats by itself. That could change but in the meantime, it's a missed opporunity. Read the full Apple TV review in today's paper.

In games, the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series shows indecent haste by producing a follow-up barely a year after the first Xbox 360 stunner. But remarkably GRAW2 works, even if its chief achievement lies in correcting the flaws of the original.

Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney: Justice For All (DS) ducks the usual gaming cliches, producing an engrossing courtroom drama full of wacky characters and zinging dialogue. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Wii) is one of those hyper-kinetic cartoon conversions that only kids can (and should) understand. But it's still to hectic for its own good. Finally, EA Replay (PSP) goes all nostalgic on us but this trawl through the vaults gets old quickly

PS3, I sort of love you

Sony's taking a huge gamble with the PS3, almost betting the farm that Blu-Ray (cause of the console's delay) will win the next generation battle. From playing with the machine ahead of its launch, it certainly impresses off the bat, from the slick music and video handling to the desirable curves of the PS3 itself.

But. And it's a big but. The games don't yet convince us Sony has landed a killer blow. And then there's the price... Read the full PlayStation 3 review in today's paper.

As for the other games reviewed this week, Sonic's comeback continues apace, with Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii) returning to high-speed form, cleverly using the Wiimote motion-sensing controls. God Hand (PS2) hams it up while offering a tough-as-nails brawler that eventually gets repetitive. Finally, Rampage: Total Destruction hits the Wii with the same problems of other editions, namely boring gameplay and crude graphics.

Ties that bind

New Irish brand Jivo concentrates its efforts on rebadging cheap Taiwanese gear, usually for iPods. Its latest yoke is a Skype phone but it fails to make the grade because a) it's too expensive compared with other brands who sell the same unit for far less and b) because its short USB cord makes you realise spending a few more bob on a wireless version from someone else is a better idea altogether. Read the full Jivo VoIP Skype phone review in today's paper.

In games, if you're a PS2 owner, you must rush out now and buy Okami. A welcome relief from a turgid diet of remakes, knock-offs and movie tie-ins, Okami resembles Zelda but has an identity all its own thanks to the signature twist of giving the player a paintbrush to solve problems. Need a bridge? Draw one in. Need light? Sketch a sun. Brilliant stuff.

Magical Starsign attempts to replicate Final Fantasy on the DS but totes too much schmaltz for its own good. Far Cry Vengeance bears little resemblance to the visually stunning, intelligent action of the PC/Xbox/360 series. Murky textures and dumb AI spoil what could have been a fair stab at the Wii's first decent shooter.

Finally, Little Britain (PS2/PC) deserves a paragraph to itself for sheer awfulness. Even the official website is broken.

No direction home

Motorola's SoundPilot feels like a solution to a problem you didn't know you had. Its purpose seems to be to allow you use any set of headphones you like with a Bluetooth stereo phone. It hangs around your neck and receives the audio wirelessly from your moby which it then pipes into your headphones.

But few people are going to be bothered with its tangle of wires if they're interested in wireless sound in the first place. Read the full Motorola SoundPilot S705 review in today's paper.

In games, Excite Truck proves the Wii controller can handle racing admirably well (something which the lamentable Monster 4x4 World Circuit couldn't do) and it doesn't hurt that high-octane thrills and spills are in plentiful supply. Gang brawler The Warriors makes the journey from PS2 to PSP relatively intact, save for the usual camera probs. Finally, Hamsterz (DS) does Tamagotchi crossed with Nintendogs reasonably well, but with such a high sugar content only pre-teen girls may be able to stomach it.