In a community where RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and World of Warcraft are the reigning kings, it can be hard to break the surface with a new RPG title of your own. The teams at Big Huge Games and 38 Studios didn’t let this slow them down, however, and from their combined efforts we’ve received a new title that’s more than up to the challenge. They have come together to release Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – an RPG that’s got plenty of the elements that a game of its type needs at heart, all the while adding a new flair of gameplay that definitively sets the game apart from others in its genre. After getting a taste of the game, I’m most definitely convinced it can stand on its own against some of the bigger titles out in the community right now. Let’s take a closer look at just what Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning brings to the table.

Story and Graphics

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning takes players into a fantastic world that’s wrought with war. R.A. Salvatore once again crafts a story that brings yet another fantasy world to life. The beginning of the game sees the player’s character as they are revived through a wild experiment. A gnome has been furiously at work creating a contraption teeming with arcane energy. This project has been dubbed the Well of Souls, and it’s purpose is to return the soul of a lost life back to its body. Through this Well, your character has been snared back from the realm of the dead, to live once more. You learn that your character died while fighting the ongoing war that’s been plaguing the kingdom for far too long. Since this revival has taken place, it’s left you without a predetermined destiny. This brings with it some incredible power, as well as those who seek to take from you which you barely understand. As the game continues, the plot thickens and things take a wicked turn. Reckoning’s non-linear quest line help players to learn more about the game’s story, and Amalur itself.

When you look at Reckoning, easily the first thing you’ll notice are the high-quality colorful graphics. When it comes to the game’s art style, it’s best described as loud. With contrasting, vibrant colors, the game really jumps out at the player and makes discovering new areas a real event. Amalur’s bright landscapes and vast caverns really help to make trekking through to discover more of the world a real treat rather than a menial task. I found that no matter where I had to go, I constantly was looking around at the scenery, taking a moment to actually stop and smell the roses.

When it comes to the characters and enemies, however, they don’t necessarily share the same type of heights set by the game’s scenic locales. They still look good in their own right, but the attention to detail was obviously placed on the backdrops and world that Amalur presents. Don’t let this halt you, though. With the amount of detail that was paid to how the game presents itself as a whole, you’ll see that everything comes together quite nicely.

Even the character you choose has their own detail. At first you’ll choose from a list of presets, and then customize them from there on. You can choose your character’s hair style, facial hair, accessories, and even the depth of facial features. Reckoning really finds a way to take simplicity and make it perform at the top of its tier. By no means is the game terrible to look at. It may be a bit more cartooney than games like Skyrim, but it stays adult with gory cutscenes and high-octane gameplay.

Game Mechanics and Combat

When it comes to game mechanics, Reckoning has all the right pieces in all the right places. As an RPG, it needs to have plenty of dialogue, questing, plot advancement, and new discoveries to keep it playable. The game delivers on all of these aspects, all while adding in some new features that put it a step above the rest.

Character creation, while a bit simplified, is still unique. Players will be able to choose from one of the game’s four races to run: Almain (human), Varani (a winter-like human race), Ljosalfar (elves), and the Dokkalfar (dark elves). Each race has their own lore and racial abilities. There isn’t really much difference between the races, and the lack of diversity between them was a bit upsetting, but it wasn’t something that was game-breaking. I’d like to see more races to choose from, but it certainly didn’t put a damper on the fun of playing any of the ones available.

You’ll meet NPCs throughout your journey, just like with any other RPG. Each of these characters help lend some culture to the game in their own way. You’ll see gnomes, fae, humans, and tons of monsters along your pilgrimage across the lands of Amalur. These NPCs have received their own level of detail, but when it comes to them speaking, the detail ends there. I found myself feeling like I was talking to the same character over and over, and if I closed my eyes while speaking to different NPCs, this really set in. In short, the voice-acting isn’t a strong point in Reckoning.

As you progress through the game you’ll still continue to develop your character, even out to the later parts of the game’s story. As you kill enemies and complete quests you’ll earn EXP and level up. Character development is, again, simple yet it has depth. Level advancement has the player putting points into three different skill trees – Might, Finesse, and Sorcery. Might governs the skills of a warrior, while Finesse follows a more rogue-like approach. Of course Sorcery lends to the player’s magical abilities and the use of such abilities. At each level you’ll gain points which you can add to either tree – this means that there isn’t one set path for players to take. It really opens up the door for a type of experience that is tailored to the player’s specific style.

