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HARDWARE REVIEW
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Score: 8/10
Company of Origin:
Type of Device:
Minimum System Requirements: IBM compatible PC, Win 95/98, VGA monitor (not compatible with LCD monitors), VGA video card, Directx 5.2 (or higher), Pentium 166 or higher, 15-pin gameport, 5 MB free disk space
Test System: AMD K6 II 400mhz, Windows 98, DirectX 6.1, 64MB Ram, Voodoo 3 2000 video arcaded, 56k V90 modem
Analysis: The Act Labs GS is one of (if not THE) first consumer Gun Systems for the PC. While light guns have been available for console platforms since the NES, it hasn't surfaced for PCs until now. For this reason alone, a little trial and error is to be expected. In fact, the 'Top Shots' game that came packaged with the GS never would work with the gun for me, even after multiple attempts to 'patch' it. The driver that shipped with the GS was no better, causing my system to actually REBOOT upon attempting to 'select' the GS in 'Game Controllers'. However, once I had downloaded and installed the GS driver version 1.02 (and fiddled with my resolution and refresh rates) the GS calibrated nicely. Furthermore, I downloaded a mod for Quake 2 that allows it to work with the GS and I actually prefer playing it with the GS. Essentially, Quake 2 with the GS becomes an entirely new genre - a 'free motion arcade shooter'. Installation: Actually installing the hardware is a breeze. There's a connector to plug the base into a 15-pin gameport, then the guns and/or joystick controller plugs in the back of the base. There are two choices - plug in both guns, or the gun on the left and the joystick on the right. Finally, there is a VGA (or SVGA) pass-through connector that must be plugged inline with your signal going to your monitor. Simply plug the connection that used to plug into your PC into one side of the pass-through connector, and plug the pass-through connector into your PC's video out.
Controls: The Act Labs GS comes with two stylish silver handguns, a handheld joystick with two triggers (which makes an interesting alternative mouse, by the way), and a 'base' which serves as a holster for all of the above. The guns each have a trigger and one action button on its side. (Actually, one on each side, but with a single output. This is simply to accommodate both left and right handers.) The joystick device has a thumb-controlled analog stick and two trigger (or 'shoulder') buttons. In 'mouse emulation' mode, the top button emulates the left mouse button, and the bottom button emulates the right mouse button.
Accuracy: The guns themselves, once calibrated, have very nice accuracy. The only problem I encountered was that occasionally (rarely) shooting off screen to reload would actually register as a shot to the extreme edge of the screen. This may have been user error, and was infrequent in any case. The joystick device takes practice, as it's highly sensitive. It's very easy to pass up an intended destination when using the joystick controller in mouse mode. There is a sensitivity setting in the setup for the joystick, so you do have some control over this.
Features:
Conclusion: If you like arcade style shooters, and you have Quake 2 (or Half Life), then you may want to pick one of these up. Act Labs is working hard to get GS support for many popular games, and they are developing enhancements for the GS as well. If you are a Quake 2 fanatic and you love downloading mods and trying new things, you might have enough fun with the Quake 2 GS Frenzy alone to justify getting the GS. 'Frenzy' has become the game I play when my wife's not looking, and the game I show to everyone that comes over to visit. I can't wait to see what they do with the GS next. I remember seeing mention of 'Rogue Spear'... Yummy! I expect to raise this review's score once there's more software support.
Related Links: Glitter Stream
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