Category Archives: Gadgets & Electronics

I Can’t Believe That Actually Ran On a ZX Spectrum

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Incredible to think Sinclair’s classic ZX Spectrum is a whooping 30 years old yesterday and even more incredible to think I was just 6 years old when my parents blessed me by buying one for me and my sister for Christmas.

The Sinclair Spectrum was seen back then as the height of technology and although its technical capabilities seem amazingly weak by today’s standards, it marked the beginning of the real start of home computer gaming. The keys were made of rubber, games did not come on discs but on cassettes, Graphics may never have stood a chance, there were no cut sequences, no insertion of video and photo- mapping was unheard of. But that did not stop it from becoming a home favourite. What programmers had to focus on was real gameplay, interesting storytelling and making one fire button count for everything. Join us as I give you the run down on games that were incredible to see on such a small rubber button keyed home computer.

Daley Thompson’s Decathlon (1984)

Back in 1984, Daley Thompson was a national sporting hero so it’s no surprise he ended up the star of his own game. Inspired by Konami’s Track & Field, Daley Thompson’s Decathlon featured ten sporting events over two virtual days and was probably the cause of more fractured wrists and broken keyboards than any other game. Yes to play this game you had to erm…waggle the joystick from side to side.

Competing in events like the long jump, pole vault, javelin and 1500 metres.  If you did manage to complete the game though you would find yourself it was right back to the start to do it all over again.

One of the biggest-selling games of 1984, it enjoyed two equally frenetic follow-ups in the form of Daley Thompson’s Super Test and Olympic Challenge. For some though it created uproar – a black athlete portrayed as a white character. Nothing personal cried the programmers the humble Spectrum only had a palette of 8 colours and the black, well…it was just too dark to really be useful in play.

Street Fighter 2 (1993)

Yes, you heard me correctly the mighty Street fighter 2 had a port to the ZX Spectrum. A computer running at not even a fraction of console let alone the arcade hardware, perhaps what’s more incredible is that although it had a loading time to begin with it had no loading screen. Perhaps even more incredible is that it received high acclaim. The one fire button had to count for everything with the space bar alternating between kicks and punches. Incredible. Gameplay was obviously slower than its counterparts but to see the game moving is still remarkable to see.

 

Chase HQ (1989) 

Based on Taito’s sit down in the cabinet racer, Chase HQ was a game where you hunt down criminals with the aim of shunting them off the road before the time limit expired. Boy it was fast, boy it was frantic but was it ever going to fit into a Spectrum? Well, yes and it worked even if the Spectrum’s rather limited hardware did turn everything an unsightly shade of cyan and yellow.

 

 

 

Operation Wolf (1988)

Operation Wolf was perhaps one of the most well-known and iconic arcade games of all time. Basically, the game is pretty much a movie conversion of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando, only without the funny quips and one-liners. The experience begins as you dared to even approach the coin-op machine; an Uzi gun positioned on top just screaming ‘if you are not a man step away from the cabinet now…’. Essentially this was an ‘on the rails’ shooter that set the precedent for further games to come spawning three sequels: Operation Thunderbolt (1988), Operation Wolf 3 (1994) and Operation Tiger (1998). Many of which appeared on the Spectrum. So how was this was game achieved? Well you controlled the cross-hairs on-screen but later when the Spectrum released the 128k and +3 disc versions, a light gun was released which further increased the playability.

 

Elite (1985)
David Braben’s much-loved space trading and exploration game was packed with innovations and is rightfully heralded as a classic. With wire-frame-style 3D graphics and a vast, open-ended universe to uncover (featuring no less than 8 entire galaxies with 256 planets each), optional missions, space ship upgrades and elaborate trading rules, Elite was technical triumph of its time. It spawned two official sequels but its influence on the space exploration genre remains far-reaching even today.

 

Shadow Dancer (1991)

Produced by Sega as an arcade game in 1989. It is the second arcade game in the Shinobi series, following the original Shinobi itself and the unique selling point of this game was that you had a dog that you could send in to attack enemies. The game was developed on the (at the time impressive) Sega System 18 motherboard hardware. Home versions were released for the Master System and various home computers all of which had more raw power and technical prowess than the Spectrum, but did that stop our rubber keyed baby from trying to reproduce it? Hell no…I reckon she would have taken on Resident Evil if she had the chance.

