Olympus and Panasonic will be releasing a new standard of cameras known as Micro Four Thirds. No so much DSLRs in a smaller package, but rather better compact cameras with interchangeable lenses. Here’s the press release:

OLYMPUS AND PANASONIC ANNOUNCE NEW MICRO FOUR THIRDS SYSTEM STANDARD

Tokyo, 5 August 2008 – Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Imaging) and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic) today announced joint development of technologies and devices for the “Micro Four Thirds System standard,” a new standard that extends the benefits of the Four Thirds System standard for interchangeable lens type digital camera systems by enabling dramatic reductions in size and weight. Under the terms of an agreement between the two companies, they will work jointly toward commercial production of significantly lighter and more compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems.

The global market for interchangeable lens type digital SLR cameras is growing steadily, but still only accounts for a 7% share of the total digital camera market. Considering the much larger share held by interchangeable lens type SLR camera systems when film was the dominant imaging medium, it seems that there is still ample room for sales growth in the category. But compact digital cameras continue to offer an expanding range of features and performance, and market surveys indicate that customers choose compact models because they find digital SLR cameras to be “big, heavy, and difficult to operate.”

Recognizing this market trend, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic have introduced products based on the Four Thirds System standard, and have led the industry in bringing features such as Live View and contrast-detection autofocusing systems to interchangeable lens type digital camera systems.

Now, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic are expanding the potential of the Four Thirds System standard even further, enabling the development of radically more compact and lightweight interchangeable lens type digital camera systems based on the Micro Four Thirds System standard. Together with the existing range of Four Thirds System products, the new range of Micro Four Thirds System products will enable customers to enjoy true interchangeable lens type digital camera system performance.

When compared to the Four Thirds System standard, the primary distinguishing characteristics of the Micro Four Thirds System standard are*:
1) Approximately 50% shorter flangeback distance (mount-to-sensor distance)
2) 6mm smaller lens mount outer diameter
3) Electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11

The Micro Four Thirds System enables users to enjoy the high image quality benefits of the Four Thirds System’s 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact camera body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System offers compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System will take this even further by making it possible to develop ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts, enabling support for new features and increased system functionality in the future. In addition, users will be able to mount their existing Four Thirds System lenses on Micro Four Thirds System bodies via an adapter.
* Image sensor diagonal dimensions are the same for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards
Moving forward, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic will jointly develop relevant technologies and devices for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, and will develop and introduce standards-compliant products in accordance with their respective business strategies.

While continuing to develop Four Thirds System interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, Olympus Imaging will also develop a range of Micro Four Thirds System lenses and accessories, and Micro Four Thirds System camera bodies that are even smaller and slimmer than the light, compact, and widely acclaimed Olympus E-410 and E420.

While continuing to develop Four Thirds System interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, Panasonic will also develop a new generation of compact, lightweight, interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, including ultra-portable camera bodies, interchangeable lenses, and related system accessories.

Whilst I can’t see myself investing in something like this, I do believe this is a good idea for photography enthusiasts who are still undecided about dumping their hard earned cash into a DSLR, not to mention the lenses too. Of course a standard like this can never compare to a full DSLR, but the thought of a better quality camera in compact size could potentially be useful for existing DSLR owners, such as a backup camera. Interchangeable lenses should mean that these Micro Four Thirds bodies would stick longer than your average compact or bridge camera, extending the life through lens purchases. Another plus would be to use an adaptor and purchase DSLR lenses to use with the Micro Four Thirds body, and then eventually those lenses can be taken to a DSLR should the customer follow that route. Although I have my doubts over the use of an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), previous experience with such tech hasn’t been that impressive, so it’ll be interesting to see what Olympus and Panasonic come up with, and whether or not Canon and Nikon would follow suit.

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In the past few months my desk has transformed dramatically to a more simpler, cleaner layout. With my MacBook Pro being used more often than ever before, the space it took up on my desk was becoming more apparent. My thoughts turned to purchasing a much needed laptop stand to regain that loss space to some extent.

Initially I was very, very hesitant to buying the Griffin Elevator. Whilst it looked great and does the job, parting around £25 for a laptop stand seemed like madness to me. But since using it a few months ago, it has paid off. The Griffin Elevator arrives in 3 parts: two aluminium legs and a plastic base. Putting it together takes seconds, and before you know it you’re already using it. With the Griffin Elevator, your laptop sits 5.5″ higher compared to sitting on a desk. This makes it more comfortable to work, especially if you use an additional keyboard and mouse. With laptops its very common to hunch, potentially causing neck and back problems. The Griffin Elevator solves these issues and makes it more ergonomic to work with your laptop.

