The Plot
You start your journey in Tales of Arise as a nameless, faceless Dahnan slave who, beyond a year ago, remembers nothing. So, the slaves who you live among have taken to fondly calling you Iron Mask due to the mask of iron that you wear which covers your whole head, making it quite difficult to eat as our protagonist humorously mentions at some point in your journey.
You, as all heroes should be, are a fierce defender of justice, and the mere sight of injustices set you into action to protect those who fall victim to it, and your inability to feel pain is what aids you in this mission. As previously mentioned, you are a Dahnan slave on your homeworld of Dahna. Your world was conquered by the inhabitants of the twin planet of Rena and has since been controlled by Renans, and the five High Lords who hunger for the power they harvest from Dahna to compete in a contest to become the Sovereign of Rena, known as the Crown Contest.
As the game sets off, our main protagonist, whose name is later revealed to be Alphen, meets the other main protagonist who takes the form of a young Renan girl, known as Shionne. Shionne has come to Dahna on her own agenda which happens to align with Alphen’s and so, an unlikely partnership is formed between oppressed and oppressor.
In this, you find out that Shionne carries a powerful artifact within her, known as a master core, that has the ability to harness firepower. Alphen unlocks this core even further and is able to draw a sword out of it. This sword damages all who we wield it, but Alphen’s inability to feel pain and Shionne’s ability to heal him make them an unbreakable partnership and an unstoppable force.
In your quest of liberating Alphen’s homeworld, you meet many interesting characters along the way. These include playable characters that you can control and battle with, as well as the various resistance groups and allies you find scattered throughout your journey. Many friends are made, and some are lost, in your quest for liberation.
The Game
As mentioned, your primary objective is to defeat and overthrow the five High Lords who control various regions of Dahna. Each High Lord has a master core which gives them the ability to harness astral energy to allow them to compete to be named sovereign in the Crown Contest, which happens every seven years. This astral energy is harnessed from the land of Dahna and from the Dahnans themselves through master core stones embedded in their hands. The Renan's, as well as a select few Dahnans, are able to wield this Astral energy in the form of magical abilities known as Mystic Artes. There are five High Lords and thus there are five regions of Dahna which each harvest one type of Astral energy. The five regions of Dahna, which must be liberated in order to progress with the game are (in the order that they appear) Calaglia, where our journey starts, Cyslodia, Elde Menancia, Mahag Saar, and, finally, Ganath Haros. The boss of an area must first be defeated, and the area liberated before you are able to progress to the next area. However, you are able to travel back to areas you have already liberated. This may seem like an exercise in futility but there are some side quests given by various NPCs in these areas that can aid you in going forward. There are also a few giant beasts to slay that can’t be taken on too early – especially the one in Calaglia (think frost troll on the way to High Hrothgar times a thousand – don’t take this guy on too soon). The world and realms of Tales of Arise are breathtaking and well put together. Each area has its own uniqueness, and the world has been assembled in an absolutely spectacular way. I often found myself marveling at some weird creature or plant, as well as taking in the views that are often seen in Dahna.
The battle system uses the Linear Motion Battle System, which is well known throughout the Tales series. This system allows all characters within the battlefield to move around and interact with their opponents and allies. The linear aspect always ensures that you have a line of sight on your targeted opponent, no matter how you move around the battlefield. The combat mechanics allow you to dodge and “queue up” attacks with a mixture of Artes and simple attacks. This can be done for both ground and air attacks, essentially allowing the player to make up to 12 combo moves if timed and executed well. Artes require AP which is used and regenerated throughout the battle, support, and healing abilities require CP which are only replenished through rest, potions, or food. There are also special attacks that “warm-up” from successful attacks and evades, as well as over limit mode which allows you to execute as many Artes as the timer will allow without expending any AP. This mode also allows the player to execute a Mystic Arte, which is an overpowered super attack that wreaks havoc on the battlefield.
Final Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed taking on the role of the Blazing Sword of Calaglia and setting off with my companions to overthrow the Renan Lords and liberate Calaglia. The anime-style artwork in Tales of Arise really adds to the overall feel of the game and I often felt like I was living this incredible story in a graphic novel, rather than just playing a video game. The developing friendships between the various party members, as well as the humor and wit, threw throughout the game kept me entertained in even some of the duller moments. The story and character development keep you on the edge of your sit with unexpected twists and jaw-dropping climaxes. The years and experiences from before this story that molded and shaped the characters to be who they are in Tale of Arise are evident and can be seen just by watching the way they interact with each other, those around them, the world, and in battles. There is a depth of history shown in these interactions far greater than just this story can hold.