Out Run (1986)

Another arcade game released by Sega. Designed by Yu Suzuki and developed by Sega-AM2. This game was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling video games of its time. Most noted for its innovative hardware (including a moving cabinet), pioneering graphics and music, innovative features such as offering the player choices in both soundtrack and non-linear routes, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation. So in retrospect one could be forgiven for thinking the Spectrum could possibly have bitten off more than it could chew, I mean, the memory is not big enough on the 48k to load everything (48k being an average bit rate per second for a common MP3 by today’s standards!) So how did they do it? Well with great difficulty. I had the tape version which meant you had to load each stage by hand, forwarding to the necessary ‘point’ which was very fiddly on a cassette. As for the music, you were required to turn over the tape which was a ‘music side’ to play a pre-recorded soundtrack of the game and this just condemned the game to confusion. However this did not deter game players and sales of this title went through the roof

Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1985)

An arcade fighting game developed and published by Konami. It was and still is considered by many gamers to be the basis for all modern fighting games. It pits the player against the now familiar variety of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting styles. So why is it here when the mighty Street-fighter 2 is on this list? Well the player could perform up to sixteen different moves, which, back in 1985 was practically unheard of. Note too the energy bar and the KO counter in the centre of the screen and the detailed backgrounds. Look familar? These facets are now common in fighting games thanks to this title and its success.

 

Skool Daze (1984)

You think of school and you think that would make a good game, hey lets just learn French and German all over again, lets find that girl who cheated on me, lets avoid those bullies and hey, let’s try it on with that cookery teacher all over again right? Well, we thought so. In this 1984 classic though, you’re on a quest to swipe your report card from the headmaster’s office. Trouble is, school keeps getting in the way and you have to attend classes, placate teachers and steer clear of the school bully if you’re going to avoid expulsion before your job’s done. It’s like Grange Hill but with the actors singing ‘just say yes’ and not only did it spawn a sequel ‘Back to Skool’ but also was the godfather of ‘Bully’ another school game for the PS2.

 

The Lords of Midnight (1984)

My penultimate entry in the how-the-hell-did-they-pull-this-off is Lords of Midnight; a fantasy game with ground-breaking ‘3D’ visuals and an incredibly rich mix of classic adventuring. It was possible to win the game in one of three ways, all focused on the destruction of Doomdark the Witchking of Midnight. You could play it as a straightforward adventure, as a strategic war game where you’re tasked with recruiting lords around the land to defeat the evil forces or through a combination of both. The graphics do not look much hack but it was incredible to play and when you think of RPGs today such as Final Fantasy and the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma they all have a lot to thank titles such as this one.

RoboCop (1988)

A run and gun and beat ’em up…hybrid arcade game based on the movie of the same name. I personally owned this (although I was too young to see the movie…obviously and good thing too, it would have given me nightmares…)  However, the technical inefficiencies meant the Spectrum had a less than faithful port that only loosely followed the arcade version. In addition to a different soundtrack, the boss battles were replaced with a screen where the player must shoot a man holding a woman hostage (without hitting her). However this did not stop the game receiving critical success, a CRASH Smash award from CRASH, 94% in Sinclair User and Your Sinclair gave 8.8 out of 10 placing it at number 94 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. The overall opinion was that this game was better than the original arcade game. Its capture of the original material, smooth scrolling and animation, sampled speech and sound effects were huge bonus points and the playability of the game was fantastic.

And so ends our list – Happy Birthday to The Spectrum! Now…how does that loading noise go again….

Prey 2 Not Cancelled

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After fears that the eager awaited Prey 2 had been shelved, ‘Bad Boy’ publisher Bethesda has finally come clean and confirmed that Prey 2 has not been cancelled, but it won’t be released this year after apprehension over its current quality.

The saying goes ‘Bad news travels fast, but good news travels slow’. Well this is news could not come a moment too soon. After rumours emerged almost a fortnight ago that the beloved ‘Prey 2’ was being canned; rumours that the developers Bethesda refused to deny, a public statement has now been issued that its development has not been cancelled but put on hold for further development and as result unlikely due to be released in 2012 as planned.

In a press release they go onto say ‘The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards. Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans.

‘We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.’

No other information, and certainly no new screenshots or footage, has been offered up but the news sure to make the many fans who posted on their face book fan page rejoice.

Rumours that the game had been cancelled were surprising as the game impressed most people that saw it at E3 and Gamefest festival last year. However, the lack of any hands on demos certainly gave the possibility that very little else of the game has been finished or indeed even properly planned.

