Sony's new Playstation-focused wireless headset

Hi guys,

I'm back with a new product. As the title mentioned, it's a new wireless headset from Sony. It's meant for gaming and entertainment but having the Playstation brand on it means it's dedicated for gaming.

Sony's new headset is actually called Pulse and it's their second wireless headset. I haven't had the chance to buy the first although I did try it out. Suffice to say, there are a few improvements although some features are still lacking

I've never been a fan of wireless headsets with surround sound. That's basically due to the fact that the quality is totally different from wired ones. 5-6 years ago, headsets for gaming was pretty basic. Most just have stereo and quite a number fail short on their "surround sound" promise. Quality issues, clunky gear and a myriad of other problems put off consumers from buying them. Nowadays, headsets have improved leaps and bounds. Even surround sound, albeit a virtual one, is available. You can get decent 5.1 or 7.1 (virtual surround sound, let's face it, you only have 2 speakers on a headset) for less than 200 bucks. Although that's wired ones. Wireless ones tend to be in the 200-300 range if you want good quality. So I was pleasantly surprised when Sony released this headset in Singapore at a SRP (suggested retail price) of 168. Boasting many features, it's quite a feat to keep the price down and make it competitively

I mentioned that I'm not a fan of wireless headsets. Well, my previous experience was marred by crappy wireless Creative headsets in the past. Worst thing to happen was the fact that one side of the headset was rendered unusable due to me pushing it to the absolute max (I do that as a stress test sometimes on certain headsets). And I only used that headset for a couple of months! And it was so clunky and big as well that I practically kept it in some dark hidden corner of my cupboard, letting it collect dust before finally ridding of it 2 years later. Maybe I was dishing out some silent punishment but that experience was sore. I spent nearly 250 bucks on what is supposed to be a quality piece of hardware, only to be disappointed by its sub-standard craftsmanship. Due to that, I prefer to use in-ear headphones instead and I still do when I'm commuting between places in public transport.

To be honest, when I bought the Pulse, it was a leap of faith. I've read from some reviews that the headset is a good performance headset while some didn't like it due to some features which I will get back to later. I've been using it for a week and it's been going strong. Thank god for that. And thank you Sony for making products that can actually LAST. I don't know about others but my Sony hardware lasted longer than many other hardware. Even the now ubiquitous Discman lasted me for 7 years before giving out.

Pulse is a wireless virtual 7.1 headset that is meant to work with Playstation 3. Actually, it works with any other product that has a USB port. I've tested it on PS3, PC, Macbook Pro (sorry Xbox, but I don't have you so I can't test it out and many other users mentioned that it's only compatible with PC and PS3) and it works perfectly well. And this is where your question will arise: Why need a USB port when it's wireless? That's due to the headset being packaged with a dedicated USB Bluetooth dongle. If you want to take advantage of the VSS (Virtual Surround Sound), you better use it. Also, the Bluetooth in the headset does not sync with the PS3 in-built Bluetooth. Even the Bluetooth adapter on my Asus ROG motherboard in my PC and the Macbook Pro doesn't sync with it. So, better have a free USB port ready whenever you want to use it.

The packaging for the headset is simple. It comes in a dark blue box similar to the PS Vita box and it's being packaged with plastic and foam moulds. In the package, you'll receive the headset, USB dongle, a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm line jack and a manual. The line jack is meant to be used for mobile hardware such as the PS Vita and smartphones. The USB dongle also has a 3.5 mm audio port for the line so you can plug it into the dongle instead. The irritating part with the packaging (as well as some other Sony/non-Sony products) is the missing USB to mini-USB cable. I was annoyed at that fact as the cable is for charging the headset. And Sony doesn't hide that fact. In fact it states in the manual and on the box: USB to mini-USB cable is needed to charge the headset (sold separately). Annoyed? Yes. Can live with it? Yes.

Enough about annoyance, more on the product. Aesthetically, it's a very sleek hardware. There's plenty of metal on the outside and very big drivers. 50 mm to be exact. The Playstation logo is etched on the exterior of the drivers and it looks much better than its predecessor. Extending the headset is a breeze and it feels sturdy. The only thing I don't like is the fact that it doesn't have an option for different types of material on the drivers. As of right now, it's your usual headset material which is leather. After a few hours, you'll definitely feel uncomfortable and if you're one to sweat aplenty, then get ready to have wet headsets after a long session of gaming.

