Mercenaries 2 is the game I have been waiting for anxiously since it was previewed back in E3 2007. Why is this game so awesome?
1. Sets things on fire
2. Blow stuff up using gunfire, airstrikes, carpet bombs
3. Online Co-op
4. PMCs
5. and Making Money (ok its virtual money)
Check there website for more details. Mercenaries on the original XBOX was my favourite game and I recommend you pickup a copy when it comes out.
Product Website: http://www.ea.com/armyoftwo/
Price: $49.99 (CDN)
Rating: 6.5/10
I had very high hopes for Army of Two and heard a lot of the negative pre-hype about the game but tried to filter it out and hope for the best. After playing it I have mixed feelings about how to review this game. The concept of Aggro seemed novel and cool. However, it’s not too different then the suppress and flank mechanic which is reminiscent of the Brother in Arms series. The gameplay and coop hi jinks are fun assuming player 2 knows what there doing (more on that later).
Co-op is implemented well in this game and I wish that more games would follow suit. Co-op can be played over Split Screen or XBL- making this a great buddy-buddy game. Despite some of the drawbacks of the gameplay, working together with a partner to overcome a lot enemies using back to back, co-op snipe and using a car door as a riot shield is uniquely enjoyable.
During gameplay you can give positive/negative affirmation to your partner in crime by either giving him a high five or a smack upside the head. A minor feature but I think its cool because you get an opportunity to interact with your comrade on a more personal level in game. That level of camaraderie seems to be a missing component in a lot of the co-op games that our out there these days.
Although lack of auto aim or aim magnetism (the extent to which your reticle ’sticks’ to your target) is not as bad as Turok. It is noticeable enough to by annoying at times. I feel that they should have added some scopes to your standard weapons to increase there magnification and assist your aiming. Fighting long distance can be frustratingly difficult. Which means that most of your battles will be mid to close ranged limiting your choice of weapons.
From the initial training movie that comes up when you first start of Army of Two it seem almost formulaic that aggro will make you nearly invisible to the enemy. However, there are number of occasions where aggro did’nt seem to work at all. My AI partner would gain all the aggro and when I flanked an enemy he would immediately see me. Which lead me to go back to cover warfare - poping in and out of cover hoping to get a headshot.
The weapons in Army of Two are lopsided. The PVM (Light Machine Gun) fully upgraded and the DAO-X are the main weapons you should rely on to beat the game on Professional difficulty. The DAO-X can knock an armoured enemy on his ass if your close enough to him. MP7 is the only decent secondary weapon that is effective in your arsenal as a accurate killer of tangos. The sniper rifles are good if you manage to hit anything. The Stinger with its lock on capability will down most helicopters in two shots and is quite effective in taking down armoured enemies (if you can get close enough to them).
The remaining weapons are generally useless and make you wonder why they were even put in the game, there inaccurate and inflict little damage to your enemies. For example, M134 (mini-gun) is completely pointless its slow, loud, inaccurate, and an aggro leech.
I don’t know if it’s just me but I could not find a single player on XBLM who was willing together with me. Most of the players I met with treated Army of Two like a game of Lone Wolves on Halo atacking from cover and completely ignore the Aggro system of suppressing and flanking enemies. Which made the co-op piece really frustrating. I actually played better with AI character. Just because I could manage what he did better and rely on him more.
I saw nothing really enticing about the multiplayer that made we want to replay it. Generally you can find only a few people playing multiplayer and just like in co-op, most likely you’ll get teamed up with a knuckle head of partner running and gunning and ruining the co-op fun.
The plot is linear and fairly predictable. Simple betrayal and simple revenge.
One thing that was a let down was that that game was so short. I would have like to played the missions that were in the cutscenes rather then just watch them.
Army of Two has been crucified by reviewers as unplayable - I think this is a little unfair. I agree the controls are annoying but in contrast Kane and Lynch there far more playable. Army of Two is a fun co-op game but needs a lot more polish and shine to make it great game. More content, variation in weaponry would have been an improvement.
