If you use a PC, you likely use a mouse to control the arrow on the screen. While that’s all fine and dandy, this particular piece of hardware may not always do what you want it to. You may not have fast enough DPI to your liking, dust can get in the way of the sensor, and it may just be uncomfortable to use.

What if there were a way to control what was on the screen in a whole new way that wouldn’t cramp your hand, and could move as fast as you can? I’m not talking about touchscreen here, as that still requires you to impact something (poking the screen is like clicking a mouse). The LEAP Motion is about the size of a flash drive, but you won’t be placing your hand over top of it and moving it around. It gives you 8 cubic feet of interactive space that will read your hands.

Working in tandem with control software, you can reach into your computer and pull out information much in the same way that you would pull a cookie out of a jar. The sensors are 200x more sensitive than most other touch-free products (so says the website) and it can read a swipe from your hand about as precisely as a pen stroke. You can modify it however you’d like, so this is a pretty sweet looking peripheral for only $70 (pre-order only at the moment). This makes me think of the PS Move or the Kinect, but it doesn’t require you to hold anything. Makes you wonder what playing your normal PC games on it would be like doesn’t it?

When it comes to console games, you don’t usually need a special controller to enjoy the game. Just grab the official one that came with it, and you’re good. However, if you’re playing a racing game, you can’t get the same immersive feeling with an analog stick. What you need is a wheel with a shifter, and a set of pedals. Mad Catz has you covered with their officially licensed Wireless Force Feedback Wheel for the Xbox 360, which we’re taking a look at today.

First Look

We’ll start with the wheel itself, which looks beautiful. While it is mostly plastic, the hand grips on the wheel are textured rubber to help you get a better hold. The inner part of the wheel is solid metal, as are both paddle shifters and the top of the shifter knob. The shifter can be positioned on either the left or right, to accommodate your preferred location. On the rear you will find a sync button, DC jack (for the included power cable) RJ-45 jack and a spot to plug in your 360 headset.

One of the things you’ll notice about this wheel is that it is heavy. You could actually play with this sitting on your desk or table, without the need for a clamp. The only downside is that most of the weight is in the wheel, which means it would have a tendency to lean forward. The clamp is pretty basic, and keeps it locked firmly in place.

If you don’t have room for a table in front of your TV, you do have the option of leg supports. These attach to the bottom with four screws (they don’t come all the way out, so you won’t ever lose them) and have a rubber coating. This layer of rubber provides a bit of padding, and helps keep the wheel from moving around.

Remember how I said that I loved how heavy the wheel was? This is most definitely not the case with the pedal unit. It is very light, and almost cheap feeling. There are rubber feet on the bottom, which are there to keep it from sliding around. The design of the pedals is nice, as they are suspended. This should give a more realistic feel than other pedals which are mounted at the base. The only other thing you’ll find on the pedal unit is a single cable, with plugs into the RJ-45 connector on the wheel.

Setup

Just as with their Primer headset we reviewed yesterday, this wireless racing wheel is a breeze to setup. All you need to do is attach either the leg rests or clamp to the wheel, set your pedals in place and connect the two cables (one for the pedals, and one for the power). You’ll need to press the sync button on the wheel and the 360 the first time you connect it, just as you would with a regular 360 controller. Once that’s done, you’re ready to go.

Comfort

I talked a lot about the solid construction of the wheel earlier, and it makes a difference. When you sit down with this for the first time, you’ll think you’re holding something that’s worthy of being in a car. I think my favorite part is the metal paddle shifters, which are leaps and bounds above any plastic ones I’ve used.

I was most surprised by how well this particular wheel worked in my lap. The sheer weight of the unit was enough to keep it in place, but at the same time wasn’t so heavy that it hurt my legs. Of course, I still preferred using it with a table, and the simple clamp was extremely effective.

Just like the weight and construction made the wheel a superior product, the cheap feel of the pedals left me wanting. Since they pedal unit weighs so little, I found that on a hardwood or tile surface, it is virtually impossible to keep the pedals in one spot. You’ll need to have something heavy sitting behind them to keep them in place.

