Play your Android games in style; Check out this homemade PS3 controller Samsung Galaxy Nexus dock

Lets face it, gaming on an Android device (no matter how big the screen is) can be quite challenging, especially if you’re playing first-person-shooters or even games from an emulator. Wouldn’t it be a dream to use a console’s controller to play these games with, perhaps a PlayStation 3 controller? A Reddit user by the name of TheRealBigLou has done just that by creating his own homemade PS3 controller dock for his Samsung Galaxy Nexus where he’s able to play his Android games with the wonderful controls of a PS3 controller. You may think this feat took some complicated contraptions to make, but it actually only took a couple of Boston clips, some rubber bands, an NFC sticker and a creative mind to achieve this amazing creation.

TheRealBigLou was also kind enough to give a description of how he made this:

So I had a Galaxy Nexus and a Dualshock 3 controller… this was great for playing games but I always had a problem of propping my phone up and being close enough to see what was going on. I decided to create a dock and in true ghetto fashion, I used random office supplies I had lying around.

Essentially, I took 3 Boston clips and 4 rubber bands and fit them together so that the arms of one clip hold the phone while the arms of another held onto the Dualshock 3. I bent the arms with pliers to create better gripping strength. I originally used normal rubber bands but switched to the black hair rubber bands you see in the pictures. This was for both aesthetics but also because they are stronger and hold more tension for their size.

A smaller Boston clip wedges between two larger ones to keep them spread apart but also to make the structure more rigid. One rubber band provides tension for the arms holding the phone, another provides tension to clip to the controller, a third one hold these arms to the smaller clip, and the last one holds the clip part of the big Boston clips together.

I also added heat-shrink tubing to the arms that hold the phone. I ran out but plan to do the same for the arms that clip onto the controller. This just helps it grip better but also protects the devices. An NFC sticker is added to automatically set up the Sixaxis app.

Definitely quite innovative, don’t you think? I for one could use this and would make it much easier and more enjoyable to play your games. Any of our readers out there willing to give this “DIY” project a go? If so, comment away and send us your pics if you were able to successfully duplicate this!

source: Reddit

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Categorized as Android Accessories, Android Gaming, Android Guides & Tutorials, Android News, Android Phones, Hardware Mods

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10 Perfect Summer iOS Games for Kids

Tap a Sneezie, watch it pop, and then start to pop other Sneezies. That's the gist of the game, and, for whatever reason, it's really addictive. There are multiple game modes, including a free play version.

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EA says “Happy Father’s Day” with 40% off selected Android games

Still not sure what to get your good ol’ Dad for Father’s Day this weekend? Perhaps gaming guru, Electronic Arts’ latest price reductions on selected Android titles will help you make up your mind! In a promotion EA calls “GAMES FOR GUYS” you’ll find up to 40% off specific Dad-tastic titles such as Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Fifa Soccer 12, Dead Space and Plants vs. Zombies.

If you think your Dad would appreciate one of these games to help see out another boring Sunday or if you just fancy picking up a top EA title for yourself, now’s the time to do it! Click the links below for more details.

Fifa 12

Need for Speed

Plants vs. Zombies

Dead Space

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Categorized as Android Gaming

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Play Retro Games like Street Fighter & Megaman on Android Phones with CPSEmu

When I was a kid, the only gaming equipment I had was my NES on which I used to play Street Fighter and Contra. When I was playing on my NES, there were several thousand kids around the world who were playing Capcom games on CPS2 arcade board.

Now however, almost every gamer has a PlayStation or Xbox, and those who don’t enjoy games on their Android/iOS phones.  Well, if you’re interested in playing retro games like Street Fighter, Megaman & Cadillacs and Dinosaurs on your Android Device then there is an app at Android Market that has been designed just for you and it is called CSPEmu.

CPSEmu enables you to play CPS2 games on your Android device without any problem; it has been developed by the same team which released NeoDroid for Adndroid last week. CPSEmu uses full touchscreen controls which might not be comfortable for guys who are accustomed to playing games on consoles but like NeoDroid games it is optimized for Xperia Play.

Also, you can easily play games on your tablet computer because this app runs perfectly in Honeycomb.

But before you spend money on buying this app for your Android phone, remember that this app requires your phone to have at least 1 GHz processor. Also, you can’t directly emulate ROMS in CPSEmu, full instructions on running this app is provided at XDA website, where you can also find a free version of this app. Though, if you want to support the developer and show him some love for this fantastic app, you can buy it from Android Market for $3.99/-

So, what do you have to say about CPSEmu for Android Smartphones and Tablets?

About Rakesh Narang I am a blogger, technology and gadget addict. I am the administrator of Wizard Journal and work as a freelance writer/bloggers from several companies. My Pay Rate is $20/hr. I also do WordPress setup and optimization.

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Uncharted 3 is one of the best (and most annoying) games of the year

  Posted on October 31, 2011 by Venture Beat in Tech & Gadgets

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is one of the best video games of the year. In fact, it is one of the best I’ve ever played. But it will also go down as one of the most annoying.

On the good side, developer Naughty Dog has perfected the art of building a video game experience that mimics the thrills of a blockbuster summer action movie. But that description doesn’t do the game justice, as its story, dialogue, voice-acting, humor and character development are just so much better than anything you’ll ever see in an Indiana Jones movie. (Editor’s note: We don’t support Dean’s casual dismissal of Raiders of the Lost Ark as one of the greatest films ever made.)

