Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words

OCZ NIA is a very interesting product and has to be the most innovative product of this year. The results, well... I'm still not sure how to explain it. Surely I enjoyed every second I spend with the NIA, however I can't deny being bothered by it as well. Gaming requires high-precision control sets to be accurate, and that takes a huge amount of time and practice to achieve.

You have to have patience to be able to learn and understand this product. It's just like learning how to ride a bicycle, or learn how to type on a keyboard with ten fingers. That learning curve is steep, really steep and I found myself struggling in the practice version of Pong already. So do not expect a plug and play device here. No sir, before you can train yourself to walk around in a Unreal Tournament III level with only with your head... you probably will need to practice for a week or two or three.

Here's the thing, I'm a little bit of a hyper active person, there's not a moment in the day that there's not something going on rattling in my brain. That's not all. I'm extremely impatient. These factors combined probably resulted in a below par experience. Gaming wise you'll have to setup control schemes for each and every game according to your personal preference. And that's a lot of tweaking and time. Therefore I find the NIA to be a very tricky device, but granted, that might just be me.

I've been reading up on some other reviews though, some praise the product to heaven, others are as mixed as my experiences. And that's the reality you will face as well. You'll either enjoy the product very much or it might turn out to be a disappointment altogether.

Once you are able to navigate through a game level with the power of your mind, it's really something else though, almost a mystical experience. Now it might not be a precise gaming experience... but it certainly is a new one, the fun factor, the overall experience is grand.

Another factor you need to weigh in is that the product is very sensitive to electromagnetic devices in your neighborhood. We have a word for this, EMI; electro-magnetic interference. Testing the NIA in my office was a no go whatsoever. Our calibration baseline was flat line all the time. Our office is loaded with LCD screens, phones and power adapters. These interfere with the signal. That's a pretty bad thing, as most gaming rooms have a lot of that gear as well. I ended up using a PC downstairs, away from the electrostatic devices. Also make sure your wall power socket and thus computer is grounded.

The reality here is that my feelings are a bit mixed. I kept thinking, should control over gameplay really be that hard accomplish? Your hands are likely much better suited for that function. Or am I just trapped in a very conservative Pavlov based thought here?

Therefore I will ship out the NIA to another editor to get it reviewed once more. In the upcoming weeks expect another NIA review which will be the second opinion.

That aside, the NIA is the most original product this year by far. It's so original that it will receive an editor choice award. The idea of controlling games with brain and facial muscle power is just exhilarating, thrilling, weird and fun at the same time. That by itself makes the product pretty interesting. OCZ dropped the price on the NIA pretty significantly as well. The unit can now be spotted at 120 - 150 USD which is a fair price for innovative technology.

So that being said. In the upcoming weeks, another review... a second opinion.

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