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Soap Studio MIND: The Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice Cerebral Combat Trainer game review

Do you think the next logical step in video gaming is mind control? If so, then you’ll love the concept of Soap Studio’s MIND: The Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice Cerebral Combat Trainer. It’s a video game that I was sent to review. It sounded like fun, but it turned out to be pretty lame. Let’s take a look.

What’s in the package?

MIND headset
Holo-Box
USB charging cable
Instructions

Design and features

The Cerebral Combat Trainer has two main components. The MIND headset and the Holo-Box. First, let’s talk about the MIND headset which is shown above. It looks like a pair of headphones, but the adjustable band rests against your forehead and not the top of your head.

The headset has a micro USB connection for charging the internal batteries. On the top of one of the “ear pieces” is a power button and a tiny status LED.

The shiny parts of the headset rest against the backs of your ears. The headset does not play any sounds. It’s just there to detect your brain waves.

The other component is the Holo-Box which is just a three-sided open-topped plastic box. A clear piece of plastic is inserted into the box at an angle to act as a mirror.

Your Android or iOS device rests face down on the Holo-Box. The phone’s screen reflects off the angled plastic to create a very viewing box.

I tested the MIND Holo-Box with my iPhone 7 Plus and didn’t really see any advantage to using the Holo-Box because the size of the “screen” in the box wasn’t any bigger or better than just viewing with the phone. The info on the package says

By combining a smartphone and a Holo-Box, players can experience a 3D holographic projection, as if in a private cinema.

Yeah… no. Not even close. It’s just a mirror image of your phone’s display. Nothing 3D about it. At all.

It’s time to control Batman with my brain!

Before getting all brainy, you first have to charge the headset with the included (or any) micro USB charging cable. Then you put on the headset with the band touching your forehead and the earpieces resting on your ears like the frames of a pair of eyeglasses. And that’s where I ran into another problem with the MIND Cerebral Combat Trainer. It doesn’t fit if you wear glasses because the eyeglasses temples prevent the headset from properly resting on your ears.

With my glasses removed and the MIND headset in place, I launched the MIND app on my iPhone 7 Plus and was giving the choice of using the Holo-Box or just the phone. I tried it with the Holo-Box first and was instructed to place the phone on the Holo-Box.

The app then begins the headset connection phase.

I had a hard time getting the headset to fit correctly on my head. See that tiny icon in the lower left corner that looks like a pair of headphones with a red X in the center? That icon would continuously switch from X which is bad, to yellow which is good.

I finally got a good connection and went through some calibration tests where I was asked to blink twice and to make the Batman logo spin faster.

Once I passed the calibration steps, the game proceeds.

The game has several levels which are represented in a circular pattern. By double blinking your eyes, you can switch between the levels, but to select the level to play you have to tap the screen. If you’re using the Holo-Box, that means you have to pick up the phone, tap the screen and then set it back on top of the Holo-Box.

Each level instructs you to do something with your mind. In the first level, it’s your job to have Batman fly through gates.

The idea is that you use your mind to make Batman fly higher or lower so that he doesn’t miss a gate.

Easy right? Actually yes. Very easy. I didn’t even try to focus my thoughts on Batman’s flying. I just watched the screen and he was able to get through every gate without problems. Hmmm…. Either my brain is insanely powerful, or this game is lame…

The next level has you help Batman hack a lock by spinning gears until they snap in place. Again, I had no problem getting through this level by no even trying.

I didn’t run into trouble until the third level. In this level, Batman is in a parking garage and bad guys appear out of thin are. You’re supposed to us your mind to move a target over the bad guy and then Batman will zap him. I was horrible at this level and got seriously annoyed at the game because it seemed like it would just do things randomly no matter if I focused or not.

Final thoughts

After the third level, I was done with the Soap Studio’s MIND: The Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice Cerebral Combat Trainer. It’s not fun and it’s crazy expensive at $120 with over $80 shipping to the US. A kid might enjoy goofing around with this game (for about 30 minutes), but not at that price. My advice is to skip this one and use your mind for something more productive like reading an actual Batman or Superman comic.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Soap Studio. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $120 + shipping
Manufacturer: Soap Studio
Pros:
  • I really can't think of anything good to say about this product
Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Shipping is very expensive
  • Not sure you can really control anything in the game with your mind
  • You have to pick up the phone from the Holo device to press buttons on the screen
  • Can't wear glasses with the headset

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Soap Studio MIND: The Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice Cerebral Combat Trainer game review originally appeared on on July 9, 2017 at 5:22 pm.

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Saddleback Leather Company just got game


Saddleback Leather Company is very well known for their “they’ll fight over it when you’re dead” leather bags and gear. But you probably would not have guessed that one of their newest products is a set of dominoes. Unexpected? Yes. But not unexpected is that the dominoes are made of leather. 

This full set of 28 dominoes is made from thick vegetable tanned carbon black bull leather that has been cut so the dominoes can stand on end in either orientation.

Pounded into the center of each domino is a metal spinner. I’m not a domino aficionado, so I don’t know if there is a significance to the center spinner, but it sounds cool.

The set of leather dominoes is housed in a box made from one piece of thick leather that is stitched with boot cord.

Like most of Saddleback Leather’s products, the price will make you catch your breath, but also like Saddleback Leather products, you’ll need need to replace this set because it will last longer than you will.