Feature-wise, there's many. They have a VSS button available if you need it when watching movies. There's the usual slider for volume although it's slightly different. The slider is split into two. One side is for sound while the other is for microphone.  So you can adjust the levels of both to accomodate your gaming volume. i tend to have it slightly higher on the sound when it comes to online FPS while movies, single player games and music, I just raised the slider all the way to sound. A very nice feature although I do prefer to have a pure volume slider instead.  It also has a BassImpact slider to ramp up the bass volume. When I tried it out watching the Avengers, I can really feel the bass thumping on the temples of my head. Even when I was watching youtube and some streaming videos where bass is prominent, I can actually feel the bass itself. I normally put it at medium where it's acceptable, although it's a good feature that Sony made by utilizing a slider form. All the usual buttons are there as well. There's a power switch and a mode switch button. The mode switch is interesting. When I press the button, a nice lady will say Action. This means I'm in a mode for action games where different sounds are clear. When I press it again, it says Shooter. You can guess what it means. This is a pleasant feature on the headset as the different modes do help. I play Counterstrike Global Offensice often so Shooter mode is a must. Never have I felt so intense hearing clear footsteps from another player running. Movie mode was a charm as well, especially if you utilize VSS or virtual surround sound. This is where Sony really stands out. There's a clear distinction in the location of sounds whether it'll be at the left back or right front. Even though it's virtual and not actual, I feel Sony has made a commendable job. When I tried it out in movie mode, with VSS on and watching the Avengers Blu-Ray, it felt like watching in a cinema. If you have a PC that utilizes Dolby Digital, you'll be amazed by the clarity of the sounds. I also liked the fact that I can actually hear speech clearly during the chaotic scenes. Add BassImpact and you have your own private home theater. Expect headaches after using the headset as well.

The 3.5 mm audio line is decent but I felt Sony could have done better. The stock cable isn't pure craftsmanship. When I plugged it into my iPhone or Vita, sometimes, the sounds became lower or one side of my headset suddenly went silent. Better to invest in a good quality cable if you want to listen to good quality music on the go. Wouldn't you want to tote around a Playstation headset that has no mic and looks cool plugged into a Vita?

The mic is actually hidden and it's part of the drivers. Although it's an improvement from the previous one, I think Sony could have used removable mics like how CoolerMaster did with their CM e-sports line. The mic does actually work pretty well although you may have to speak louder than usual for others to listen to you properly

One aspect that Sony could definitely improve on is for clear bright words on the headsets. Many of us do tend to play in the dark and it was a hassle for me at times to locate certain things without looking at it. It's a gripe actually but small details like this can actually mean a lot to many people. Imagine playing in a frentic online FPS and with BassImpact in max and all the other features turned on. You'll be distracted playing it and suddenly, you may be playing in a different area where it's smaller and you need more discernible audio. You need to switch certain features off and most of the time, you'll definitely forget the locations of these. by then, you'll be dead as we all know online FPS is all about speed. So, Sony, can I have like lighted or glow in the dark words on your future headsets?

Overall, I think it's a very good investment for a wireless stereo headset that can give you virtual surround sound. Costing less than SGD 170 and packed with good features, it's really a good buy. If you can forgo certain little details such as the USB cable, leather pads and the dongle, it's an affordable headset. I for one will be using this for both my PC and PS3 considering how easy it is to setup. It definitely is a plug and play product.

I'm forgoing my breakdown of scores as I think overall score is a much better representation. Quite a number of you guys have mentioned it so I'm skipping it entirely and going straight to overall score. Plus, it'll force you to read my post if you wanna know more about certain aspects. Just kidding.

Overall score: 4.5/5

Cheers and thanks!

My current rig (ongoing)

Hi guys,

As such, I did mention about my PC in my last post and promised to post about it. Well, this post will all be about my rig and what's in it.

Do take note that this is an ongoing upgrading. I have yet to settle on the final build as there are a few parts which may be upgraded depending on my needs.

As such, I will be updating my specs every now and then until I find the perfect combination.

I will post up my specs and I will state the reason why I chose them. But before that, a little info about me.


My main reason for having such a rig is actually for overclocking and benchmarking purpose. I've always been attracted to computers from an early age. Perhaps it was due to my mum who enrolled me in that old computer learning company( I admit, I forgot what's the name). At the age of 5 years old when I should be on the playground and getting myself cuts and bruises, I was actually behind a monitor and studying BASIC (an old computer programming). I started playing portable Tetris when I was 4 although I did not get my first ever computer till I was about 15. I started tinkering at the same time I got my computer and I did plenty of amateurish mistakes. That was when my love for custom built PCs begin. Instead of looking at girls, I prefer to look at a motherboard. Instead of playing soccer, I was test benchmarking my PC. I only stopped when I entered National Service and did not continue as I was thrown into the world of working my butt out to earn money.

Now after like 9 years out, I'm back and much wiser. Of course, Youtube and the WWW has helped tremendously in solving little problems but my appetite for tinkering and making custom builds grew even stronger. As such, I have an awesome rig now after going through some trial and error (minimized this time), I have a fully capable PC that runs Crysis easily on Ultra settings. Take that Crytek!


