Ro@chIT Blog

I know, I know, I'm about 2 years behind the times but I have been stuck in a Call of Duty bubble for the last 4 years and have been pretty oblivious to any other games around. Finally I grewtired of being shot at, blown up and generally bullied by children in the US fifteen years younger than me and decided to explore what else I had on my shelf.  There, still in the plastic wrapper with the paper seal intact, sat Batman - Arkham Asylum.

I sat and played it on that first evening for about thee hours and now I am absolutely hooked! The detail of the characters and scenes is nothing short of stunning.

The characters are well rounded with many details included to keep them true to the history of Batman. The Riddler challenges are a great extra to the game testing both your observation and knowledge of the Batman franchise and it's history. Some are relatively easy and the casual gamer could pick up, others require the knowledge of a true Batman geek.

This is by far my favourite game of the moment. I have now put in about 10 hours and am 40% through the game, I know that the story is only going to make up another 30% tops and then I will have to go back through picking up the trophies and challenges I missed. This is weeks more entertainment. Then when I'm finished there is a sequel to sink my teeth into. What more could a gamer ask for?

If you want to read a more detailed and frankly, more helpful, review then take a look here: http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-asylum/platform/xbox360 & http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14273491.html There are screen shots, videos and words from people far more in the know.

Keep checking back here as I try to continue to review games of the past - maybe next week I will cover that craze sweeping the world (in 1984) Tetris!

For more serious and useful information please browse the main RoachIT site: www.roachit.co.uk

Link: http://www.lightinthebox.com/c/android-tablets_4781?currency=GBP&sort=4a

If like me you're desperate to get your hands on an iPad or a Galaxy tablet but taking that final step and clicking on 'PayNow' would mean your kids have to go without a few meals then I may have found the answer!

www.lightinthebox.com - are a china-based online retailer selling everything from furniture & clothes to wedding accessories and mobile phones. But the section of their site we're interested in is: Electronics.

In this section there is a massive selection of Android 2.1 & 2.2 based tablet PCs for cheap! Prices start at £65, with the majority of the tablets priced at about £100. Obviously these aren't going to be able to compete with the iPad & iPad 2 in terms of performance but looking at the spec listed they have the same finctionality and connectivity coupled with the great accessibility of the Android operating system.

I have a HTC Wildfire. It's a low-end smart phone that has the same features and finctionality as a HTC desire or an iPhone but at a slightly slower speed and maybe lower resolution. This is what these tablets will be like. Great for browsing the Internet, updating Twitter and Blogs, viewing photos and maybe even watching movies - which let's face it is what the majority of us are looking for. What you won't be able to do is edit HD videos or play the latest High Definition online game - who cares?

The most important thing to remember when buying an Android-based device is that it must have access to the Google Android marketplace to be able to download the latest apps. Other proprietary app stores exist but they do not have the support or contributors that the Google one does and you could end up missing out on that latest killer app.

I can't vouch for the delivery or customer service performance of the LightintheBox web site but from what I have seen it is a much better option than eBay.

Hopefully I will treat myself to one of these little tablets of fun and post a review within the next month or so...

A bit off the topic of Ro@chIT technology and experiences I just wanted to let you know that Play.com have started their Christmas offers & 1 Day Deals. These are not to be sniffed at and you need to get in early, the closer to Christmas the better the offers but the less chance of it being in stock.

Today I have just bought a copy of Deus Ex on the PS3 for a friend for £15 + free delivery! A price so good I has to buy a copy on the Xbox for myself :-)

I have also just spotted the Geektastic Green Lantern on DVD for a mega £5.99 - a great gift for any super-hero pyjama wearing friend.

I'll keep updating this with any great tech Christmas deals over the coming weeks and please feel free to comment with any that you find too.