Characters also have skills that can be upgraded as you level. Some of these include Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Lockpicking, Persuasion, and more. At each level, you can increase one skill. As these skills increase you’ll unlock Milestones that will add new abilities and bonuses for each skill. For example, when leveling Alchemy, Milestones reached can help create more potent potions and discover more recipes while experimenting. Putting these skills to use is a great way to earn new equipment and items, as well as gaining buffs and staying ahead of the game. With Blacksmithing, you can salvage old pieces of equipment to gain regeants for use with the skill, as well as create brand new items using these regeants. Players can create new weapons for their class choice, as well as armor to suit. As you continue use with the skill, it will become stronger and of more importance.

A new feature that hasn’t been seen in other RPGs is the new Destiny system. Unlike normal mortals in the game, your Destiny is not fixed. Throughout the game you have the ability to choose from different Destiny cards which will grant new stat bonuses depending on the amount of points you have invested in a specific skill tree. You can choose from Destinies like the Acolyte, Initiate, Sage, and Sorceror. The game plays a lot off of these destinies, and being able to change them on-the-fly makes for a very interchangeable play style.

When it comes to combat, Reckoning certainly does it right. For an action-based RPG, the game certainly doesn’t pan out like others of its time. Combat is fluid, fast, and very efficient. With the pressing of one button you’ll be thrown into combos that will leave enemies laying lifeless on the ground. A simple system of one-button attack and defense never leaves the player feeling ambushed or underpowered.

You can equip primary and secondary weapons, allowing you to change combat tactics on-the-go. You can wield daggers and creep from the shadows, or take aim and knock enemies down with arrows from afar. Either way, there’s no stopping the might that your character brings in the heat of battle.

Switching equipment in the game’s inventory is as simple as right-clicking on it and selecting “Equip.” Each new piece of armor and new weapon have a distinct look and feel. Swinging longswords is effortless, though a little slow. Wielding daggers is quick and deadly. Using staves makes you feel like Gandalf in his most unstoppable of moments.

Perhaps the best thing about the gameplay elements in Reckoning is something that we mainly only see in MMOs – the ability to start all over with your skills and abilities at any point in the game. You’ll meet Fateweavers – people who can wipe your slate clean for a little bit of coin anytime you ask. Then you can re-spec all of your points back into your trees as you see fit. This means you can start the game as a hammer-wielding tank, and halfway through the game you can end up running a spell-slinging rogue who deals death in many different ways. This is where the game really shines.

The Conclusion

I’ll admit that when I first started playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. Once I sat down and jumped into the game, however, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Reckoning’s perfect blend of action and RPG elements really make for a game that most certainly will be discussed already as a contender for 2012′s Game of the Year. Even devout players of Skyrim will be humbled to engage in Reckoning’s talent system and simplistic combat.

Reckoning isn’t at all a perfect game. I could stand to see more depth in character races, better voice-acting, and more attention to NPC detail, but it is still a game that will no doubt provide an experience that will bring the player back for many runs through the vast lands of Amalur. If I were to say that you should skip over this game, I’d be doing you a disservice as a gamer. Seriously, Reckoning has everything you want in a game and more. I’m nowhere near finished, and I can’t wait to get back in and lend my sword for the greater good of the world. As soon as you try your hand at this game, I have no doubt that you’ll feel the same.

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.

Nearly 12 years ago, Blizzard released the second game in the Diablo series, and thus gamers everywhere lost countless hours of their lives. Since the game had such a large focus on online play, the replay value was extensive, with people still playing it to this very day. Thankfully, the next installment in the franchise is due out soon (though we still don’t know exactly when), and with it comes a set of co-branded products from SteelSeries.

SteelSeries has teamed up with Blizzard to release two Diablo III peripherals. Dubbed the Diablo III Mouse and Diablo III Headset, you can imagine the hours that went into just naming them. Also, there are six different mousepads, two simply have the Diablo III logo (one is small, the other medium sized), while the others depict a Monk, Barbarian, Witch Doctor and Demon Hunter.