Prey 2 has relatively little to do with the 2006 first person shooter and follows a new character who is marooned on an alien planet and forced to become a bounty hunter.

If you haven’t seen the trailer for this game then take a real look below and enjoy; this might be all we see of the game for a while. Then again, another good saying is ‘Everything comes to those who wait’. Well Time will tell if this game will be everything we come to expect of ‘Bad Boy’ publisher Bethesda.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhMUA_B5ozo

NEW Kid Icarus: Uprising Weapons Infographic Now Available!

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In case you didn’t know – Kid Icarus: Uprising was launched exclusively on Nintendo 3DS on 23rd March to rave reviews; gamers simply cannot get enough of the flying / hack and slash / puzzler of a game that takes full advantage of the 3DS hardware. You simply will not believe your eyes.

Now the infographic has been released revealing for the first time the vast array of weapons available in the game.

Each weapon type has individual characteristics including attack range and trajectory and how it affects your speed of movement; each weapon also has attributes that influence your battlefield skills.  Weapons can be bought, sold and gained through the multiplayer mode and fused together to create even more devastating weapons with unique characteristics. From the Samurai Blade’s powerful slashing attacks to the EZ Cannon’s charged shots, from the Babel Club’s enormous sandstorms to the Meteor Bow’s long range comets drawing power from the night sky – there are a wealth of choices to make when battling Medusa’s dark hordes.

To check out the Infographic check out: http://www.nintendo.co.uk/kidicarusuprising/infographic/

For those of you not yet caught up in the incredible game that is Kid Icarus check out the trailer created by Mr Sakurai and the Sola Studio and don’t forget to give us your feedback – its priceless!

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5M8WdnltnY&w=420&h=315]

Highs and Lows of The Ridge Racer Franchise

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Incredible to believe that Ridge Racer has been around since 1993. whilst the latest instalment leaves much to be desired, join us as we take a look back at the highs and lows of perhaps one of the most incredible race franchises of all time.

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Ridge Racer Arcade Game and Ports

In 1993 a racing video game was released into the world by Namco. That game was Ridge Racer. It was initially released on the Namco System 22 arcade system board, and was later ported to the PlayStation console. It was released in competition to the rift of racing games released at the time by Sega such as Daytona and VR Racing and became an instant hit owing to the photo realistic nature of the graphics and arcadey style driving engine which was easy to pick up and hard to put down.

The first home version of Ridge Racer was released in Japan in 1994 as a launch title for the original Sony PlayStation console. Some players may say that it was an ‘arcade perfect port’ which was a term that was banded around at the time but I still would say otherwise. One thing is for sure is that the game played a major role in establishing Playstation console and in giving it an early edge over its nearest competitor, the Sega Saturn. Nice touches included the option to change the in game music by removing the game disc and inserting your own favourite CD – a move that has never been repeated since.

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Ridge Racer Revolution

Firmly following the mantra of ‘if it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ Ridge Racer Revolution’ simply offered more of the same. I personally did not like it as it had dodgy collision detection, but I know loads of players who loved it as it had a two-player link-up mode which when played allowed the players access to the two courses from the original Ridge Racer game known as ‘Special 1’ and ‘Special 2’.

Normally only 4 cars are selectable, but all 12 are selectable if a player is able to defeat 100% of the enemies on the Galaga ’88 game before the title screen. In addition if this was done in less than 44 shots, not only were all the cars selectable, but the car bodies were smaller and the wheels bigger, looking much like buggies. Other changes included a commentator with a higher-pitched voice and different handling of the cars. However, while you can still race the three bonus cars, you cannot win them in the buggy mode. One way to easily access the buggy mode from the beginning is to hold L1, R1 select, down and triangle all simultaneously from when the game loads until the space invaders game – a special laser then emitted from the ship to kill all of the enemies on the space invaders game. Don’t say I don’t give away secrets.

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Rage Racer

Whilst arcade gamers got Rave Racer, Playstation owners got Rage Racer. They sound similar but believe me they are anything but. Visually the game took a different approach compared to the previous PlayStation titles. It looked more realistic and had a darker colour scheme.  For the first time in the Ridge Racer series, Rage Racer introduced a brand new advanced single player career system which used credits which were received from winning races which then could be used to buy and upgrade cars. I rate this as a low because although I loved the way it brought something new to the genre and I have fond memories of taking a Beetle look-alike round the track at break-neck speed the graphics were really rough around the edges and the music was horrendous.