Chassis: Coolermaster NVIDIA Edition 690 II Plus
CPU: Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570k 3.4 Ghz Overclocked to 4.2 Ghz
CPU cooler: Coolermaster V8
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 Mhz 4 GB x 4 modules = 16 GB
HDD: (Main) Intel SSD 520 series 120 GB (OS and certain games)
           (Backup) Western Digital 1 TB Green 5200 RPM (For movies, MP3s and backup files)
           (Support) Corsair ForceGT3 SSD 120 GB (Pure games)
MB: Asus Maximus V Formula with ThunderFX module
GPU: 2 x Gigabyte Geforce GTX 670 2 GB DDR5 Windforce 3 (Physx configuration currently)
Sound: Asus Xonar Phoebus
PSU (Power supply unit): Corsair AX1200 providing 1200 watts
Optical Drive: HP Blu-Ray combo writer 12X
Number of fans (Excluding CPU & GPU): 5 x 120 mm in push/pull config
Display: Samsung 40" LCD TV 2nd Gen

Pretty awesome specs to say the least. If you were to manually purchase each one on its own, the entire rig will set you back for at least SGD 4500. With that amount, I can easily buy a retail ready made PC and a laptop. But I'm one of an enthusiast and I prefer to tinker around. Who doesn't want their own custom built PC?

The reasons:

Chassis

To be honest, I didn't want this chassis at first. I was actually aiming for Coolermaster's insanely beautiful and practical Cosmos II. But, at that point of time, it was a pretty rush buy as I wanted to start tinkering as soon as possible. Also, the price of Cosmos II was expensive. I mean 500 bucks for that chassis was way overboard for me at that time because I still needed the money to buy other parts. And so I bought the 690 II Plus.

The chassis looks nice with the side transparent NVIDIA logo and it does fit E-ATX motherboards to a certain degree. Plus, it has the removable HDD racks and grommets plus the space to fit the new current generation of graphics cards. The fact that Coolermaster is well known for their quality in chassis also adds in. Cable management was easy although there's some effort as the space for the cables behind the motherboard is pretty small. But overall, my PC does look neat without all the messy cables. ATX motherboards will have no problems in this case but E-ATX will cover a little of the grommets at the side. But it isn't really an issue as I still have a large gap between my HDD and the motherboard

CPU:

This was a decision I really had to think hard. Ivy Bridge was significantly new at that time and I was planning to go Sandy Bridge. More specifically the X79 types. But, in my best wisdom I chose this as power consumption was a factor. Plus, due to the fact that I was buying an LGA 1155 motherboard for Ivy Bridge, I bought this CPU as a temporary measure and to test out overclocking on Ivy Bridge. Needless to say, I will definitely be upgrading the CPU in the near future but in the meantime, the i5 is pretty much keeping me happy with its overlocking and power consumption.

CPU cooler:

Again, another one I had to think hard. But it was the design and visual that made my decision. As my motherboard is an ROG product, the visual designs of the V8 really attracted me. It screams car engine at me and has red lights which complemented my motherboard. And it's actually doing quite a good job of cooling my CPU as evidenced by my overclocking (3.4 Ghz - 4.2 Ghz: 800 Mhz OC)

RAM:

G.Skill is a no brainer for me. Together with the Corsair series, both are my top two choices for RAM right now. I lost hope in Kingston although they're reliable but the overlocking potential for both is what I need. 16 GB is definitely overkill but I'm a multi-tasker. I run like 7-8 different programs at any given time and RAM is essential in order to prevent any latency

HDD:

I actually have my Western Digital hard drive from before. WD products have always been known to be reliable. But here comes the weird part. Why do I have 2 separate SSD? Why not get the same? I bought Intel to take advantage of its Rapid Start Technology and the accompanying software since I'm using Ivy Bridge. And it does shows. Boot up time from pressing the button till desktop screen is less than a minute. I bought the ForceGT when I realized my space in the SSD is running out. And besides, both are using Sandforce controllers so I don't have a problem here. The only regret was that I actually did not use both as RAID instead. Or used one of them as a cache for my WD 1 TB. Call it inexperience since I haven't built a rig for so many years. I will rectify this once I got hold of another SSD.

Motherboard:

I was impressed with Asus quality in the motherboard segment. They, along with Gigabyte, have really established themselves as one of the top motherboard makers. I was contemplating getting the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3 edition as the colour scheme fits perfectly with my chassis but what forces me to get the ROG motherboard was the BIOS. I still think Asus has made one of the best BIOS ever, especially for overclockers. It was easy to use, and there's even preset overclocking options. Sometimes, enthusiast like me are tired of going through every single option and test out certain things. The presets really help a lot. Plus, Asus also have accompanying software with the motherboard for on screen real time overclocking helps too. Feature-wise, the motherboard is like heaven for me. There's plenty of great features in this motherboard. The last best part is I'm getting a ThunderFx module here for free. An external sound card module for free and it's mine for life. Even if in the near future, I'm using another product or building a new system I can easily transfer the module to the new one. And that, to me, for its price, while a tad expensive is worth it.