I’ve spend some time with the mouse, headset and one of the mousepads, and today I’m going to give you a mini review of each. I say mini review, as these are more or less rebranded versions of existing products.

Diablo III Mouse

First up is the mouse, which looks very much like the Sensei, which we reviewed not too long ago. However, it is by no means the same. I would guess that it is more like the older Xai, which has the same basic design.

So what’s different about the Diablo III mouse? Well, the first thing you’ll notice is the branding, along with a pretty cool design on the surface. You’ll also find pulsing red LEDs on the logo, and in the scrollwheel. The wheel also has a slightly different texture, and the surface of the mouse has more of a rubbery feel than the Sensei. If you flip it over, you won’t find the LCD screen that is seen on the other mice. Also, the Diablo mouse feels a bit lighter, almost too light for my tastes.

SteelSeries has made sure to go all-out with the Diablo theme, as your mouse software is even decked out to look as though it is in the game. I’m all for the design, however, the software is what disappoints me the most. Other than remapping the buttons (including adding macros) and changing the DPI and polling rate, there’s not much else you can do here. It’s not really a problem with the software, as I’m able to make all the usual changes to my Sensei with it. Rather, it appears that this mouse isn’t nearly as customizable as its predecessors.

Now, if you’re just playing Diablo, then the software does have some advantages. Namely, it has drag-and-drop support for a variety of functions and skills from the game. This will be cool when the game comes out, but this feature is only good on one game.

It’s worth mentioning that if you’re a lefty, you’ll appreciate the fact that this mouse ambidextrous. Unfortunately, the nature of the design also means that I have to keep at least one button on the right side disabled (right handed, here), otherwise I find myself accidentally clicking it. Also, I have to say that the LED is done rather well. While it’s no surprise that you can set the light to stay on, off or pulsate, I like the “trigger” setting. With this enabled, your LED will only turn on when you click the left or right mouse button.

Overall, this mouse looks great. If you’re wanting something to match your Diablo-themed setup, then this one will definitely fit the part. However, if you’re expecting something that’s got a lot of features and is fully customizable, you’d probably better keep shopping around. With a price of $70, you’re much better off spending the extra $20 and moving up to the Sensei.

Diablo III Headset

If you’ve seen or used a Siberia V2 headset from SteelSeries, then you’re already familiar with the Diablo III Headset. While the mouse resembled the Sensei and Xai, this piece of equipment is virtually identical to existing hardware. In fact, Windows identifies it as a Sibearia V2 D3 when plugged in.

So what’s different? It’s all in the looks. a black headset with red accents has all the right curves and points to give you that Diablo feel. Also, you’ll find 18 red LEDs to light up the earcups and other accents. Remember where I was excited about the “trigger” setting for the mouse’s LEDs. The same applies here, only this time the triggers are sounds. As you play through a game, or listen to music, your headset will pulse with the audio. Definitely a nice touch.

The audio quality is great for a stereo headset. The 50mm drivers deliver quite well, and the noise reducing earcups ensure that not even the smallest detail gets missed. The retractable microphone is always welcome, and during my testing I experienced no issues with clarity when talking to friends. The USB cable is rather short, at just 3 feet, but you will find a 6.5-foot extension cable, which gives you plenty of room to work with.

The software has the same Diablo theme that was seen in the mouse. The only customization you’ll find here is for the LEDs, and for the EQ. If you’re looking for in-line controls, you will find them. The controller is a small box, which isn’t flashy, but gets the job done. From here you can adjust the volume and mute your mic.

I think that the Diablo III headset was done a lot better than the mouse. No features were missing here, and the visual changes look great. There’s a $20 premium over a regular Siberia. I’d say that if the design interests you, it’s worth the extra few bucks.

Diablo III Mousepad

When it comes to mini reviews, this will probably be the shortest in the history of GamerFront. There’s not really much to say about this, other than it’s a mousepad. Specifically, it’s one of SteelSeries’ QCK pads, which is known for being a good overall surface. It’s nice and thin, doesn’t move, and mice glide smoothly over it. If you fancy some sweet Diablo III art, then it’s worth the $15 price (a $5 premium on the regular QCK pad).

