Author - Jerry Paxton

Interstellar Marines Audio Interview with Zero Point Software

2011/03/14
Jerry Paxton
Articles, Interviews

We recently got some time to chat with Zero Point Software’s game director of their upcoming Interstellar Marines, Kim Jørgensen, about the project and its development. This twenty minute audio interview features several topics of discussion, from what we can expect to see in the next chapter of their roadmap to retail release as well as their advice to other independent developers out there. We would like to thank Kim from ZPS as well as the entire Interstellar Marines team for making this interview possible.

**Also, I must apologize to you listeners out there for the low volume of my microphone – it was a glitch in the settings. Despite this, I think you will get some great info about IM from this interview – enjoy!

Review of Dragon Age 2 – PC

2011/03/14
Jerry Paxton
Reviews

Dragon Age: Origins on the PC was a great RPG experience which managed to bring the gameplay of old-school masterpieces like Baldur’s Gate and Fallout into the modern age – giving both console gamers and PC gamers alike their choice of play options. Two years later and BioWare has brought out the game’s sequel: Dragon Age 2.

Telling the story of Hawke – a character who, at the start of the game, is in the process of fleeing Ferelden from the Blight during the same time frame as the original Dragon Age: Origins. In tow with Hawke are his mother, sister, and younger brother. The family ends up in the city-state of Kirkwall and must eek out a living in order to survive. Dragon Age 2 features a framed narrative, and each act of the game is setup in the discussions of one of Hawke’s companions, a rogue named Varric, and a seeker of truth. He recounts the story of the game to the seeker and, sometimes, will embellish a bit along the way. That’s as far as I dare go in giving away the plot as it is doubtful that any of your playthroughs of Dragon Age 2 will be exactly the same.

This is because Dragon Age 2’s most amazing quality is its ability to tell a unique story based not only on what your actions were in the previous game (allowing imports of saved games a la Mass Effect 2) but also the decisions you make in this title. Choose to leave a party member behind and while you are out on a quest, this character might be captured, die, or worse. Choose to take them with you and much of the same is possible. BioWare has masterfully crafted a game where you get very involved with the characters you are allied with and care about what happens to them. Aside from your party members, any of your character’s dialog choices and actions could have serious implications on the game world or at least how your party interacts with it.

They have also taken the level of inter-party member character interaction to a whole new level here. Gamers remembering the fun interaction of your party members in the Baldur’s Gate series have not seen anything yet! Dragon Age 2 features some incredible inter-party conversations – from taunting to heart-felt discussions and everything in between. You will also earn reputation, both positive and negative, with each one of your party members. This raises a lot of options for how your party works. This won’t end your game experience at all – in fact, party members give your character special bonuses depending on whether they like or dislike you – so you may play that part of the game tactically to get your bonuses exactly how you like.

Also, the romance system in Dragon Age 2 is very present and you have a lot more potential mates to choose from than the number found in Dragon Age: Origins. Also present is the ability to cheat on your mates with other characters along the way. Again, this goes directly back to the development team’s focus on character interaction. In terms of that category of the game, we have not really seen anything like Dragon Age 2 to date.

The gameplay of Dragon Age 2 has been streamlined to make things a bit smoother to operate. Some of these ‘optimizations’, as I will refer to them, are very good – others, not so much. Combat has a much more frenetic and cinematic quality. Warriors will charge and lunge at opponents, giblets fly about more than in the first game, and party member AI has been greatly improved upon. A re-vamped tactics screen returns and presents the tactical options and AI plan of attack in a much easier-to-understand method than in DA:O, but should you never touch that screen you can rest easy knowing your party members will do fairly well by default. If you are a PC gamer like me who loved the Baldur’s Gate and Fallout series of isometric RPGs, you can set the game to pause on the start of combat and you can zoom the camera out and up to a level similar to that found in the first game.