Performance

The main draw to this particular wheel, (aside from the wireless capabilities) is the force feedback. Let me tell you, it works, and it works well. Nothing adds to a racing game like struggling against the wheel when you’re trying to make it through a tight curve. Overall, the wheel handles like a dream. The paddle shifters are quick and responsive, though the stick shifter felt a little more gummy than I would like when shifting.

While I hate how light and cheap the pedals feel, they still work quite well (if you can keep them in place). The suspended placement of the pedals does provide a more realistic-feeling experience, and I had no issues with the responsiveness. I think if Mad Catz had given them the same metallic treatment that they gave the wheel, they’d have solved both of these issues at the same time.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to racing wheels, this Wireless Force Feedback one from MadCatz is difficult to top. Its quality and performance is marred only by the light and cheap pedals that come with it. My only other complaint is that you’re forced to plug the wheel into the wall, which defeats the purpose of making it wireless in the first place. I would say that overall, it’s worth the $250 price tag, but only for enthusiasts.

Of all the mice I’ve ever used, there is one that has gotten more attention from other people than the rest. That would be my Cyborg R.A.T. 7. Rather than having a smooth, sleek curve like many mice out there, it has a lot of angles and pieces that fit together to look like something out of Transformers. In fact, in a way, it does transform to fit your hand. I gave it high praises when it first came out for its ability to customize its shape. Well now Mad Catz is back with their latest in the Cyborg line, and this time they’re aiming specifically at MMO players.

First Look

In many ways, the Cyborg M.M.O. 7 is almost identical to its R.A.T. brother. Ignoring for a moment the buttons, lighting and paint job, the mouse has the exact same shape and dimensions as the R.A.T. 7. The one exception is the thumb rest, which cannot be rotated outward.

Despite their similar build, these do look like two very different mice. There are two new LEDs shining, one on each of the primary buttons. These can be customized, and even be used to let you know which profile you’re using, and whether or not you’re using ActionLock. Each of the 10 extra buttons, (not including the DPI switch) as well as the underside of the mouse and the scrollwheel are all a shiny orange color, which helps make them stand out against the rest of the black body.

There are once again two additional palm rests and two extra pinkie grips that allow you to customize the feel of the mouse. You’ll still be able to move both the thumb rest and palm rest back and forth to fit your hand, which was one of my favorite features about the previous mouse. You’ll also find the same set of removable weights to further tune the feel of the mouse.

Software

When you load up the Cyborg software, you’ll have four tabs to choose from: Product, Settings, Programming, and Support. You probably won’t use the first or last one, as they don’t have any real function, other than to take you to the Cyborg website.

The first tab you see under Settings is for DPI Settings. Here you can select four different settings ranging from 25-6400DPI. Each one is accompanied by a set of up to four lights, which correspond to ones seen on the side of the mouse. If you wish, you can adjust the X and Y axis separately, to get the exact feel that you want. In the next tab, you can adjust the settings for the Precision Aim button, which allows you to temporarily decrease the DPI of your mouse while the button is pressed.

Finally, in the Lighting tab, you can adjust the colors of the two LEDs on your primary mouse buttons. There are three settings for each button: Default, ActionLock On, and ActionLock Off. You can select your colors either in a swatch, or by using RGB sliders. This is actually something that annoys me, just a bit. I prefer to have my mouse buttons to be the same color. The only way to do this is to go into the RGB sliders and memorize the percentages of each. There should be a simple way to re-use the same color. Also, there is no way to adjust the brightness of the lights.

I’ll break from the actual software for just a moment to explain ActionLock. This is something I haven’t seen in a mouse before. On the left and right primary mouse buttons, there is a smaller, extra button. Pressing this will enable ActionLock for the button it is associated with. When enabled, a single click will actually register as if you’re holding down on the button. Another click will tell the computer that you’ve let off the button.

Let’s say that you’re playing a game, and you want to perform an action that requires you to hold down the left mouse button for an extended period of time. Instead of keeping your finger on the button, you can turn on ActionLock, then click the button once. When you’re ready to finish that action, simply click the left mouse button again, and it will stop. This can be useful for walking, clicking on a summoning stone, and other tasks.

