So KontrolFreek sent me a Mystery Box…

ARTICLE – Oh! What’s this? A cool little mystery box from our friends at KontrolFreek! Let’s take a peek inside and see what’s in store.

First, a greeting…

The first thing I came across was a lovely handwritten note:

Hi Jacob,

After a decade of making performance gaming gear, KontrolFreek has had many faces. The purpose of this box is to tell KontrolFreek’s story; past, present, and future. How each of these items fit that story is completely up to your interpretation.

The only thing you need to know is that as a performance gaming gear brand, we’re just getting started.

Happy interpreting,
Maron Moreau

PS. Give PolyOne some heat.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Thumb Sticks + Thumb “Wings”

I quite liked KontrolFreek’s thumbsticks when I reviewed them, and these look to be another pair of those, plus something else that I haven’t seen before. They look like a little “wing” grips that sort of cradle your thumb, rather than act as an extender, they keep your thumb from slipping off the edge of the stick. Personally, that’s something that happens a lot during those crazy quick-time events during cut scenes, like, “wiggle your thumb to escape something that’s biting at your face.”

Attached to the PS4 controller.

Black Cap

Some straight-up company swag, featuring the KontrolFreek icon itself. I like to think of that little guy as the Freek, with its gamepad/shaded face and cool, stoic demeanor. Unflappable. Ready for another round.

Performance Grips

Ah, another of their core products, Performance Controller Grips. The PS4’s DualShock 4 controllers aren’t exactly grippy. Their smooth plastic has a nice feel, but they become slippery with just a little bit of hand sweat. My hands get clammy when I’m playing for a while, or when I’m in the middle of a rare kill streak (because let’s face it, I’m traaaaash at multiplayer, but I still love it.) I’ll be happy to give these a try to see if it helps with my sweaty mitts.

PolyOne Thumbsticks

Interesting, another little handwritten note: “One of a kind.” And a small sample sheet of PolyOne thermoplastic. The material sheet feels very cool to the touch. If my guess is right, these orange mystery bits are a prototype of highly heat-resistant thumbsticks. The material is very grippy, and they fit the PS4 controller perfectly. I like the feel of that spiral pattern, they look a lot like the company’s Vortex thumbsticks. Interesting.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Performance Thumbsticks

Here’s another pair of high-rise thumbsticks, one of several branded items that KontrolFreek offers. It shows a commitment to offering products branded with popular franchises, and I imagine that will only expand. I think these will become another favorite of mine, the tops of the sticks seem very concave and grippy.

I noticed the A.D.S. acronym on the package (which stands for Aim Down Sights) and that’s a neat little addition that goes along with their brand … meaning that when you’re aiming down your sights in a shooter, you’re in control of your shots, just like using these thumbsticks helps you control your aim.

FPSFreek Epic

Here is another set of high-rise thumbsticks bearing a skull design reminiscent of the Gears of War series — that fact driven home by naming the product Epic, who developed the Gears series. These offer a concave design, but the material feels a little smoother compared to the Modern Warfare thumbsticks.

The Story

Even though I’m not extremely familiar with KontrolFreek’s history, the contents of this box feel like a virtual timeline of their products. From the thumb-wing / thumbstick combo pack, which feels like the company’s first offerings, to the officially licensed CoD:MW thumbsticks that feel custom-tuned for that style game, to the PolyOne prototype material. Past. Present. And a promise of things to come.

Each of the items in the Mystery Box felt … genuine. You know how you can sort of just tell when a company is trying to cash in on a trend? That sort of mentality is rampant these days, and feels almost like predatory marketing. Like, hey, kids these days like this Fortnite game, let’s make a Fortnite flavored thing. But these guys “get it,” making products that make sense for that type of game … making a high-rise thumbstick for quick building and easy aiming that also matches the colorful aesthetic of the graphics.

It feels like they understand what would work best rather than rushing something out the door that people might buy but ultimately be disappointed in. I appreciate that.

I’d like to thank KontrolFreek for their generosity and can’t wait to see what they come out with next.

To learn more about KontrolFreek and check out their line of gaming product, mosey over to their website.