Again, comparing Army of Two to Gears of War or a Call of Duty 4 would be mistake. Army of Two is really a great second tier gaming experience in a multi-level universe of gaming.
If you seem to be wasting a lot time when your waiting for players to join your hosted game of Team Deathmatch, Attack or Defend on RSV2. Since Ubisoft won’t be update the hosting system into an efficient party based system in the interim I can alleviate your boredom and maintain your sanity with this super list of things you can do to keep yourself occupied.
1. Read a book
I’ve really gotten through a good portion of my copy of, “Blackwater: The Rise of the world’s most powerful mercenary army”. It gets me in the mood to play RSV2. Although I wish they would have pictures, so I can create a replica PEC characters based on a real life private military contractors.
2. Find Celebrity mugshots for your face mapped character on the Internet.
I was really inspired by the face mapping for George W. Bush as a playable character in RSV. So what better photos are out there then celebrity mugshots? I mean all you need is the front and side portraits of your favorite star to add there likeness to your character’s face. I’m sure you can find a recent mugshot of Paris Hilton. Please don’t blame me if people are using the sniper rifle more often on you.
3. Criticize kids who buy an M rated gaming and are playing on your host
So your waiting for people to join your game and you have some snot nosed brat starts yaking away about nothing. Ask him, “if it was his mom or dad that bought him his copy of RSV2?” And after a good lecture - kick him. Everyone else will thank you for it and you to there friend list.
4. Start a trivial discussion with your nearest sibiling.
No sibiliings? Call you friends. No friends? Send an message to your XBL friends. No friends on XBL? Buy yourself a PS3.
5. Stare at the wall
Hey its always there and you can stare at it. If your getting bored stare at your ceiling.
I had an opportunity today to play some games of RSV2 with the RSV2 developers. They played reasonably well. I’ll admit I was mostly gunning after them. I got one of them pretty good a number times. And got owned by the another dev in a different game. We played DM, Team DM and Leader.
One the Ubisoft players was a Marketing Product Manager and was nice enough to answer questions relating to RSV2. I pushed him on the unfair T-Hunt and he said he couldn’t really comment on it other then saying he would pass my comments along to the devs (gee I wonder if that’s gonna happen). ne Dev refused to answer any questions and said he only wanted to play which is cool I guess.
The one nagging question I heard from players were around the PFC achievement. And the answer to this was simply, “we are looking into it as well as number of there other bugs.” - mainly multi-player issues.
Other question focused around how much money you can make in the gaming industry, sound track composition, including melee attacks in RSV2.
All in all it was good time and people were well behaved.
For the last couple of weeks Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) is the most played game on XBOX Live, beating out Halo 3 as top online champ.
So, why is Halo 3 with a plethora of features: map making, online stats, replaying video and co-op losing the battle consistently? I believe there are number factors that are contributing to this phenomenon
Call of Duty 4 is noob-friendly: The learning curve involved in Halo 3 is much higher then CoD4. There are far more seasoned players playing Halo 3 then in CoD4. Making it difficult for newcomers to get a handle of the game play mechanic.Halo 3 is more tactical then CoD4 with setup locations, call outs, focusing more on accurate gun fire versus run and gun action.
Call of Duty 4 is fast paced: Call of Duty 4 is about being on the offensive and being aggressive all the time - that means running from place to place with aggressive flanking maneuvers. In contrast, Halo 3 is based on differing modes of attack - you can play defensively or offensively. In CoD4 you plant your feet and shoot.
Perks: One of the really cool features of CoD4 is all about getting perks - which can really change the tide of battle. For example, one of my favourite perks is, “Deep Impact” which is an effective perk to deal with campers and lodged snipers. In Halo 3 you can hide behind a wall and recover your health. In CoD4 hiding is not always going to be helpful. In Halo 3 games there is a strong reliance on the motion sensor. In CoD4 the UAV jammer is useful perk to walk into enemy footholds and release a surprise attack. The inclusion of perks in CoD4 creates a variety of gaming experiences that is not there in Halo 3.
