Spy Review

For all those gamers out there a new headset will be out by Christmas so they had better start saving a few bucks or put it on their Santa list. The new noninvasive, wireless EPOC headset will use brainwaves instead of a keyboard, a mouse, or other game equipment in order to maneuver avatars around the game or move objects. You get the idea.

Emotiv has plans to release this awesome headset just in time for the Christmas buying season for $299 (around £155). This innovative headset has 16 sensors that just touch the head and will use a technology similar to that of the EKG, which picks up electrical signals on the scalp and then will convert them into actions that will control the player on the screen or will enhance what occurs on the screen.

Players learn to use concentration to master a game instead of the old game equipment. The headset comes with one game that does have a practice exercise, so players can learn how to use their brain power. Even cooler is the ability to use facial expressions and transfer them to the avatar on the scene. Players will be able to smile, wink, and so forth through the avatar on the screen, making it more realistic. Of course, the headset will become better as it learns the movements of the player and the player will become more skillful at concentrating in order to perform various moves and actions in the game.

What if you become bored during the game? Well, this intelligent headset will sense that you are becoming bored and will send in a few dragons or even change the music so you will have something else for your brain to do. The headset will be able to track 30 responses. It is not yet known whether they have plans to launch an array of games compatible with this or whether existing games can be used with the headset in the future.

I suppose the type of games that will be OK to be used with this device would be strategy games that require a lot of thinking rather than fast action that is better achieved with a game pad or a joystick. I doubt if a footbal or a fighting action game, for example, would be really intuitive with a device such as this.

But without a doubt, this is a nice idea and Emotiv seems to be taking computer gaming to whole new level with it.