Entertainment

Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink is a Hidden Object Adventure game from the development team of Artifex Mundi. This game is available in Collector’s Edition format from Avanquest’s GSP label.

For various reasons I was not able to pursue YouView when it first launched. Here then is my first look at a technology that those with unlimited broadband download allowances can use to catch up with TV programs they missed when they were broadcast.

Described as a third-party point-and-click adventure game, Shadows on the Vatican has been adapted from the David Yallop book “In God’s Name”. This book, which is featured in the game, was inspired by recent events in Italian history.

In the Dreamatorium of Dr. Magnus game, you are cast in the role of Sarah Green, a young detective about to embark on her first solo case. She is given the task of solving the mysterious disappearance of a local doctor. This is Dr. Magnus, of the game’s title, who has been acting strangely following the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a car accident.

First an apology these arrived sometime ago and a friend said great could he borrow them for a couple of days as he was compiling a quiz. I forgot and he forgot and it is months later when I got them back so this is a very late review.

For those times when mains powered speakers or even large headphones are not acceptable then maybe a thumb sized speaker that enhances sound through what it rests on or maybe a set of decent earbuds may answer your needs.

Atlantis has long been a popular source of inspiration for those creating different types of entertainment including computer-based games. One such offering is Legends of Atlantis Exodus. Developed by Boonty Nexway Games, this title, belonging to the Time Management genre, is now available from Avanquest’s GSP catalogue of titles.

This is a simple box to do a simple job. However probably through no fault of the box it has been a VERY FRUSTRATING and time consuming review which involved three separate phone calls with Netgear’s technical support, one lasting well over an hour.

Taking its lead from a popular television series, this next game challenges you to discover who is responsible for murders based on classic novels.

While this is a box of magic it is not ‘innocent’ stuff but often lives up to the box title of ‘Gross Magic’. The box states 8+ but perhaps its best for those of even more mature minds as we don’t want to give children any ideas.

A meteor, strange experiments, missing children and a collection of flowers all feature in a title developed by Urse Games.

Today's implementations of Bluetooth are a great way to set up wire-free audio connections. But although Bluetooth has become a standard among handheld devices few home hi-fi systems are equipped to receive it. This is where the Kanex AirBlue comes in.

I seem to have an affinity with speakers that have unusual shapes. This is not another example but this time from a company I had not heard of before.

A pair of speakers and a rather nice sub woofer that might even pass the ‘other half’s’ scrutiny as it is in fact shiny white and therefore is more likely to go with whatever the lounge police think is acceptable whereas black probably will not.

This is one of those occasions when a game arrives for review just after seeing a film based on the same subject matter that was the prequel to the game.

Although it did not arrive via remote control delivery, this next Amazon product quickly made itself at home.

Even before I had the opportunity to get into this next game, I had received an email announcing a price drop for this Match 3 offering.

TV sound – even on an expensive unit is not great – so a sound bar can improve the quality and clarity of the volume. My own bugbear is movies where they tend to speak in a whisper and even turning up the TV volume cannot always help.

A tube strike, while making it difficult to get t0 my destination, did not hinder my attendance at an event to promote the release of a USB 3.0 flash device.

The word ‘Wireless’ is often misunderstood to mean Bluetooth and sometimes people think Bluetooth means ‘Wireless’ so just to help things here I have a set of Bluetooth called Wireless Conspiracy and a set of Wireless from Geemarc.

Set in southern Indian, this next game challenges you to complete Match-3 grids to make progress in a treasure hunt.

This is nothing to do with NFC as the word ‘Touch’ might cause you to think. It is a mobile speaker that allows you to place any Smartphone or ‘i’ device on top of it and the internal speaker output is greatly increased and I mean ‘greatly’.

One of these days Edifier is going to produce a speaker system with a more traditional design concept for one of its speaker unit. But this is definitely not one of those days with the arrival of this next Edifier speaker system.

It is time to venture underwater as you embark on a Match 3 extravaganza with a choice of two difficulty levels.

The Achilles heel of home projectors in the past has always been the lamp - short-lived, expensive to replace and generating heat that typically needs a noisy fan to disperse. For the past five years or so a solution has been waiting in the wings. LED as an illumination source is much cooler and longer-lasting. But for any other than small unambitious projectors it's been too dim. Or far too expensive. Until now.

There are headsets and there are headsets. This is also the RIG system.

This is a speaker with a handle that can be mains or battery powered. Apart from Bluetooth, NFC and the ability to have a hands free conversation with it from a Smartphone it also has a 3.5mm socket so an MP3 player can be connected.

To avoid any confusion for older readers, I should point out that the subtitle of this next game, “Return of the Duke” does not refer or have anything to do with Marion Mitchell Morrison (aka John Wayne) who was the star in numerous action films.

Magic, stone statues, innovative mini games and spoken dialogue are mixed together with a dash of evil intent in this next two-game pack.

Amaranthine Voyage: The Living Mountain is the follow-up title to the first Amaranthine game which dealt with The Tree of Life. Do not worry if, like me, you missed the first offering as the Living Mountain is entirely self-contained and requires no previous knowledge of the first game. However your role will remain the same as you take on the mantle of Professor Burns who has now returned to the classroom while still trying to convince the populace at large that the tales of The Tree of L