Time based vs Skill Based ranking: Call of Duty 4 has a ranking system that is based on the amount of time you have played the game vs how skilled you are. In Halo 3 to move up the officer ranks you need to continually beat people who are more skilled then you. In Call of Duty 4 experience is rewarded for kills, passing challenges, winning and even losing.
In Halo 3, I’ve observed seasoned players move from Skill 1 to Skill 50 within a week. Not everyone is going to make it to skill 50 and most players will plateau at a level below 50. In order to move up another 5-10 points you need to play a lot and/or play with people that are really good as well. That is a lot of commitment and sucks some of the fun out of leveling up.
In CoD4 the faster you gain experience by kills, challenges and winning, the faster you rank up. Therefore, playing more invariably means you gain more experience. I hear the counter argument - your fooling yourself in believing that you are getting any better. And that you are not gaining skill because you are not really competing against the best. So what? Its a faulty assumption to suggest the more challenging competition translates to a more enjoyable game play experience.
Customizable Classes: One of key factor in winning a game of mutiplayer Halo 3 is power weapon control. If your team can get to power weapons like Rocket Launchers, Spartan Lasers and Snipers you team will have reasonably good chance of winning. In Call of Duty 4 you start off with weapon you want and play the way you want. If you like long range fire you choose a sniper rifle and perks that complement your skills. If you like running and gunning then you can pick up a shotgun and UAV jammer and run ballistic on the map.
Rewards for playing well: CoD4 is game which has more opportunities to turn the tide of battle in your favour. You initially don’t start off with a radar. If you get 3 kills in a row you are rewarded with UAV (radar), 5 kills let you call in an air-strike, 7 kills nets you a chopper. You can save your UAV, air-strike or chopper to use at later time during the game. So if your team is losing, you can tactically use a well placed air-strike to turnover a potential loss. In contrast, if you have season players on the other team that dominate the map and have command of the power weapons there is not much you can do about winning.
Challenge thine own self : Call of Duty 4 has a number of challenges that you can complete which allow you to gaining bonus experience and help you to rank up faster. For example, calling in the UAV 3 times. CoD4 has specific achievable goals rather then blanket goals in Halo 3 where ranking up is the only validation you can get.
Price : $59.99 (CDN)
Product Website: http://www.rainbowsixgame.com
Score: 7.0/10
Let me just preface my review by saying that I really enjoyed Rainbow Six Vegas numero uno and played it obsessively till I had all of the achievements. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (RSV2) when first mentioned during Spike’s Video Game Awards was like an unannounced wedgie. The fact that Ubisoft wanted to debut RSV2 on the VGA Awards vs showcasing it at E3 made me think that it probably wasn’t going to be that big of game. Unfortunately I was right.
The ACES system implemented in RSV2 is welcome change following suite from CoD4. You are awarded for completing certain actions such Marksmanship (Accurate Firing), CQB (Close Quarter Pwning) and Assault (Using force to kill bad guys). Gaining points allow you to gain large chunks of experience and unlock weapons.
The revamped experience system is also a welcome change. Now you can earn experience in any game mode you desire: Single player, Co-op, T-Hunts and Adversarial Multiplayer. In addition you have a status bar at the bottom of your HUD that shows you progress.
The difficulty of completing the campaign has been made easier with the inclusion of co-op. Overall I felt they did a decent job with including a properly developed co-op mechanic. The pop in and it out system was good for both story and t-hunt mode although, it was absent in adversarial mode.
The weapons are generally the same as RSV with some newcomers added to the mix. The addition of a silenced sniper rifle was a nice addon to allow you to kill long distance without raising too many alarms from your enemies.
There are some grave issues that plague this game. The multiplayer uses an archaic host based gaming system where some person sets up a game and waits for people to join - which can take 5-30 min to get a full complement of people to play. This is a really time waster and by now RSV2 should have implemented a good partying system like the one in Call of Duty 4.
