REVIEW: Gioteck PS3 Real Triggers

   So, You just lost another round in your favorite shooter, or missed the brake on a curve in a racing title, All because your finger slipped off either the L2 or R2 trigger on your Dual Shock 3. UK based Gioteck thinks they can help. They are a company of gamers aiming to make peripherals for gamers that are superior to everything else out there.

   Their updated Real Triggers For PS3 are a Six Dollar controller mod that prevent your fingers from slipping ever again as well as making your controller feel more like a trigger. They even state “If you use a sony ps3 controller and you are serious about your gaming you should use.” So, should you use these or be a newb forever, lets find out.

   The Real Triggers are made of a grey plastic. The other edges have a darker shinny coating, but the insider area is a lighter textured grey extremely similar to the texture of the trigger buttons already on the controller. The mod is simple. Since the controllers L2/R2 buttons curve into the controller, fingers can slip. To correct this, the Real Triggers make the buttons curve away from the controller. Installation is also a breeze, Just snap them on and your good to go. The Real Triggers do not affect the range of motion on the L2/R2 buttons.

   I am glad to say the mod works. In MW2 I switched my fire buttons from L1/ R1 to L2/ R2, and while it was odd using bottom buttons the advantage was clear right away.  Me a player who rarely could get more than 1 kill row got 5+ kill streaks repeatedly after using the triggers for under 30 minutes on game that I have been playing for the better part of a month.

   They even worked well in Socom. One quirk about the game is that the fire button can’t be mapped away from R1, but the running button can be mapped to r2. My finger used to always slip while holding the button done but now with the Real Triggers they stay in place. This is also good news for anyone who plays racing titles and has the same problem.

   The bottom of the real triggers can have a habit of biting on your fingers below because of the way they clip onto the lip of the L2, R2 buttons. When I had some intense firefights this proved to be a nuisance. When I tried to depress the R2 button to fire, they tended to get caught on my middle finger, costing me the shot. It doesn’t happen enough to make me want to remove the real triggers though, because the advantage is so enormous with them attached.

    One other issue is that the Real Triggers make the buttons extend out a bit further which means your fingers also have to make that stretch. It is my by no means huge but some people might notice it so it’s worth mentioning.

   When I first got the triggers I was skeptical. I played with them on for bit, and now have become hooked. When I try to remove them I end up putting them back on, and now I keep them on permanently as if they had been a part of the Dual Shock 3 from the beginning.  For around 6 dollars USD you can’t go wrong with this product.

    The company is planning a US rollout of their full product line in 2010, currently For information on where to pick up a pair before then, check out the link to Gioteck’s website below.

 Gioteck

Videos for this week.

Heres what you can expect for this week on my you tube channel for this week.

Common Sense: Episode 2.
2009 PS3 Buying Guide.
Netflix For PS3 review.

Thanks it for now. Keep checking the page all week,

http://youtube.com/akatrent

BETAs: MAG and Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Sooo guys it's been a while. I don't have an excuse for this time, I've just been too busy playing around with the stuff I've been meaning to talk about.

Though I come back to you with great news. I am in the MAG and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta tests. Given they are beta tests it still tells a lot about the direction of game development.

     MAG was probably the biggest surprise for me. For those of you that don't know MAG is a game announced several months ago that promised an unprecedented 256 player multiplayer. Now when I first heard this the first thing i thought about was either awful lag or lower graphics which would allow hardware to be directed toward sustaining stable gameplay. I've logged several hours into the beta and I am here to tell you, lag was for the most part non-existent. The graphics did not take much of a dip either. They aren't the ps3's best graphics but they are pretty slick for a game supporting this much going on at once.

    Speaking of which, MAG does best in how realistic to war it is. You have to watch out for bombings, tanks, and other players all while having a realistic health system that in a contrast to games lately that we find ourselves regenerating like wolverine. The game features 3 factions fighting for control. When you begin the game you create a character on one of the factions. You then earn levels which allow you access to various upgrades to your weapons.


     Eventually this will allow you to add weapons to your loadouts. It may surprise you to hear that my most major gripe about this game are the controls. You use the right and left triggers to switch weapons, I found switching weapons in combat pretty much spelled death for me. You'll also spend a lot of time in lobby's however i wouldn't expect this problem to last much longer once the game has more players to work with.

    As for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 I found it offered the more traditional experience to MAG. Battlefield also uses a more realistic health system however you will regenerate yourself in this one. It seems the frostbite engine from the first title was upgraded a bit as i found buildings to be a bit more destructible and that mad for an interesting gaming experience. During one match our squad was tasked with defending 2 sites from being destroyed via explosive charges. Rather than camp inside the building, I simply grabbed a tank blew a hole in the building and then any would be attack would be downed with the press of a trigger.
  
     Graphics in Battlefield seemed better than it's predecessor, overall textures just caught my eye a little more. I found the gameplay modes to be varied to keep you entertain. The only thing I need to see out of this game is a little easier movement between the starting point and your objectives. I found myself on more than one occasion being picked off by snipers as I ran through an empty field.

     I'd say try to get ahold of beta keys for either one. They've certainly stolen my attention away for my other games for the moment. Not to mention who knows there may be a certain xbox guy out there that has an extra beta key he may be giving out.

-Tyler

REVIEW: Sony PS3 Wireless Keypad

The only in-depth review on YouTube is here!
Click here for the review!

-trent

DEAL ALERT! Buy Call of Duty: MW2, AC2 Get a $10 Target gift card!

So, you were lazy like me and didn't wake up at 2am to wait in line in the freezing cold for all the crazy Black Friday deals. Like the new COD:MW2,  for only $40 bucks at Gamestop for instance.

Don't worry most stores are having sales all weekend like target. They currently have a deal going on certain games including the new COD: MW2, and Assassins Creed 2 were you get a $10 dollar gift card when you buy the game at full price.  Hey its not 20 dollars off but still a free ten bucks!

The sale ends tonight so if you were thinking about picking up the game like me now would be the time to buy!

If you know of any other good deals let me know in the comments below!

-trent

Via Target