Another claimed advantage of using the Griffin Elevator is by getting the laptop off the desk it allows better air ciculation around the base of the laptop. MacBook Pros are notorious for running a little hot, but in my experience when using the Elevator and keeping a close eye on my temperatures with iStat menus, the difference hardly seemed exceptional. Perhaps this benefit is better felt in the long term.

The Griffin Elevator works with any laptop, not just Macs. So if you feel the need to regain that lost desk space usually taken up by your laptop, give the Griffin Elevator a shot. It does the job very well and looks stylish to boot.

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So it’s been a little while since the Microsoft E3 Press Conference, of which one of the notable announcements was a completely revamped Dashboard to solve to clunky and bland problems of the existing Dashboard. Amongst this comes the inclusion of “Avatars”, little characters which you personalise and take into participating games which support it. You can also make a Live Party in which you and your friends make a party and join into games together, or watch movies together via a new partnership with Netflix. Interestingly Microsoft also announced to ability to install games to your hard drive, potentially minimising the jet engine noise that is from the DVD drive.Of course this conveniently coincides with their new 60GB SKU announcement, which means those of us who want that kind of luxury must succumb to grabbing a bigger, overpriced, proprietary hard drive from Microsoft.

First of all let me say that I’m not particularly keen on the whole Avatar system. It seems with Sony busily working on Home and the Wii having their Mii’s, all this spells Microsoft being a bit left out and putting together a last ditch attempt at creating a 3D avatar system which attempts to rival and if not copy its competitor’s offering. Many have likened the Avatars to Mii’s, and they’re quite right in doing so. After all, what other alternative is there to create a stupid looking version of yourself and kit it out with not so interesting attire all for the sake of “personality”. I guess Microsoft thought their Gamerpics system wasn’t enough to last this generation.

As for the new Dashboard it self, granted it does seem to function more efficiently and smoothly than the current Dashboard, and isn’t as clunky nor cumbersome to use. But from a design standpoint it looks very similar to the whole Flip 3D experience on Microsoft Vista, fused with some sort of Media Center variant. In any case, Microsoft’s target is obviously the XMB, which is much superior to the existing Dashboard at the moment. It’s early days yet, but perhaps now this new Dashboard will finally rival the XMB in terms of ease of use and functionality.On the whole I’m still very undecided about the new Dashboard. Whilst I appreciate Microsoft for finally doing something about it and speeding up the Dashboard, the whole Avatar system seems very tacky and something I’d avoid altogether. Hell, if I wanted to make a silly version of myself and see that version in various games I’d go out and buy a Wii. I can’t help thinking Microsoft are chasing the wrong crowd here, but only time will tell.

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What the hell Sony? Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360? How on earth could you let this go? Devil May Cry 4 I understand. Grand Theft Auto 4 I get too. But of all the franchises you let this one go? Perhaps one of the most revered ones to date and one which has helped propel to what the PlayStation brand is? I mean come on guys. Seriously, let’s count what’s left: Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Killzone (but thats debatable), and LittleBigPlanet. The list is running thin, very thin.

There is hope. Sony’s Conference is tomorrow. If they don’t announce anything huge, and I mean collossal to make the PS3 bounce back from this loss, it’ll just confirm the PS3 as the loser of this generation.

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That’s right, In-Game XMB is finally coming on July 2nd. Finally PS3 owners will have the same luxuries as the Xbox 360 owners, such as listening the custom soundtracks, interacting with friends in-game and other features of the Xross Media Bar. As part of the 2.40 Firmware Update for the PS3, the new Trophies system will also be available. This is essentially the PlayStation 3 equivalent of the Xbox 360 Achievement system, and allows PS3 gamers to have a profile of their own (much like an Xbox 360 Gamercard). So far the list of games supporting Trophies are as follows:

• BUZZ! Quiz TV
• LittleBigPlanet
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift
• NBA 09 - PS3
• PAIN
• PixelJunk Eden
• Resistance 2
• SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation
• Warhawk

For more information be sure to check out these two introduction videos from Sony:

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Battlefield: Bad Company, the latest offering from DICE. Originally I was very unsure of whether I would like this game. Its Frostbite Engine was extraordinary to say the least, but such a established Multiplayer focused developer creating a game that instead has a Singleplayer story element definately left me with doubts. Fortunately, its the comedy that has really gotten me interested in Bad Company. The characters seem quite the bunch from what I could tell from the demo. If there’s one doubt left it would be the vehicle controls, which leave little to be desired. In any case, let’s hope my trip in Bad Company is a fruitful one.