Have you ever heard of the German gaming peripheral designer Roccat? Neither had we. However, when some of their amazing PC gear showed up on our doorstep, they made quite a name for themselves. The Kone [+] Mouse, Isku Keyboard, and the Kave Headset looked a bit out of the ordinary, and it was love at first sight.

The packaging alone was enough for us to “ooh” and “ahh” over it, as it had excessively fancy anti-static bags, twisty ties, and Velcro wraps for the cords. Not to mention that the boxes themselves are beautiful. Every aspect of the presentation seemed to be thought out with some of the surfaces of the exterior box being shiny, some matte, and some both silver and shiny. If all this extravagance wasn’t enough, upon opening the box, we found that the first layer of box was a mere shell for the harder box underneath (for the keyboard anyway), and inside of that was a cardboard or thick plastic set which fit the keyboard, mouse, and headset in snug as a bug in a rug.

It may seem a bit silly to get so utterly excited about opening boxes, but when someone takes that much notice, it’s a shame not to at least make mention of it. If you were opening a present wrapped in brown paper grocery bags, then had one carefully packaged to a “t”, I think you’d notice. I had honestly left out the bits about all the plastic covers, regular plastic wrap, and little tape dots. Well, until now anyway. Alright! Seeing as I can’t really rave on about how awesome the boxing of these items are anymore, I may as well describe the function of them. We’ll be getting to the headset and keyboard soon, but let’s start off with the Kone [+] mouse, shall we?

First Look

When I finally got it out of the packaging, the Kone [+] mouse was exactly what I was hoping it would be. It comes with four 5g weights which lets you choose whatever weight you so desire, and is a rather large mouse all in all. This is not such great news for gamers with tiny hands, but there’s a chance that you could still be comfortable using it. There are two curved lines of multicolor LEDs that sit on the outskirts of where your pointer and middle finger rest. A logo for Roccat sits just under your palm on the right side, while the title and logo are hidden just ahead of where your thumb rests on the left side. There are ten buttons in all, consisting of two side keys, two standard mouse buttons, a Windows button, two buttons for DPI, and three for the scroll wheel as it has rocking capabilities. The parts of the mouse that are not covered with smooth plastic have a silky smooth rubber coating.

Setup/Customizing

Quite honestly, this mouse was a bit of a nightmare to set up. It does have settings already in place, but once you realize how much you can customize, you will either be terribly excited, or horridly annoyed by how much work you’ll have to do to get everything just right. Most gaming mice seem to have a standard 5600 DPI max, which not many people use mind you, but this mouse decided to blow that out of the water, just because it could. The max DPI on this one is a whopping 6000, and this is in conjunction with its 10.5 megapixel resolution and 1000Hz polling rate. The sensors do need to be cleared of fuzzies sometimes, but I only experienced this problem twice so far, and it didn’t really inhibit anything.

You can have five different customized settings profiles that are saved in the 576kB of onboard memory. This means that you can configure button assignments, adjust the 5 DPI settings (per profile), and change the LEDs and sensor sensitivities. Another customizable feature that needs a little explaining is the Easy-Shift button. This button is basically a shift key for your mouse, and gives you the ability to have twice the amount of buttons on one profile. Let’s say you’ve mapped all of your essential buttons, but then find you need quick access to at least three more buttons of a different function than what you have available. Simply program one button as Easy-Shift, press down, hold, and voila, you have access to entirely different mapping for your buttons. Each profile contains one set the regular buttons, as well as one of the easy-shift options. Shifting through profiles is also relatively easy, as all you need to do is program a button to sift through profiles. Just don’t forget that you will need to reprogram that same button (or another of your choosing) for each profile. For every change you make, it will take a little time to apply the setting changes, so expect it. By a little time, I really mean only about 20-30 seconds, but it does feel like an eternity when you’re just wanting to change something small.

Another feature of this mouse is that it allows you to move the x and y-axis sensitivity separately, which means you can choose how fast or slow your mouse moves up and down or side to side. Even the lift distance can be customized. You can set how far away from the mouse pad the mouse needs to be before it starts to move your mouse in the game. It’s looking like the only way this thing could have more changeable features is if its body has weights, screws, and extensions like the R.A.T. Mice.