Tales of Arise is a fantastically put-together RPG in all elements. The story is rich and rewarding, the landscape is incredible, and the character development is almost real.
Coupled with a battle system that is unique to the Tales series and improved with each new installment of this 26-year long series, it is safe to say that Tale of Arise is in a class of its own and absolutely dominates in the RPG genre.
After many wonderful hours spent in Tales of Arise, I award this incredible game a whopping 9 and a half out of 10 stars!
A big thank you once again to Prima Interactive for giving us a chance to play this masterpiece.
As with previous versions of the popular NBA gaming title, players get to choose from various game modes to take on and tickle any and all of their Basketball fancies. These modes are;
Play Now – get straight into the action and play a quick game in any league, with any team that is available in game.
MyTEAM – a collector’s area where you open card packs, and have the option of buying more, to build your very own team to play with and compete against other teams online. The card packs include players – both new and legacy, ball parks, uniforms, coaches, logos, balls, and playbooks from top teams in the NBA and WNBA. You start this mode up by naming your own team and then opening your starter packs. Daily logins give you a pack a day to add to your ever-increasing collection. There are micro-transactions available for those who want to build quickly and don’t mind spending a little extra.
MyCAREER – following a story line, you take on the role of your custom built myPLAYER and forge a pathway to your destiny in the NBA. Make real life decisions that have very real outcomes on your journey to the top, including where you start your career – college, G League or straight to the NBA. Each choice comes with its own adversities.
MyLEAGUE – a sort of fantasy team area where you build your own roster and see how you match up to other players online. This mode includes a full WNBA season as the new and improved myGM mode where you see how you would cut it as an NBA team general manager, including keeping players, sponsors, and fans happy.
2kTV – an ongoing talk-show that you can tune straight into from NBA2k20
Play your cards right – either in MyLEAGUE or MyTEAM, and you could find yourself with a powerhouse team consisting of Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James. Imagine that…
Players who feel like a break from the grind and want to try their hand at something a little more creative can spend time creating their own custom kicks in the shoe creator are. Choose brands like Nike, Jordans, Adidas and Under Armor and then select your low, mid or high cut and then go crazy as you take control over every aspect of the shoe design, from the lace eyelets to logo placements and more.
As previously mentioned, you start your story with your manager, Ricky, who also just happens to be your long-time best friend. In the opening dialogue you choose your next step to either go to college and play for some of the top college teams, grind it out in the G Leagues, or skip all this and go straight to the NBA.
We’d recommend not going straight to the NBA as the other two options have some serious perks as they help you assign new points to your attributes and gain a bit of top tier game time before breaking onto the NBA scene.
Both the college and G League routes have their own advantages and we’ve dropped them in here for you;
College:
Once you’ve been drafted to the NBA team of your dreams, it’s all on you to make it work. A small tip from us – it’s not all about scoring yourself as key passes and assists can see you get more match rating than putting them in yourself. The game rewards teamwork over individual play.
Getting consistent B or higher performances in games and attending practices is key here to climb from in the squad to team regular.
One last thing that MyCAREER offers over and above a journey to the NBA Hall of Fame (hopefully), is the potential to take on a side hustle in the music or fashion industries. While this may bring some hushed whispers and sideways glances from the basketball community as you find that hashtag worthy outfit or deliver coffee to The Game, these side ventures will help you earn more points to increase your max player rating as well as improve your overall marketability.
You will get a choice of two agencies to help you in these pursuits. We’ve broken down each agency for you here;
Palmer Athletic:
NBA 2K21_20210415101602[/caption]
As usual, defending is not just one button and I enjoy the tactical approach of choosing to box out, block, or try and poach the ball while applying pressure without getting a personal foul. Defence has never been my strength in games like this and I usually rely on a swift counter and high point conversation rate to keep me ahead of my opponents but I did take the time to improve my defence – although chasing my man around the zone still proves difficult for me and many match rating points were lost due to my man shaking me and scoring a 3-pointer with enough space around him to park a fleet of jumbo jets.
All in all, I enjoyed the time spent on NBA 2K22, including getting my butt handed to me on a silver platter in online games (I will return and avenge myself) and feel that 2K Games has once again risen to the task to give us a challenging yet rewarding, interesting, fun, and engaging basketball game.