Back in the software, you’ll find the Programming tab to be full of features. In fact, without reading through the manual, you might be a tad overwhelmed. However, after a bit of experimenting, you shouldn’t have any problems setting it up. With all of the buttons on this mouse, you can spend a long while setting up actions and macros to your heart’s content. However, just being able to program each button once isn’t enough. Rather, there are three modes that you can cycle through, and a “MMO Shift” button that, when pressed, can alter what each of the buttons do, depending on which mode you’re on. In all, you can have 78 different commands assigned to the mouse.

Everyone knows that World of Warcraft is the reigning champion when it comes to MMO’s. So it’s not surprising to see a special plugin for this mouse designed specifically for the game. Rather than going through and assigning commands in the Programming section of your software, you’ll use a brand new interface that allows you to drag and drop spells and commands to your keys. This is really handy, and I’m hoping that we’ll see more of these for other games.

Comfort And Performance

Even without the ability to pivot the thumb rest, I still rank this mouse as one of the most comfortable around. With swapable and movable parts, you should be able to mold it to your hand. Just bear in mind that it does take a little while to get everything set just right.

As a regular gaming mouse, it works just as well as its R.A.T. brother. It glides smoothly over just about any surface that you’d imagine. However, there is one change that was not for the better. I’m rather disappointed to find that Mad Catz decided to change the DPI switch from a rocker to a single button. Depending on what game I’m playing, (and sometimes what I’m doing within the game), I will quickly switch back and forth between DPI settings. With only a single button, I’m forced to cycle through the settings, rather than simply moving back and forth between the ones I want.

With all of the extra buttons on this mouse, you can imagine that it is a bit difficult to find a place for all of your fingers. What’s nice is that once you have the mouse tweaked to your hand, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with this. I find that my thumb naturally rests between the forward-most button, and the Precision Aim 5D button. And from that position, I can reach most of the buttons on that side of the mouse. A couple of them are a bit of a stretch for me, and honestly don’t get used.

One button that surprised me was the Precision Aim 5D. Since this has five different ways to be pressed, I figured that it would be easy to accidentally press it one way or another. However, I did not find this to be the case. It needs too much pressure to activate in any direction to be triggered accidentally, but not so much that it is difficult to use. Even still, I didn’t find myself wanting to use more than three of the directions (back, down, and in, if you’re curious), as the others took more movement than I’d like.

My biggest annoyance with this mouse comes from the ActionLock buttons. These are positioned within the normal area of your left and right mouse buttons. They’re barely recessed, so that they almost feel flush. Now, depending on how you grip your mouse, you might find yourself hitting these on accident more often than you like. It only took hitting them a couple of times to adjust my grip, but it was still annoying to deal with when it happened. Thankfully, with a mouse that’s built around customization, you can turn them off, right? Wrong. Even if you have no use for these buttons, you cannot disable them in any way. Accidentally clicking one of these in the middle of a game can be very frustrating. I can only hope that this is something that might get fixed in a software update.

Conclusion

Like its predecessor, this customizable mouse has a lot going for it. Where the R.A.T. 7 only had the bare minimum amount of extra buttons, which makes it more suitable for FPS games and the like, the M.M.O. 7 is named after its target audience. With the ability to activate up to 78 different commands, it’s almost difficult to use this device to its fullest. However, I know a few players who could do just that.

My two biggest complaints are regarding the downgrade of the DPI switch to a single button, and the inability to deactivate the ActionLock buttons. If you can’t find a grip that keeps your fingers away from these buttons, you’re not going to get frustrated very quickly.

Overall, if you’re the type to assign a lot of macros and keyboard shortcuts to your mouse, then the M.M.O. 7 will more than accommodate. Just be sure to take the time to properly adjust the mouse to your hand, and you’ll be golden.

I can certainly understand liking a game because it’s enjoyable. Taking it a little overboard in fandom is even ok here and there, as you’re doing it because of passion. However, when you make a theme park based on a mobile game, it might be a little much.