Unfortunately, some of this streamlining did not sit well with me. First and foremost is the loss of the ability to outfit your party members’ clothing and armor. For some reason, this option is simply non-existent. You can find upgrades to your party member’s attire but those are just stat bonuses. The only things you can change on your party members are their equipped weapons and jewelry. Maybe BioWare got tired of seeing ‘nude’ Dragon Age: Origins machinima or something? I don’t pretend to know. The other issue with this optimization of the game system is its lack of certain skills and abilities that were so fun to play with in the first game. For instance, in the more focused skill trees provided for each character, you will not find any shapeshifter magic. The good part about the skill trees are that they won’t confuse any new gamers to the RPG world. They are very straight forward in that regard.

Another issue with Dragon Age 2 is its re-use of levels. You enter several areas that are directly taken from other ones. They may have different loot and enemy layouts (perhaps even a locked door where an unlocked one previously-resided), but the actual structure of the level itself is exactly the same. I am surprised to see this kind of laziness by BioWare and wonder what would have allowed them to make more levels unique? Was it time, money, or both?

But, I digress… Despite these issues, Dragon Age 2 features some very pleasing visuals. While the game’s demo did not perform well on my high-end gaming rig, the retail product is a thing of beauty – even with everything pumped up at 5760×1080 resolution! BioWare has even released a 1.08GB texture pack for the PC version that allows you to run it in even higher quality. Game audio is superb, with awesome ambient sound effects as well as some really excellent vocal performances by the voice over cast. Both Nicholas Boulton and Jo Wyatt bring in great delivery as the male and female versions of Hawke while Victoria Kruger’s ‘stimulating’ portrayal of the ex-pirate captain, Isabela, is exceptional. Brian Bloom also does some excellent work as the rogue, Varric, who has a ton of exposition to pull of and does so without missing a beat. Big thumbs up to the rest of the cast as well – everyone just did wonderfully.

Overall, Dragon Age 2 features some very fun and frenetic combat as well as a rich storyline with some of the best character interactions and development ever seen in a video game. I dare you to play though this game without finding yourself talking to your party members as if they were in the same room as you. In short: If you are an RPG fan, you should go out and get this one right away. BioWare did a bang-up job with it and you will have a great time re-playing it as well, just to see what other outcomes you can create by your actions.

Crysis 2 Be Fast Trailer

2011/03/13
Jerry Paxton
News

Crytek and Electronic Arts have released a new trailer for their upcoming shooter, Crysis 2. Be Fast shows off the speed-enhancing abilities of the player’s nanosuit in combat applications. Crysis 2 is due out on March 22nd, 2011.

Trapped Dead – Review (PC)

2011/03/08
Jerry Paxton
Reviews

Trapped Dead is a welcome breath of not-so-fresh air in the realm of zombie games. From Dead Rising to Left 4 Dead, zombie games are usually frenetic affairs where players bounce about like Sonic the Hedgehog on a stimulant. Headup Games has brought us a game where tactics and inventory management are of the utmost importance, as is using the individual skills of your party members to their fullest and keeping good tactical discipline in your party’s formations. In essence, Trapped Dead is reminiscent of games like Commandos and Baldur’s Gate in that you spend most of your time carefully planning out your next movements before committing to a fight as each could be one or more of your party member’s last…

Trapped Dead starts with two friends driving across country when they stop for gas at a seemingly-abandoned fuel station. As it usually does in these situations, zombies are running (shambling in this case) rampant and eating on the living. Along the adventure, you will gain new characters in your party – each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, on of the characters – a medical doctor, is wheelchair bound. He cannot move as quickly as the others but can heal like no other and, when given a street howitzer, is a formidable sentry turret of sorts. Each party member has limited inventory space and managing this space is of the utmost importance. To make matters worse, there are not a lot of supplies out there to scavenge so you have to make every shot or med pack count at just the right moment to get out of a situation in the best shape possible. Gameplay can be paused and un-paused with the spacebar.

The zombies of Trapped Dead come in many flavors – most of which shamble about like those found in Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero’s films. This is also a welcome sight for the zombie game genre as most have the undead running about like marathon runners for shock and intensity. After playing Trapped Dead, though, you will find out that managing your quickly depleting stock of pistol rounds while seeing tons of zombies slowly converging on your position is just as intense and, sometimes more so as you have time to see it coming… What could you do different next time? What new tactics could you try? Thankfully, these questions will occupy your thoughts quite a bit in Trapped Dead and you will be aching to give that particularly hard mission another go.