Fun fact- for every time you decide to change profile, DPI, volume, or sensitivity, you will get the voice of a gruff male telling you what has changed. This is great for letting you know which profile you’re on and such, but it scared the crap out of me the first time it happened.

Comfort/Performance

If you like to play PC games for hours on end, it is extremely important to have a comfortable mouse. What with all the weight additions, and rubberized coating, I couldn’t have been more pleased with this mouse. The inset for the thumb was superb, so much so that I found myself petting it rather frequently. (I’m aware that sounds a bit disturbing.) Although I wish there were indents for the pointer and middle finger as well, it wasn’t a game-changer for me.

Once I had all my settings in place, it was time to put it to the test, and it performed rather beautifully, other than getting gummed up with a fuzz at an inconvenient time. Although, you won’t have access to it until mid-February. It seems as though everything was made to be customizable so that any gamer can use this mouse. The setup may take some time if you’re really nit-picky, but once it’s all said and done, you have a gaming machine on your hands.

Final Thoughts

As you can probably tell, this mouse has definitely been a winner for me. There isn’t much that they have missed ranging from packaging to product, and I can’t think of much more that they could do to improve it, unless the physical form of the mouse was adjustable. If you’re looking to take one of these home with you, you’ll have to be willing to pay $79.99.

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.

We’ve reviewed a number of products from NZXT over the last few years, most of which were PC cases. However, today we’re going to take a look at one of the companies latest power supplies. What’s interesting about this particular line is that the company partnered with Seasonic to produce it. If you’re a hardware enthusiast, you know that Seasonic is known for making some of the best power supplies around. So right off the bat, you know that the HALE82 series has potential. Today we’re taking a look at the 850W model.

Features

The HALE82 series features an 80+ Bronze certification, and specifically operates at 82% 85% and 82% efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads, respectively. It also contains 100% Japanese Capacitors, which are the standard for high-end power supplies, due to their long lifespan and very low failure rate. You’ll also find a single +12V rail

First Look

When you take the HALE82 out of the box, you’ll find a rather hefty black power supply, which is mostly modular. I say mostly, because they have chosen to make the 20+4-pin and 4+4-pin motherboard connectors and a pair of 4-pin PCI-E connectors permanently attached. While I like the idea of having a completely modular PSU (mostly to make installation a bit easier), these connectors are going to be used in nearly every build.

You’ll also find a pouch containing the rest of the power connectors. What I like about these is that rather than going with round braided cables (like the ones permanently attached have), they have chosen to use flat cabling. This is very welcome, as it make routing them behind the motherboard a much easier task. It would have been nice to see the rest of the cables done this way. Here’s a full list of the included connectors.

Inside the unit, you will find a single 120mm two-ball bearing fan. This should provide quiet operation, while still keeping the supply nice and cool. Just make sure that you have a case that allows for airflow from the bottom of the power supply.

Performance

Power supplies can be one of the most difficult pieces of hardware, since you can’t run a few benchmarks, compare them to a different model, and show the results. In order to truly do that, a good bit of specialized equipment is required. Rather than attempting this, we ran the power supply on our test system for a few weeks, during which time it was ran for long periods both under load and at idle. During this, there were no issues to report. Unfortunately, that’s the way power supplies tend to go. Either they work, or they don’t. For those interested in numbers, we used CPUID Hardware Monitor to check the voltages both at idle and under load (using the standard Prime95 load test). Our test hardware is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i7 950
RAM: 12GB Corsair DDR2
Mobo: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB
GPU: Visiontek Radeon HD 5750
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Warranty

One thing to heavily consider when purchasing a power supply is the warranty offered by the manufacturer. After all, if your PSU dies in a year and they won’t replace it, then your money was not well-spent. NZXT seems to be aware of this, as their new “Less Than Three” program looks to be one of the best in the market. So what does this mean? If, within the five year warranty, your PSU should stop working properly, you can go to their website and get a pre-paid label to send off your power supply. That very same day, NZXT will drop a brand new PSU in the mail, ensuring that you have it in less than three business days. You’ll be hard-pressed to find that kind of service elsewhere.