Ubisoft dropped the ball on the Terrorist Hunt game mode. T-Hunts are broken and completely unfair. One the most frustrating things about T-hunt was the problem with RSV - spawning. Enemies will spawn randomly everywhere in the map. Enemies will spawn in an enclosed room directly behind and blow you away with SPAS (shotgun). That is totally B.S. and laziness on part of ubisoft. One spokesperson from Ubisoft stated specifically during an interview that the T-Hunt’s would be more fair and that enemies would not spawn in places you already searched. Here is the quote from Tim Cummins, Senior Manager at Ubisoft:
“..if you played a lot of terrorist hunt in the first game, you may have noticed that the spawning sometimes had some problems. Terrorists would spawn directly in your line of site, or even behind you, which just wasn’t fair and didn’t make for a great experience at times. We have completely fixed that for Vegas 2 by really optimizing the spawning. It is not as predictable, much more reasonable in how it happens and is never visible to players. ”
Source: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news.php?id=688
In addition to the unbalanced spawning, you have enemies that kill while not even looking at you. Enemies that run up to you at super speed and perform a perfect headshot in a few milliseconds. Enemies that are able to get headshots on you with SPAS almost 50 feet away. I realize T-Hunts on realistic difficulty are meant to stretch your skill and give you a challenge but there is a fine line between challenging and unfair that has been broken.
The plot is fairly linear focusing mainly on a petty revenge theme. The main character’s (Bishop) beginning dialogue comments sounds like a cheezy Master Splinter from TMNT then a hardened Spec Ops team lead.
I won’t ruin the the storyline but the the antagonist is turns into a whiny little baby at the end of the game. The events in the story cover typical scenarios - Clear out terrorists, save hostages and disarm bombs - yeh…
The maps in both on single and multiplayer are mediocre at best. Focusing on the duller sides of the city vegas is like trying to look for ice in a desert- it doesn’t make sense. It would have been nice to see the glitz and glamour of Vegas balanced with the regular Vegas to give a more holistic view but alas it wasn’t there.
The variation in weaponary is another thing ubisoft really needs to work on. LMGs are generally useless. All of the sniper rifles are the same weapon with the exception of the silenced sniper rifle and PSG-1 which is semi-automatic. There are a handful of assault and smgs that are solid but the remainder are just useless. The powered down some of the weapons from RSV most notably the MP7.
Another area that could have been improved on was allowing face clothing (masks, headgear, balaclavas) to be worn over your face mapped face (FMF). Just as in RSV1 only certain equipment can be worn over a FMF. In addition, it doesn’t save your FMF, as soon as you choose a new face, the FMF is deleted. To take this a step further RSV2 should have implemented a class system allowing you to have multiple character with different load outs.
As if all of the negative points were not bad enough Ubisoft has not fixed many bugs during there release. For example, The Private First Class achievement bug was a slap in the face for some RSV owners. Apparently Ubisoft rewards you for completing RSV on realistic difficulty or reaching the rank of elite by bumping you to Specialist in RSV2 and unlocking some items. However, you are not awarded the Private First Class achievement because apparently you didn’t actually play though from zero experience. Thanks Ubisoft for screwing your loyal players. I’m sure they’ll address this issue in an upcoming patch but this is an example of the symptomatic problems with releaseing sequels too quickly and really not polishing up the game.
Another bug example: incinderies don’t kill AI enemies they just make them scream like pansies. This happens mostly on T-hunts.
Not to go off on a rant here but the reason Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 are at the top of there game is that they collaborate with there user base and as a result have created some solid franchises.
RSV2 is more RSV 2.0 then a fully qualified sequel . It has some welcome features and updates but all of the knawing problems that were in RSV are still prevalent in RSV2. RSV was one of the best games out when the XBOX 360 was launched. However here in 2008 there are new benchmarks for quality which have much smoother frame rates, better features and an improved multiplayer system. Ubisoft has created a second tier game. If your a fan of RSV and want a good expansion pack this game might worth picking up.
