Listening tests - Gaming

Gaming

We chose games that we like playing, EAX/OpenAL or in game effect engines are a secondary concern.  We pick a few titles from the games that we know very well and enjoy testing new audio products with.  For the sake of saving bandwidth and keeping the review size down, we will forego any in game screen shots and keep the write ups simple for this section.

Call of Duty 2:
Yes, we know this is an older game but has great audio for testing soundcards and gaming audio routines.  We will also add that it is still a cool game and we usually add our own custom sound effects for the various in game weapons and sounds.  Weapon sounds make a great gauge of sound quality; the bravura offered layered weapon sounds not just the bang, but woodiness and character.  Occlusion effects were easily noticeable in certain situations.  Localization effects and voices, helped to pinpoint enemies.  Explosions, tank sounds which me modified to be more "mechanised" and scary were all produced perfectly.  The Bravura 7.1 handled all in game effects easily.

Bioshock:
Still a very cool game and has an exceptional sound tracks and in games effects.  The large reverb heard in almost every part of the game sounding very authentic on this card immersing you in the action.

Screams and yells came from many directions in both headphones and speakers.  The audio had us jerking to look behind.  The lower effects shook the testing bench but didnt bottom out or offer flabby bass.  We found the bass very balanced on this game using the stock opamps, offering articulate bass without washout.

The Bravura went a long way to relay the creepiness factor of this game,  the low sounds and micro detail present helped to draw us in and immerse you in the game. Mr. Bubbles and his footsteps sounded heavy and creepy for sure!

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2
This game has exceptional directional audio allowing you to hear the location of basically anything that you need to in the scene.  The various weapons had very different sounds when used on the various missions and the Bravura did a great job of presenting these different sonic aspects.

Final notes on testing:  The card does have a different signature between the headphone output and the multichannel output.  The headphones has a more detailed clear, resolving signature while the multichannel outputs are warmer but still offer a great deal of higher level detail and treble.

The output on this card is really very balanced in comparison to some other we have tested.  The card doesnt seem overly bassy or too bright based on our testing with our test gear.