iPhone: If you’re a fan of console soccer games and have been waiting for a decent one to come to iPhone then get straight to the App Store because X2 Football 2009 is here. This excellent football game looks and plays a lot like Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA. It contains loads of international teams, all with real players, and a control system that is as intuitive as a console.

Windows:  Being safe online requires a few different applications: anti-virus, firewall, email filter and more. But you can also have them all together in a single app with Norton 360. This comprehensive security suite protects youfrom any possible online threats, while keeping your system fully optimized and your data safe thanks to automatic backup copies.

Mac: Fed up of trying to bring all your video content together? Miro (formerly known as Democracy Player and now updated to version 2.0.5) is one of the best internet TV apps out there aggregating content from Hulu to YouTube. Miro means you don’t have to visit separate sites to keep-up with your favorite content.

How are your reactions this friday? They’ll need to be razor sharp if you want to score highly on Zodiac Reactor. It’s a simple timing-reaction puzzle game, where you have to hit one of four keys at the right moment as a corresponding element approaches the Zodiac Reactor. It’s a simple idea, but if you panic for a split second and lose concentration, you are done for.  It takes a minute to grasp, but the introductory tutorial is great. Check it out!

President Obama seems to have a pretty low opinion of video games, and has mentioned them three times recently. He said it was important  that children, ’step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.’ Maybe that’s a fair point, but the US government has never shown any adult understanding of video games, just kneejerk tabloid reactions.

Do games offer anything more than teaching kids violent or unsocial behaviour? I don’t believe they do either, so I asked around to see what other people thought they had learned from games…

Here’s some of what we came up with:

1: A repeated claim is that they have taught people patience! Not everyone plays patiently, but if, for example you ever played something like Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins, you’ll know that you really need it if you want to complete some games.

2: Reaction times and hand-eye coordination are obviously necessary for lots of games.

3: Problem analysis & creative thinking. Puzzle, adventure and strategy games often require a lot of thought. Have a go at Portal, and you’ll see how games can really challenge you to think differently.

4: One person cited Finances & resource management, as something they’d learnt from games. I can see how that’s possible, but have to admit they have never had that effect on me…

5: Computer literacy. Essential in today’s world, and I’m sure many people of my generation at least got started with computer skills through games. From messing around with Basic on the Commodore 64, to optimizing PCs in the early 90s, games were and are a motivation for learning about your computer in ways that Microsoft Excel never will be.

6: Driving. People had mixed things to say about driving, that they learnt about driving theory from games and also that games taught them they should never drive! I like driving games, because I could never drive like I do virtually on real roads.

Of course, another matter is whether this should be an issue at all. Paintings, movies and music aren’t required to be useful beyond being art. Video games are perhaps getting closer to being considered works of art, but until that happens the media is likely to continue their focus on worries about their negative effects, while ignoring any positive effects they might have.

Do games teach people anything else useful?

You could waste quite a lot of friday with Barbarian Onslaught, a 19 level 2D hack and slash game. As a nameless barbarian, you must roam the lands searching for the secret of steel. You won’t be bored along the way, as there are hordes of mosters and undead-type folk hell bent on removing your head. Make sure to remove theirs first… It’s all really cartoony, and the variety of attacks and finishing moves makes this an enjoyably gruesome experience!

Symbian: Whatever you think of the limited overs format, I defy you not to enjoy Cricket 20-20, one of the slickest mobile simulations of the sport I’ve ever seen. Cricket 20-20 allows you to play one-off limited overs matches and 20-20 tournaments. You can choose to play as any of the so-called ‘test playing’ international teams, and have total control over batting, bowling, and fielding.

Mac: The DivX Corporation was the pioneer of DivX and has always produced sleek and effective video players. DivX Web Player lets you watch DivX videos directly in your web browser without resorting to the standalone player. DivX Web Player allows you to play videos in full screen with navigation controls, or in a separate window so you can continue browsing other sites without losing the video.

Windows: If laziness is the only reason why don’t back up, here’s a way to avoid it: install PureSync and you’ll be able to create backup copies of your important data and sync content between different folders in a snap. You can manage multiple syncing tasks and schedule them to work automatically, according to a specific period of time.

BlackBerry: Not all of us have the memory of an elephant, and if you’re the kind of person who always forgets what you should be doing or where you’re supposed to be going then it’s high time you did something about it. Evernote is an application and web service that lets you capture, store and synchronize all manner of information on your BlackBerry, PC and online, all at the same time.