Here's the gameplay trailer to see for yourself the best that this game has to offer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUzwnA569M
I award NBA 2K22 a solid drive of 8 out of 10 stars.
The game is a dungeon crawler in the best sense of the term and uses a hack-and-slash combat mechanic. For those who find hack-and-slash mindless, Hades ups the ante and really requires the player to apply themselves as each foe follows different attack patterns and uses different attacks on you, so simply running it and hacking at them isn’t always (in fact rarely) the most effective approach. Coupled with the varying aid you receive along the way and the fact that the labyrinth ahead of you changes every time you leave the House of Hades, the game really keeps you on your toes and trying to figure out the best way forward as every run really does look completely different.
Death is a massive component of this game. Ironic since you are in the underworld? Maybe. Hades uses death as the trigger to progress the story line and darkness that you earn in your runs through the Underworld can then be spent at the House of Hades to give you some persistent skills and abilities to make your next run a little easier. So, in a sense, death is actually levelling up in Hades…
With that being said, every death will see you remerging from the River Styx and into the House of Hades, only to be chastised by your father who seems rather disinterested in your attempts and quite annoyed by your rebellious behaviour. He doesn’t get too involved as he firmly believes that the no one can escape the Underworld, thus making your attempts futile.
In the House of Hades, you can interact with several characters. These are:
Hades – The lord of darkness himself, and your father. As already mentioned, he seems more annoyed by your attempts than anything else.
Achilles – Friend and mentor who has taught you in the way of weapons and combat from a young age. He has made an assortment of infernal arms available to you unlock and use in your escape attempts.
Nyx – The mother of Darkness and the mother who raised you and aids you in your attempts. Quite early in the story, it is revealed that she is the one who first got you into contact with the Olympians.
Skelly – a mysterious “practice dummy” you can try your weapons against in your courtyard. He seems to enjoy taking a beating and alludes to a benefactor who is paying him to be there to assist you. He also sometimes gives useful tips on how to defeat enemies in your escape attempts.
Cerberus – the guardian of the Underworld and your personal pet. You can interact with him, and he is very fond of you. So much so that he apparently ransacked the lounge in desperation when he found out about your first escape attempt.
Along with these, there are various other characters that you can talk to and interact with both in the House of Hades and in your travels through the various planes of the Underworld. Each re-entry (sounds better than death) to the House of Hades will bring in new unique dialogue with all the NPCs there as the story progresses.
Your quest to escape the depths of the Underworld will take you through different planes, each plant having a mini-boss encounter somewhere in the middle and a boss encounter in the last room, or area, of the plane who have just battled through. Each plane brings in new challenges and difficulties as you progress through the game and get closer and closer to achieving your goal of escape.
The four areas that you encounter are Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx. There is also a chance to enter the Chaos Gates and achieve some great boons, provided you survive the cost it takes to get them.
At each death, you start again at the House of Hades and must battle all the way through each level to get to the next. This is quite a grind, but it doesn’t feel that way all the time as each run produces a new unique layout, with new choices and boons, and new random enemy spawns in each room. The only room that stays the same is the final boss room for each level.
Will of this randomly generated change, there really is no one way to run through the game as every player will have a completely unique experience.
So – saying we have a game that is in a league of its own, top of its class and a cut above the rest really is a bold statement and to back it up, I can really only say one thing. Go and try it for yourself on whatever platform you choose as it really is on all of them, including MacOS and Nintendo Switch.
Here’s the game’s official trailer to whet your appetite even more if you aren’t already frothing at the bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91t0ha9x0AE
With all that being said, I back my bold claim up and award Hades with a solid 9 and a half stars out of 10. This really is a game worth playing and spending hours in as you unlock the highly intriguing and mysterious story.
The Recon Controller comes in two colours, black and white, with both versions being identical in design, features and feel beyond that.
In the box, you get the controller itself (thankfully) with a 3.5mm jack, a 3m USB-A to USB-C braided cable and a little info package with a quick use guide, sticker, and more in-depth guide for those really looking to get the most out of the controller.
Having already listed the braided cable, the Recon Turtle Beach is a wired controller. Take what you will from that, both wired and wireless have their pros and cons. The 3m length of the cable does mean that you can sit pretty much where you want, within logical reason, without the wire limiting you. I, personally, have no issue with wired controllers and at least it prevents that dreaded mid-game dead battery panic.
