Edifer V4 gaming headset review: Two thumbs up

The LEDs surrounding the V4 ear cups give Edifer’s gaming headset a nice look.

I reviewed Edifer’s G4 over-ear gaming headset last year so was keen to look at the company’s V4 gaming headset when I was offered the chance but just how do the two headsets differ?

To be honest, I’m not sure, as they both seem pretty similar in terms of specifications and design.

Like the G4s, the V4s are comfortable to wear, with the faux leather padded ear cups cushioning your ears. I wore them for extended gaming periods and didn’t experience any discomfort or soreness and they didn’t feel heavy on my head. The V4s also did a good job of blocking out exterior noise – perhaps not as good as my Sol Republic headset – but enough to quieten down exterior TV noise or conversations.

The V4s have a faux leather material that means the ear cups are comfortable.

The V4s are PC, PS4 and Mac compatible and each ear cup has a 40mm driver unit (as well as in-built LED lighting in the mesh metal interior), offering a frequency response of 20Hz – 20KHz (I have no idea what that means) and an impedence of 20ohm (again, I have no idea what that means).

The headset connects via USB and the 2.5m-long cable is enough to let you plug it into a games console in a TV entertainment unit and let you sit on a couch. The cable has an in-line remote built in which turns the headset on and off and mutes the retractable boom microphone (which sits in the left ear cup). I tested the headset on my PC, playing Respawn’s excellent Titanfall2 and on PS4, playing Rockstar’s also excellent Red Dead Redemption 2. Audio was clear and crisp, with nice bass tones in both games.

The V4s also have positional 7.1 surround sound built in, which means you can hear everything that’s happening, and vibration, activated with a toggle on the inline remote control. The vibration isn’t over-the-top and just a slight enhancement of the game audio. It’s nice that you can toggle it on and off, meaning if you don’t want the vibration, you can switch it off.

The retractable boom mic & inline remote control.

The headset band is quite flexible, seeming pretty robust (although, I wouldn’t get too carried away twisting it) and it’s well priced, clocking in at just under $NZ100.

Overall, Edifer’s V4 gaming headset offers a great gaming headset that’s comfortable, provides good in-game audio, and, importantly, won’t break the bank if your looking for a good entry level gaming headset.

I’m still  not sure what the difference between the G4 and V4 headset is but with a great price and great performance, Edifer’s V4 gaming headset seems like it’s two-thumbs up worthy.

Thanks to PR company King Creative Media for the review unit.

Leaping Tiger app jumps to Android

The good folk at Wellington-based Leaping Tiger, a location-based friend finder app for gamers, is now available on Android platforms, after initially releasing on iOS.

LeapingTigerThink of the Leaping Tiger app as like social networking for gamers where you can find fellow gamers, let them know what current game your playing and be friends.

One of the founders, Amy Potter, describes Leaping TIger as If Foursquare and Tinder had a baby, and that baby was really into gaming, that’s Leaping Tiger”.

I’ve used the web-based Leaping Tiger and it’s great, even if I don’t use it enough when I game. I remember by the time I’ve almost finished playing!

Now that it’s available on Android, which is my phone operating system of choice, I’m happy.

Here are some links, depending on what smart device you prefer: iOS; Android

 

 

Dishonored: a game of subtlety and nuance

Dishonored is kind of like an onion: the deeper you delve, the more layers you reveal.

Not layers of yucky onion-ness, which tastes disgusting and makes your mouth taste funny, but layers of gaming goodness that reveals itself the more you peel back.

Dishonored is a game where the more you sit and wait, the more you explore and investigate, the more you learn about the world around you and the story behind it.

It’s a game where you can stealth your way through missions, skulking from cover to cover, roof top to roof top, carefully memorising the patrol patterns of guards before teleporting to the next safe hiding spot, ever closer to your target. Or you can take the ‘‘Come one, come all’’ approach and confront every guard you came across – either lethally (hello Mr foldable blade) or non-lethally(hello neck choke). The makers of Dishonored have left it up to you how you want to approach things. Isn’t that nice of them?

I have to admit that I tried to remain stealthy as much as I could – using rooftops and pipes to travel above the gaze of patrolling guards  – but sometimes I failed miserably, mis-timing a jump and landing noisily between two guards, forcing me to pull out my pistol and blade and take them on. Soon, the bodies were piling up.

You take the role of Corvo Attano, former protector of the Empress of Dunwall who was brutally murdered by a society of magical assassins. Her daughter, Emily, is kidnapped. Attano is framed for her murder and imprisoned but escapes, vowing to avenge the Empress’ death and clear his name. Dishonored is set in a steam punk-inspired world that plays a bit like the classic game Thief – skulking through the shadows and all that – and has nods to Bioshock about it (it may not surprise you that developer Arkane Studios helped in the art direction of Bioshock 2).

Visually, Dishonored looks like a sumptuous water colour painting, with big daubs of colour everywhere, and Dunwall is a society with whales to thank: whale oil powers security systems and machinery, but since the Empress’ death it has succumbed to crippling plague and a tyrannical ruler.

While weapons come into play, Attano’s real power lies in his left hand through magical powers given to him by the mysterious Outsider, who we never really learn much about but whose legend is scribbled on walls around Dunwall. The powers come through collectible runes carved from whale bone, which imbue Attano with a variety of powers like teleportation, possession (both animal and human), slowing down time, summoning up a plague of rats and wind, which knocks enemies over. Teleportation – or blink – was perhaps my most favoured power, meaning I could zip from point to point largely unnoticed and I suspect completing the game with just that one power would be entirely possible.

Dishonored’s makers, developer Arkane, claim you can play the game how you want – stealthy or aggressive – but it seems the more confrontational you are, the darker the ending. It seems the higher your chaos rating – end-of-mission stats tell you how many people you killed, how many alarms you raised and whether you slipped through unnoticed – the darker the game’s tone becomes, with NPCs telling you they’re not pleased with how you’ve become, and rats and weepers – zombie-like citizens infected by the plague – more prevalent.

Dishonored surprised at times: I was chuffed that I was able to complete two assassinations without actually killing the target (although the outcome of one was perhaps not the best) and eavesdropping on conversations and reading letters and books often pays dividends  – and it is pleasing to see there isn’t a boss battle in sight: no final confrontation where you have to attack a foe’s glowing weak spot three times in quick succession before finishing him off with a well-timed button press.

Eventually, though, I realised that all-out aggression isn’t perhaps the best way to play Dishonored: stealth, cunning and a low body count seems to garner the ‘happiest” ending (although there are achievements which relish in how many people you kill within a specific time limit) – but by the time I realised that, it was too late: I already had too much blood on my sword.

Dishonored isn’t perfect: a quick save for the console versions would be nice, but it’s not game-breaking, and using the left bumper to select powers and ranged weapons was a little cumbersome at times (every now and then I fired my pistol thinking I had a power activated). Also, acid-spitting molluscs just seem to be there for no purpose other than to annoy the hell out of you.

When the game is finished, though, it’s not the bodies you left behind or the creeping about that you’ll remember most, but the subtle nuances revealed through the game’s world and environment, and the numerous layers that will be uncovered in multiple playthroughs. Dishonored is a game that is perfect for a return visit.