The game’s narrative is presented through a large series of graphic novel panels as well as late 1970’s grindhouse / 1980’s horror movie style. Corny dialog abounds as well as dated equipment to sell the time period in which the game takes place. Unfortunately, while that dated / corny stuff really helps sell the game – the voice over work doesn’t. Purposeful grindhouse is a great thing when the actor’s buy into it and, in this case, the voice over characters just don’t quite hit where they should have. They are not Troll 2 bad, mind you, but they could have definitely been a lot better!

Visually, Trapped Dead is a simple game – but that simplicity translates very well on screen with crisp environments and characters. With very few options to set in the graphics menu, it is also worth noting that the game would not run on my PC in ultra-widescreen modes (5760×1080). I had to reduce it down to single-screen, 1920×1080. Once at that resolution, I experienced no more visual issues worth mentioning. Aside from the voice over work, Trapped Dead features some really fun and creepy sound design. From the period score to the background noise of flesh eaters moaning and environmental effects, Trapped Dead’s audio is very well done and commendable.

Multiplayer was an aspect we were desperately trying to make work as apparently the game supports cooperative gameplay. Unfortunately, we experienced constant timeouts when trying to ping available servers. Despite this, after playing through the singelplayer stuff, I can make an educated guess that the multiplayer would be a hoot given the game mechanics.

The only other complaint with Trapped Dead is that its control system seems sluggish at times. I would switch between characters and it seemed like the game did not pickup the keypress. Aside from this, the game controls relatively well in terms of what buttons do what function.

Overall, Trapped Dead is a welcome breath of fetid air for the zombie game genre. With a gameplay system a la Commandos and Baldur’s Gate as well as plenty of gore and undead to be found, we highly recommend you give this one a try. Trapped Dead is currently retailing for $19.95 and the game could have easily sold for one and a half times that amount. If you are a fan of zombie games or tactical strategy titles, you won’t be disappointed.

Fallout NV: Dead Money Review

2011/03/07
Jerry Paxton
Reviews

Full Disclosure: I am a Fallout nut. ‘Nuttier than squirrel poo’ is a phrase that I would apply to my obsession with all things Fallout. I played and replayed Fallout 1 and 2 for a decade before Fallout 3 came out. Blah blah blah, old school, blah blah blah, turn based combat, blah blah blah, three-quarter isometric view. Enough. I’m also pragmatic and will take what I can get as long as the games have that ‘Fallout feel.’ Story, snark, and attention to detail. While I was pleased with the way Fallout 3 came out, New Vegas is unquestionably a better sequel. Closer to California, the developers were able to mix a lot of old Fallout into the new, and it felt more comfortable, familiar, and ‘real’ than Fallout 3. Anyway, I’m babbling. On to the review!

INTRO
Dead Money opens with the Courier picking up a new radio signal which leads to a small underground Brotherhood of Steel bunker. Like any wastelander, a disembodied female voice inviting me to ‘Come play’ is a compulsion I cannot refuse. This is Nevada right? I might have stumbled on the right frequency for the Mustang Ranch!

Anyway, once the Courier gets close to radio source, he’s (I realize there are female gamers and characters, but I’m male so I’m going to use masculine pronouns and you’re going to be ok with it) subdued in a bright flash of light and whisked away to a small Villa outside the legendary Sierra Madre Casino.

Standing in front of a fountain in the town square, the Courier is greeted (in hologram form) by Elijah. Elijah was McNamara’s predecessor as Elder of the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel contingent. Elijah disappeared after the events of HELIOS 1, apparently making his way to the Sierra Madre Casino in search of advanced old world tech.

The Sierra Madre Casino itself was constructed by mogul Frederick Sinclair for a starlet named Vera Keyes to protect her from the impending war. It supposedly contains untold wealth, and features the most advanced old world tech including holographic entertainment and security, as well as ‘replicators’ that can create nearly any physical item (including food, weapons and ammo). However, the Casino never opened. Its doors were designed to be sealed shut until the grand opening gala ceremony. The bombs fell the day before the ceremony was scheduled to occur, and the doors remained shut.