Mac: If you’re a fan of stunt car games then Crash3D widget provides a good fix of dare-devil fun directly on your Dashboard. Crash3D sees you take control of a stunt car as you race around a desert landscape hitting as many ramps and loop-the-loops as possible in an attempt to get your name on the high score table. You can play just for fun, or compete with players across the net and it’s 100% free.

Windows: As we reported yesterday, Opera’s latest build features Unite, a new technology that lets you turn your browser into a content server, sharing whichever files you like with other clients. Designed so that even novice users can enjoy it, Opera beta build 10.0.1589 has been the buzz of the week on software blogs. Give it a spin today!

Crane wars is an almost ready for release game from Flashbang studios, the quirky team behind Paper Moon, Off Road Velociraptor and Minotaur China Shop. You can play a beta 3 version of this browser game here. You control a crane at a construction site, and have to build tower blocks, while watching out for attacks from a neighbouring crane company. You can throw objects at the competition’s buildings, and they can do the same! The game is timed - your budget is constantly being drained, and when it runs out the game is over.

The controls are simple, but building your skyscrapers can be a bit fiddly, especially when someone’s throwing trucks at your creation! Like all of the games on Blurst, Crane Wars is compelling mainly because it’s a cool and ridiculous idea. It was originally scheduled for release today on the Blurst site, so if you don’t fancy playing the beta and want to wait, it shouldn’t be long… As with all Blurst games, you’ll need the Unity browser plug-in.

Pocket PC: Generally speaking, tennis sims for mobile devices are pretty lame. Fiddly controls and jerky animation are often the main culprits in the failings of these titles. Not so in VT Pocket Tennis though, which proves to be one the most enjoyable games of its kind on the Pocket PC. It has a wonderfully realistic feel to it, with well-rendered 3D players, authentic shadow effects and motion blur.

Mac: If you’ve gone crazy for the iPhone then why not bring the iPhone look to your Mac? Spiffy Icon Pack provides over 50 iPhone style icons that give your Mac a unique flavor. All of the icons are beautifully illustrated featuring most major Mac program icons including Adobe Dreamweaver, Excel, iChat, iDVD, iTunes and Skype to name just a few.

Windows: After a short invite-only beta stage, Trillian has now launched as an open beta, which means you can freely download this powerful, sleek multi-platform IM client and give it a try. The new Trillian Astra Beta 4.0.0.109 features support for a dozen IM protocols and has an extensive settings menu to fully customize it.

Little Wheel is a beautifully presented and animated point and click adventure. It’s relatively short, but really enjoyable. Little Wheel takes place in a robot world, which has lain dormant for 10,000 years dues to an accident that left the robots without power. Waking after a lightening strike, your little robot has to journey through the dormant city and bring it back to life. With its quirky, silent robot protagonist and simple though engaging gameplay, Little Wheel is the most charming browser game I’ve played.

Windows: are you tired of always listening to the same MP3 libraries and local radio stations? Then give Internet radio a try! RadioSure is a lightweight yet powerful online radio player that lets you listen to thousands of free online radio stations worldwide. Plus it lets you add your own radio stations and record streaming music to your hard drive in MP3 format.

BlackBerry: If you ever wished you were around when the industrial revolution kicked off, then Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon will give you the chance to revisit history. This BlackBerry version of the popular PC-based Railroad Tycoon game allows you to build your very own transportation empire. Your aim is to master supply and demand and use your tactical know-how to expand your rail network.

Mac: There aren’t half as many video conversion tools available for Mac as there are for Windows, so when one comes along which is quick, easy to use and most importantly, completely free, you take note. Evom ticks all of the above boxes and will even upload your conversions directly to YouTube. Everything is clearly presented, it handles all major formats and using Evom is a breeze.

Windows: Looking for a nice, clean RSS reader to check your favorite news every morning? ShareFire may be the program you need. This sleek AIR-based app lets you access your RSS feeds in a comfortable interface, organize them by folders, see the selected item on its original website and easily share the most interesting posts in Facebook, Delicious, MySpace, Digg, Twitter and more.

Symbian: Living in a castle is great but it does have its downsides. One of the main ones being that you’re prone to attacks by invaders who want to get into your castle, as you’ll witness in Defender. An interesting mobile strategy game, Defender charges you with the task of defending your citadel from waves of attacks by nasty monsters.

