Perhaps it’s no longer incentive enough for a gamer to beat a game and call it a day. Games are left half-finished, cheats are found, work-arounds taken advantage of. It’s a sad state of affairs. It is fortunate then, that there are more and more people who choose a living out of producing products that immerse the gamer in their respective game worlds. The MindWire V5 is the latest creation of immersion, if I may create a pun (sorry – couldn’t help it).

                                             It's a Taser for your game console!
 

Like the FPS Vest before it, the MindWire aims to further the gamer’s interaction with their game of choice – only unlike the Vest, the Mindwire is a bit more -  err, painful. It employs adhesive pads that look similar to EKG sensors that send a (hopefully) mild shock to whichever part of your body it is attached to. According to its site, the device gives you variable levels of sensation – adjustable from “a soft massaging feeling”, up to a “sharp zap” – “..that gives you the feeling of all the action - ..to the blast of a machine gun’s multiple bullets hitting you”. Ouch.

                                             Now preparing to play a game resembles a medical procedure...

Of course, as we say here in the Labs, don’t slam it till you zap..err I mean try it. Since it is designed for multiple console support and works through a game’s normal force – feedback routines, this device should work with most games, although we’d suggest you try games like “System Shock” (PC, RPG/FPS) or any FPS that uses a taser or an electric-based weapon (Unreal Tournament?). This is in effect additional points for realism – and I can’t see how this device would be applicable to say, fighting games or Fantasy RPGs.

                                             "Relaxing on the couch while gaming" is becoming impossible.

I understand that the “shocks” represent something like the FPS Vest’s pneumatic “punches”, and works on the principle of “tensing” your muscle by applying a “shock” to it - but it seems a bit of a stretch to consider getting shocked “realism” – especially for certain games. Nonetheless, it remains true that it offers more incentive to play your game properly – don’t get hit, don’t get killed, and don’t stop halfway – unless you don’t have the MindWire V5 connected that is. This electroshock feedback device may appeal to gamers hell-bent on getting that little bit more realism, but let me beg off – I’ll stay with my trusty force-feedback joystick and get beat up by my 6-year old niece in Tekken – it’s more fun that way. For more information, click here to go to the company's website.