From episode 1 to 8, I hosted the Console Monster Podcast but due to lack of time and staff participation we all took a breather. Rob Rymond took over the hosting helm for a while and now we have decided to share the hosting responsibilities between us, so on this latest episode I act as host along with Marty Greenwell as guest to discuss the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 console and Sony PlayStation3 news and reviews on the renamed Monster Cast.

Topics include…

• Pretty shoddy E3 Microsoft presentation
• Natal now known as Kinect
• Kinect official price still not totally confirmed
• Kinect launch titles
• Kinect concerns
• New slimmer Xbox 360 S
• No rings red of deathhhhhhh
• Very few games…
• Sony presentation
• 3D gaming with glasses
• PlayStation Plus
• PlayStation Move
• PlayStation Move pricing
• No PSP2 announcement
• James and Marty agree on almost everything!
• Nintendo 3DS
• Xbox Live Family Pack
• New Downloadable Content

Nearly a year ago, I played the Simon the Sorcerer theme on the Yamaha Tyros3 keyboard. Recently I taught myself another piece of gaming music nostalgia, this time from the classic puzzle game Lemmings. Using a bank of registration memory settings that I created, a Premium Style accompaniment, multipads, a range of voices and even a couple of Lemmings sound clips that I trigger with a foot pedal. I really hope you enjoy my latest performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are a few details for Yamaha keyboard enthusiasts…

• Style: MallorcaDiscoBeat (A Preium Style available from www.yamahamusicsoft.com, with a slight voice change adding a pad sound)
• Voices: Right3 – PWMLead (Lead voice), Right2 – ButterStrings, Right 1 – BrightPadBell, Left – BigOctavePad, Left (Last chorus) – HahPad (from the Choir and Vocals Premium Voice Expansion Pack
• Multipad: TechSeq1
• Tempo: 122
• Left Foot Pedal: HDR playback trigger, playing a couple of *.wav sound clips from the Windows version of Lemmings (Also triggers Harmony/Echo on registration 4)
• Right Foot Pedal: Style Fill Self trigger

All of this performance is live with no audio altered or added after recording.

In my latest podcast, I chat with Jon Fox who is the co-founder, mastermind and code monkey of IntenseDebate.

With IntenseDebate, you can let your readers post comments using services like Facebook, Twitter, and OpenID. They can also sign up for an IntenseDebate profile or simply comment without one as a Guest. E-mail notifications alert you and your readers of new comments, encouraging return visits and additional commenting. You can reply to and moderate comments via email, while threading makes it easy to follow the conversation and many more features that are described in this podcast.

Podcast topics include:

• What is IntenseDebate?
• How did it all begin?
• Features of IntenseDebate
• Customisation
• Any slowdown when adding so many features to your own site?
• Rating comments
• Facebook and Twitter integration
• Reputation system
• The dreaded SPAM
• Additional plugins for IntenseDebate
• Automattic Inc. purchasing IntenseDebate and the effect of this transaction
• IntenseDebate future on WordPress.com blogs
• What can IntenseDebate offer over any rivals with a similar feature list?
• Looking to the future…
• IntenseDebate on Mobile devices
• HTML5 and VP8

Every four years, our hearts are constantly broken as each time we dare to sit down to watch the latest and possibly greatest sporting event to appear on our televisions. We raise our expectations oh so high and far from learning our lesson from previous tournaments, we repeat our silly footballing traditions by standing up every time when we think our team have scored, shouting at the manager's poor choice of substitution and wondering how on earth the goal keeper saved that magnificent shot, denying your team victory.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are creatures of habit after all and it would appear EA Sports are no different as they release yet another football title covering a major event. FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa may be considered a short diversion in between the typical yearly FIFA releases, but it isn't quite as simple a decision as you may think.

FIFA 10 owners will notice very little change in terms of gameplay. Passing, throwing, crossing, tackling and shooting remain pretty much untouched except for a few minor tweaks here and there. You will notice a few more animations and a slight adjustment elsewhere, but actually FIFA 10 had it pretty much nailed anyway and these tournament releases often stay very close to their yearly counter-parts.