That being said, it’s not terribly surprising that a USB Slingshot has been made by a fan of Angry Birds. Seeing as this game is played for 300 million minutes a day, it seems only right that people would be thinking up new ways to approach playing it. Who knows, you may even pick up some serious slingshot skills in the process.

This isn’t a product you can buy, but there is a build log that will teach you how to make one. While not all of us may have the time or resources to craft one of these, we can certainly marvel at the idea. If the commercial for this thing doesn’t sell it for you, I don’t know what will.

There are times when I think to myself how great it is to be a PC gamer in this day and age. Ten years ago the closest thing to a gaming mouse you’d find was one with a pair of side buttons. These days there are mice to fit ever gamer, regardless of your preferences. Steelseries has made a name for themselves by listening to real gamers, and making products that people want. Today we’re going to look at the Kana, a mouse that’s meant to fall somewhere between the Sensei and the Kinzu.

First Look

The Kana comes in two flavors, White/Blue and Black/Orange. We have the Black/Orange version, which definitely has a Halloween look to it. You’ll also notice that the mouse is symmetrical, something that has become common for the company. The top of the mouse is a rubbery black surface, which gives you just a little extra grip. You’ll find the orange scrollwheel with a single LED inside. Just below the scrollwheel is your orange CPI switch.

On each side you’ll find a single button coated in the same black rubber. The buttons are much larger than you would normally find, measuring roughly an inch and a half in length. The sides of the mouse are a plain black plastic, which serves as a slight contrast to the rubber.

Underneath, you’ll see a translucent orange plastic base, which glows just slightly around the edges when sitting down. You’re also going to see the three teflon mouse glides, which cover roughly 16% of the base. Finally, the braided USB cable features the same black and orange color scheme that you see on the rest of the mouse.

Software

Steelseries has done a great job of making sure that you only need a single piece of software to manage virtually all of their products. The SteelSeries Engine if fairly polished, though for this particular mouse, there aren’t a lot of features to use. As with any other mouse that the company makes, you can remap all five of the available buttons (that excludes the CPI switch). These can be single clicks, or macros. They’re using the same tried and true macro editor that we’ve seen in the past.

The settings tab is where you’ll find my disappointment. You can change the CPI and LED intensity for two different settings, which are controlled by the CPI switch. You can adjust the CPI from between 400-3200. Some people might say that 3200 isn’t quite enough, but that’s not where my complaint lies.

When you attempt to adjust the CPI, you are only given four choices. 400, 800, 1600 and 3200. The jump from 1600 to 3200 is pretty steep. My comfortable everyday mousing speed falls somewhere in between those two, so this lack of customization was pretty disheartening. This is definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind when considering this mouse.

In the Properties tab, you’ll find the ability to switch mouse profiles when you launch certain programs. I generally have a different layout for FPS than I do for RPGs, so when I open Battlefield 3, I’m not still stuck on my settings from Skyrim until I can get a chance to hop out of the game to fix it.

Finally, the statistics page can give you an idea of how much you use certain buttons over a period of time. This isn’t really all that useful, except for satisfying your curiosity.

Comfort And Performance

The first thing I’ll mention here is that this is a very light mouse; probably the lightest I’ve used. For me, it’s not something I’m fond of. I prefer a mouse with a good bit of weight, and this one only comes in at 72 grams. that’s less than ¾ the weight of the Sensei. I won’t say that this is detrimental, but weight is something you should consider when looking at a mouse.

The overall size of the mouse is slightly smaller than the Sensei, but is still fairly comfortable, even for someone with relatively large hands. It took a little time to get used to the two side buttons, and I still can’t say that I’m terribly fond of them. My complaint here is that I would prefer two buttons for my thumb, rather than one. That said, they handled the execution of the single side buttons wonderfully.

The Sensei had two buttons on each side, which seemed like a great idea. However, without fail, I accidentally hit one of the left side numerous times throughout the day. It’s bad enough that I’ve actually disabled them completely. The reason that they’re so easily hit is because they stick out just a bit. When I grab my mouse, I tend to put pressure on my thumb and ring finger. My ring finger rests high on the side, which is where the buttons are. More often than not, grabbing my mouse results in a click.