Conclusion

There are a lot of competitors in the power supply market, which makes it hard for one to stand out from the crowd. Knowing that NZXT has partnered with Seasonic on the HALE82 line does give them a nice edge. However, what I think really makes these a great buy is the warranty service. When your system is down, there’s nothing worse than wondering how long it’s going to take for the company to process your RMA and get a new unit back to you. With the new “Less Than Three” program, you know that you won’t have to wait more than three business days. At $140, there are few other Bronze-certified 850W supplies on the market that are going to beat that price. Add in the value of the warranty, and you’ve got a winner.

If you remember back to last year, we reviewed one of the craziest-looking headsets on the market from Psyko Audio. What made this stand out so much were the five speakers located on the top of the headset, with copper pipes running to each ear cup. At the time, I said that the were “probably the best thing you can do to change your gaming experience.” My only complaints were the high prices, and less-than-stellar performance when listening to music and movies.

Psyko listens to their customers, and when they sat down to design their next generation of headsets, they took both of the issues I mentioned into consideration. The result was the Psyko Carbon 5.1 headset, which I’m reviewing today.

First Look

These look remarkably similar to the original 5.1 that was released by Psyko, with some minor changes. This time around you’ll find a more discreet color scheme, consisting primarily of black, with red accents. You’ll also find that the majority of the headset is covered in rubber, which gives it a more durable feel. Finally, they have chosen to use braided cables and gold-plated connectors to give it a more high-end feel.

Comfort

Other than the cosmetic changes I noted above, the headset has remained largely unchanged. So rather than simply repeating myself, I’ll just defer to my previous review. The short of it is that while they are a bit on the heavy side, I can wear these for hours without any real discomfort.

Audio Quality

When playing games, I would say that these new Carbons perform roughly the same as their predecessor. And to be perfectly honest, that’s a good thing. The patented Psykowave technology comes through and delivers true 5.1 surround sound. This means I know exactly where bullets are coming from, or where someone is running before I even see them.

I’ve tested a number of 5.1 headsets, but all of them merely simulate the effects, except those from Psyko. I will say that there is a real difference between having a couple of drivers in the ear cups, and having the audio piped down to various parts of the cups. I feel like the directional sound is more accurate, which is what matters most when you’re immersing yourself in a game.

One of my big complaints with the original 5.1 headset was that it didn’t perform well with music and movies. This is one of the areas where Psyko has worked on, and it does show. While I still wouldn’t put these in the same category as a pair of audiophile headphones, I’m more happy using these as an all-around device, rather than only gaming.

Conclusion

This review is a bit shorter than usual, but in most respects, these are almost identical to Pysko’s first headset. It’s really a case of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” The things that they did fix, were necessary. I’m happier being able to listen to music and movies through the headset, and not feeling like I need to keep a second one around just for that. The other issue they worked on was price. $300 for a headset that was only good for gaming seemed a little salty for most people. But $200 for the new Carbons is perfectly reasonable for what they provide. This brings it closer to other high-end headsets that are on the market.

A lot of us like to have not only form, but function as well. If you want to be Batman, then everything you own has to have both abilities, and in a compact enough device that it will fit into your utility belt. That includes Xbox controllers, so it seems only logical that it should take on the shape of a Batarang to help you thwart your foes while in-game.

First Impression

Every time you get a new anything, obviously you will be taken over by it’s shiny new-ness when it’s in the box. However, once the packaging is off and you start using it, you really start to see how you feel about it. Thankfully, there were definitely more good things that came from this Batman themed controller than bad. This third party controller comes to us from Power A, and has all that you would want a Batarang controller to be. Even though this is a wired controller, you can’t blame that on Power A, as it’s Microsoft who locked down wireless frequencies to products they approve of only.

The controller as a whole is gray, but has strips of LEDs around the grips, and on top of the controller near where the wire is connected. It weighs a bit less than your standard Xbox controller, but shouldn’t throw you off as it feels only fractionally lighter. The profile is much slimmer than I was used to, but it is still pretty comfortable. The most likely reason for this are the two black, rubbery-smooth grips that are right where you’d rest the half of your palm connected to your thumb. Not to mention that it’s lesser weight is easier on you after a long gaming session.