All of this is neatly, and securely, packaged in a box that shows you exactly what you’re getting.
SOUND EQ CONTROLS – Turtle Beach has included four sound EQ profiles for you to further fine-tune your gaming experience. These profiles are as follows;
1 – Signature sound (let Turtle Beach work the way it was made to).
2 – Bass boost.
3 – Bass and treble boost.
4 – Vocal boost.
One small hiccup I found while using the Recon was the plethora of fine-tuning, customize your gaming experience settings that it comes with. My hiccup was not with the actual settings or a sheer number of them, I actually think it’s great that there is so much you can tweak and tune on it. The hiccup came with my memory of what each one was or how it would benefit me…
So the Recon controller does have a bit of a learning curve, at least for me it did, and I found myself often consulting the guides. At first the longer guide and then the quick guide – I am learning and now don’t really need to look at the guides at all. My only advice to first-time users would be to keep the guides close, and then easily accessible if you don’t use it for a while – think coming back to an RPG you haven’t played in a year and trying to remember what you were doing? That’s the feeling I think you’d get with this one.
While the Turtle Beach Recon controller does have the extra remappable buttons, this controller is by no means a “pro” or “elite” tier controller. That doesn’t mean it’s bad at all though.
Just keep that in mind if you buy it expecting to get a Wolverine or Elite controller.
What the Recon Controller is though, is a well-made, good controller that comes in at a very reasonable price (around R1300 at the time of this review).
If you are looking at replacing your current Xbox controller, upgrade your gaming experience or to try and improve your skills, I would definitely recommend the Turtle Beach Recon controller to you. If wires aren’t a thing for you, and even if they are – get over it (literally), you cannot go wrong with getting this controller and I guarantee that you will see improvement in your overall gaming experience.
In closing, I feel that the Turtle Beach Recon Controller gets a very solid 8 out of 10 stars.
For more on this controller, have a look at this preview video from Turtle Beach themselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9RZSNrWV5g&t=13s
Once in Dublin, your cousin greets you with open arms and gives you an overview of his city, the political climate of the country He explains that a Flann Sinna is about to be inaugarated as the High-King of Ireland, and he would like help to gain favour and prominence with this new High-King.
With a new expansion comes new cities to explore, new territories to claim, and a new romance or two along the way – but we will leave those to you to discover.
The claiming of territories works similarly to that of the base game, win favour with the king of that land to draw them to your side, defeating their enemies and allying them with High-King Flann. You also join High-King Flann as he goes to war with the Northern Irish in his campaign to unite the whole of Ireland under one crown.
This is where you uncover your true foe, which call themselves The Children of Danu, a dark druidic cult who believe the old ways are best and will stop at nothing to prevent Ireland from being under the rule of a Christian King. As you work alongside King Barid and High-King Flann, you also work to uncover the identities of key members of The Children and eliminate them as their removal aligns with the campaign that you have lent your axe to.
Along with helping High-King Flann and battling The Children, you also spend time helping your cousin, who you feel indebted to as his family took you in when you had no where to go, growing the influence of Dublin throughout Ireland as the center of all Irish trade. To accomplish this you partner with Azar, who is the chief trader of Dublin, and together – well, you do all the heavy lifting, you work to take over trade posts and grow trade in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Trade also allows you to get exotic armour, weapons, ship upgrades, homestead decorations, and other items from locations all around the world.
Raiding is of course still there – what would a Viking game be with out the chance to go a Vikingr. Instead of gathering resources for your homestead however, you now gather resources to improve your captured trade posts and improve trade and stock through them.
There is also a newish feature (which I had not noticed in my review of Valhalla so if it was there – my apologies) is avenging the death of a fallen real-life player. While running around cities and countryside, you will sometimes encounter the body of a slain Viking. When accepting the quest, you are tasked with the duty to eliminate the foe, or foes, that resulted in their demise. There is no real benefit to the game for this except for a little more EXP and some resources, but it does add a nice little feeling in your gut knowing that somewhere, out there in the world, you helped someone like you in the game – it’s not multiplayer but it’s nice.
So - what’s stopping you? Grab your axe, board your longship and let’s go a Vikingr in Ireland!
Like the base game, we award the Wrath of the Druids expansion a berserker score of 9 out of 10 stars!