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Recently I’ve read a few articles concerning Forza 3’s storage situation. Initially there were rumors that Forza 3 would be on multiple discs due to the storage limitations of DVD9 used by the Xbox 360. Now it seems the usual “unnamed” sources claim that Forza 3’s core game will fit onto a single disc. What this actually means is yet to be verified, but apart from debate about whether the game arrives on one disc or more, I personally couldn’t care less.

Obviously all this talk is oozing with praise for the PlayStation 3, with Blu-ray certainly leading the way with around 50GB of storage per dual layer Blu-ray disc. But think back to Gran Turismo 2 on the original PlayStation. That game came on two discs: one for the Gran Turismo Mode only, the other for everything else (Arcade, 2 player, etc). And guess what? GT2 still broke records and was one of the best sims after the original GT and certainly ranks high amongst my favourite games.

I for one have no problem with Forza 3 coming more than one disc, much like Gran Turismo 2 did. Disc swapping is never a problem for gamers. It only becomes a problem when it actually interupts the core gameplay of the game itself. After all, you don’t want to be in the middle of a complete immersive world only to ripped right out of it because you have to switch discs.

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When Codemasters revealed that their next racing title would focus on tarmac action, I was very eager to see what they would come up with. Aside from Gran Turismo, the TOCA and Race Driver series from Codemasters have built up a great reputation in providing neck-to-neck intense tarmac racing action spanning a variety of racing disciplines. With a strong simulation focus, its in-depth damage modelling and steep learning curve, it definitely had its own following. However after the widespread success of their off-road title DIRT, Codemasters are continuing this new softened approach with their latest racing game, Race Driver: GRID. Unfortunately for fans of previous titles in the series, GRID is certainly not racing game you’d expect it to be.

Before I get to why this is so, let’s talk about its positives first. GRID sees you as an aspiring race driver set to dominate the world and become the top racing driver and be part of the best race team out there. In order to do this you need to earn reputation. At the start, this is done by racing for other teams who need drivers. This is great if you want a quick bit of cash, but only gives you a small amount of reputation. Racing for your own team is the best ticket to buckets of reputation, and so after you’ve scraped together enough cash, your sexy sounding female team manager will help you put together a team and get stuck into the races available. As you progress through the career mode, you’ll gradually earn enough reputation for race licenses, unlocking more events within the three categories of racing, consisting of American, European and Japanese themes. Along the way you’ll be asked to pick a team mate to increase the chances of winning in races, and also pick which sponsorships to take on to boost your winnings.

Much like DIRT, GRID aims to push your driving skills to the limit by testing you in a variety of racing disciplines. There’s Touring Cars, American Muscle Cars, Drifting, Touge Battles and even the famous Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance Race. It’s pretty safe to say that whatever you like about tarmac racing, GRID’s probably got it. Of course, each events are more specific towards their own region. For instance, the Drifting and Touge modes are a Japanese speciality, so they can only be found in the Japanese category. Regardless of which event you’re competing in, you’ll gradually be purchasing a lot of cars to cater towards each driving discipline, resulting in experiencing lots of different cars depending on the event. GRID features 45 different cars, a minuscule figure compared to other games, but with a car selection ranging from Corvettes, Silvias and even GT cars like the Aston Martin DBR-9, you’re bound to find your favourite car amongst this crowd. Some events have a few different car types, whereas some are stuck with just one. It’s a completely even playing field though, since GRID has no tuning options for the cars, meaning the outcome of each race is up to your driving skill. That and, any unfortunate incidents that may occur during the race itself.

What are these unfortunate incidents I speak of? Well this is down to the A.I. of your competitors. As you may well know from real life racing, mistakes happen. After all, race drivers are humans as well. And much like real life, in GRID now and then the A.I. will make mistakes too. Whether it be not braking enough for a corner and driving into a gravel trap or spinning out due to loss of traction. Whatever happens, you’ll sometimes be there to witness it, and more importantly, these can turn the tide of any race. Sometimes these incidents might happen to your team mate or right up to the race leader itself. It doesn’t matter, just know that your knuckles will remain white until the race is over. As for the A.I. itself, they’re pretty competent racers and are in most cases aware of your presence and do their best to adapt as they see fit. It’s quite entertaining to see an early spin at the front of the pack and witness the rest of the cars swerve out of the way and into a world of smoke and body panels.

