Years before the introduction of 3D gaming, the original action heroine was already ripping up the rule book and blasting her way into history. The Metroid series has given us over twenty years of girl power and the series has sold over 15 million games, thanks to its female bounty hunter star, Samus Aran.

In the mid-1980s, a young game designer called Shigeru Miyamoto was busy revolutionising the industry with Mario and a young adventurer named Link. But while he created these masterpieces, Yoshio Sakamoto and the legendary R&D1 team at Nintendo were working on one of the most ambitious projects ever seen.

Set in the depths of space their latest creation was the first real non-linear home console game as well as one of the most atmospheric titles the industry had ever seen. What’s more, R&D1 took the bold step of making the game’s main star female! In the years since the original title Samus has starred in a series of Metroid games as well as featuring in other well-known Nintendo titles like Super Smash Bros.

Samus Aran is not your usual helpless videogame heroine, nor is she a typical scantily-dressed female star. Our heroine is clad head to foot in a Power Suit, complete with helmet to disguise her identity. In fact, in the original title, Metroid, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, players didn’t even realise Samus was female until the ending when she removes her helmet. In the latest titles this sense of mystery is maintained with only the slightest hints such as reflections of the character’s face in the helmet visor giving her identity away.

One of the things that have made the Metroid series so famous is the atmospheric nature of the games. Samus often finds herself alone on a hostile planet with no help aside from clues she gathers and items she manages to uncover. The original Metroid game gave players a sense of enormous foreboding and all its sequels have managed to capture a similar feeling as Samus battled against insurmountable odds.

Unlike first person shooters where players spend most of their time blasting waves of enemies, Metroid has a greater emphasis on adventure.  There are vast, desolate areas to be explored and clues to be uncovered as well as intense firefights to be won.

The Metroid series takes its name from one of Samus’s main adversaries, a species of lethal jellyfish-like creatures called Metroids. These creatures feature in each game along with an army of hostile Space Pirates bent on using these lethal organisms to help them take over the universe.

Now, you should prepare yourself for a Metroid adventure like no other as stunning action, cinematic cut scenes and an enthrallingly personal story come together unforgettably in Metroid: Other M, launching across South Africa for Wii on 3rd September 2010.

Samus Aran takes centre stage in this unprecedented collaboration, blending the slick, action-packed production of the Team NINJA development team with the game design talents of the original Metroid’s creators.

And for the first time in a Metroid game, you will seamlessly switch between third-person and first-person gameplay, exploring and fighting in third-person but able at any time to look through Samus’s eyes by simply pointing the Wii Remote at the screen.

With a host of new moves and weapons to be unleashed and a deep and engaging back story to the character, waiting to be uncovered, Metroid: Other M is the latest adventure for this seminal character.  Amidst all the new features, however, the development team have not forgotten what makes Metroid games so immersive and memorable: atmosphere, exploration and a truly great story.  In Metroid: Other M you’ll find yourself drawn into a deeply personal story that finally tells Samus’ own tale, revealing her failings, her flaws and ultimately her motivation for being a Bounty Hunter.

The story begins immediately following the events of Super Metroid, when a baby Metroid gave its life to protect Samus and with more than an hour and a half of beautifully rendered cut-scenes in total throughout the game, Metroid: Other M is not simply fun to play but also exciting to watch.  This is a dramatic new direction for a legendary franchise and a bold new blend of cinematics, storytelling and stylish, no-holds-barred action. Charge up your Beam, arm your Bombs and get ready to scan your environment for a copy of Metroid: Other M when it launches across South Africa for Wii on 3rd September 2010.

For more info visit the Official Site

The party invites have been sent and everything’s set. Although get ready to invite one more to your Wii Party, as every copy of this game will come with a white Wii Remote!  With this extra Wii Remote, you’ll be able to enjoy the many multiplayer games with your friends and family when the game launches across Europe on 8th October.

Sharing the instant accessibility of titles like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, Wii Party brings more than 80 different mini-games into your home.  The inventive game offers non-stop fun and unparalleled variety as you, your family and friends grab up to four Wii Remotes and try your hand at a host of inventive and intuitive gaming experiences. To add to the enjoyment, you’ll play as your Mii character and see them in action like never before!

With 13 different game modes to get to grips with, Wii Party will be the life and soul of any gathering as you enjoy games that refine the traditional party videogame experience. For the first time, the action away from the television screen will be as important as what’s displayed on it as House Party mode turns your living room into a pivotal part of the game play.

On top of the new level of interactivity introduced by House Party, Wii Party also includes Pair Games and Party Games modes - both of which keep the varied challenges coming thick and fast as you cooperate or compete with fellow players.

There’s something for everyone in Wii Party, and you’re invited to get in on the fun when the game arrives in South Africa on 8th October 2010. Party on!

This might not touch most hearts, but this one touches mine.  Others will just have to find it interesting. Researchers from Ithaca College have come up with a very impressive and creative device working with the Wii Balance board. The board is placed in what I can describe a big Tupperware or platform and the baby is placed in a seat on top of the balance board. As the baby leans to move or intent to move in a direction the signal from the balance board is interpreted to make the motorised wheel under the Tupperware move in the direction required.

This is used to treat disabilities which keep children from crawling. The standard motorised chairs are too complex for babies to control and this works out perfectly. On a funny note I would not leave your child unattended in the chair as they will probably end up riding into walls and down stairs, but for this treatment it works fine.

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Here you can watch Charles "Mario" Martinet being interview on Zoopy TV! Above the story of how he got the part of the voice of Mario, it is interesting to see that men can multitask. Both Grant and Charles are playing New Super Mario Bros Wii. and talking in the interview. If you focus on the game playing you'll see that they finish two stages during the interview.

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