All seems like a pretty straight forward process in the first couple of minutes after landing as you set out to gather data from the beacons that were launched an undisclosed amount of time before you arrived. On locating the second beacon and radioing to the ship holding all of mankind’s remaining hope and what it needs to survive (both in people and resources) is when you encounter something the likes of which humans have never seen – the Anomaly.
Without giving too much more away – the Anomaly is one of the main issues that mankind faces on Enoch and is the sole cause for turning a pretty simple recolonization of a planet into something that is “game worthy.”
During this mission, you are critically injured and put back into cryo so that your life may be saved. Not all goes to plan and you are woken sometime later to a world rife with chaos and a long way off from the hope and dream of those that had set out from Earth.
Combat can seem a little repetitive as you fight wave after wave of enemies in a dungeon-delving way but can still throw some massive curve balls at you just as you think you are mastering a particular type of enemy.
Square Enix took “be aggressive” to heart when building the combat mechanics into this game in more than one way.
Firstly – you need to kill to heal while in combat. With that being said, it’s not just any kill that will heal you. You have to kill in the way that your class was made to kill, Technomancer won’t heal with close range kills and Trickster won’t heal with cross-map headshots, no matter how spectacular it was.
Secondly – you need to move! Early in the game, you will find yourself feeling like you are playing Gears of War with the moving from the cover-to-cover type of combat. But getting stuck behind cover can cost you dearly. Enemies are constantly on the move and if you don’t do the same, you will very quickly find yourself surrounded or stuck in a corner and unable to roll or dodge your way out of it (these are the ultimate spray and pray moments).
The class I chose was Trickster and quickly abandoned my usual assault and sniper loadout for one better suited to a close-range kill healing class – high fire rate rifles and shotguns. My build also focuses on speed, weapons damage and support abilities, rather than HP, armour and damage abilities.
After soloing the game for a while, I joined up with some friends who also had the game and co-op definitely increased the fun factor of the game exponentially (because we all know what it’s like when the squad is online) and the game automatically adjusts to allow for each player.
In the co-oping, we did run into some issues where we tried adding someone new to the game but they weren’t able to join us as they were still busy with the prologue according to the game, when in fact they were quite far past it. This was fixed by quitting to lobby and adding him through there. While easily fixed – we did waste a lot of time trying to figure out how long the prologue actually was and why he wasn’t able to join us.
I chose Nomad and started on the outer limits of Night City where I was to meet a contact to help him smuggle something through the checkpoint and into the city.
Enter Jackie.
Jackie is the guy who becomes your friend no matter which game line you chose, but your meeting with him will vary. He becomes your hombre and partner in crime as you both set your eyes on the “major leagues” and becoming one of Night City’s most renowned.
Soon after you meet Jackie is where the pawpaw hits the fan, and you are thrown into the thick of it as you fight your way into the city (Nomad background) and find a place to lie low to lose the heat.
The game then cuts through a few scenes as you see yourself, V, and Jackie doing jobs and earning street cred for yourselves as you get higher and higher profile jobs. It is because of this success that one fixer, by the name of Dex, phones you up and offers you a spot on the heist of a lifetime. The one that will set you up in the "major leagues" and send you straight into legend.
This first heist acts as the intro to Cyberpunk 2077 as you learn all the bits you need to learn and get introduced to a whole bunch of lore that will come in handy for later on in the game.
Without giving away too much of the storyline for those of you who have not yet had the privilege of playing this game, the heist goes balls up in a big way and ends with a bang.
Welcome to Cyberpunk 2077...
It is here that your story truly starts, and you are introduced to Johnny Silverhand (Keanu – you’re breathtaking). Your and his story are intertwined in a glorious way and, of course, you have vendettas to settle – as any good story should.
With each update, the game seemed smoother and the controls less clunky, still a far cry from what I am sure people were experiencing on the X or the next-gen consoles, and of course - in RTX glory. But this game was still fun, and I kept coming back for that reason – which in my books, is more than enough. With the latest update, my game has been running smoother than ever with almost no hiccups. My game does still struggle a little in high render areas where there are lots of lights and people and then things will take a second or three longer to load than they should, but I am positive that this is due to my device and am hopeful that this too will be addressed in the next big patch.
All in all, I do believe that I am not experiencing the full glory of Night City-based mainly on my older Xbox but even with that, the game still runs very well and is a heck of a lot of fun to play.
And with the recent announcement of a FREE DLC for Cyberpunk dropping in the next few months, there are even more hours of game time to convince you to spend the money and hit the streets.