GPU:

Ah, this is the one where everyone was screaming at me "OVERKILL!!!" To be honest, I actually wanted to get TWO GTX 690s and do a 4-way SLI. But when I saw the price, I was like WTF? SGD 1600 bucks for a single card? Sure, it's dual GPU but what the hell? I can easily build like 4 budget HTPCs with that amount! So, I decided to be sane and bought the 670s. Not as powerful as 680 nor the 690 but it comes close. On its own, 690 and 680 definitely beats the 670 but in SLI mode, it actually is on par with the other two. So, pretty happy about it. But why Gigabyte, you ask? Well, the fact that it has the Windforce triple fans on it and that Gigabyte is pretty well known for good quality cards. I though of getting the Asus 670 DirectCu II version but hell, that amount of fans alone is good enough for me. And besides, I'm using the Physx option so I don't really have insane amount of heat from the GPU but having a Windforce on it relieve some of my uneasiness as I'm running a fan cooling system.

PSU:

Another overkill I know. I just want to have a peace of mind that my PSU can cope with my constant upgrading. At least having that option, I can rest my mind knowing that whatever upgrades I may have in future, my PSU can handle it. Fully modular and plenty of cables, it's pretty solid.

Optical drive:

I bought this due to its relatively cheap price and that most internal Blu-Ray drives offer similar performance. Although the software is a tad disappointing but hell, there's plenty of freeware nowadays, it doesn't really matter. So far, it's been performing really well.

Fans:

As I mentioned before, I'm using a push-pull configuration which means some fans suck the air into the case while other fans blow out the heat from the case. Normally, fans that pull air into the case comes from the sides while the fans that push out are located on top due to basic physics (Hot air rises). Since I have an ATX motherboard, I'm using 5x 120 mm fans of which 2 at the front of the case, 1 at the back and 2 more at the top. Front and back pull while the other 2 at the top pushes the hot air out.

Display:

I'm currently using my TV as I don't really have enough space at the moment for another display. And besides, it's only temporary. With Blu-Ray options and having multiple HDMI ports, using a TV seems adequate. I do intend to get a good LCD monitor as my TV doesn't output the full 1920 x 1080 resolution properly. For now, I will be using it for my gaming sessions and so far it's been good.

As you guys can see, not all of my products are actually new. Things such as my CPU cooler, chassis and optical drive pretty much came out last year or the year before.  But I will be upgrading my chassis as I still feel it's a tad too small with the insane amount of cabling I had to hide and that it's a hassle for me whenever I upgrade. CPU is a definite in the near future. I may go into water-cooling but it depends on my choice of chassis of course. The fact that I have the Maximus V motherboard may also play a part as the motherboard has ThermoFusion which allows watercooling of motherboard. HDD is a definite must as software and games become increasingly bigger and disk space requirements increase. Depending on the price of the 690, I may or may not upgrade as there's not many manufacturers coming out the latest version of NVIDA GPUs. I may even go for AMD's Radeon cards but at the moment, the 2 cards are actually doing fine for me.

I will post up pics soon as I'm actually writing this post while preparing for an event soon. So, whenever I'm free, I'll post up pics and maybe videos of my rig as soon as possible.

Anyways, thanks for reading and do comment if you have any advice or comments you wish to share.

Darksiders 2 Review

Hi all and I'm baaaacccck!!!

Yes, I'm back again to review a product but this time round, I'll be reviewing a game instead of hardware. After all, this is a blog about PC AND Console reviews so games is a must.

Due to time constraints, I only managed to complete the game just recently. I know it's pretty late to post a review but I'd rather post a proper view detailing the entire game rather than give a review when I'm only halfway through the game. Of course, the first DLC for this game was recently released but more on that later.

Now, on to the review.

Darksiders 2 is the sequel to the sleeper hit, Darksiders. The original Darksiders was released for both PS3 and Xbox 360 in early January while the PC port came out later in the same year. Nonetheless, the reviews across many gaming sites and metacritic has been favourable. The last time I checked was 83-84% for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Darksiders, in a nutshell, is an action-adventure game fused with references to the Apocalypse. More specifically, it refers to the 4 Horsemen itself. If you were to read the Book of Revelations, it mentions about the Apocalypse and the Horsemen. Namely, they are named War, Death, Conquest & Famine. In Darksiders, the former two retained their name while the other two were instead changed to Strife and Fury. If you haven't played Darksiders, I suggest you check the game out on YouTube or Wikipedia instead.