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So KontrolFreek sent me a Mystery Box… originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 30, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Use Alexa to solve a small town murder in the new board game “St.Noire”

NEWS – I loved playing board games when I was a kid, as an adult not so much. The only time I play them now is on occasion with my young nephews. Let’s face it they haven’t changed much over the years, and they’ve just lost their appeal. However, a new type of board game may change all that.  St.Noire, is a new board game created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell that is powered by Alexa. The game is a voice-controlled Murdermystery board game. Alexa provides the games atmospheric background and cinematic voice performances. There are over 2,500 lines of dialogue that are performed by 12 different characters.

The basic gist of the game is that you have seven days to solve a murder in the small town of St.Noire. As a detective, you have to gather clues and question suspects as you piece together the events on the night of the murder. Using Alexa, you can visit various locations around town and question suspects.

On every turn you can choose to either:

  1. Examine a location for evidence.
  2. Choose to question a townsperson about where they were and who they saw on the night of the murder.
  3. Accuse a suspect.

Winning the game is done by figuring out “who done it” before the end of night seven. But, If you make two incorrect accusations or make a wrong accusation on night seven, the killer skates free. Don’t worry it doesn’t take seven days to complete the game. The game only takes 20-30 minutes to play. Perfect for today’s short attention spans. And you can play by yourself or team up with friends to solve the crime.

The game should have good replay-ability. No two games are the same because storylines, endings, victims, and killers are all randomized.

The game, of course, is an Amazon exclusive and comes with everything you need to play except The Alexa speaker itself. But everyone has at least one of those in their house by now, don’t they?

If you’re a fan of murder mysteries and immersive gameplay you can order St.Noire from Amazon for $40. Although it does appear the game is currently sold out.

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Use Alexa to solve a small town murder in the new board game “St.Noire” originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 21, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Even wizards need a backup battery!

NEWS – The Harry Potter Wizards Unite game (a Pokemon Go! styled augmented reality game for Harry Potter fans) is really hot right now and if you’re out blasting dementors and other baddies, you will need to make sure your smartphone is always charged and ready for action. The CELLder Wand (clever right?) from Gogotoro will do the trick. This extendable wand hides a 5,000 mAh lithium-ion battery that will provide hours of spellcasting fun for your adventures in the wizarding world. Just press a button to extend the wand and check out the lumos-enabled tip. That’s a flashlight, for you muggles (non-magic folk). You can buy the CELLder Wand for $39.99 at gogotoro.com

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Even wizards need a backup battery! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2019 at 4:56 pm.

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Playdate is a game system with a b&w screen and a crank. Shut up and take my money!

NEWS – Do I consider myself a gamer? Heck no! The most exciting gaming that I’ve done lately has been a rousing game of Words With Friends on my phone. #Sad. That doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate when something new and interesting comes along and the Playdate certainly looks interesting.

Playdate is a handheld gaming system from Panic, a company who has been making macOS and iOS software for 20 years. The device features a hi-resolution 400 x 270 pixel 2.7-inch black and white display, a traditional D-pad controller, and a crank. Yes, a crank! The crank is an analog controller that looks wonky as heck but that’s what makes the Playdate interesting. How the heck will it work and what will the games be like?

It looks cool as heck and I want one right now! But unfortunately, Playdate isn’t available yet. We won’t be able to get our hands on one until 2020. ARGH! But when it is available, it will set you back $149 and you’ll receive a new game for it at no extra charge each week for 12 weeks. Want to know more? Head over to the play.date site and sign up to be notified when the device is available

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Playdate is a game system with a b&w screen and a crank. Shut up and take my money! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 24, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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PocketGo puts your favorite classic games in your pocket

NEWS – If you read my Bittboy Game Boy and NES handheld game console review a few months ago, you’ll know that I gave it two thumbs up. Now there’s an even smaller device. It’s the retromimi PocketGo Retro and with it, you can put all your favorite games from the golden age of handheld gaming consoles in your pocket.

The PocketGo Retro supports the following game types: NES/GB/GBC/GBA/SNES/SMD/SMS/PCE/NEOGEO and features a 2.4″ tempered glass IPS display screen, and the ability to save game states so you can play a few minutes or a few hours without losing your place.

The retromimi PocketGo Retro is currently available for pre-order for $39.95 and will ship on June 15th 2019. If you order during this pre-order phase, you’ll save $10 and receive an 8GB micro SD card to hold all your favorite classic games. Head over to retromini.com for all the details.

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PocketGo puts your favorite classic games in your pocket originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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