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R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

This was the fourth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation.

With Namco now properly turning the attention to the home market this title was solely made for the home console.  There were eight tracks and a whopping 321 vehicles, Having realized their mistakes in the previous title back came gouraud shading on the polygons, giving the game a visual depth that was really lovely to the eye. The intro and presentation of the game was incredible. It was also the first Ridge Racer game on the Sony system to feature a two-player split screen mode, and featured two different driving models.

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Ridge Racer 64

This was the next in the racing instalment developed by Namco and Nintendo Software Technology for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. It featured tracks from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution and its very own set of desert tracks exclusive to the Nintendo 64. On the Car Select screen you could join the Dig Racing Team, Pac Racing Club, Racing Team Solvalou and R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy all from Ridge Racer Type 4. It marked ahigh point of the series and you could also change the colours of the car instead of the normal colours. The music was equally great and moving away from solely producing titles for Sony’s home machines Nintendo 64 owners finally had a racing game they could be proud of.

 

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Ridge Racer V 

(RRV), was the fifth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation. It was in one word Incredible. One of the launch games for the PlayStation 2. It featured 14 tracks and 18 vehicles, with 5 modes of play. Taking full advantage of the new spec hardware available in the next generation console the colours were bright, the in game graphics and speed was insatiable and the music was banging. I remember going over one ridge in the game and having the lens flare coarse into my eyes furthermore the night time tracks too were amazing; dimly lit streets that forced you to really peer ahead on the road to see the next hairpin bend. One other thing that is worthy of note was the ‘endurance race’ 99 laps of hardcore racing that tested even the most veteran of racing games. When you completed it all you got was a well done screen though, although you still had bragging rights to your friends for doing so.

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R: Racing Evolution

This title marked a low point in the franchise. Released in Japanin November 27, 2003, in North America on December 9, 2003 and in Europeon April 2, 2004, R is a racing-sim. Much like considered a cross over like Rage Racing and Gran Turismo. Opting to feature 33 licensed cars and in-depth customization options the game also featured a system referred to as the pressure meter, a fighting game-esque gauge that filled up as the player gets closer to a rival car; the higher the meter, the greater the likelihood that the AI will make a critical mistake.

The game offered a story mode where the player followed the racing career of Rena Hayami as she struggles to deal with the busy life of a professional race car driver and the politics of the sport. The mode featured some 14 chapters that were supposed to bring something new to the franchise, however none of these factors could protect the game from critical feedback. ‘Boring as hell’ said one reviewer; ‘If I wanted to play a racing sim I would have bought Gran Turismo’ said another.

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Ridge Racer 6

This was the sixth instalment in the Ridge Racer series. Released exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2006, it was marked as an achievement for Xbox owners who previously never had a Ridge Racer title. The game featured a Full Motion Video opening, which showed the series mascot the gorgeous Reiko Nagase in full action. Defending their decision to produce a game for another even rival console Namco announced that it expected to sell over 500,000 copies of Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360, although in reality that never happened; far fewer copies were actually sold; although that does not stop it from being a good game in its own right. Ridge Racer 7 for the PlayStation 3 is something of a “remix “of Ridge Racer 6, but with major differences such as new vehicles that were not seen in Ridge Racer 6 such as Sinseong, a Korean brand company, for the first time.


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Ridge Racer 7

This was the seventh console instalment in the Ridge Racer series of racing games, released exclusively on the PlayStation 3. The game has around 40 cars, many of which return from Ridge Racer 6 and the PSP incarnations of the game. There are also 22 courses, available in forward, reverse and mirror mode. The game runs at 1080p resolution and at 60 frames per second. It also features Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
The game marked a long awaited return to the Sony console and was a real hit in terms of what the console could do. Namco really pulled out the stops and later – to help Sony place further emphasis on 3D gaming, produced a Patch called “Ridge Racer 7 3D License Version” which enabled owners of Ridge Racer 7 to play the game in 3D for free and it offers free online game play via the PlayStation Network too.
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Ridge Racer Unbounded

I’m not going to say why here all you need to know is it is a real low point in the series. You can find my review in Frostmagazine’s very pages to find out

Ridge Racer Unbounded Review

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Namco should be slapped on their botties for letting what could have been a tremendous title go to waste and with good reason sent to their room for the rest of the month.