I played the game upon recommendation of a friend as I wanted to play God Of War 3. He brought along Darksiders and suggested to me to play Darksiders first. Which I did after work at that point of time and I was immediately hooked. The game has plenty of references to classic RPG and action adventure games (read Zelda and God Of War) and I could see why it has a good rating. And the plot while, average at best, not some mind numbing experience is actually pretty solid with non-playable characters found in other lores and myths supporting the main story.

Darksiders 2 actually builds on the predecessor. It's still the same type of gameplay and the plot is actually parallel to the first. In the original one, you play as War, who got framed for setting off the Apocalypse when it wasn't supposed to happen. So, the old cliche goes, I got framed so I need to clear up my name and find out who is the a**hole that framed me. I'm not gonna spoil it for you here but that's pretty much the whole story is, just added with a lot more bashing and puzzles in between. I'll be using D1 to refer to Darksiders and D2 as Darksiders 2 in this post.

The sequel sets you up as Death, his brother. I have to admit. DEATH IS AWESOME. He's like an ultra-cool badass and I actually prefer him to War due to the game mechanics. I'll get to that later. As I mentioned, the story is parallel to the first so in here, Death actually wants to clear his brother's name. And there's actually quite a backstory here as to who the Horsemen were and how they became the Horsemen.

There's been noticeable upgrades and changes in this game but sadly, the graphics is still based on the original so you don't get to see some Crysis-like graphics although they did improve the menu with in-game animation and more open-worlds. I used the PC version and my config below:

Asus Maximus V Extreme MB with Ivy Bridge i5-3570k 3.4 Ghz OC to 4.2 Ghz
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 SDRAM 1600 Mhz 4 GB x 4 = 16 GB
Gigabyte Geforce GTX 670 2 GB DDR5 x 2 in SLI mode
HDD: Intel 520 SSD 120 GB with WD Green 1 TB 5400 RPM
Display: Samsung 40" LCD TV

...and a whole lot more but this info is enough as this is what you need to run a game.

As such, my rig is overpowered and enough to run Crysis comfortably at 60 fps in Fraps at the max settings available. No changes here for Darksiders 2 and in fact, it looks beautiful on my TV. No difference here with 60 fps as well although I think that's the max D2 can go. My rig has gone 120 fps before though in some test benchmark game but kinda forgot what was it.

Enough about my PC (sorry, kinda being an ass for showing off my PC. I'll post a separate post on it). I've covered the storyline, the graphics so now it's time to go to mechanics. In D1, War was more of a brute character although you do get to use different weapons such as Fury's guns, Death's scythe etc. But War has always been a brute and he's best used as a crazy ass melee fighter. In D2 instead, Death is more evasive and his fighting style is more on combos and evasion. That's partly the reason why I like Death. I'm always one who likes to move around and ascertain the methods in beating a boss or NPCs. Brutes like War sometimes can be boring when you nailed his combos and it becomes an exercise in button mashing. Death, this time has more combos(although you need to purchase most of it in the game as you progress) and enemies will knock you even when you're in the middle of a combo. So evasion is a must for Death if you don't wish to lose your health quickly. A particular move is impressive if you time your evasion right. It basically projects another Death in his Grim Reaper form while evading an attack and hits the enemy. Pretty cool right? Of course, it doesn't always nail when you're up against a swarm of enemies or enemies that like to jump far. There are of course other moves that utilizes his Reaper form and of course, like D1, Death can enter his second state which is his Reaper form albeit for a short period.

In D1, you get to use a lot of equipments which allows you to travel to certain near impossible places or solve tricky puzzles. Death grip (homage to GOW) a grappling claw, Voidwalker (another homage, this time to Portal) a portal device, Soul Splitter, an ability to split yourself into 2 with a third becoming a statue with and Interdiction, an ability to call up to 2 dead souls to reach certain locked areas or do certain actions (they even fight with you if there are enemies nearby) are all available in D2.

In D1, War had to reclaim his horse, Ruin as one of his quests. In D2, you don't have to. Death's horse, Despair (I loved how they named the horses; in line with the character) is available from the start. Although Ruin seemed much more menacing to me in my opinion. The same as in D1, you can only use the horse when in open-world environments. When you're in a dungeon, unfortunately, you won't be able to. But significantly, your attacks when horse-riding does increase in power and when you level  up pretty high, you can one-shot the small minions pretty easily.

