Xbox 360 demo pods have started appearing around the country in the last week, with most (if not all) Virgin Megastores packing them as well as a select few branches of GAME. I saw the one in the Southampton Virgin Megastore beckoning to me when I was checking out the DVD sale (Band of Brothers tin for £19.99 = bargain of the century), so I took the opportunity to play around with all of the demos (in English this time so I knew the controls) and some of the videos, as well as update my TGS impressions on the hardware.

First of all the TV that they’re running on is just beautiful. I think it was the Samsung LE23R41B but either way I really want one and it’s gone up my list of possibilities for when I invest in an HDTV next year. I’m just waiting for Sky HD to launch so that the prices will start to plummet.

The 360 hype has really grown the look of the hardware on me, and it looks great. Smaller than I seemed to remember and a hell of a lot nicer than the current Xbox, which I never really disliked anyway. It certainly won’t be something that I’ll be hiding away. The controller is also a thing of beauty – it looks bigger in pictures for some reason and when I last used it I compared it to the Logitech Cordless Precision for the Xbox, a comparison which I stand by. It’s quite small but feels substantial and fits the hand very nicely, although it did seem that the shoulder buttons could be uncomfortable to use at the same time as the triggers. I’m willing to put that down to the awkward mounting of the controllers on the demo pod (too low for me and not much movement).

Games-wise, I played all the way through the Call of Duty 2 demo which seemed the same as the TGS one except with the controls in English so that I knew what I was doing and could use grenades (both smoke and explosive) effectively. That made it more fun and I can’t wait to play through the whole game. Kameo looked really nice and seemed pretty inventive, but it didn’t really strike a chord with me. I might rent it at some point but I can’t see myself buying it. With King Kong I tried a bit of fighting as Kong (having played the adventure sections on the Xbox) and it looked good, but the framerate was suffering and I didn’t like it as much as I enjoyed the Driscoll sections. I’m still hopefully getting that one for Christmas, though.

The interface of the pod was designed to look like that of the dashboard and it was very slick. None of the options were accessible but you could see most of them and, as someone who loves to fiddle with options with new kit, I’m looking forward to going through all those lovely menus almost as much as I am the games.

I’m really up for a new console now. The next few days is going to go incredibly slow…

Mario Kart DS came out here today so I got a copy and having spent some more time with it my previous opinions haven’t changed. If anything, I like it even more than the quick blast that I had a couple of days ago. The last two Mario Karts, Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA) and Mario Kart Double Dash (GCN) didn’t strike the same chord with me that the first two, especially Mario Kart 64 (many disagree with me on that one, I know) did, but this one just seems to work. No gimmicks like the tag teams of the Cube version, but makes some real progress for the series unlike the GBA one.

Single player is fairly standard fare, with the prerequisite Grand Prix, Time Trials, etc and the addition of various missions which give you tasks to do within increasingly strict time limits. It doesn’t help the single player become the real draw (which it obviously isn’t), but it’s a change of pace from the racing. Speaking of racing, you’ll want to jump right in at 100cc or 150cc because it will make the races faster and the rival AI more competitive, and if you’ve played Mario Kart before the 50cc races are frankly a cakewalk.

Apparently what everyone wants out of this game, however, is multiplayer. That’s always been where Mario Kart’s heart is and this is no different. Playing against people in the same room is as seamless and easy as you’d expect with no lag issues whatsoever, and, impressively, online multiplayer over Nintendo’s WFC service (take note Sony: you’re now the only ones without a dedicated online service) is seamless and easy with no lag issues whatsoever. I had a couple of games which ran perfectly and setup couldn’t be easier. The fact that Nintendo now have wi-fi infrastructure bodes well for future games and from what I’ve seen this couldn’t be a better flagship title. I know what I’m going to be playing until the Xbox 360 comes out next week.

My friend code is 141793886571 so feel free to look me up online.

I’m not going to write about this at great length about this since I’m not a huge fan of the Harry Potter universe – I’m one of the few for whom the books hold very little appeal, but I’ve enjoyed the previous movies as a way to kill a lazy afternoon when they’re on Sky. This one marks the first time that I’ve bothered to see one theatrically after the great reviews that it’s been getting and, overall, I was impressed.

It’s definitely the best yet, and it seems that each film gets better than the last. Even if the Prisoner of Azkaban is apparently the best book, this one seems much more geared towards making an enjoyable film no matter how faithful to the source it is (or isn’t). I heard some obvious Potter fans talking about how they were disappointed that certain things had been cut out, but it already runs at a portly 157 minutes, and thankfully didn’t overstay its welcome. It stayed pretty streamlined, focusing on the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the Yule Ball, so someone deserves credit for making a cohesive movie out of what is patently a monster of a book.

The effects, like the films themselves, get better each time (loved the dragons which follow the Reign of Fire realism angle); I wasn’t annoyed by any of the actors this time which suggests that they’re getting better; and I enjoyed the tone which was surprisingly dark for a 12A. I can’t be the only one who only has to hear someone say that their latest sequel is darker (Prince of Persia wall-runs and swings immediately to mind) to want to scratch my eyes out, but this one was all the better for it. I was very surprised at how far some moments actually went, and knowing what I know about the future books it doesn’t look like they’ll be any different.

In short, highly recommended.