THE STORY
Elijah really, really wants inside. He has grand plans of using the Sierra Madre technology to create a holographic army to pacify the wastes and build a grand new society. He needs assistance triggering the opening gala ceremony, getting into the Casino, and ultimately, the vault at its core.

Adventurers have long sought out the treasures of the Sierra Madre. Some even made it to the Villa. Elijah has coerced many into obeying him and attempting to break into the Casino. Three potential companions remain alive and hidden somewhere in the Villa.

The Courier is fitted with an electronic bomb-collar that Elijah can detonate if he disobeys. The bomb-collar is linked to the three other companions whose aid the Courier must enlist. If one dies, they all die.

The companions are: Dog/God, a multiple personality nightkin (sans stealthboy); Dean Domino, a ghoul, who was actually supposed to entertain at the Sierra Madre; and Christine, a Brotherhood of Steel scribe sent to hunt down Elijah. Together the Courier and his companions attempt trigger the opening ceremony and unseal the doors to the Casino.

I won’t give too much away, but obviously, the ultimate goal is to get inside the Casino and confront Elijah.

FEATURES / GAME PLAY
Dead Money differs from other Fallout environments in that there really aren’t a lot of enemies to fight. It’s all relative I suppose, but I found more of my time was spent sneaking around and avoiding holograms than shooting bad guys.

The Villa and Casino are surrounded by a red cloud of toxins that corrode any armor and eat the flesh within (the ‘Cloud’). Didn’t matter what armor you wore, your health dropped like a rock when you were standing in the Cloud. Unlike radiation exposure/sickness, the damage began immediately. Luckily, you can see the physical cloud to know where the boundaries are. The Cloud graphic and health effects are very well done.

The Villa is populated by ‘Ghost’ people, who are alive, but sealed in their hazmat suits. They are very hard to kill. Unless you score a critical hit and blow off a limb, ‘killing’ them doesn’t really kill them. The ghosts just drop down unconscious, like a fallen companion, only to get up a few seconds later ready to fight again. Keeping Dog/God around was really the only sure fire way to permanently eliminate one.

Once you get into the Casino, holographic security becomes an issue. The holograms are impossible to kill with your weapons, but if you see the emitter (not always easy) you can destroy that. The holograms are BAD ASS. They shoot fricken lasers from their heads (that’s a Dr. Evil thing… go with me on that), rapid fire, and it only takes 3-4 shots to bring the Courier down. Best bet is to avoid them entirely.

Oh, before I forget. There are f—ing traps EVERYWHERE. I have a blind spot when playing Fallout, and it’s watching where I’m going. I just don’t do it. Every location, every room, every corridor, every hallway has a bear trap in it, and I’m pretty sure I stepped in them all. Move slowly, and for Dog/God’s sake, don’t increase your run speed for Dead Money.

I mentioned the electronic bomb-collar above. One problem you’ll face is that radio signals and speakers will interfere with the collar. Get too close and your collar begins beeping. If you don’t get out of range or destroy the source, boom! This added a certain intensity to every step of the game that’s not generally present in Fallout. Your collar could begin beeping at any moment, and if there’s more than one speaker/radio causing it, getting to safety isn’t easy. Keep an eye on the wall graffiti. Previous collar-slaves have pointed out where a lot of the speakers are, and even arrows to guide you on your journey. The beauty of Fallout is in the little details. Don’t rush the expansion, or you’ll miss out.

WEAPONS
I forgot to mention that you’re stripped of most of your weapons and armor upon arrival. Elijah gives you a holorifle, which is one of the stronger weapons you’ll find in the game, but you can also find police pistols, shot guns etc… Other than the standard laser pistol side arm, I did not see any plasma/energy based weapons.

ARMOR
Not a lot to report here. While there is some unique Sierra Madre armor, it’s no better or worse than what you were likely wearing when you entered the expansion.

GRAPHICS
Also not much to say here. Dead Money is the first downloadable content for Fallout: New Vegas. Same game engine, same graphics. The whispy effects from the Cloud are neat, but not noteworthy. Note: I play on a PC.

Many of the buildings in the Villa are boarded up, which was annoying. If you’re going to put them in, let me get inside! There were plenty of buildings with open walls on the second story. The only way to get to them was a needlessly complex system of rooftop leaps and platform walks. If I have the strength to tote around 250lbs of guns and armor, I can kick in a wooden door. Seriously.