Functionality

If you’re wondering about how different the generic Xbox controllers are to this fancy one, know that this one is much more responsive. Your LT, RT, LB, RB, and analog sticks have more resistance to them, which means they also snap back much faster. The only annoyance I found with this was that the bumpers had a plastic sounding click every time they’re pressed. While this may be a bonus to some, it wasn’t as enjoyable to me, but it certainly didn’t inhibit my playing.

For the remainder of the buttons, the start and select fit into the wings of a Batman symbol, while an extra button in the middle makes up the body of the bat, and changes the color of the LEDs. You have your choice of 7 different colors to match whatever mood you may be in. The xyab buttons are smaller, but a bit taller as well, so they’re just as easy for your fingers to find. The D-pad is comprised of one mega-button as opposed to individual buttons, which may be of concern to some, but it still has all the responsiveness that you need. Last but not least, the power button on the controller is much smaller than the original controller, and is made of plastic similar to the xyab ones. While this has no influence on your gaming abilities whatsoever, I’m not fond of this. Just because.

Conclusion

While it may not have the exact same effect as Batman’s weapons, it would definitely pack a punch if you tossed it at someone. As far as using it for your Xbox, it’s definitely a controller worth checking out. Even though it’s not as customizable as other third party controllers, like the Razer Onza, it definitely has some amazing quality on the performance side of things, and would be an excellent addition to any gamers collection. If you’re willing to pay the $49.99 price tag to get it that is.

Story

Rather than starring the James Bond of the original, Pierce Brosnan, this reimaged edition stars our current day Bond, Daniel Craig.  And with that, the game’s story has also been changed to take place after Daniel Craig’s movie, Quantum of Solace while still making references back to the original GoldenEye. The story is very much, as a whole, a James Bond story.  You’re a spy sent on a mission to infiltrate a Russian base with your fellow spy, 006.

I don’t want to diverge too much into the story, as saying more than what I already have will just give it away.  But look at it this way, if you’ve seen a few James Bond movies or played the original GoldenEye for that matter, you’ll know how it goes.  As I said, it is very much a traditional Bond story.

Gameplay

My thoughts on the gameplay are that overall was disappointing.  The style of the game was still very much from the N64 era despite the fact that this game is supposed to be a reimaged / remastered game to fit with today’s current games.

The problem that came down most to me is the fact that when you shoot, every gun is virtually the same.  There is no need to aim as hip-firing is just as accurate as looking down the crosshairs.  On top of that, none of the guns have any kickback or recoil.  I can just stare someone down with one of my assault rifles or heavier guns and my aimer doesn’t even budge an inch.  As someone who has played current day shooters like the Call of Duty series or Battlefield 3, this game leaves a lot to be desired.

But wait, it wouldn’t be fair to compare a game like GoldenEye to other games like the ones mentioned but as a current day gamer, playing a lot of games from the past leaves something to be desired when they are “remastered” or “reimaged”.

Otherwise, the controls in the game are fairly simple and easy to use and it doesn’t give me any issues to dislike overall.  As a whole, the games controls are fine despite the lack of a challenge when shooting a gun.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer mode is basically, in what I feel, to be similar to Call of Duty with James Bond, even a fellow friend had to say that, as well.  Which isn’t much of a surprise as Activision was part of this game’s making.  Aside from the lack of a challenge using the gun, overall, it isn’t that bad to play and can be fun to do.

However, unfortunately, I had to try hour after hour for what seemed to be about two days before I could get a match going because it seems like there aren’t really any gamers out there playing online.  Which, I can understand because with better games out there, I can see why one wouldn’t really be trying this game out any time soon.

Conclusion

I don’t know, I guess as a current day gamer, I do find myself at times going back to the classic games and enjoying them. But when they decide to remaster or reimage a game, I do keep expectations of it not only being updated graphics wise but also updating the gameplay and controls to keep up with the current games. Otherwise, the classic is perfect as it is, because that is how we played it when it first game out.

The game in its entirety is not that bad of a game to play.  It isn’t the original and I wished that they had just given it its own name because calling it a remastered edition but changing the story line makes me feel like it could have held a better stance in the gaming world; James Bond can easily have been made into a different game. Overall, it is still a decent game to play.