I’ve been pretty occupied with Rock Band, particularly beating Vocals on Expert. I am not a semi-pro, pro singer or a musician but I’ve learned to modulate my voice well enough to get through songs and even improving my overall singing ability. I’ve beaten Rock Band on Expert Vocals and I also beat American Idol: Karaoke Revolution Encore on Expert and I hope I can share some nuggets of wisdom.
Warm Up: Start with some easy songs like “Creep” or in “In Bloom” to get your vocal cords warmed up for the more intense songs.
Louder is not better: Yes one of the Rock Band loading screens says, “Louder is Better” - its not. Screaming into the mic and trying to hit high notes just like the singer in the song maybe fun on Easy or Medium difficulty but on higher difficulties you want to have control over your voice. Personally I sing softly so I can control the pitch of my voice. At louder volumes you can go off key and that is especially bad when you hit Expert difficulty which is not very forgiving if you miss a note.
Sing an Octave below : Try Singing an octave below on very high notes or very low notes. Remember Doe-Ray-Me-Fah-So-La-Tee-Doe back from music class. Well, instead of singing at the Ray octave you can sing at the lower octave of Doe. For example, to hit a high sustained note in “Foreplay/Longtime” (a song I had a lot of trouble with) near the very end of the song. Say, “A” but hold that sound and make it an intense and deep “A”, like an opera singer would sing it. The main thing I want to emphasize is to play at a voice that you are comfortable holding notes at.
Hum to Resync : If you mess up a singing portion. Hum the note so you can sync your voice to the note on your next phrase and get back in the game.
Humming is not cheating: On the subject of humming, I’ll admit that some songs are very difficult to complete without humming. But from my experience it’s a lot more satisfying to beat a song by singing through it rather then humming through it. So have fun and sing!
Mic Lag: There might be certain phrases you sing that you seem to miss for some reason. You could be a victim of mic lag. Mic Lag is delay from your singing to it being registered by the triangle on the screen that measures pitch. Some people have suggested that the Rock Band mic is the culprit and an alternative mic such as the Logitech Vantage USB mic might a good solution to resolve you mic lag woes. I haven’t tried it, but it is certainly worth looking into.
Sing Early on Expert: While playing Vocals on Expert you will notice that you need to sing your phrase early otherwise you will get docked on you phrase meter.
Save your Overdrive: This a generic rule that I think you can apply to vocals or the other instruments in Rock Band. If you feel the song is challenging you and you know your crowd meter is waver save overdrive on your next attempt to get your through the tough songs.
Practice: The euphemism Practice makes Perfect holds true in Rock Band. And I don’t mean go to practice mode in Rock Band either I mean get a copy of the song on your iPod/MP3 Player/Car Stereo and sing when your going to school/work/chilling. Sing it enough so your comfortable with the song and learn to enjoy it. Its much easier to sing a song when you enjoy the experience. Also practice on quick-play and online quick-play.
Keep up the practice and you will become a valued asset to your Rock Band.
Need more tips on singing vocals in Rock Band. Check out this link:
http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4545
After playing Call of Duty 4 - Mile High Club Level on Veteran Difficulty over 100 times and turning almost emo with despair, I finally conquered it.
I have learned a couple of things that I would like to share:
1. The video walkthroughs that are all over YouTube that will supposedly guide you, don’t really help. You have to find your own way.
2. Push up only so far that your squad can catchup to you. They help a lot.
3. The problem area I had most trouble with was on the second floor. In order to get past all those tangos in the cabin prior to held hostage, you MUST throw 2 flashbangs one in the cabin and one to the back of the cabin. Then run past all the stunned enemies and pray they don’t recover from the flashbang.
4. Timing is everything - every second causes enemies to carry out patterns of behaviour that you must observe like a hawk. Having said that you will find random gun shots that hit you. Random people that don’t get stunned. Random BS. As a result there is a huge component of LUCK. I was very fortunate to get through to the end without getting decimated by gun fire.