Health, Wrath (the game's version of mana, used for magic spells) and Reaper meters are retained with an additional meter which is actually your experience. This is where D2 takes a significant bump in upgrades. This time round, Vigil Games (the developers) has introduced an RPG style element into weaponry and armour. It pretty much follows your standard RPG classes and it's subsequent colours. Orange of course is the highest with white being the lowest in terms of stats. As such, there's an element of looting in this game. This, to me, is a definite upgrade to the original as it allows more customization and allows you to try out different builds. Plus, the skill tree has been significantly upgraded so it pretty much depends on how you play the game. Also, there's a gem system where you collect gems called stonebites and after trading 3 of it (there's 3 different stones so there's different combinations), you get a permanent stat upgrade which is pretty cool, although there's a limited amount of the stones. Another good addition to the weaponry is the "Possessed" class. This class basically allows you to sacrifice weapons to increase it's stats. It's similar to certain card games where you increase it's stats by "sacrificing" a lesser value card. So, after completing a level and gaining a "Possessed" weapon, you can actually sacrifice all the useless weapons and armour you gained to increase the stats of this weapon. Pretty cool concept.

One new concept in D2 is the arena style battles where you go through a number of rounds fighting different enemies you encountered in the main and side quests. Win and survive those rounds and you get a treasure chest containing a piece of armour or weapon. What's interesting is that you can actually not choose to take the prize but instead go on to fight more rounds. Basically, it's similar to a double or nothing system. Of course, as you go for more rounds, enemies become harder but the prize becomes better. The last time I checked from other gamers was that if you actually complete all the rounds, you actually get the Abyssal armour which was the top armour in D1. It is a nice distraction from all the puzzles and platforming, as it allows you to basically button mashing here. One note of advice: Stock up on plenty of health and wrath potions. You definitely gonna need it in this arena.

I've pretty much covered there is to Darksiders 2 without spoiling too much. So, without further ado, I'll be giving my actual review rating.

My rating consists of:

Gameplay
Graphics and Sound
Plot/Storyline
Mechanics (RPG/Strategy/Puzzle etc)

1 being pathetic and 10 being AWESOME. 7 would be good of course.

Gameplay:
8.5 out of 10

Gameplay was refreshing as Death isn't a pure melee fighter. You can use a gun to shoot enemies from far or use Death Grip to pull enemies towards you and beat the crap out of them. It's pretty much the same type of gameplay as in the original but there's a lot more effort involved in movement. This isn't a pure button mashing although at times it does when you're high up in exp levels. Enemies now have much more variety in their attacks although there is the typical dumb AI at work when you drag them from a certain area and choke them into a previous area. Bosses are fantastic, ranging from your normal huge bosses to extremely huge badasses. With Death being much more on agility, it does change your gameplay every now and then, plus with the ability to learn new combos, there's a lot more variety in pressing certain buttons rather than your usual 3-4 presses of light attack or alternating light-heavy attack. Puzzles definitely have a certain difficulty although it doesn't really mindf*** you except for 2-3 of them which many people said was actually pissing them off including me. My one gripe was that Despair is pretty under-utilized here. In D1, you had to use Ruin for one of the sub-bosses, if not death is certain. Even some of the platforming and puzzles require Ruin. In D2, Despair became a tool for moving from point to point. I do hope in the next iteration, they incorporate the horse into some of the platforming puzzles or at least bosses fights. Also, arena style fighting was a welcome inclusion and with it's "double or nothing" system as well as extremely satisfying rewards, it would definitely allow gamers to get extremely powerful equipment before even completing the final chapter. I decided to give it an 8.5 with it's engaging gameplay.

Graphics and Sound:
7.5 out of 10

Nothing really stands out here. It's pretty much the same graphics you see 2 years ago in D1. In this respect, D2 could have really used a major upgrade in the graphics department. Even dungeon looting games like Diablo 3 went through a major overhaul. I'm not asking much but there are at times where I see shadow filters not doing its job or weird texturing appearing in a corner of the screen. Of course, not asking Crysis-level graphics but they could do with more refinement to the character models. In this current time where games' graphics have improved tremendously, the characters in D2 do look similar to cartoon characters but i think it has more to do with the new changes and upgrades they've done to the entire game. Sacrifices do have to be made to incorporate those upgrades. So, I'm giving it a respectable score as the sound and music was, too me, above average as well.

Plot/Storyline:
9 out of 10

I really loved games that have a story. I happen to be one of those old-school gamers where we play games for hours in single player mode due to its storyline. Sadly, nowadays, most of the games have terrible plot and even rehashed storylines. D2 stands out here as it actually built on D1's story while at the same time giving at least a proper backstory to the Horsemen. Even the side-quests have a link to the main storyline so you don't lose out in terms of story content. There's actually a twist in the ending but rest assured, you won't see the last of Death. I'm giving it a high score for actually having an expansive storyline and proper backstory while not leaving too many gaping holes.