One question deserves to be continually asked: Why oh why would you give away a game with so much history and so much of a following and allow it to be utterly ruined? It is the equivalent of having a million pound winning lottery ticket and giving it away to an alcoholic.

Imagine this: you have an incredible franchise that you develop over the years. Sure, it may not be realistic enough to warrant the title ‘A Driving Simulator’ but hey, it is a fun arcade racer, the graphics are top notch, the speed and the flavour of racing is such that you build a world-wide following of fans that stay with you over three generations of consoles. At the last hurdle, maybe time is the issue or resources either way you allow another developer to step in and as such they drop the ball, next thing you know it is 3 nill to your opponents…

I really wanted this game to be good, I really did. So much so that when I read some of the other reviews on the game I refused to believe them. When one of my friends pointed out that the key to the game is about learning how to use the ‘Drift Button’ effectively. Inside I jumped for joy; maybe it was a whole misunderstanding for the other reviewers but now, two whole days later, I realised he was under the same deluded self deception as me. You see, gamers like us who grew up on the whole Ridge Racer series just don’t want to believe their beloved franchise is in the pan. But trust me, for this game it is; it is in the pan with a little bit of extra virgin oil and under a high heat.

I’ve always said that I would put the boot in when it came to crap titles but the only thing that is worse in this world than a crap game is an expensive crap game. Oh and this game is crap with more crappy pieces than a crappy bits lunch box meal made by a crappy deep fried chicken chop shop that is crap. You see I wouldn’t enjoy this game if it came as a PSN cheap download – the fact that it costs £40 is plain pathetic and a waste of money. I actually owe it to gamers to stop them going out there and buying this tosh.

Where do I start? Ridge Racer Unbounded tries to bring in core elements of Split/Second and Burnout series to the franchise of old. By itself this should not be a nail in the coffin. Like Split/Second you can open up shortcuts around the track by filling a power meter which generates by sliding and tailing other racers you can use this power in one of four ways; to provide a quick boost, open up shortcuts, smash into your opponents or create explosions. Unlike Split/Second however, you don’t trigger the explosions or shortcuts remotely: you smash into them to explode them or open them up. The problem here is in the execution. Question: When is a shortcut not a shortcut? When you take it and more often than not it puts you behind the competitors…duh… It’s an idea that sounds pants on paper and in reality is pants to see. Practically all shortcuts I have seen besides looking good, offer very little else. The explosions are nothing to write home about and have none of that ‘Ream-ability’ factor seen in Split/Second.

Secondly is control. Ridge Racer has always been renowned for its pick up and play capability. It is an arcade racer; mistime your brake and you don’t always screw up or end up in a wall. Unbounded follows this legacy; in fact most of the walls are destructible, which to its credit is a nice touch, but rather than keeping with the common traits of the genre i.e. gas, brake, boost, what we have here is an addition in the form of a ‘slide button’ that is supposed to allow you powerslide round corners. You see, if you hit the brake, handbrake, or hit a wall you lose a lot of speed but if you power-slide you lose just a little bit of speed but go into a wide angle slide in which you will hit the wall anyway. Makes sense doesn’t it? I thought so. Adding to this is that your opponents never make mistakes – the AI difficulty is incredible and there are no options to change it – this all means you will be sitting there for a long time playing the same tracks again and again just to qualify one race. Now some of you might be forgiven for thinking ‘I bet you he is just having a moan because he is not good at racing games’ but the reality is I have played and completed most of this game’s competitors and it is their qualities that make this game pale in comparison.

Graphics is average. Split/Second (a game that is almost a year and a half old) and Motorstorm Apocalypse easily outdoes this title in terms of quality and execution and even with Unbounded’s exploding walls or vehicles it brings nothing that hasn’t been seen or done better elsewhere. And what happened to the 3D? Is this yet another title that had dropped the notion of 3D gaming?

Music is poor. A classic element of Ridge Racer was the banging tracks and cheesy voice over. Thankfully the voice over is gone but where are the tracks? A host of Japanese unknowns and a couple of drum and bass tracks are all you get for your money. My gosh, that is such a wasted opportunity; Namco could have done remixes from the whole of the franchise, even SSX had tracks you knew or could dance to. This is just a really appalling effort.

