Afterglow AX.4 Review

I know I said that I would not write reviews on this site, yet here I am only a few months into the blog putting one up, but I have what I believe to be a reasonable justification for doing so. I have a civic duty to fulfill in providing a critical review of this particular product because there are not that many out there. A Google search for the phrase "Afterglow AX.4 headset" will turn out several different pages of merchants trying to sell you one, a few sites that provide basic information on the product (such as from the manufacturer itself), and some video reviews for the Afterglow Xbox 360 controller.

The reason I know that is that I did that exact search. The reason I did that search is that I was considering purchasing them and I wanted to know if they would be worth it. But the closest thing I could find to a review was a page on gamespot.com on which users of the site had written about their own personal experiences with it.

Amateurs.

This is the kind of headset that Sam Fisher might use if he were trying not to disturb his wife in the middle of the night.

The first two things you will notice about the headset as you are perusing the Xbox 360 headset section of your local video game boutique are its price and its illuminative properties. Priced just slightly under the standard, official Microsoft headset it seems attractive to the thrifty shopper or the errand runner who was asked to pick up a new headset for the gamer of the house. Yet somewhat more noticeable due to its more striking package design and the fact that it lights up, Performance Design Products has presented a double whammy of shelf appeal to those buyers who are on the fence about the best tool to use for trash talking other players.

However, as with most things in life, it's what is inside that counts. The two features I was most concerned about in a headset were sound quality (for both myself and my friends on the other end) and comfort.

As far as sound quality is concerned, they sound as good as they need to. I did not notice a significant difference in the quality of the earpieces between the AX.4's and the Microsoft headset, but having said that, I should point out in the interest of full disclosure, that for the last few months I have been running all my online communication through my external speakers because the earpiece on my Microsoft headset ceased to function. So to be fair, I cannot accurately recall what it sounded like. But the AX.4's sound good enough to effectively chat with people. In fact, the speaker in the earpiece is loud enough that it does not need to be operated at full volume. As for what it sounds like on the other end, I cannot personally speak to. Besides which I would imagine that it would depend on the quality of the other person's headset. Nevertheless, my dear friend Joe let me know that I sounded "crystal clear" when he was hearing me. But again, I do not know how I used to sound with my old rig, but I doubt there was much of an improvement. But it still should be noted that the voice quality came in as clear as it did, because I have played with other people whom I was barely able to understand due to the fact that they were using cheaper, lower quality hardware, so thus far, PDP has proven their worth.

Here is where there is a marked difference between the two, though. With the Microsoft headset, there is a microphone boom that extends about five inches or so and is flexible. The mouthpiece on the AX.4 is only about two inches long and rigid (though it does have a pivot range of about 225 degrees allowing it to be worn on either side). Where some might see that as an immediate disadvantage, here are the facts: if someone has his/her microphone directly or almost directly in front of his/her mouth, some distortion can occur. That distortion will become amplified if that person starts yelling in the heat of an intense session. Having the mic off to the side of your face will increase the level of speech clarity.

Having clear and loud voice communication does not matter much if the headset cannot be worn for an extended period of time, though. So I was pleased with the ability of the AX.4 to remain soft and comfortable for several hours worth of playing time. The foam on the earpiece is more substantial and noticeably softer than that of Microsoft's earpiece which is flimsy and thin, and doesn't offer enough cushioning. However, you will definitely feel the AX.4's pressing on the other side of your head as the clear plastic adjustable headpiece presses into your temple. To be fair though, I have a pretty big head so I can imagine the headpiece pressing more as it is stretched out more.

Now that we've gotten past the hard outer shell of the coconut and eaten the flesh, let's take a sip of that sweet milk.

As I mentioned before, the first thing you might notice when you see the box for the AX.4 is that it lights up. This is a purely superficial feature and is really only effective if you are in the same room as someone because you cannot see the lights while you are wearing it. And the lights themselves are simply a pair of unspectacular LEDs.

Look how awesome this guys looks with his hot AX.4's!

The AX.4 also sports the expected mute and volume controls, but this is the clearest aspect in which it fails compared to Microsoft's headset. The controls are located on the earpiece so in order to adjust the volume or mute your own speech you have to remove your hand from the controller. This is a problem for people who like to play fast paced action games, in which reflexes and accuracy are key to good performance, yet who might be having a real life conversation with a roommate or significant other in the same physical room. From what I understand, though, that is the case with even some of the more pricey alternatives out there.

All things considered, it's not a bad piece. It's not going to win any awards or blow any players away with its audio considering how far headset technology has come this generation. But for the gamer on a budget, it could be a lot worse. It easily trumps the Microsoft headset, so anyone looking to pick up a spare to go with their extra controllers for their real-life companions would be well served to part with the few bucks that it costs.

Until next time, happy gaming.

In Memoriam: A Eulogy for Simon "Ghost" Riley

(Author's note: The idea for this mini essay has been floating around in my head for several months now and now that Modern Warfare 3 is upon us I have an impetus for finally putting my thoughts into words. Be advised that heavy spoilers are to follow.)