The clincher though for considering FIFA World Cup 2010 is not so much the gameplay, actually it is the overall presentation. You can't beat stadiums full of fans dressed up in silly hats sporting their team colours among a deluge of excitement and confetti. If you were ever looking for a tug into the wonders of the World Cup, well this title has it all and it is absolutely plastered with atmosphere, oozing from the size of the stadiums, the roar of the crowds and the hype surrounding the event. It is impossible not to be caught up in it all.

Usually I find myself only glancing over the single player modes in World Cup based games as they more often than not feature very few enticements, which is why a lot of people will prefer a rental. At least here though you will be pretty satisfied with the selection on offer. By pressing the ‘Start' button you can jump straight into a game with little fuss, however you will want the full experience by selecting the '2010 FIFA World Cup' option. 199 national teams are available obviously from all over the world, but only if you decide to head right back in the calendar playing all the far earlier qualification matches. If your team did make it into the finals though, you can jump straight past this section and hopefully into the knock-out stages.

‘Captain your Country' will give you the opportunity to take control of an individual player on the pitch and prove your worth to the onlooking manager. Will you create your own player customising the look, weight, height and attire or select a well known footballer instead? If you have already created a ‘Game Face' on the EA Sports website, you can even download this to the game so you can see your wonderful facial features applied to your character.

During a match your successful plays will give you an increased overall rating which are shown permanently on the screen. If you complete a pass, stay in position or score a goal, you will notice your section turn green and your rating rise from the ashes. You can just as easily lose these vital improvements though if you start to be a little sloppy, letting the opposition nab the ball right from under your nose. If you manage to continually impress the decision makers, you will eventually captain your country, but you have a lot to prove before you get to this stage.

It can be a little lonely wandering around the pitch, chasing the action while trying to remain in position, but you can encourage your team mates to pass to you if you hit the appropriate button when you don't have the ball. The computer will then at least attempt to bring you into the manoeuvre, but do make sure you are in space first unless you want the pass easily intercepted by your opponents.

‘Story of Qualifying' is a set of scenarios emulating World Cup matches, where you may find yourself jumping in at a certain point in the game a few goals down with various national teams. There will be a clear set of objectives to complete ranging from simply winning the game to scoring more than a few goals. What really makes this area exciting though is the currently locked section that will only open during the real-life World Cup tournament. Why relive past events when you can enjoy changing the fate of a real match that happened only days ago.

OK so the single player selections although interesting aren't as in depth as FIFA 10, however online there is a couple of modes that may just swing it for you…

The appropriately named ‘Online FIFAWorldCup' has you progressing through the finals again, but rather than playing the computer, you actually confront real people participating in the online gaming masses. If you can reach and then win the World Cup by competing against the often more masterful opponents here, you are doing very well indeed. Secondly you can compete in ranked head to head matches, where you start in a very low division, slowly progressing to the higher levels tracking your results every step of the way.

Both these modes offer a lot more incentive to play online and congratulations to the developers for embracing it the way they have. It doesn't stop there though as your matches online will also earn points for your country. On the main menu you will notice the top three country ranks and you yourself can make a difference by winning games and elevating your entire nation up the leaderboard. You can't get much more patriotic than that or worse feel the huge burden of a defeat knowing it affects so much.

The main change in the gameplay is the way you tackle the penalties and we all know how stressful those can be. A gauge appears on the screen and by pressing and holding the shoot button when the moving marker rests in the center, you give your player the best chance of shooting where you are aiming. It is not over yet though, as you also need to release in a precise manner to apply the amount of power. By adding a little direction with the left analogue stick, you have your new penalty shootout controls mastered, with a fair bit of practise. You can even add a little intentional hesitation in a bid to unnerve the goal keeper, but this also takes a bit of work. When the roles are reversed and it is your turn to be the goal keeper, you use both the left and right analogue sticks to move and dive. You can wait for the ball to be hit before making a decision, but as ever a lot of it is left to your instincts.