To be fair to Bugbear, they have tried to introduce variety into the game and franchise but I don’t think they really spoke to the fans, or truly had a grasp of what made the original games so much fun. The only thing I could say I liked was the game’s much-hyped track editor. After all who wouldn’t want to build a Ridge Racer track from scratch? I found it flexible and easy to use, putting together a decent course in a very short space of time which was great, obviously, but the underlying problems that affect the racing on the ‘actual’ tracks still applied. Ho-Hum…

My Verdict

Ridge Racer Unbounded is nothing but a shame and a waste of money. I simply cannot recommend a game when I know there are superior, cheaper alternatives out there. Even if you find it out on your travels as a cheapie, avoid like the plague. You have been warned.

2 out of 10

Storm Launch New Range | Preview

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I love watches. It must run in the family as my dad has well over 100. The first ever watch I bought was a Storm watch, it was silver with a big purple face. So it is fair to say I am a fan of the brand. I went along to The Sanderson Hotel to check out their new range.

Storm are always have cutting edge designs. Their watches are well made and beautiful to boot. Storm is the only recognised British watch brand on the market today. Storm is still quite young, it was launched in 1989. Their range has expanded to include not only watches but also jewellery, bags, eye wear, sleepwear and fragrances. All of which is sold in 45 countries internationally. Well, it’s enough to make you feel proud.

I will be honest and say that I did not know that Storm did perfume, but they do, for him and her. The packaging is slick (like everything with Storm) and the smell of the Touch and Electric are both divine.

The Touch gift set is only £19.99 for 100ml fragrance and 150ml of shower gel. It smells the right side of tropical with lemon, green leaf and tropical fruits on the top note with a blend of white jasmine, cedar amber and brown sugar. The make version runs along the same lines but is a but different with patchouli and sandalwood, ginger and lavender. Makes me want to eat it….

Another thing I love about Storm is that I am not allergic to any of their jewellery. I really love men’s watches on women, I am partial to a chunky watch, but love a slimmer, elegant one for evenings. I have chosen some of my favourites from the range. Which was a hard thing to do, as I love them all!

Featured watch: Atlas

Bion. £99.99

Black Out

Dualon

Elody Gold

A multifunctional timepiece with a pearl dial, sparkling crystals and stainless steel case and strap. The Elody is Storm Black’s Newest gem. It has Swiss movement and Storm Black’s signature Onyx set in the crown. This watch is perfect if you want a bit of luxury in your life. Price is £279.99 – £319.99.

Excalibur

Limited Edition with only 5.000 piece available worldwide. Has a wonderful fully exposed watch face showing it’s mechanisms. Also water-resistant up to 50m. Silver: £369.99

Kelli

This is very in at the moment. It embraces this seasons colouring blocking trends. Has cut away strap. £99.99

Trilogy

This is another limited edition piece. Only 3,000 made. It has 3 time zone, raised face, leather strap, stainless steel case and is water resistance up to 50m. Perfect for travellers. From £169.99

It is the Olympic year and Storm is a British brand, so it makes sense for the Nexon to have the colours of the British flag featured in the polycarbonate links in racing stripe form. RRP £109.99

The Una also has patriotic style. These stylish watches can be bought in red, white and blue. £69.99 – £84.99.

Storm also does some great bags for men and women.

And some great jewellery.

VEHICLE VENGEANCE: CHEATED WOMEN PLOT REVENGE ON PARTNERS’ CARS

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~ More than half vow retaliation on unfaithful lovers, Autoglass® survey reveals ~

One in 10 women say they would smash up the car of their cheating partner in revenge for an affair, a new survey reveals.

More than a quarter (27%) would consider damaging the paintwork if the car was his most prized possession with 13% vowing to slash the tyres and 9% targeting the windscreen. A further 26% would sell the vehicle on eBay for 50p, according to the Autoglass® poll.

Six out of 10 (59%) say the aim of revenge would be to humiliate their unfaithful boyfriend or husband although 18% would gain satisfaction just from seeing them lose their most treasured belonging.

The approach to Tiger Woods’-style “Vehicle Vengeance” is different depending on the age of the women. Those aged 22-25 would smash the windscreen to get even, 19-21year-olds would damage the paintwork first, while 31-35 year olds are the most likely to sell the car.

Overall, a quarter (24%) would attack the lovecheat himself to settle scores with a further 24% opting for the silent treatment. However, 6% say they would broadcast the infidelity on Facebook or Twitter.