CONCLUSION
Overall, I enjoyed Dead Money, but I was disappointed by the play time: 3-4 hours. Such is life with expansions, I suppose. I will say that it’s a very tense 3-4 hours, and well worth your money.

Interestingly, both Elijah and Christine give the Courier info on that ‘other’ courier you’ve heard hints of throughout New Vegas. This other courier and the battle at the Great Divide will be the focus of future downloadable content, and I can’t wait!

LittleBIGPlanet 2 – Review (PS3)

2011/02/22
Jerry Paxton
Reviews

First person shooter? Racing? Adventure? Puzzle platformer? What type of game do you want to play? What type of game do you want to make? These are the questions that LittleBigPlanet 2 asks you. In the most basic sense, this is not a game. This is a mighty tool to let you create and experience whatever you want. And to top it all off, Media Molecule tacked one of the best platform games of the past few years on to the disc.

The story mode in LBP2 is fun. One of the best games I’ve played in a quite a while. The (very loose) story present is this: All of CraftWorld is being threatened by the Negativitron and it’s up to you to join with the Alliance to save the day. Well… Maybe it should read more like, ‘All of blah blah… Forget it. Here’s a bunch of levels designed to show off the new crap we put n the game. Have fun!’

Story isn’t so much LittleBigPlanet’s strong suit, but hey, you’re not buying this game for the story. Mario games rarely have much more of a story than ‘The princess is in another castle’ and they are the best platformers of all time. The story mode of LBP2 shows off some the best platforming levels of the last ten years all while teasing the sorts of games you’ll be able to create with a little time and effort. Throughout the game’s core 30 levels you’ll ride bees, shoot cupcakes out of your head, and grapple-hook through flaming forests. Each world shows off a different gameplay mechanic and I can’t wait to see what the community creates given these new toys.

LittleBigPlanet 2, like the first game, comes with the promise of user-generated content. Early adopters of the game have been lucky as it is backwards compatible with all 3 million or so levels created so far for the first game (along with any unlock able content you may have earned in the first title.) The search tools are far more streamlined this time around. Searches lead to content lists, opening a level can link to levels created by the same user, which can further link to their personal favorites and so on. My favorite part of the search tool is the new Media Molecule Favorites list, levels the developers themselves have chosen to show off.

Creating these levels is no small feat, but it Is a little user-friendlier than the first game around. The first game seemed to have endless demo videos to watch before you were allowed to think about touching an edit tool.LittleBigPlanet 2 does away with that, instead opting for a few basic tutorials before you can choose to either continue watching demo content or jump right in and try it for yourself.

Some of the better tools at your disposal this time around are the all new SackBots. These are programmable bots that can be used as enemies, NPCs, or heck… I don’t know… backup dancers? Their behavior is up to you.

Levels can now be linked together to build a game as large as your imagination will let you. Your levels are no longer confined to simple platforming. The intent behind LittleBigPlanet 2 is to give one the ability to create entire games of wildly varying genres. You can do this to your heart’s content with the ability to record your own dialogue, change camera angles at your pleasure, program the behavior of different tools, etc. For a game built around 2D platforming, I’ve started to see FPS-based levels being uploaded. This content generating freedom works well enough now and will only grow with time as users get more creative and crazy.

I’ve got little to no complaints about this title. Jumping is still a little floaty and shifting between foreground, middle, and background can be a tad off at times. Other than that, there is plenty of fun to be had here. Whether you’re purchasing this just to jump in and make your own games or if you’re more my speed and are looking forward to endless amounts of content waiting your consumption, this games has something for everyone. Personally, I’m going back online to play through some LittleBigPlanet recreations of The Human Centipede.

Battle: LA Game Outed by Australian Classifications Board Listing

2011/02/21
Jerry Paxton
News

A new entry on the Australian Classifications Board website suggests that there is a video game tie-in of some kind being created by Konami and Saber Interactive (TimeShift, Inversion). Not much is known about the game save for its publisher, developer, and that it is listed in the ‘Computer Games’ category (also, they rated it MA15+ for strong violence)! Battle: LA is due out in theaters on March 11th, 2011. We have put emails in to both Konami and Relativity Media for comment.

