Legit Reviews

OCZ NIA - Will Gaming With Brain Waves Take Off?

OCZ saw an exciting opportunity to enhance the gaming experience and take PC gameplay to new heights by using technology that has helped the disabled for years. The OCZ NIA is the first commercially available BCI (brain-computer interface) specifically for PC gamers and we give it a test drive to see how it works and what is on the inside. Read on to see how the NIA turns electroencephalograph signals into specified keystrokes!





Article Title: OCZ NIA - Will Gaming With Brain Waves Take Off?
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/820/1/
Pricing At Time of Print: $107.99 after a $20 rebate at Newegg

The thought of running around in games without using your fingers is really strange to me. I'm not sure I'd want to do it

Dan

im just disappointed it's THAT finnicky

skierkid450 wrote:im just disappointed it's THAT finnicky

I tried it out before i gave it to Justin... I tried the pong game that is part of the setup and couldn't get it to work. I tried for about an hour and gave up. I guess i have A.D.D. as after an hour of not being able to hit a ball in pong I was done.

Is it possible to only enable the "trigger" (mouse 1) and leave all the rest to the keyboard/mouse? I'd be able to get a shot off more quickly if I only had to think about it.

gwolfman wrote:Is it possible to only enable the "trigger" (mouse 1) and leave all the rest to the keyboard/mouse? I'd be able to get a shot off more quickly if I only had to think about it.

Yeah, you can make custom profiles for various games and change it around as much as you wish. For a single function like reload or jump it would be easy to get going.

Apoptosis wrote:

gwolfman wrote:Is it possible to only enable the "trigger" (mouse 1) and leave all the rest to the keyboard/mouse? I'd be able to get a shot off more quickly if I only had to think about it.

Yeah, you can make custom profiles for various games and change it around as much as you wish. For a single function like reload or jump it would be easy to get going.

very nice. I might actually want to try it out now. Thanks for the reply.

On G4's Attack of the Show the creator of the NIA challenged the host to a battle. The creator used the NIA and the host used keyboard and mouse. Keyboard and mouse won, and I wasn't suprised because the NIA guy had really jerky and inconsistant movement.

the inventor? from OCZ or Brainfingers? If it was OCZ I'm guessing it was Michael and the game was UT3 ;)

I wont lie....i considered it when I first started the review but I had a little feeling that it wouldn't perform perfectly. The idea of playing CS without actually having to hit the keys to move would be awesome but I don't see that happening just yet with technology. It's a really cool idea though! I doubt I'd get many girls showing them I could play games with my face tho.....LOL

The game was unreal tournament, but I don't know which version. I don't remember the guy's name either.

The price was cut on these again and they are now available for $99 after a $20 rebate at newegg with free shipping.

Considering that the professional device from Brainfingers, Inc. (with whom OCZ is working,) designed for use by disabled people, goes for $2100.00, Newegg.com's current $129.99 (less $20 rebate to $110) is a steal for a smaller snazzier device that is only moderately less capable.

Remember, this device is not going to do anything on its own. It is just another conduit into the computer. Your brain has to do all the work, which will require you to train yourself like a Shao Lin monk. Yes, even a casual gamer could benefit, but with enough dedication, it would be possible to replace a dual joystick eight button gamepad with just the thoughts in your head. Not impossible. I'm looking forward to asserting complete control over my game, if not the whole computer. With eight ranges to control, one could set it up to control two joysticks (move and look) and eight switches (high and low with a dead zone in the middle.) No, it won't be easy. But, think of the accomplishment. Complete mental control of the game. Mentallis uber alles!

Nothing like setting your sights high

Have you actually had chance to play with the NIA yet?

Dan