To the disappointment of my friend Matt, I received a high-definition TV for my birthday two weeks ago. And I, a staunch defender of the wisdom of gamers not rushing to upgrade their standard definition TVs, can now see for myself what’s really good — and what’s not so good — about gaming on a 40-inch LCD.

Would anyone mind if I interview myself about this topic?

That way I can explain why I still think switching to HD is overrated, even if it has its benefits. Read more…

Want to play “WipEout HD”? You better own an HDTV.

“WipEout HD” is, without a doubt, the best looking futuristic racer to arrive on a console since Sega and Nintendo teamed for “F-Zero GX.”

I wanted to deliver impressions on Friday, but technical hiccups meant that didn’t happen. The extra time paid off, though; I spent the weekend playing through every available race — there are 14 on the playable code Sony provided us — and loved almost every minute of it.

Which minutes didn’t I love? I haven’t really dug into a “WipEout” game since the PS One days, so “WipEout HD” introduced me to the series’ severe learning curve all over again.

After sucking up my pride and switching the difficulty to easy, however, “WipEout HD” opened up and I let the game’s “Rez”-like audio visual dance take over.

Read more…