Head over to Saddleback to check out their leather domino set which is priced at $189.

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Saddleback Leather Company just got game originally appeared on on July 5, 2017 at 10:07 am.

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Atari makes my childhood dream come true 40 yrs later

When I was a kid, I spent countless hours sitting on my bed gripping an Atari 2600 gaming controller while playing Centipede, Missile Command, Breakout, Pong and other games. I’d go to bed at night still seeing blocky game graphics animate behind my eyelids. The Atari 2600 was my first taste of video games and I was hooked. The only thing better than the Atari 2600 in those days would have been a version that I could have carried with me. Now I can relive those days the Atari Flashback Portable.

The Atari Flashback Portable is a version of the iconic Atari 2600 gaming console but in a pocket-friendly handheld form factor.

The Flashback Portable features a 3.2″ color display, a rechargeable battery, a built-in gaming controller, and 60 classic games built into the device. But wait, there’s more! The Flashback also has an SD card slot that allows you to load other game ROMs. And for those times when you want to enjoy the games on a larger screen, you can connect it to a TV.

The Atari Flashback Portable is priced at $49.99 and can be purchased through Amazon.

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Atari makes my childhood dream come true 40 yrs later originally appeared on on April 15, 2017 at 9:46 am.

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Creative gets creative with gaming speakers

Creative is known mainly for SoundBlaster sound cards and speakers. I’ve reviewed their wonderful Roar wireless speaker series. Creative’s newest speaker is the BlasterX Kratos S5 is a 2.1 gaming speaker system with Aurora Reactive lighting system. It comes with powerful 4” satellite drivers and a 6.5” subwoofer in wooden enclosures, delivering clear highs, detailed mid-range and deep bass. When connected to a PC or Mac it’s capable of high-quality 24-bit/96kHz digital audio playback.

The full-range satellites are designed with large volume capacity in mind. The custom-tuned, down-firing subwoofer pumps out deep bass for gaming, movie and mega bass music playback without distortion.

The Kratos S5 has immersive virtual 7.1 surround sound and fully customizable BlasterX Acoustic Engine Pro software for PC.

Control volume through an easy-to-access audio control pod. This pod provides hassle-free gaming connection for a headset and microphone.

The Aurora Reactive lighting system provides ambient lighting to accompany games with fully customizable 16 million color LED lighting with six presets or customizable colors and patterns to match other peripherals or fully integrate with other Creative Aurora Reactive lighting system-enabled products.

The Creative BlasterX Kratos S5 is a 2.1 gaming speaker system is available now and sells for $159.99 US. Visit Creative for more information.

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Creative gets creative with gaming speakers originally appeared on on March 29, 2017 at 8:53 am.

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PAX East 2017 trip report

This past weekend I attended PAX East 2017 in Boston at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. PAX is a gaming convention held at different venues and times throughout the country. PAX truly is a celebration of all things gaming and loads of fun.

What is PAX?

In 2004, the creators of the webcomic Penny Arcade decided to create a convention exclusively for gaming. That first gathering in Bellevue, Washington had about 4,500 people in attendance and focused on board, tabletop, card, arcade, console and computer gaming culture and community. Each year since its inception the convention has doubled in size and in 2010 the show expanded into Boston for PAX East. The PAX shows in Seattle and Boston now represent the two largest gaming events in North America.

Game creators, computer manufacturers, toy makers, gadget purveyors and the like all gather at PAX to show and promote their latest wares. The booths range from a single table to city-block-long sets complete with light shows and MCs.

Several huge sections of PAX are cordoned off just for networked gaming. There are a number of competitions throughout the weekend and gamers are encouraged to bring their own PCs or use one of the hundreds of high-end units supplied by manufacturers like Intel.

Tabletop gamers are also given their own specific areas on the floor to compete in tournaments or try out some of the many new and up-and-coming games being promoted.

There are demos for everything from VR car-racing rigs to PC cooling systems. New PC games are frequently debuted at PAX and it gives game lovers the chance to try the latest games before they hit the shelves.

Of course, there are gadgets at PAX! For some reason, mechanical keyboards seemed to be VERY popular with the PAX crowd and there were a number of customizable keyboards that had some amazing features as well as very high price tags.

Not to be outdone by the digital game industry, a huge portion of the vendor area was reserved for tabletop gaming paraphernalia. Dice, dice towers, gaming mats, spell books and all sorts of tabletop gaming apparatus were on display.

Several vendors displayed very high-end luxury furniture designed specifically for tabletop gaming. The design, quality, and functionality of some of these tables were amazing. Some of the more intricate designs take as much as a full year to design, customize and build to a customer’s specifications.

Besides the exhibition floor, the convention center’s meeting rooms were jam-packed and scheduled with a number of panels, discussions, and presentations all having to do with gaming culture, personalities, and industry. I attended a fascinating discussion on real scientific theories present in current game titles.

PAX East is great fun for people even mildly interested in gaming. The community, attendees, exhibitors and PAX volunteers are all very enthusiastic, helpful and just nice in general. This was my first time attending a PAX convention, but it won’t be my last. I would love to attend PAX West in Seattle or PAX South in San Antonio and enjoy all those conventions have to offer as well.

Find the news PAX convention at paxsite.com

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PAX East 2017 trip report originally appeared on on March 19, 2017 at 8:36 am.

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