As far as presentation goes, FIFA World Cup 2010 is the business, with amazing representations of the newly built stadiums, instantly recognisable players that represent their real-life counterparts with ease and even the managers are there in all their stressed and cross-armed antics. The crowd chants are sublime and even the commentary seems to have stepped up a gear to match the magnificent graphics. The celebrations are certainly wild and I would love to see any football player attempt the moonwalk.

It isn't a totally perfect story of course. Online matches show far too many cut-scenes, connecting to an online game can be a little bothersome with connection issues and the computer's decision making skills of whom it thinks you are passing to are just bizarre.

Conclusion

It may be only a slight improvement over FIFA 10, however it is hard to ignore the magic that an event like the World Cup can bring to the title. You will feel all giddy with patriotism when you take your countries national team into historic battle, waving your flag and possibly shouting abuse at your virtual players. None of that matters though as FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa strives to push your dedication to its maximum and succeeds where other games have fallen short of the crowning achievement. If you, like many football fans around the world love to be encapsulated with World Cup fever, then look no further as this title shines in every department.

FIFA 11 may be only months away from appearing on store shelves, but can you really put off the chance to show the world your football skills and play for your country? Tough decision isn't it!

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

If you would like to read more 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa reviews, make sure to check out TestFreaks.

In this video interview, I speak to Jeremy Hague from Netralia as we discuss and explore the new enhance tab features that gives you options to add text, pictures and audio to your final generated video in the Vodburner Editing Console. Vodburner records live Skype webcam conversations combined with an editor allowing you to edit your captured video to then customise the different views, delete segments and add additional features.

I also interviewed Jeremy in my very first Vodcast as we delved into the benefits of the Vodburner software in general.

Enjoy the YouTube video below, download the *.mp4 version for your portable video player or simply subscribe using the RSS MP3 feed or via iTunes…

All the recording and editing seen in this video is achieved with Vodburner, with no additional software required.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From episode 1 to 8, I hosted the Console Monster Podcast but due to lack of time and staff participation we all took a breather. Rob Rymond took over the hosting helm for a while and now we have decided to share the hosting responsibilities between us, so on this latest episode I act as host along with Rob Rymond and Marty Greenwell as guests to discuss the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 console and Sony PlayStation3 news and reviews on the renamed Monster Cast.

Topics include…

• Red Dead Redemption trailer and the bizarre 400 points gift?
• Achievements Versus Trophies
• The godly platinum trophies
• Dings, bings or bongs?
• PS3 Firmware update 3.30 and 3.21
• Halo Reach Editions revealed
• Collectors editions
• The Halo evolution
• Halo 2 multiplayer… Ahhh the memories
• Friends change the gameplay experience?
• Split Second demo impressions
• Bad demo, great retail game…
• Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing
• FIFA overload?
• Scoring a purchase
• Our gaming recommendations

I interview Alex Ford, the Publishing Director from JustTrains.net regarding their rail simulator products plus add ons and also a little regarding their flight simulation offerings as well.

In this podcast we discuss the various rail simulations including Microsoft Train Simulator, Trainz, Rail Simulator and RailWorks.

Just Trains is the sister label to Just Flight, which began life in 1995 as a company named The Associates. The mission (that they had chosen to accept) was to supply the newly-emerging flight simulation enthusiast market with the latest and best software. Within three years the Just Flight name was firmly established as a brand and the company grew into the world’s largest publisher of flight simulation software outside Microsoft.

Also announced during our podcast interview is a piece of free content for Rail Simulator and RailWorks from JustTrains.net.

They will be making available a totally free ZZA snow plough to subscribers of their newsletter. This is a little wagon that has been in use for many years over the UK rail Network clearing lines of snow. When used in RailWorks, the ZZA takes advantage of the ‘Just Trains ActivScript' to supply snow clearing sounds and visual effects. If you want to grab hold of this great free little add-on in roughly a couple of weeks, make sure that you subscribe to their newsletter – just follow the subscribe link on the front of their website.

Paul Jackson, CEO of RailSimulator.com joins me on the telephone to discuss the RailWorks Train Simulator, which is available predominantly on Steam.