Mechanics:
9 out of 10

High score is a must from me. RPG elements present in equipment and skills is a welcome addition. Skill tree was definitely revamped and easier to use. Platforming was fluid and easy although certain areas do need to have more guidelines, especially those in dim lighting. Puzzles was definitely fun although later parts actually made me wanna scream and throw my controller at my TV. I would say it is much more refined now and with so many new additions, it does allow my version of Death to have my own custom build. Check out Youtube and you can see plenty of builds. So, thumbs up for that. My only wish: Vigil games release a mod kit which allows gamers to build mods of the game as well as incorporate multiplayer. I do hope they include that in future iterations although the network and matchmaking mechanics have to be flawless. I'd be happy if they used Steam network considering that both Darksiders and the sequel is on Steam store. Matchmaking would be easier and there would be many more achievements for gamers to try and achieve.

Overall score:
8.5 out of 10

The old adage, "If it works, don't break it" seems to be the rule here. At heart, it's pretty much the same Darksiders we know but with added new features and mechanics. Kudos to Vigil for actually improving the game. Some of the flaws I mentioned are minor details of course but if they can improve on that, it'll definitely be a day-one buy for many gamers. Homage to many other games especially Portal, Zelda and GoW was definitely pleasant. What really stood out for me was the inclusion of RPG elements into the gameplay and mechanics. While some games failed at incorporating RPG elements into their core gameplay, Darksiders 2 is a welcoming sight as it fits perfectly well into the gameplay. I do hope they take multiplayer into consideration and of course bump up the graphics. Textures could use a little CryEngine or Unreal Engine here but that's wishful thinking of course. Overall, if you're looking for a single player game that will hook you for hours with a storyline and gameplay that is reminiscent of certain classics, then Darksiders 2 is the game to get. You won't regret it.

What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments below!

Razer Orca Headset Review

After a few stumbles in my personal life and work commitments, I finally am able to write this review of my newest product. This is actually my first review of a product after 6 years so bear with me if I do make any mistakes or I come off as too obnoxious or idiotic. I apologize in advance for being a douchebag but that's what critics are, isn't it?

Now, I won't do any video unboxing/review because

1. There's plenty of these in social video networks especially Youtube
2. I look like crap on video and I speak extremely fast so it's not easy to catch what I'm saying
3. It's too time consuming and I don't really have a private space at home to do a proper review unlike those you see on newegg, NCIX or overclocker3d.net

What I WILL do is actually give you a review on what I feel as I have used this headset on quite a number of occasions. I do admit that this review is late but so far I've yet to see many reviews of this headset in Singapore.

My criteria when judging on headsets has always been:

1. Performance (Obviously)
2. Comfort (A big factor in my review)
3. Aesthetics
4. Price

So on to the actual review.

Razer Orca Gaming headsets.

Over the years, Razer has been churning out plenty of good quality products. While some may not interest gamers due to being expensive or overloaded with features that they don't need; generally Razer has been consistent with quality products.

The team at Razer finally gave what many gamers wanted: A headset that's versatile to use, albeit for gaming and everyday use. Of course, there are some shortcomings but I will get back to that later.

The Orca headset was launched in Singapore during late 2010. Razer touted this headset as a mobile gaming-on-the-go headset so there's no 5.1 or 7.1 fanfare unlike some of the gaming headsets you see on the market. Thus, expectations of this headset was meant to be more of the generic level rather than the orgasmic auditory that we crave.

I managed to get this headset at Sim Lim Square and being the typical geek or nerd that I am, I decided to test it straight away. And thus I unbox it right in full view of the public.

In the box, you won't find plenty of goodies. In fact, the only goodie you get is a card which is typical of all Razer products. And it is pretty much a useless card to be honest. Besides a manual, a couple of cards and the headset with the cables, there isn't anything else. What's interesting is that there is an additional cable in the box. The cable is actually meant to extend your headset cable should you be playing from your desktop. Most gamers, especially those with dedicated sound cards would plug their headsets into the sound card(which is at the back of your PC- the IO or input/output ports) to take advantage of the hardware and software so the extension is a welcome sight. One minor gripe here is that there's no microphone at all. Not even on the cables. So, this is a microphone-less headset. Either you buy a third party mic and do some mod to attach to it or don't even wear one at all.

Aesthetically, this headset screams loud. And I mean loud NEON GREEN. You'll definitely have people looking at you due to the headsets. I definitely love loud colours and it suited me fine. Plus, the fact that it's neon green means you won't miss this even if you misplace it somewhere.

For my first initial test, I tried it on my iPhone without wearing and I played a heavy drum and bass song at half level to test it's loudness. True enough, it's pretty silent when you're on a busy walkway but when you're in the train, your neighbours can definitely hear what you're listening.

The next test I did was to actually wear them and try and spot if ambient noises from the environment would actually be heard. As Razer touted, this is more of a generic level rather than dedicated so ambient noises can still be heard in between songs.