The buttons on the Kana are considerably different. These are flush with the sides, with a small area cutout around the lower edges. Since they don’t stick out at all, I’ve not experienced any issues with accidental clicks. The buttons are also rather long, which makes hitting them much easier. I’ve never had trouble with my thumb buttons, but left-side buttons still aren’t terribly common, so my ring finger doesn’t get much practice with that. Being an inch and a half long, my finger is resting on the button, no matter which way I grip it.

The teflon mouse glides work just as well as you would imagine. Whether you’re using a stiff teflon mousing surface, or a cloth mousepad, it’s going to glide smoothly. Being as light as it is, one might argue that it moves too easily over some surfaces.

Conclusion

With a retail price of $50, this can be considered just on the high end of budget mice. Overall, I’d say that the Kana is a solid piece of hardware for the price, as long as you keep a few things in mind. First, this is a very light mouse. If you like your mice to have some weight to them, you’re not going to be happy. Also, you’re restricted to four CPI settings. As long as you’re happy with those things, then you should enjoy this mouse.

Mass Effect 3 is mere weeks away from launching, which means in no time you’ll be sending Commander Shepard on one last mission on the Normandy. This time, Razer wants to make sure that you’ll be doing it in style. That’s why they’ve announced the launch of seven ME3-themed items.

To make you feel more like Shepard while playing, there are seven new N7-branded products for you to use. These are the Imperator, Black Widow, Vespula, Chimaera, and Onza. They are also releasing a messenger bag and iPhone 4/4S case which pays homage to our favorite hero. These are all currently available for pre-order (except for the bag and iPhone case), and will be shipping March 6th.

When you order any of the Mass Effect 3 products, you’ll also be given a redeemable code, which will give you access to Reinforcement Packs. This includes either the Collector Assault Rifle, or if you’ve already got one, you will get an upgrade for this weapon. Each item you purchase will come with a code, so the more you buy, the more gear you will get.

It’s common knowledge that we all need a keyboard for our computers. However, for those of us who are gaming about 90 percent of the time, we want something that comes with all the bells and whistles. The Isku keyboard, put out by German gaming peripheral maker Roccat, leans a bit more towards the higher end range of things, and has a price tag that matches its functionality. However, it has a few begrudging aspects to it.

Following suit with its relatives, the Kone [+] mouse, and the Kave 5.1 headset, the packaging was quite impressive. It seems as though Roccat wants to make sure that the presentation of the exterior matches the interior. I will state again that this professional standard on packaging alone does deserve to be noted, but my rant about all that jazz is on my review of the Kone [+]. That being said, let’s just focus on the task at hand then.

First Look

Upon very first laying my eyes on this keyboard, I was both entranced and completely put off by it. It is a massive keyboard at about 20 x 9.72 inches, due to an enormous amount of buttons, and a wrist rest that is not detachable. As far as looks go though, this thing is beautiful. There is a shiny black plastic that surrounds the keys and buttons, which are slightly more matte and smooth. The shiny plastic is a magnet for fingerprints, so keep that in mind if you’re a bit obsessive compulsive. Surrounding that, which is mainly just the wrist rest, is a more textured black plastic that has the appearance of freshly poured cement. It is a bit lightweight, but does not give the thought of being a cheap piece of plastic.

Its size is honestly what made it unappealing at the start. I have a very large keyboard tray that slides out from my desk, and this thing took up all but an inch of it width-wise. Lying flat, I had a bit of a hard time keeping it at the edge of the tray. It seemed to enjoy sliding away from me. There are two kickstands of sorts that will prop it up, but even then the sliding persists as it’s rubber “feet” are too smooth. Seeing as all the keys and buttons are past the wrist rest, all this moving about made it a little difficult to see what keys I was pressing. In the heat of battle, this was certainly not a good thing. Normally, the illuminated keys would’ve been the saving grace at this juncture, but a portion of the keys back lighting are oddly placed, which means I can’t discern buttons when it comes to making split-second decisions.