GRID uses a game engine called Ego, which is an evolved version used in DIRT, and it definitely shows. The graphics are very pleasing to the eye, with the cars all very shiny and with detailed race liveries. GRID seems to sport somesort of brown colour palette, which seems odd and dull at first but once you start racing on other tracks and check out the scenery then all doubt disappears. This is a stunning game to look at with minimal frame rate issues. The same high quality visuals are further highlighted when you see damage on the cars. Body parts will deform and fall off, scratches start to appear and cracked windshields may occur. Everything has been modelled very well and is a testament to Codemasters attention to detail with their car modelling. If you’ve played DIRT, you would remember the stylish menus and loading screens it had, and the same goes for GRID. The majority of GRID’s menus are in lucsious 3D and float around and change stylishly. The statistical loading screens return, although not as stylish as they were in DIRT, again reminding you of your racing achievements throughout your time with GRID.

The same level of detail has been applied to the audio department too. Engines are loud and brash with every race sounding thrilling as you floor the throttle. Tyres will squeal as you throw the cars around corners and brakes will whine when your braking for a corner. Amongst all this action you can hear the crowd cheering and fear for your safety as you plough into a safety barrier right before their eyes. GRID really nails the sensation of an intense racing atmosphere. Although oddly enough there is not much of a musical soundtrack, with only a handful of original tunes for the menu and replay sections, of which are pretty good in its own right. But it just shows that Codemasters want you to concentrate on the racing and not head banging to whatever music they could license for the game.

Other pluses in GRID include little touches such as all the dials moving in the impressive in-car cockpit view, with even the driver’s feet animation modelled and moving as you drive. Another handy feature is your crew chief advising you during every race, warning you of potential crashes up ahead and keeping you up-to-date with who’s in front or behind you. This is pretty helpful at first, but you soon realise that there aren’t much variety in the tips he provides, so eventually this gets repetitive rather quickly. A few well known drivers also lend their names to GRID, such as Nelson Piquet Jr. for his part in the Le Mans 24 Hours and Youichi Imamura who is a professional drifter. These are just names though, and are buried within the sea of other fictional names within the drivers rankings. GRID also has a feature called Flashbacks. Basically whenever you go into the replay mode or make a critical mistake causing irreparable damage to your car you’ll automatically go into the replay mode. Providing you have enough Flashbacks, you can rewind to a state shortly before the crash and continue from there on in the hope you’ve learned your mistake and won’t repeat it again. This looks and works great, but its downfall is that it makes racing a little too easy since you can go back and fix your mistake when you see fit.

That’s all the good stuff, and it’s all very good I assure you, no doubts about that. But GRID’s biggest downfall, the single biggest problem with GRID is its driving model. Now before you question why my biggest beef with the game is its handling, consider this. I already mentioned that GRID’s runs on Ego, and evolved version of the engine used in DIRT. In DIRT the driving model was pretty decent and felt like a good hybrid of simulation and arcade physics, but its sore thumb was in the tarmac sections. The cars just felt like driving on ice and skidded around with no real feel of braking or acceleration. However, DIRT pulled through because these tarmac sections were pretty rare since after all it is an off-road game. But now since GRID is completely tarmac racing and uses the same model, you can see why I’m thoroughly disappointed with GRID.

Pretty much every car you drive in the game has hardly any feel whatsoever when you’re on the road. All the cars skate around like on an ice rink and braking is hardly needed. And when you do brake your car can stop dead from 120mph easily in a few seconds, which is just ridiculous. You’d think that with Codemasters’ experience in racing games they could have at least brought some of their simulation qualities into GRID, but its much more simple than that. The reason why GRID has such terrible handling is because they’ve simply dumbed down their entire driving model so that even non-racers can get into it, and for that the entire game completely suffers from it. With all this being said, the one notable mention is GRID’s drifting mode, which I can confidently say is one of the better models out there in the Arcade racing genre today. But don’t think that you can remedy this problem by using a Steering Wheel, because the support for it is a complete joke. Even after you tinker around the driving options available it can’t fix GRID’s underlying handling problems. And if you’re on the PS3, don’t even bother with the 900 degree option. It makes driving even the most nimble racing cars into an absolute chore, much like driving an HGV.

So really it doesn’t matter that the game looks and sounds great, has a lengthy career and strong multiplayer options, because the game itself is virtually unplayable. And even when you do have a go, coupled with the Flashback feature it completely removes the sense of achievement when playing racing games. It’s perhaps the worst hybrid of simulation and arcade games to date. Worst yet, this is easily a triple A title from a well established developer, which is in my opinion a complete disgrace. In fact, this is Need for Speed ProStreet all over again.

It really all boils down to this. If you’ve played the demo and found it enjoyable, then you will have a right riot with this game and its bound to keep you going for a few months. But, and this is a big but. Again, if you played the demo and immediately found the driving not up-to-scratch, then I suggest you stay well away from GRID and look elsewhere. Even if you are compelled to give it a go by no means should you buy it. Rent it first, then decide.