The comfort level of the headsets was actually pretty good. And trust me, I wear plenty of headsets so comfort is a big plus for me. I have tried beats audio, audio technica and other popular brands and most of them tend to either make my ear itch or make my ears go numb after 10 minutes. The ear cups were lined with a velvety sort of cloth and the headset is lined with the same cloth as well. The cups doesn't suck your ears like typical headsets when going all out but rather just sits there. The top of my head doesn't really feel tired as this is quite a light headset compared to other top brands. It was only after more than an hour of heavy usage that my ears start to feel the strain but then again that's an hour of putting it on and blasting max volume level/

Minor gripes I do have about it though is that it's actually made of plastic and when adjusting, the plastic locks doesn't really lock but quite easily slides out. The cups doesn't bend inwards so storage wise, you need a bag to bring it around if you don't intend to use it. I usually just let it hang on my neck.

During the full out tests where I ramp up the decibels, bass output is noticeable. I played a pretty heavy song, "Fade to Black" sung by Metallica as that song has very heavy guitar riffs and drum rolls. The headset performs well here even when I'm not wearing it. I can actually hear all the different sounds when I hang it on my neck and the bass was really pumping. I tried another genre of music, house and again it does well. Greyhound by Swedish House Mafia never really sounded that good in such generic headsets. So, kudos to Razer on that.

All this while, I've been talking about the headset when listening to music. For video, it's actually pretty much the same unless you're using software enhancement like Dolby Digital Home Theatre. Of course, when it comes to DVD, it is good. It is when you're playing blu-ray movies that you can see the difference in audio. As a generic headset, you won't be able to capture all the sounds coming from a BR disc, even if you used an extremely good software as BR audio uses a minimum of 5.1. Actually, to clarify, you do get the virtual surround but it's not as clear as you expect in a true 5.1 headset.

But enough of movies and music, time to go for where it really matters: GAMES

For my desktop, I tested it twice. One, without the Asus Xonar Phoebus module while the other was together with the module . The reason I used this module was due to the fact that it has a mic in built for it so pairing it with the Orca makes sense.

During the module-less test, it works pretty much without a hitch although you don't really get the true surround sounds while playing games. While most games are ok without the surround, some games like FPS, RTS and MMOs do require surround to take advantage of its benefits. FPS games definitely need surround as it can determine where's the next enemy hiding or where the enemy is running. RTS and MMOs take advantage of surround sounds to tell you where your friends are or what events are running. Like I mentioned in my earlier pharagraphs, you get virtual surround but it's not the real deal.

It's the same when I attach it to the module, which is attached to the Phoebus card. The virtual surround from the Asus ROG software do come in handy but you won't be able to get true surround and to be honest, the virtual back and front audio doesn't really sound full to me. Again, remember that Razer has marketed this more as a generic headset.

I tried it in a LAN shop just now and it's still pretty much the same except it actually became worse for me as I had to attach my headset through the speakers(The LAN shop actually lock their CPUs in a cupboard below the monitor so I can't plug it through the back IO ports)

So, this is pretty much my review and truth to be told,I'm actually impressed that Razer has managed to produce quite a good quality generic headset that's compatible with both gaming and mobile. Minus points would be the unavailability of the mic(which the next edition, Razer Electra has)has only stereo support and no noise cancelling. But then again, this is a generic headset and not a dedicated true surround sound gaming headset. So, in that aspect, I think Razer delivered it. And with the price it has been marketed currently, I think it is a worthy purchase and to some extent, this is actually better than beats audio which I do have. In fact, I'm using it everyday that my other headsets just practically became invisible.

So without further ado, let me reveal the scores:

General scores
Performance: 3.5 out of 5

For a generic stereo headset, this is actually pretty good but too bad it's not 5.1. And the fact there is no mic.

Comfort: 4 out of 5

Very comfortable when using it for long hours of gaming. Not heavy and my head doesn't feel sore from the wight

Aesthetics: 5 out of 5

NEON Green is definitely a big plus. It gives out a distinctive feel and it does make you unique than the rest with all the normal generic colours.

Price: 4 out of 5

For a stereo generic headset going at SGD 99 in many shops, this is actually a steal. Not only does it look absurdly loud, but you get good quality stereo at a 100 bucks. Even good in-ear headphones sells more than a 100 bucks. Add the fact that it also caters to gamers as well

General (Overall): 4 out of 5



Pros: Cheap, Good quality Stereo, loud unique colours
Cons: No accompanying software/goodie, no microphone, not 5.1/7.1 sound.


Closing notes:
If you're looking for a good quality headset but you absolutely do not want to break the bank and use it for both gaming and entertainment, this headset is a pretty good investment. But, if you're particular about your sounds in your gaming sessions or an audiophile, better get true 5.1/7.1 surround instead but be prepared to pay more than this headset.

And this ends my first review after a long long long time. Will be putting up more reviews as I get more hardware for my personal rig. Do comment below as I would like to know what I can do to make it better.

Thanks!