Concerning the face of the keyboard, there are 5 LEDs in the top left-hand corner that let you know which of its programmable profiles you are currently using. To the right of these lights is another LED that will indicate when you are in record mode. Simply depress the the button next to the LED labeled “REC’ to record your macro, and press again. However, beware the gruff male voice that will let you know when you’re recording or not, as he might very well scare the living daylights out of you should you forget.

Nearest to the cord at the top of the keyboard are the media keys which can be customized to fit a variety of purposes. On the right side is a singular button that controls the six levels of brightness, sided by the Roccat Talk logo, which will be addressed here in a bit. Just beneath this logo are three LEDs that delineate which Easy Shift [+] profile you are using.

The keys have everything you could want, including a number pad on the right hand side. The left side of the keys has five macro buttons, and beneath the space bar are three thumbster buttons that make for wonderful shortcuts. All keys excluding the media hotkeys illuminate blue.

Features

This keyboard seems as though it has zillion features, its two most notable being the three thumbsters keys, and its 3 Easy Shift[+] zones that utilize something called Roccat Talk. The talking is done between the Kone [+] mouse and this keyboard, and will give them an entirely different set of buttons that can be programmed on one of the 5 profiles they both contain. By default, the Easy Shift [+] button is Caps Lock on the Isku, but it can be programmed onto another key. Once it has been pressed, it can remap the programmable keys and buttons of the keyboard and mouse, or one specifically. This will give you 36 easily-customized buttons that are not far off from your WASD anchor.

The Easy-Aim is a feature that both the mouse and keyboard share as well, which is great for snipers as it will immediately drop your DPI to a speed of your choosing. Simply program a button on either or both, and get headshots every time. Well, if you have good aim that is.

There are default profiles already in place, but you have the option of going in and messing things all about until you have them the way you’d like them to be. Just don’t forget to program an Easy Shift [+] button on both the mouse and keyboard, or you won’t be able to use that aspect.

Performance

This is a very easy keyboard to use. The thumbsters and macros were at a perfect distance, and the keys are in a natural position which meant a great experience in gaming. I was a bit disheartened at the fact that it wasn’t mechanical with all of the pomp and circumstance that it displayed in packaging and appearance, but it is by no means a reason to abandon thought of this product. Unless you are just really fond of that clicking and clacking.

My main annoyance concerning the design of this keyboard was the positioning of the LEDs behind the keys. If you are directly above the keys, you can see them perfectly. As soon as you start to lean back, or go to your normal sitting position, a good portion of the keys are dim to a point of being indiscernible. This would mainly be the top half of keys that are no longer be visible, which was annoying if you were trying to get any typing done and can’t do it all by feel.

Making changes to something if it didn’t suit my needs was clean and simple. It does take a little bit of time (about 30 seconds) to apply the new changes to the device though. The audio feedback on either the mouse or keyboard are also exceedingly helpful, as you never quite know which profile you’re on otherwise.

Conclusions

Obviously, with all of these customizable features, you can expect a long time for setup. It does take a bit of time to go through each profile and set up things the way you like them as well as making sure that you’ve programmed in an Easy Shift [+] button. Even if it is a bit arduous, the end product works quite well. Although this isn’t my favorite keyboard in the world, it does change to fit my needs with its different profiles.

When you’re looking for a headset, function and comfort are the main priorities. If it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at, that’s great and all, but if the quality is crap and it’s super uncomfortable, there’s no use in putting any money into it. To find a headset that encompasses all three aspects, and a reasonable price is somewhat of a rarity.

Roccat is a German gaming peripheral designer that has just come to the states this year, and made their big debut at CES 2012. They have an astounding eye for detail when it comes to packaging, and their product looks the part of a very professional grade. My review last week of the Roccat Kone [+] mouse was nothing but praise, and rightfully so, but I am sad to say that theRoccat Kave 5.1 headset doesn’t deserve such praiseworthy speech.