In this audio interview, Paul tells us about his history with trains, the process of creating such a complex simulator and what exciting items of content and features are around the corner for those who like me love to try our hand at controlling steam, diesel and electric trains of all kinds from all over the world from the comfort of our own home.

In my first ever video podcast interview (or Vodcast for short), I chat with Jeremy Hague from Netralia, who pops on to Skype to tell us all about their latest software Vodburner. Vodburner allows you to capture video and audio from a Skype video interaction and then gives you the option of editing the conversation. This interview actually uses the Vodburner software.

You may have heard of earlier software released by the company designed for use with Skype, which include Skylook and Callburner.

Enjoy the YouTube video below, download the *.mp4 version for your portable video player or simply subscribe using the RSS MP3 feed or via iTunes…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Not so long ago Satellite Navigation systems (or Sat Nav's for short) were considered a luxury item which only the hardcore technology enthusiasts who yearned for the latest gadgets would dare purchase. Now though, the market for these devices is far more accessible for those who desire a decent aid to our driving needs, with an exhausting amount of brands and an even larger array of models to choose from. The days of stupidly large road atlas maps have thankfully been assigned to the history books and even for those who loath gadgetry, user friendly interfaces are often part of the appeal.

It is very easy to spend hundreds of pounds buying the hardware and the software in one complete package for a fully featured Sat Nav, yet if you own an Apple iPhone 3G or later, you already own a powerful piece of portable hardware, so why not save some of those precious pennies and invest in just the software side alone.

The Apple Store currently boasts over 100,000 free and purchasable applications that you can download and enjoy. Sat Nav solutions are certainly not left behind as already there are a few options including one from the well known TomTom brand and also the maybe quieter release of CoPilot Live 8.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Your Apple iPhone 3G/3GS has a very impressive hardware feature list that shouldn't be ignored when considering whether you want to go down this route. Sporting an extremely clear and bright touch screen, while also incorporating a powerful processor to quickly calculate and present the information for your drive. In fact the iPhone can more often than not trounce the top end competition in the stand alone Sat Nav field with it's specifications, so already we are off to a cracking start for our considerations.

Sat Nav in your Pocket

One of the main disadvantages with stand alone Satellite Navigation units is that it is yet another piece of technology you have to carry. We are often warned in television advertisements and with signs in car parks to not leave your valuable items in the car. How many of us in the past have flaunted our ignorance I wonder and stashed our Sat Nav in the glove box to save carrying it around on a hot summer's day, particularly when you are a fella that doesn't carry the treasure chest that is a woman's handbag? Quite a few I would imagine!

One item you will always carry with you though is your trusty phone.  For fear of not being in contact with family, friends or work at the crucial moment, our phone sits in our pocket given pride of place among our other necessities such as our keys and wallet.  It therefore seems perfect sense if we purchase the software for our iPhone to add Sat Nav functionality.

There may also be occasions where you thought a Sat Nav wasn't needed for your well travelled journey or you are relying on somebody else's directions, only to find you are diverted off the course you remember or your friend has a panic and forgets.  With a Sat Nav in your pocket, you can whip out the solution to your directional nightmares and find your way back to civilisation.

A Small Budget

Currently available for a meagre £26.99 on the Apple iTunes Store, no doubt your first thoughts at this price point are of a cheap and nasty solution, however actually you couldn't be farther from the truth. CoPilot Live is a wonderful piece of software boasting features you would find hard to match at anything like under £30.

Getting from A to B

CoPilot Live works very similarly to any other Satellite Navigation software out there and although the interface may be a little different, the process of selecting destinations, storing favourites, selecting your home and work locations all exist and many more features aside.

If you haven't purchased one already, a dock for your iPhone to sit in while driving is a must and even orientation doesn't matter as CoPilot Live will rotate and adjust the screen for whatever your preference is or simply for convenience. In both views the instructions are very clear to read although I am sure most will be tempted to choose the more Sat Nav traditional feeling landscape mode. Either way, the iPhone screen excels in its clarity and brightness. Another recommendation is of course to have an iPhone car charger, which you can have plugged in permanently if you so wish to avoid battery drain.