I definitely give Cyberpunk 2077 a solid 8 out of 10 stars as it’s one of the most captivating and fun games I’ve played in a long time.
The mic on the G2 II is detachable, which I have my own personal reservations about (ie. misplace) with a small little windscreen over the mic sensor to help eliminate the noise from the heavier breathers out there. The mic itself is easily moved around to get the best placement for comfort and clarity – both very important when barking out orders to teammates as you dominate the playing field.
The G2 II boasts 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound which fully immerses and gives the player game critical sounds to boost skill that extra virtual skill tier. This headset does not have vibration feedback but it really doesn’t like the bass and all other sounds come through crisp and clear.
The headset volume and mute function is easily controlled on the on-cable controls with the cable stretching far enough for you to rage back from the keyboard with little risk of ripping something off your desk – but with this sound, rage should happen less.
The 50mm drivers mean that the ear cuffs are large and comfortable with their soft leatherette padding which blocks out almost all the annoying background noise that can feed the wrong information to us.
The mute function is easy with just the click of a button with a small LED indicating muted or unmuted.
One shortfall of the headset is once again the software. Now being easier to find as it is not my first time with this rodeo. I had hoped for the software for the G2 II with it being called “Edifier Gaming Center.” These hopes were dashed as soon as I double-clicked though as the same outdated-looking control center opened up before me with very limited controls and things to do within the program. Adding to my frustration was the fact that I need a whole new program installed on my PC, which is exactly the same, for the same brand of headset. This is not a problem if you only own one – but when reviewing, you tend to have more than just one headset and so multiple programs with the same function is a little tiresome.
The software again is a big let down as I was once again left with a bitter taste for not being able to do more and personalize my experience even more.
So, all things considered, I give the G2 II 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound Gaming Headset from Edifier a solid 8 out of 10 stars.
The ear cups have a metal mesh finish with an RGB ring on the inside of each cup. The RGB is simplistic enough to keep the G4 looking classy but also - it is RGB. So, it’d fit in with most RGB crazy PC builds.
Edifier has opted for the retractable mic for the G4, which slides neatly up into the left ear cup when not in use. They have also included an RGB strip on the mic which is an easy way to see if your mic is muted or not.
The controls are easily found on the cable, with the cable itself being long enough to plug into any hard-to-reach USB port without feeling like you are hamstringing yourself.
The G4 also includes vibration feedback in the headset which, at first sounded and felt weird, but after playing with it for a bit, the responsiveness of the vibrations is not just hearing, but giving a feel to that 7.1 virtual surround sound, added to the responsiveness of my in-game reactions.
With me being a bit of an entry-level audiophile, I was skeptical of the choice of 40mm drivers over the 50mm drivers that I have become used to in other headsets. But the G4 has shown that sometimes dynamite really does come in small packages, with their drivers putting out some decent, good quality sound in music and gaming alike. The bass does feel a bit lacking in the headset and I did sometimes struggle to hear it in important game-clutch situations and in more subtle-bass music.
The first time I used the G4, I immediately put it through the bass test of Skrillex and it seemed to blow my mind away – but then, the next time I used it, it suddenly didn’t anymore. After some fiddling, I realized that the vibrations were turned on in that first, out-of-the-box experience and I had since turned them off (the thought of my ears vibrating was a bit much for me). So - flicking the vibrations back on, I got that same deep bass feeling again. The G4 really does bring new meaning to “Good Vibrations.” Again – I am fully aware that vibrations in headsets is not for everyone, in fact, I am still not entirely convinced of it myself, but do not write the G4 off just for having it.
The mic quality was good with people I spoke to not complaining once that they could not hear me, or of the dreaded in-game echo. I am also a fan of the retractable mic, as removable mics come with their own issues (losing it or temporarily misplacing it being a big one) and the traditional mics that flick up and out of the way can catch and break as well. With the G4 having a retractable mic, it also means that you really can position the mic well to maximize both comfort for yourself, as well as clarity for your teammates.
One big downer for me with the G4 was its software.
I felt that the software was not easy to find as it did not initiate with the plugging in of the device and had to be sourced from the Edifier website. Once you know where it is, it is easy enough but living in the world we do with plug and play, this did add to set up time a bit. The software itself also left much to be desired in my opinion. It felt a little more like something you would find on Windows Vista rather than a modern gaming headphone driver software. The software is very limited in use and the only thing you can do with it is a basic EQ.