*UPDATE – We received a simple, yet very polite, ‘No comment, but thank you for checking in.’ from Relativity Media. We will update this post when we hear back from Konami.

LINK: ACB Listing

Canceled Thundercats CGI Movie Footage – Confirmed

2011/02/16
Jerry Paxton
News

Here is some test footage from a canceled CGI Thundercats movie. Lion-O is being voiced by the OC’s Ben McKenzie and the CGI itself was created by Digital Domain. Apparently, the plan was to co-develop a movie and game for the franchise but, because of multiple factors, was never created.

Buttkicker Gamer2 Review

2011/02/14
Jerry Paxton
Reviews

You may recall the Obutto gaming cockpit from our recent review. If not, be sure to check it out, however we decided to add one additional detail to the gaming cockpit for even more immersion into our favorite games – The Guitammer Company’s ButtKicker Gamer2

Obutto Gaming Cockpit Review

2011/02/08
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Peripheral Review, Reviews

It has been the goal of many a flight sim jock and race car gamer to have their own home cockpit with which to play their favorite games on. Often, dedicated home cockpit, or, ‘pit’ solutions can run into the thousands of dollars – much more when you get into the motion platform category. While these units offer a lot of realism, they are extremely specialized – e.g. You would not want to use a full-on flight simulator for racing and vice versa. If you are like me – a gamer with a limited budget, looking for a gaming cockpit that has enough chops to give both good flight and racing experiences, or even just general computer usage, then you should take a gander at the Obutto gaming cockpit.

The fully assembled Obutto gaming cockpit with all the accessories.

PURCHASE PROCESS (U.S. Distributor)
Obutto has named a select number of shops worldwide to be their distribution partners, so they are not available just anywhere. Their U.S. distributor is MainPerformancePC – so that’s where we turned when looking for the gaming cockpit. The MainPerformancePC website is straightforward and allowed us a good look at the Obutto prior to purchasing.

ACCESSORIES
There are several accessories that you may consider picking up with your Obutto. First, if you are a PC gamer used to a full computer desk, is the acrylic table top. Sitting on the platform usually dedicated for a racing wheel or flight yoke, the large, black acrylic table top allows you a nice surface to sit your front speakers on as well as any extra PC equipment like a TrackIR head motion-tracker or Nvidia 3D Vision transceiver. The table top retails for $110 dollars and is a very worthy addition to the cockpit system.

Additionally, if you want to use three monitors for an ultra-wide screen viewing option, you will need to pickup the optional triple monitor mounts. These extra monitor arms allows the Obutto to wrap you in LCD goodness. The triple monitor mount retails for $110 dollars.

Most-importantly for flight simmers is the center flight stick mount. While the Obutto comes with carbon steel pylons for a side-stick and throttle setup, having a center flight stick may be preferable depending on your sim of choice. For $55 dollars, if you get ANY add-on for the cockpit, this should be it. Of course, if you prefer flying an F-16D Block 52 Falcon, you would probably want to skip this one.

For our purposes, we added all three of the accessories. Our total came to $759 shipped anywhere in the US, tax not included though for WA & VA residents. The shipment arrived in three large boxes – the main box weighing over 100 pounds so, before you pull something, remember the old saying, ‘Lifting is a breeze when you bend at the knees’.

CONSTRUCTION
The only real problem with building the Obutto gaming cockpit is its instructions. The small, folded piece of paper is not verbose or stepped-out enough for novice builders and you will undoubtedly find yourself looking online for other build stories or images with which to base your construction. Also, the instructions don’t mention that you will need to have your own Vesa screws handy to mount your monitors to the cockpit. It also does not mention that you will need your own socket wrench or hex key. In an IKEA-dominated world, I half-expected them to ship with the cheap ones in the box. To Obutto’s credit, they don’t include them because those ‘punch-out’ tools are often shoddy and do not work right. While I don’t take issue with that point, it would have been nice to know on the instruction page.

One of the carbon steel peripheral arms which connect to the chair frame.