What we look for in every Sat Nav device of course is to direct us to our destination in the most intelligent way possible, without it sending you off the edge of a cliff. For the most part, CoPilot is very accurate and will not only know where you are at any given time, but will also lead you where you wish to go with the minimum of fuss.

It is extremely important with any Sat Nav device to have a sense of confidence in the route it offers you.  The temptation to ignore commands when you think you know better can be a result of a lack of faith in the electronic gizmo, but for the most part, CoPilot Live gives you precise and accurate routing.  It is only on fairly rare occasions you may have an issue, when in one instance I had a slight problem. The map wasn't showing a left turn and instead thought it was one continuous road.  Every Sat Nav has limitations in this area and others, but overall I am very happy that for under £30 I managed to get to my destination without any stress along the way.

Lane guidance adds to your relief, indicating clearly with an on-screen image which lane you should be on when Motorways often diverge into two different routes and when you are about to turn off completely from the hustle and bustle of three lane travelling.

If you have an address of for example a friend's home, you can either enter in the post code or the city and then select the road and house number. Even better you can select from your iPhones contacts if you have already added addresses to their profiles.

Like other Sat Navs, Points of Interest (P.O.I. for short) databases built into the software can be used to locate petrol stations, restaurants, hotels, major airports, attractions, parking and much more. The locations of those pesky speed cameras (or referred to as safety cameras on all sat navs) are also known to the software, giving you a little audible alert and a display on screen indicating the speed at which you should be cruising under.

You can even select whether you are in a car, walking or on a bike. If the light is dipping and becoming dark outside, your CoPiliot will switch to a less intensely bright night view, to make it easier on your precious driving eyes. Different views such as 3D (the default), 2D and even 2D next turn are selectable to allow customisation that configures the application to function exactly as you wish. You may also desire a change in the statistics it displays during your journey and of course CoPilot doesn't let you down here either.

Dipping into the settings, you can configure the voice alerts to come in at 500yds, 1mile and even 2miles to give you plenty of preperation time. The downside is when you receive a call, which unfortunately disables your directions until the call is over or you decline instead of answering. On the plus side though, you can still control your music in the ‘iPod' section, which gives you access to your chart favourites while running the software. Currently the music doesn't pause when a vocal instruction is given, but apparently an update for this is on the way.

Expandability

Knowing where to go may not be enough to satisfy your lust for information, so CoPilot offers Live Services, which essentially translates as additional features you can access. The area that will offer the most temptation is the Live Traffic option. This will inform you of any delays on your route covering many of the major roads.

CoPilot has an extensive range of real human recorded voices you can select to read aloud the route instructions. As recorded voices, they will state the most basic information such as turning left and right and other such details you rely on. If you would like to go the whole hog though, you can also purchase a text-to-speech voice for a few pounds, that will not only increase the information given to you via the speaker, but also read aloud the road names which can always prove useful. With any computer generated voice of this nature though, the information can be read out in a most bizarre manner, stating locations with the incorrect pronunciations, or just the intonation is off adding to the confusion. All in all though, if you do want to avoid staring at the screen as much as humanly possible, this is the way to go.

Versus the Stand Alone

We may still be a little way off competing with the brute force of stand alone Sat Nav devices, however so many of the features are here right now on your iPhone for a very sensible and wonderful price of under £30. One day all phones will have some form of turn by turn navigation software pre-installed, but until that day arrives, you can't ignore the amazing CoPilot Live for the iPhone. I will still use my stand alone device for the majority of journeys as I spent hundreds of pounds on getting the one with all the bells and whistles, but when you compare the two products and the price difference, you like me will be more than happy with the CoPilot software on offer.

Conclusion

I may have one of TomTom's top specification stand alone units, however CoPilot Live for the Apple iPhone should be considered a wonderful achievement for both the iPhone itself and the creators of the application. Not only does it get you to your destination, but does so with an impressive feature set, clear instructions and for an extremely reasonable price.

Whether you are looking for your first Sat Nav system or simply an additional back up, CoPilot Live for iPhone is worthy of not just your consideration, but your hard earned cash as well.

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

iTunes Store Link: CoPilot Live UK and Ireland