First Look

As I said in my previous review, upon first opening it, I was impressed by the quality of the packaging, as well as the look and feel of the product itself. It was immediately apparent that the ear cups folded up, which is great for whenever you’d need to travel with them. The exterior of the ear cups are coated in smooth rubber, while everything else but the padding was a matte plastic. The padding for the ear cups were covered in a sort of faux leather, as were the three headband pads. Roccat was very particular in stating that their ear cups had been hand sewn, and while I can’t tell hand-sewn from factory, it is certainly a noteworthy feature.

The headset is predominantly black, the only other colors being grey to delineate Left and Right, the title of the headset, and light blue for the logo as well as the company name. The mic was detachable, and has a LED ring to indicate which side the mic plugs into. It is on this side, about an inch under the mic that the 11.2 foot long cord is attached. That sounds exceedingly long, but is only because it is broken up by the desktop remote, and the splitter. Although it is powered by USB, the headset is actually analog, coming with four 3.5mm jack plugs.

The desktop remote is the central management for all volume functions. On the right side of the box is a switch to give you the option between game and movie mode, and sliders that give you the ability to adjust sub, front, rear, and center volume. All are hidden by a hinged door so they can’t be moved on accident. For the left side of the remote, there is a master control for the volume which is a smooth, rubber coated ring that clicks when turned. On the side of the box is a button that will mute your mic. A blue LED on the tip of the microphone will indicate that is muted, which is great for those of you who think you have turned off your mic, only to find out that you’re still live.

Comfort

This is the section that really sort of ruined these headphones for me. While the ear cups were extremely comfortable and fit over my ears perfectly, the three pads on the headband nearly gave me a migraine. They were put there for equal weight distribution so that it will fit your head perfectly. While it did fit snugly, if it wasn’t perfectly perched on my head, it was actually somewhat painful. I thought it might be something that I would get used to over time, but I made this my primary source for sound for a few weeks, and I’m sad to say that it is still as bad as day one. Maybe it’s just me, but this could definitely do with a bit more padding along the head band.

Audio Quality

The performance of these headphones was rather exceptional. The simulated 5.1 surround sound made sure that no detail was left unheard. Having vibration within the ear cups definitely further immersed me into whatever game I was playing. If a dragon was roaring at me, I actually felt the vibration of his roar. Not to mention that the padding was wonderful at isolation. You won’t hear the doorbell, or even your phone ringing right in front of you with these on.

Sound was also directionally precise, coming out of the 40mm speakers at a 12 degree angle, which means it’s going to be hard for anyone to sneak up behind or beside you, as you’re not missing a scrap of sound from any direction. Adjusting the sliders for specific parts of the volume was helpful, but I never noticed much difference between the game and movie modes.

Conclusion

Although I found the performance of this headset to be wonderful, I wouldn’t purchase them at their $110 asking price. The look and function were all above standard quality, but the fact that I was quite often aware of how painful the headset was to use really deterred me from it. However, there is the possibility that this is an individual occurrence, and may not have the same effect on others. If you are interested in the sound quality of this headset, I encourage you to try them out. It was painful for me on day one, so it should be very telling within a short amount of time whether or not they will be a good fit for you.

There are a lot of differences between consoles and PCs. Some gamers will choose the former because of the low cost, while others might choose the latter because of the better graphics. But one of the most fundamental differences between the two is what you use to play the game with. PC gamers can use controllers, if they choose. However, those with a PS3 or Xbox 360 are generally unable to use a keyboard and mouse.

Over the last few years, different devices have come onto the market that will allow console gamers to experience the same controls that PC gamers have enjoyed. I’ve spent a couple of weeks with one such gadget, the Eagle Eye 3.0 from Penguin United. The version I’ve been using works with the Xbox 360.

First Look

In the box you’ll find a 22-page instruction guide, a CD, and the device itself. The device is a small box with a 13′ USB cable, two USB ports and a number of switches. Eight of the switches are for “turbo” and correspond with the buttons on your controller. The other two are for programming the box and switching between one of two different profiles.

Setup

Remember were I said that there was a 22-page instruction guide? There’s a good reason for that. Every page is in English, so you’ll be reading each and every page. To be honest, this is one of the most difficult and time-consuming devices to setup that I’ve encountered. There is good reason for this, as you’re trying to translate key presses and mouse movements into something that your console can recognize.