Torture, killing, nuclear missile launches. It's just another day at the office for Ghost, the enigmatic SAS operative accompanying you through much of Modern Warfare 2's single player campaign. And although you (as the player controlling Roach) spend a significant amount of time alongside him, there are still many questions that arise about who Ghost is. Is he simply a hired mercenary fighting for his next paycheck? Or is he sworn to protect queen and country, and if so, is he fighting because he believes what he is doing is right, or is he personally vested in the fight against Makarov himself? And if that is the case, is there a chain of reincarnation beginning with  Call of Duty 4's Gaz moving through Ghost and on to Modern Warfare 3's Sergeant Wallcroft (after all, they do sound eerily similar to each other) and if so, is his stake in the struggle weighted on the opposite side as we are meant to believe on the surface in a grand conspiracy to bring chaos to the world and leave the west quivering at the feet of Russia?

Is Ghost even a man or is she wearing extra body pads and using some kind of Mission Impossible-esque voice disguising device? It wouldn't be the first time a video game character's identity involved some gender trickery. And goodness knows a woman would have plenty of reasons to disguise herself as a man in the military.

That young man fills me with hope. Plus some other emotions which are weird and deeply confusing.

Perhaps the biggest question of all is this: am I crazy for thinking there is more to the character of Ghost than just a badass looking son of a gun to toss up onto the splash screen when you fire up the game? In a word, no. I believe that Infinity Ward has deliberately crafted this character to fit into the world of Modern Warfare.

Why else would there exist a six-part comic mini series detailing his back story? Why would all the creative parties behind the scenes make Ghost such a prominent figure in the Modern Warfare mythos if he wasn't meant to be interpreted as something more than a one dimensional, gun-toting, living mannequin? I don't know the answer.

But here is what we do know about Ghost (based on the information given in the game):

He is not a man to be trifled with. Before you even encounter him you have the impression that anyone selected for Task Force 141 is a tough cookie. By the time you meet Ghost you have already played as an Army Ranger and someone working alongside another SAS operative, Captain "Soap" MacTavish. People in both of these groups are highly trained soldiers who aren't terribly nervous about violence. They are no strangers to killing and death. So when you see someone in your group decked out with armor and ammunition and wearing dark glasses with a skull emblazoned across his face, you are glad that you are on the same team as him. And then the first thing you see Ghost do is preparing to electrically shock a man with a car battery. There is no indication of whether he enjoys it, but we do know that took a few minutes of interrogation before Alejandro Rojas spills the beans. At the very least Ghost had to have inflicted some serious pain to another person. It is evident is that Ghost is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

However, after that point, in every combat situation you see Ghost operating calmly and smoothly. Everybody operates calmly and smoothly--for the most part MacTavish and other incidental squadmates have matters under control--but the difference between Ghost and the rest of the 141 is that whenever you see him operate, you see him as a sort of untouchable skeleton or apparition. Either he believes that his appearance will have a subliminal intimidation effect on his enemies, or it serves the purpose of hiding his emotions so that he doesn't break the morale of his squad by coming across as scared of the situation. Whether or not those scenarios are accurate, his mask's practical function is a side effect of the real reason he wears it. He wears the skeleton image as a sort of tribute to those alongside whom he has fought in the past and who died along the way. But it represents more than that. It represents the part of him that died along the way.

To say that the young man named Simon Riley is disturbed would be putting it mildly. He has seen and done things that would make even the toughest, most grizzled people in the world cringe. And knowing everything he's been through makes it easier to understand how he survives the grueling battles he faces through MW2's story, and it makes you glad to know that he's on your side. Here is a man who has grown up suffering the horrible and brutal abuse of his father, and who has channeled the fright and anger towards him into cold and calculating battlefield tactics. He can’t bring himself to kill his father, because his father’s pain and suffering on his death bed is enough for Riley’s peace of mind, yet he doesn’t bat an eye when he hears the old bastard getting killed. Here is a man who was buried alive in the same casket as a rotting corpse and who dug his way out of the ground using the dead person’s lower jaw. Not to mention a litany of other terrors and tragedies that he has witnessed. And yet, through it all, he never lets it shake him in the performance of his duties and he never forgets that he’s one of the good guys.

So when he meets his ultimate fate, you feel angry about it and sad for him that it all ended the way it did. You feel that way anyhow being betrayed by Shepherd, but you can't help but feel an extra bit of empathy for Ghost. After all he's been through, this is how it ends for him? To call it unfair would be to dishonor Ghost's memory. It's unfair when your sibling gets a bigger slice of cake. Ghost's demise is downright faith-shattering. And later when you take the reigns as Soap and it seems like the evil, heartless Shepherd is actually going to win, you are finally able to exact the harsh revenge that he deserves. Most players might feel a sense of retribution for Soap, but for others one gets the sense that Ghost can finally rest in peace. And when you see him in the group photo at the end (and again in the new group photo at the end of Modern Warfare 3) it's not difficult to imagine that behind his Balaclava and sunglasses he is allowing a smile to crack across his face.

Of course, he'd never let you see it.