Within Sony’s arsenal of exclusives for its PlayStation 3 business, Uncharted is the crown jewel, the game that could keep Sony fans loyal no matter how many Halo or Mario games come out from the other guys. I just wish that Naughty Dog would polish this jewel a little bit more.

The dreamers of the day

No flaws are evident in the beginning. From a starting quote by T. E. Lawrence (“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible”), author of Lawrence of Arabia, to the beginning of the real action nearly four chapters later, the introductory sequence is impeccably done. The dramatic pace yields maximum tension and mystery. Humor offsets epic events. You don’t even pick up a gun and start shooting until a long introductory sequence has played out. This beginning, told with skillful flashbacks and flash forwards to the present day, shows that the developers would be in good company among master filmmakers like the Coen brothers.

The subtitle about deception is a theme that is woven into many threads in this story. As the game begins, a cinematic — or a pre-scripted film-like sequence — volleys us into that theme. Drake stages a ruse to figure out who is pursuing his family ring, which belonged to explorer Sir Francis Drake. Nathan thus stumbles upon his old nemesis Katherine Marlowe, and some kind of secret society that has been pursuing Drake’s secrets for 400 years, and we meet a new character, Charlie Cutter (pictured right), a likable con artist and thief with a thick English accent and a proclivity to switch sides. That sets the game in motion.

As the deceptions multiply, you as Drake have to consider whether you can really trust those close to you, and if you can trust your own mind from deceiving you. I also had the added experience of being sick with the flu for most of the time that I played the game, and I had to deal with my mind playing tricks on me. As Drake struggled through his own journey of delirium in the game, so did I, in a heavily medicated state.

I imagined, for instance, that I played the game for more than 20 hours, when it was more like 15. As I played the game over multiple days and nights, images from Uncharted 3 invaded my dreams and nightmares. Like Drake, I couldn’t get those damn spiders out of my head. Still, I didn’t mind that, as I could do worse than to ingrain my brain with imagery from Uncharted 3.

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HTML lists - what's new in HTML 5?

There is a big and justified interest from the web community about the changes introduced in HTML 5 and in the last weeks I'm frequently receiving a lot of questions and requests about this topic. In this post I want to illustrate a quick roundup of some point of interest about the use of lists in HTML 5.
How you know HTML has three types of lists:

- <ul>, unordered list
- <ol>, ordered list
- <dl>, definition list

The HTML <li> tag defines a list item and is used in both <ul> and <ol> lists. <dt> and <dd> tags define a definition term and the related description in a definition list. These tags are all supported in HTML 5 version but there are some little changes in their attributes, in particular:

<ul> and <ol>
the attribute compact and type are not longer supported in HTML 5 (you have to use CSS instead).

<li>
the attribute type, which specifies the type of the list, is not longer supported in HTML 5 (you have to use CSS instead).
The attribute value, which defines the value of the first item of the list, is not longer deprecated and can be only used with the <ol> tag.

Unordered list for navigation bar
Another lists-related question is about the structure of the navigation bar of a website with the introduction of the new <nav> tag in HTML 5. How you know, unordered lists are commonly used to implement the navigation bar of a website. The typical structure of a navigation bar is a <div> tag that contains an unordered list with some items:

Here is the HTML code to implement the basic structure of a navigation bar

<div id="nav">
<ul>

<li><a href="...">link 1</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 2</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 3</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 4</a></li>

<ul>
</div>

In HTML 5, the structure of a navigation bar is the same illustrated in the previous code. The only thing that changes is the the external "container" of the unordered list. You have to use the new <nav> instead a generic <div> tag

<nav>
<ul>

<li><a href="...">link 1</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 2</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 3</a></li>
<li><a href="...">link 4</a></li>

<ul>
</nav>

Definition list and the <dialog> tag
Definition lists are not frequently used in web design end a lot of people even ignore their existence! In general their use is mainly suggested when you have to represent a list of items with a related description for each item of the list. Here is the code that describes a generic definition list:

<dl>

<dt>Google</dt>
<dd>Search engine</dd>
<dt>Facebook</dt>
<dd>Social network</dd>

</dl>

Here is the output in a web browser:

Google

Search engine

Facebook

Social network

HTML 5 introduces the new <dialog> tag that uses <dt> and <dl> tags (these tag are used to define a term and its description in a definition list) to describe a conversation. Here is an example of dialog structure

<dialog>

<dt>Anna</dt>
<dd>What time is it?</dd>
<dt>Mark</dt>
<dd>Three o'clock</dd>
<dt>Anna</dt>
<dd>Thanks!</dd>

</dialog>

And here is the output in a web browser:

Anna

What time is it?

Mark

Three o'clock

Anna

Thanks!

*NOTE: the <dialog> tag has been dropped in HTML revision 3859 (2009-09-15). Thanks to Dylan for the suggestion. The new <figure> and <details> tags now use <dt> and <dl> instead of <legend>.

That's all. If you have some suggestion about this topic, please leave a comment. Thanks!

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Xperia Play has more Triple-A titles on the way

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play didn’t cause a huge splash in the mobile/gaming scene due to the Android phone not living up to the hype for the device and its lack of games. The phone was decently spec’d with dedicated physical buttons for playing games – you would think that would have been enough. But the controller’s lack of compatibility with most games on the Android Market meant that users had to get games directly from Sony.

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