First thing you’ll need upon setting up this device is an official wired Xbox 360 controller. When they say official, they mean it. I tried using our Batarang controller from Power A, which is officially licensed, but it was a no-go. If you don’t have an official wired controller from Microsoft, you’ll need to add that to the cost of the device.

To program the box, you’ll need to plug it into your computer, and run the software on the CD. You’ll then map each button, trigger, and analog stick to your desired keys. I’d recommend pulling out the manual for the game you intend on playing, as it will help greatly. Once you’ve done that, you can export it to the device. If you have another game you plan on playing, you can flip the switch to “Key Map 2” and setup another profile.

Now it’s time to hook it up to your 360. With the console powered off, you’ll plug in the box, and hook your wired 360 controller to it. Power on the console, and once your controller has been assigned a position on the console (it should be the first and only controller), you can unplug it, and plug in your keyboard and mouse. Now these too, must be wired. Also, neither of them should specifically require a driver to run, as for obvious reasons, you can’t install one. Most wired keyboards and mice will work.

If you’re really lucky, you could start playing your game straightaway, and have fun. However, that isn’t going to be the case most of the time. For this, you will use the F1-F8 keys to modify your deadzone, X-axis sensitivity, Y-axis sensitivity, angle correction, and rotation speed limit. Going through each of these can take several minutes, adding significantly to your setup time. If you’re doing this for the first time, I’d set aside 30 minutes for setup, bare minimum.

If you want to knock off some of that time, you can try going to the Penguin site and downloading a keymap that another user has already uploaded. You’ll still need to calibrate everything for your particular keyboard/mouse and specific tastes.

Performance

This is obviously the most important part. Is all of that setup time really going to improve your game? My answer isn’t exactly a definite one. I’m a PC gamer at heart, so I tend to do better with a keyboard and mouse, rather than a controller. So was my performance better while using this device? I can answer that with yes.

What’s interesting is that playing console games with a keyboard and mouse didn’t feel as natural on my 360 as it does on my PC. After countless hours of playing, I couldn’t ever quite put my finger on it, but something about it always felt off. The mouse was responsive enough, and I was able to make shots that I’d never have pulled off with a controller. However, I feel like I didn’t perform up to par, when compared to how I played on a PC. Overall though, I enjoyed being able to use my favorite keyboard and mouse while playing with friends on my 360, and my kill/death ratio was generally higher than when I’d switch back to my controller.

Final Thoughts

Setting up the Eagle Eye is a pain in the ass, no doubt about it. However, if you have the patience to get through that, it can certainly provide the desired results, to a degree. My personal experience was that I performed better than with a controller, but not quite as good as I normally would on a PC. So is it worth the $60 price tag? That depends on how much you plan on playing with a keyboard/mouse, and how good you are with a controller. Also, if you don’t have an official wired controller from Microsoft, that price just jumped up to around $100.

When it comes to Kinect, it seems like there are three groups. First, you have the group that enjoys casual games like Kinectimals. Then, there is the group that has hacked it to work on the PC, and uses it for a variety of purposes. Finally, you have the people that just don’t care. Most people I know fall into the last category. Of course, that’s not going to stop Microsoft from putting all of their weight behind the product.

The company has recently announced that they will be making the Kinect available on the PC starting February 1st. If you’re a bit confused, don’t worry, you’re in good company. It’s already been proven time and again that the currently available hardware works just fine on a PC. So why the new branding? We’re not sure. At least it’ll be the same price, right?

In a strange move, Microsoft has announced that the Kinect for Windows will retail for a whopping $250. Yes, that’s $100 more than the Xbox version is currently selling for. What we don’t know is why it costs so much extra. But what I really want to know is who they expect to buy this. The people who care about using motion controls with their PC likely already have one, and you’re going to be hard-pressed to convince those that don’t to shell out an extra $100 for the “Windows” version. As of now, there has been no word on any hardware changes between the two models, so my only guess is that you’re paying a premium for software, which would simply be ridiculous.