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Remember those wooden mannequins you would pose to learn how to draw human forms with? Did you ever forget the drawing altogether and end up just messing around with them? Have you ever wanted to control their plight within an empty world filled with endless puzzles? No? Well, now you can.

Enter Echochrome or Infinite Corridor as its known in Japan. The concept of such a puzzle game involving a mannequin would seem odd, but base it upon Oscar Reutersvärd’s impossible contructions, throw in a game engine which determines what goes on in the game world based on the camera position, add around 100 puzzles with different variations for each one, and that pretty much is Echochrome in a nutshell.

At its core, Echochrome is a very simple game. The analog stick controls the camera position and a button commands the mannequin whether to stop or start walking. The ace up Echochrome’s sleeve is its game world and the rules that are defined within it. If there is a gap in a path which can be covered by another object, it means it does not exist. If you drop through a hole with a path below it, then you will land on that path. If there is a jump, you jump in the direction of where your camera is facing. As such there aren’t really any “Lives” mechanic at play here, so if your mannequin falls off he will respawn. But puzzles are under timed conditions even though there is no visible timer on the interface. Eventually if you take too long it will mean it’s game over. With that in mind, your objective in Echochrome usually consists of you directing your mannequin to collecting ‘ghost’ mannequins, pairing up black/white/grey mannequins on the same level, or collecting ‘ghost’ mannequins whilst avoiding one or several black mannequins. That’s it. Simple isn’t it?

Your first experience of Echochrome will be a few short tutorials explaining how the world’s rules work out, and believe me it makes a lot more sense in action then on paper. Even after this initial tutorial session, your first few puzzles will feel a bit alien. This is because rather than controlling blocks on a screen or an actual character, you are essentially manipulating the mannequin’s actions based on how you as the player view the world, not as the mannequin’s itself. Try to think yourself as a bit like God, but in a very minimalistic way.

Speaking of minimalistic, this game is the embodiment of the very word. During the game, there is no interface, no text, nothing. All you see is the maze, the moving mannequin(s), your targets, and that’s it. Complementing this is an original Strings soundtrack which is pretty pleasant to the ears when you are navigating your mannequin around the levels. But after you play the game for a few hours it can seriously drive you up the wall. Because of this, I strongly recommend you only play this game in small chunks. On the Bus or on the Train, just play it a few levels at a time, not a few hours at a time like I did. In this way, the implementation of Echochrome really stands out as a puzzle game. Whenever you have time to spare, you can power up your PSP and have a quick go at some of the mazes you couldn’t quite crack earlier. The sense of pick up and play really works here, and whilst Echochrome is also available on the PlayStation 3, Echochrome is much more suited to the PlayStation Portable platform.

My time with the Japanese version has taught me that out of the box it comes with around 100 puzzles to get your started, with the North American version only having half that (with the other half being exclusive to the PS3 version). Whether this game will arrive in Europe remains to be seen, but given the PlayStation Portable’s region-free nature of software, you should be able to grab Echochrome on Import. However, all versions of the game comes with an in-depth puzzle editor allowing you to create your own levels to save or even share them with friends via Ad-hoc. This is a great way to extend the lifespan of the game and can spark a bit of creativity within yourself and your friends and challenge each other with some crazy levels of your own.

Then there’s the best part, its price. Echochrome is being marketed as a budget PSP title, so its RRP is less than your average game. Couple this with its slick presentation and extended longevity with the in-game level maker, Echochrome is a game all PlayStation Portable owners should pick up, puzzle fan or otherwise.

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I’ve been keeping up with the recent developments surrounding the reputable Japanese game developer, Tecmo. At least, I thought they were reputable. I enjoyed the early Dead or Alive fighting games and the original Ninja Gaiden, but ever since Itagaki decided to leave and file a lawsuit against Tecmo due to unpaid bonuses, this whole incident I initially thought was just him being a drama queen seems to have blown up into something much more sinister.

It was reported that Itagaki convinced around three dozen other Tecmo employees to follow suit and also sue Tecmo for similar reasons, again I thought it was just drama at work. However, it seems that all employees of Tecmo, estimated at about 300 or so, are doing exactly the same too. The lawsuit apparently claims that “Tecmo has falsified documents and accounting procedures in regards to employment statuses, overtime pay and various lapses in employment standards when filing documents for labor inspections.”. That definately was a shock to read in my eyes.

So it wasn’t really all a good working environment over in the offices of Tecmo. They’ve seemed to adopt a “screw the employees” attitude in favour of sharing the profits amongst the higher-ups of the company. Oh my. Let’s hope more information surfaces soon.

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