More than half (59%) in the poll of 3,000 men and women said they would launch some form of retaliation if their other half embarked on an affair. Wales was top of the vengeful chart, with as many as seven out of ten (67%) vowing revenge – and almost a third of these would go for the car first – the highest number in the UK.

1. Wales

2. West Midlands

3. East Midlands

4. Yorkshire

5. Scotland

6. N Ireland

7. London

8. North West

9.North East

10. South West

The most placid people and the least likely to take action are those living in East Anglia while the Scottish are the most prepared to physically attack their partner to settle scores.

The Welsh take the top slot when is comes to targeting cash, with 18% of those questioned admitting they would take their partner’s money compared to a UK average of 11 per cent. Other popular ways of hitting back by both sexes include destroying clothes, revealing intimate secrets to parents, putting laxatives in food and going on credit card funded shopping sprees.

Matthew Mycock, managing director of Autoglass®, said: “Clearly, many Britons are prepared to take revenge if their other half is unfaithful – and cars are one of the things which are likely to bear the brunt of their anger.

“Vehicle Vengeance is a very real threat with women saying they are determined to target what is most precious to their partner to get their own back if he cheats. Men who are tempted to stray should think twice – especially if they love their cars!”

World’s first ever ‘wireless leash’ to help prevent loss of mobile phones

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Mother of three helps keep ‘dog and bone’ safe by inventing an award-winning ‘wireless leash’

An award-winning ‘wireless leash’ for mobile phones called ZOMM (www.ZOMM.co.uk) invented by a mother of three, is now available to buy in the UK. Laurie Penix and her husband Henry unveiled the gadget at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, earlier this year. They beat some of the world’s largest technology companies to scoop the award for ‘Best Innovation’ at the show.

Using Bluetooth® technology, ZOMM prevents users from losing or misplacing their mobile phone by vibrating, flashing and sounding an alarm every time users walk away from their phone and reach a set distance. ZOMM is slightly larger than a £2 coin and is designed to be attached to key-rings. In addition to this, ZOMM also features call notification, works as a fully functional speakerphone and a personal safety device. ZOMM is the ultimate, multi-functional accessory for any Bluetooth-enabled phone.

Henry Penix, CEO and co-founder of ZOMM comments, “Everyone can relate to either losing or forgetting their mobile phone, so we created ZOMM to help prevent people from experiencing the exasperating and expensive process of getting a replacement. And it’s not just the phone – it’s the pictures, contacts and other personal information that’s so important.”

With call notification, ZOMM will flash, vibrate and sound an alert for incoming calls when the phone is out of sight – in a purse or bag. The speakerphone features a built-in, noise-cancelling microphone that allows users to answer calls with their ZOMM with just one press of a button. To send calls to voicemail, users simply press the multifunction button on the ZOMM twice.

As a personal safety device and only one press of a button, ZOMM enables users to sound a panic alarm deterring ‘would be’ attackers and notifying others nearby that they are in distress. By continuing to hold the multifunction button through the alarm, ZOMM will call local emergency assistance from anywhere in the world.

“ZOMM not only protects a mobile phone and the personal information kept on that device, but it can also help keep you and your family safe,” said Laurie Penix, ZOMM‘s co-founder. “With kids in school, it gives me peace of mind to know they have a panic alarm that will deter a would-be attacker, and the ability to call for emergency assistance in any situation.”

Key features:
– ‘wireless leash’ helps prevent mobile phone loss
– fully functional speakerphone with a noise-cancelling microphone
– personal safety device
– customisable distance for the ‘wireless leash’ so users can chose to be alerted from 9m to 20m away from their mobile phones
– ability to mute the ringer and other sounds on the mobile phone using the ZOMM
– ability to adjust the ZOMM volume from the user’s phone
– customable emergency number for ZOMM to dial
– re-chargeable lithium-ion battery lasts up to three days with normal usage before needing to be recharged with the included micro USB wall charger
– comes with a micro USB cord that connects to any computer for charging the battery, activation and firmware updates, and an optional belt clip for additional functionality

Henry Penix, CEO of ZOMM comments, “Purchasing individual products to match each of the key features the ZOMM provides would cost more than £125 plus monthly fees; ZOMM wraps everything into one sleek device for £69.95 with no monthly fees. This makes ZOMM the must-have gift this Christmas for anyone who owns a mobile phone.”

ZOMM is available in both black and white colour options