5. Don’t get angry. Be analytical. Observe where you went wrong and try something else you think will work. Trial and Error x 100.
Mile High Club on Veteran is so difficult that it is rumoured that the level creator of Mile High Club could not beat it in 60 seconds. This is the most challenging/frustrating XBL achievement I have won.
Misson Accomplished - See ya next time mate!
Price: $250.00 USD
Product Website: http://www.astrogaming.com
Score: 9/10
I’ve been looking around for awhile for a decent pair of gaming headsets for use on XBOX Live. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the Turtle Beach X3, the XBOX 360 wireless headset and others.
MLG recently announced its official headset for its 2008 Pro tourney - the Astro Gaming A40 audio system. The A40 audio system comprises of the A40 Headset and the A40 mixer. The A40s have been play tested by many MLG Pros and have been met with positive reviews.
So after hearing the positive reception on MLG and balancing the limited mediocre alternatives, I decided to shell out the cash for my own pair of A40’s.
The A40 Headset is durable and comfortable. The cushions for the ears strike a nice balance between tight enough to keep around your ears but not enough to suffocate them with too much pressure. You have a detachable boom mic which can be placed on either side of the headset. My ears are pretty sensitive and I find that prolonged gameplay wearing headphones/earphones starts to bug my ears. Not so with the A40 headset I was able to play for several hours without feeling any irritation or discomfort.
A new twist to the design is the use of interchangeable magnetic face plates. I purchased the MLG branded version of the A40’s which had the MLG faceplates and the Astro Faceplates. Astro Gaming has suggested in the future you will have the option of customized faceplates (can anyone say gamertag). This is kinda gimmicky seeing that there mainly for cosmetic purposes but hardcore gamers will probably appreciate it to differentiate themselves.
The A40 Mixer is a thing of beauty. Lots of open inputs for various types of audio cables: RCA inputs, Stereo, Digital Coax and Optical. There are two ports on the bottom which are for your the connection to the headset and then and another to the XBOX 360 controller. You can also plug in your MP3 player into one of the inputs while your playing. The mixer has a large analog dial for volume control and smaller one for balancing the game volume and for 8 year old kids who scream in your ear during Halo 3 over voice. Also you have button for the Dolby Surround (on/off) and a power button for the mixer. Let’s not forget the plethora of included audio cables (no optical cable unfortunately). The mixer also has the ability to daisy chain other A40’s for some PC/XBOX360 LAN gaming goodness.
I had problems with the mike. Every time I spoke on XBOX Live there was static. Not too much that anyone complained but it was not up to speed compared to the regualar XBL headset that comes with the XBOX360. I have been told by Astro that its a problem with the mixer and there sending out a replacement. So I’ll hold judgment on the voice aspect of the headset.
The power system for the mixer is the only real drawback I can think of. The panel on the back of the mixer needs a flat head screwdriver to open. Most battery doors I’ve used have some latch to open it, I shouldn’t have to open it with a screwdriver. When I decided to use battery power (regular AA batteries) I could only use it for 4 hours before the power light started blinking. Which means I have to use the mini USB connector to my XBOX 360 or my computer which happens to be close by, to give the mixer power. This is quite inconvenient, if I happen to have all the USB connectors on my XBOX 360 taken up. A separate AC input/adapter input should have been made available. In the future Astro Gaming has indicated they will release a rechargeable battery pack.
I tested the headset/mixer combination on Call of Duty 4 (renowned for its mind blowing sound). The sound was incredible. It felt like I was in the middle of war zone and my awareness of the surrounding noise was heightened significantly. Next I tried Halo 3, again I heard more discrete noises then before. I could hear gunfire far away much clearer then before and I could generally approximate where it was coming from. Next, Rainbow Six: Vegas (T-Hunt) again much clearer sound and I could hear footsteps much better (if you played T-hunt you will know that you have fraction of second to react to enemy characters on Realistic Difficulty). I tried Fight Night Round 3, all the voices and commentary were clear. The mind shattering bass when Mohammed Ali nails Joe Fraizer with right hook was absent. On a 5.1 surround system and even on the newer HDTVs with 2 speakers the bass is much more pronounced. Finally, I played Half-Life 2 -again great sound. I did notice some static interference during one of the character’s dialogue. But it was tolerable.