Aside from the shortcoming of the instruction pamphlet, Obutto and MainPerformancePC have a series of instructional videos on putting together some of the pieces of the gaming cockpit (the video links are private and will be sent to you after purchase). Also, MainPerformancePC has some really friendly people willing to answer any questions we had about the unit – so make sure to ask questions if you need to. The overall build time, including the drive to Lowe’s for proper Vesa screws, took about four hours. Once put together, the Obutto is a thing of beauty, its black frame giving an air of spartan, executive style. It is the ultimate conversation piece.

PERIPHERALS
Using the included carbon steel arms, you are able to mount a wide variety of peripherals for your gaming needs. For flight simulators, you can mount a throttle quadrant and flight stick or flight yoke to the Obutto. For racing games, you can add a racing wheel and pedals on the floor board. In most circumstances you should not have to attach the peripherals by anything other than Velcro strips. It should be noted, however, that Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS users can drill mounting holes into the arms and screw down their peripherals.

THE FUN
With the Obutto gaming cockpit finally assembled, we set our gaming rig, routed all of our power and controller cabling carefully around the metal frame (using twist ties and cable cowling), and powered up the PC. Sitting in the Obutto gaming cockpit is a very comfortable experience. The cockpit seat is a professional-grade, high-back chair that hugs your back and bottom. The Obutto also has a large foot pad that can be angled for additional comfort. This also makes a great base on which to set your rudder or vehicle pedals.

The large keyboard and mouse platform attaches to the side of the chair frame and gives you a wide surface that will accommodate any gaming keyboard out there. You can mount the keyboard and mouse platform on the left or right side of the chair, depending on your personal preference. For console gamers, you don’t even need to attach it if you don’t want to. The keyboard and mouse tray’s distance from the user is adjustable by sliding the tray forward or backward along the attachment arm. This is accomplished by slightly lifting the unattached side of the tray and scooting the platform away or towards you. The top side of the tray is padded with a rubbery-foam that allows you to use a gaming mouse directly on it if you like. It also helps one’s wrists to not get chaffed after long periods of gaming.

I feel the need. The need, for speed.

Currently in beta form, DCS A-10C Warthog is a hyper-realistic upcoming flight simulation. We used it as our primary test flight sim with the cockpit, and even mounted the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS system to the center flight stick and side throttle mounts. With the three screens of the gaming cockpit nearly wrapping around you and the hugging fit of the seat, firing up the A-10C is awesome. We use a TrackIR head-tracking system and having that much screen real estate track with our head movements while at the same time utilizing the center-mounted flight stick is an exceptional experience. We also fired up DiRT 2 from Codemasters for our racing game testing. DiRT 2 features some really pretty visuals and seeing the dashboard sprawled out before me as I took harrowing tracks at break-neck speeds was a treat. The overall immersion that the Obutto afforded me as a sim gamer was a welcome experience that gave me feelings of actual motion at times.

Basic computer usage is also enhanced by the Obutto gaming cockpit by proving a very stable, comfortable surface to type from. I typed up this entire review while on the Obutto and have enjoyed many hours of non-gaming editing on it as well. Although, I should caution you that if you use a wired gaming mouse, the swivel action of the keyboard tray can accidentally knock it off if not careful. To combat this, it is highly advisable that you get a wireless gaming mouse.

Of course, the Obutto is useful in any gaming experience, not just simulators. I played many hours of Breach as well also a long run of Dead Rising 2 on the Xbox 360 while sitting in the Obutto. Whatever I could think of playing turned out to be a great experience on the user level. I simply have no complaints about the unit whatsoever after it was all setup and ready for use.

CONCLUSION
Whether you are a PC or console gamer, racing game fan or desktop flight sim jock, the Obutto gaming cockpit has you covered. In a world where many gaming desks and sim platforms can cost thousands of dollars, the Obutto is an excellent gaming cockpit solution for under a grand. Obutto is also to be commended for not only creating an optimal gaming cockpit but also one of the coolest, most stylish computer ‘desks’ you will every see or have the privilege of using. I can’t recommend the Obutto gaming cockpit enough.

LINK: Official US Distributor Website

DISCLOSURE: GamingShogun was sent a gaming cockpit for review but did also go through the MainPerformancePC purchase process for review purposes.