I made fun, I picked on them, laughed at them, called them the "Dbag headphones". I considered them to be the tools of the assbag. The same person who has a 1080p tv for 3 games: Madden, Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops. You get these, and instantly you become an expert gamer. Only in FPS shooters, and you have no clue about the origins of the shooter genre. Basically, I lauded anyone who bought them, talked about them, or asked about them.
Then.... I got a pair.......Dammit all. They were amazing.
The TurtleBeach Headsets.
Lemme 'splain. I wrote a blog about video game audio, and talked about how I never used a mic anyway so why would I need a fancy headset? I've sold dozens, if not hundreds of these headsets, but me in my stubborn ways stuck to my old guns. My $300+ Sennheiser wireless headphones I got for a bargain.
Then I got a gift card to a big box store, which I, as a self-respecting gamer, refuse to support by buying games from. So I said "screw it, I'll get a pair of these headphones and see whats so awesome". I had also quickly grown tired of replacing batteries at the rate I use my phones.
So, I got the PX21s. The headset designed for the PS3, but also plays well with the 360.
......*sigh*....... they are awesome.
But.... but how can this be? A non-audio company who makes dbag headsets actually come out with an amazing gaming/ movie watching product? Well... the movie headset aspect is a happy accident. These cats created these headphones intentionally for the video games. In turn making some of what I feel are the best headphones around. Now, specifically they are a headset. But in most cases I have the chat function turned off.
I'll spare you the tech details as you've probably heard about what's so amazing about these headsets. The extra long cord, and inline audio adjustment controls are amazing. The simple USB powered and 3.5 plug settings are also divine. But blog-inspiring? Nope. Not alone.
Into my life walks Dead Space 2. Now, I'll save the deliciousness of the game for a legit run-down, as I have yet to finish it and am enjoying it immensely. I did however, feel the need to blog about the whole experience the combination of the headset, the game and myself created.
There I was fighting a thing, when I though the thing was dead, and was walking towards it to stomp it into little bits, when the thing came back to life. (In pure Dead Space fashion, I'm not giving away any spoilers, it's a common, albeit frustratingly startling thing).
I played Dead Space 1 with my old headphones, and Dead Space 2 with my new swag, and the improved bass setting maxed out. Needless to say the headphones just about shake when a deep rumble occurs. And occurred it did. The monster let out a guttural roar, and I let out an audible yelp. Due, almost entirely to the headsets exterior-noise canceling, and in-game noise improving abilities.
Now, it's rare for me to talk about how something outside of the game can greatly improve the games overall quality, but I dare say that this is how they intended Dead Space 2 to be experienced.
A headset, less than 1/3 of the price of a more stately, yet less impressive set, completely changing how I experience games. Now that's something.
Would a large home theatre set-up have accomplished the same thing? Nope.
Games like Dead Space are like tbells at 3am, documentaries on ballerinas, and robes- things to be experienced and enjoyed, alone, with the proper equipment.
I think this game's messing with my mind.... also, you should play it. Soon.
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