I was planning something a bit different for today, but a comment at the bottom of my last blog got me thinking. Well, no, not really. I just want to defend my chair...

The thing is, it sounds like crazy talk to any "normal" person and say that you have a chair dedicated to gaming. Even when you explain that it has both built in speakers and vibration feedback, they still can not see the benifit or even point of it. The most common response is either "is the couch not good enough" or "whats wrong with the floor?" I may be preaching to the choir here, but a good seat makes all the difference for those long sessions...

The Chair

Minus doggy - has been relegated to the bed

The chair works like any other. First, you sit on it. Then you make yourself comfy by adjusting the back (you can alter the angle of it). Then you game... It is that simple...

The differences are in the fact that it requires a mains power connection and a 3.5mm stero jack either from the back of the console or the TV. If you take the console jack, you'll get no sound from the TV and if you have more than one device, would require scrabbeling around each time you change your play beast. Pulling the sound from the output on the TV allows one massive benifit - fake surround sound. The two speakers built into the head rest area really help immerse in the game as most day to day sounds are literally drowned out. Crinch-worthy when you move and see missed calls on your mobile but hey ho.

The speakers also act to allow night time gaming if you are not entirely comfortable wearing headphones. With the speakers being so close to your hearing apperatus (ears people, ears) you can literally turn the volume right down on the chair and mute the tv. The quality is great for all but the lowest and highest pitch sounds, speach comes through fine and background music sounds solid. For those that prefer headphones, there is a jack on the side of the chair - see controls picture below - that allows output. This automatically mutes the speakers in the head rest.

The Controls

lights, frequency and motors... read on...

You may have noticed before that I mentioned the feedback vibration. Yes, vibration. In the seat. It makes you feel tingley...

Seriously, this is the best feature of the chair and really shines through depending on the game. I am not a big fan of FPS's on consoles, but this gets me to change my mind instantley. Get the motor (how hard it spins) set to just the right sensitivity (how hard each motor hits - you may not require the tingly seat but just the tingly back) for the right frquency (effective feedback - the motors fire when the sound frequency is hit) and instantly, you fell every shot and grenade. It blows you away from the very first blast till you crawl away hours later. The motors are strong enough to make the ceiling shake and this baby can be heard in the living room when it is turned on (I game on the 2nd floor, in the attack - 3rd floor for Americans).

Unsurprisingly, this is NOT suitable for people with pacemakers!

The final button - Lights - refers to the bling bling pimped out underside lighting that fires with the frequency...

The lights

strangley hypnotic at night

Actually pretty useless, but looks good...

The three way switch provides Off, On and Massage. Off is off, On is for gaming, Massage fires the motors in continuos phases and pulses. Quite relaxing and again, tingly, but the noise from them is disconcerting.

I'll admit, the seat is quiet hard and there isn't much padding on the arms and for any other purpose were relaxation is the key, this isn't my first choice. For gaming though, it supports you in all the right places and gives absolute perfect comfort for 8 to 16 hour stints.

All in all, if you have the space, this is one of the best things to add to your collection.
For the number lovers out there...
three out of four espresso's!

Just for Robotfart, here is the all important Cup holder. It works great for standard sized cans (both 330 and 500ml sizes) but cups, not soo much. It is a bit too small and it tapers as it reaches the bottom of the depression. Still, pint glasses work fine, but there is a technique to getting them out without wacking the underside of the arm...



As for the blowjob monkey, no, am afraid one of those wasn't included in the deal. Although it looks like Tom's Hardware got that upgrade... (dont worry, it's SFW)