Prior to using these headsets I was using the Logitech Z-5500 Speakers (5.1 Dolby Digital - Optical Connection). Initially, I had a hard time believing that headphones could properly replicate a 5.1 surround sound experience. However, after hearing the range and depth of sounds from the A40 I am going to use this headset exclusively for 360 gaming (yes I am that damn impressed).
Pros:
Cons:
I am not an Audiophile by any stretch of the imagination . However, I do have a good ear and I can confidently say that the A40 is a top notch headset or more accurately a remarkable audio system. If your a XBOX360 or PC gamer and you have the means I highly recommend it.
Please note: if you intend to use A40 headset to use on your XBOX 360. You must buy the mixer if you want to take advantage of surround sound. The A40 headset comes with an audio cable splitter for mic stereo input and audio stereo input. But you can only get standard stereo sound (2.0).
*A problem Astro Gaming has suggested is related to the faulty transistor in there Mix unit. They have offered to rectify this by issuing a fixed Mix Unit. However, I’ll have to wait and see if the voice will be static free.
Headset Specifications
* Dynamic Transducer Principle
* 15 - 28,000 Hz Frequency Response
* 50 ohm Nominal Impedance
* 324 grams Weight w/o Cable
* 104dBCharacteristic SPL
* Circumaural Ear Coupling
* 2.6 N Headband Pressure
* Less than 0.1% Distortion
* 3.5 mm mini-stereo with 1/4″ adapter connector
* 6.0mm uni-directional noise canceling
Mixer Specs:
Specifications
* USB mini-B (USB 2.0 compatible), or 4 x AA batteries (not included)Power Supply
* 70mW 32ohm per channel Power Output
* 15+ Hours Battery Life
* 35 - 20,000 Hz Frequency Response
* Headset connector, 2.5mm Xbox Live voice communication connector Inputs (front)
* L/R analog RCA, TOSlink digital, coaxial digital, 3.5mm microphone (PC voice), 3.5mm mp3 connector, USB mini-B (power only)
MLG Headset Announcement:
http://www.mlgpro.com/?q=node/174198
MLG A40 Review:
http://www.mlgpro.com/?q=node/175789
Additional Pictures
A40 Headset
A40 Mixer
I found an interesting little quandary I was pondering. It seems that every time you play a game of Halo 3 your Stats are conveiently uploaded to Bungie.Net which happily dates and timestamps each match for Ranked, Social and Custom games, as long as you’re connected to XBOX Live. This is a really cool feature but it leaves some concerns about privacy.
Here is a funny example, I work at a place where most of my team plays Halo 3 on XBOX Live during our leisure off hours. However a little mind game we play with each other is to see if you were online on XBOX Live (go to person’s XBOX page - all you need is there Gamertag), if someone takes a day off, calls in sick or is just working from home over VPN. So you say hey Codename 76 you can set your Privacy Setting to block anyone from seeing you’re Online status on XBOX Live. True. However, there is no privacy block for Halo 3 Bungie.NET stats - all your stats are being logged.
Therefore, if you are playing Halo 3 your games are being logged without your permission despite your desire for privacy (for legimate or illegitimate reason). In the place of work, someone who calls in sick and is playing a game of Lone Wolves may get in a lotta shit (or worse) if the boss peruses your Halo 3 service record on Bungie to see if your filling out your TPS reports. Lets take this a step forward - it provides documented proof to HR that your lying about being ill or exploiting company time if you say you’re working from home.
I don’t know what the implications for privacy are from a legal standpoint. Especially, here in Canada where privacy is taken very seriously.
Moral of the Story - Be honest - if you’re off work and not taking a vacation day do your damn work (or don’t play Halo 3 when your slacking, slacker)