Mac: Sick of Internet Explorer and tired of Firefox? Safari is Apple’s iconic browser, and as you’d expect, it’s a delight to use and easy on the eye. Version 4 (now out of beta) sees some exciting introductions such as Top Pages to instantly see your most visited pages, tabs on top for easier management and Cover Flow to flip through your bookmarked sites iTunes style.

One of the highlights of the summer for me will be getting my grubby mitts on the new DJ Hero and Scratch The Ultimate DJ turntables for PlayStation. If you too can’t contain your excitement then why not pass the time to the release dates by playing free online virtual DJ games. Granted, you won’t find anything as complex as the new console titles, and you won’t get to mess around with virtual decks, but there are some genuinely fun games out there where you can perfect the art of mixing, scratching, and sampling before DJ Hero and Ultimate DJ come out. Here are some of my favorites:

DJ Mixer - Take to the studio in this fun game featuring two mixmaster aliens who rap in Romanian. There are 12 loops to choose from and you can scratch tracks by clicking a button on the decks. Weird spacey effects will play if you hit the red buttons at the top of the screen.

Coolio DJ Rock Out - I’m not sure if crazy-haired gangster rapper Coolio actually had anything to do with this game, but if he was involved then hats off to him. Coolio DJ Rock Out is an addictive game in which you must spin the decks to match the patterns that appear in the circles. It’s harder than it looks, especially when your brain’s caught in the grip of hardcore techno. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: After a few months in alpha stage, Opera 10 has finally reached the beta milestone in its development. The new Opera 10 Beta web browser has a 40% faster engine and flawless support for Web standards, as well as a customizable speed dial, inline spell-check, automated crash reporting, and the so called Opera Turbo for fast browsing on slow connections.

Mac: If you don’t trust Keychain on the Mac, then take a look at the newly updated 1Password. This tiny but powerful application allows you to store and manage multiple identities and passwords for use in all sorts of programs, websites or browsers. 1Password works with most major browsers and includes an extension to quickly access your credentials while you’re surfing the net.

iPhone: Personally, whenever I go to a theme park I’m usually the one who volunteers to stay at the bottom and look after the bags. I did manage to pluck up the courage to install Rollercoaster Rush on my iPhone though. The aim of the game is to get your carriage from the start of the track to the finish without derailing it. Your only means of doing this is by tapping the right side of the iPhone to accelerate and the left side to brake.

At the E3 conference, all three console manufacturers announced new motion sensing controllers - from Nintendo’s Wii-motion and Sony’s wand, to Microsoft’s controller-less Project Natal. Along with recent improvements in touchscreen technology, it’s reasonable to conclude control will change quite a lot over the coming months and years.

Here’s Microsoft’s promotional video for Natal

That looks pretty energetic to me!  Like the Wii, I imagine this will be loads of fun, but won’t replace existing controls either - after all, wireless joypads allow you to play in a relaxed way, and sometimes that’s fine. As I wrote a while ago, I think if we treat new methods of control as replacements, we’re in danger of losing good things that aren’t broken.

I would be happy to have a touchscreen monitor, or one that I could manipulate with gestures. But as long as we still use writing, having a physical keyboard will be essential. Watching the PlayStation’s motion controller in action, it looks good, but a little inaccurate - it still looks a lot harder to pick stuff up on screen than it does in real life.

With some development though, it might be a nice way to interact with your Windows desktop. Using your hands to grab things on the screen and move them around would be cool. Personally, I think control from a distance is much more sensible for large devices. A touchscreen for my phone or laptop, but here in the office I wouldn’t want to be stretching to touch my screens all the time.

So far I’ve heard a lot about PC touchscreens but for me - and maybe I’m  lazy - I like the idea of sitting back from a screen, so motion sensing controllers sound much more exciting. How long it takes for anything like this to be adapted for PCs or Windows is anyone’s guess though.

This one’s for people with super human reactions! Bullet Time is a super fast shooter from Terry Cavanagh, developer of many wierd and wonderful indie game experiences.  Here, your challenge is to survive as long as you can. You save up “bullet time”, so when you hold the space bar, the game slows, giving you temporary breathing space. You fire automatically, leaving you free to concentrate on movement. So far, I’ve only managed to survive 20.33 seconds. Can you do any better?