Listening Tests Gaming
Listening Tests Gaming
This is the part many of you have waited for and are wondering how does the new gaming card fair, in games? For game testing we are generally looking for issues or anomalies with the sound and in game effects. We used a few titles from the current games we were playing and tested them out; no preference was given to any specific game or in game audio engines. We turned up our tests system, dropped the lights and played some games. We tested quite a few recent games but only kept notes on those that follow.
Metro: Last Light
The in game effects were excellent, such as water falling all around you. The in game voices during certain scenes seemed to emanate from every direction. The ZXR produced some incredibly immersive sound during testing of Metro: Last Light. Panning during conversations in game yield, smooth precise tracking with no dropouts or voids. The scenes in which the player is riding the train, offered some impressive effects. You could hear as the door opened and passed around you fading from front to rear channels. Reverb effects sounded excellent, not overpowering or fake sounding. The weapons offered very real sounding discharge and powerful reports. Directional audio cues are very accurate and enemy positions could be easily located through our test system. Fade from front channels to rears were clean and clear with no voids.
The ZXR produced clean smooth transitions from channel to channel on our test system. Clean, clear dialog was present during the game with no issues in narration or from NPC dialog. Weapons sounded realistic, with a layered sound and reports trailing off into the distance. The ZXR and in game sound engine produced some impressive sound and effects.We noticed no issues or anomalies with any in game audio during our testing of Metro: Last Light
Dead Island 2: Riptide
The intro sequences sound great with a bit of volume...which is how we like to play our games. The games audio does an excellent job of immersing you in the games and creeping you out. The sound of the blades hitting flesh and cutting sounded quite convincing and gave me a very uneasy feeling.The automatic Weapons have a nice hard thud when fired giving you the feeling of the weapon having power and impact. The crunchiness of stomping on a zombie skull gave me chills. My life was saved a few times by spot on directional cues allowing me to hear a zombie coming up behind me. The background music and surround effects for the seas and ocean do an excellent job of immersing you further in the feel of the game. We really enjoyed the sound of the tribal drums during loads, they sounded very authentic. During game play, the soundscape was very open and distant and during some scene those psycho laughs and roars aid in further unsettling you. Notes on game testing: We found all the tested games sounded very immersive and involving. Although we did quick tests with the headphones during gaming we always prefer surround for gaming. We tend to turn our test system up making the game sound more like a movie. The ZXR produces excellent, accurate sound, enveloping the player into the game.
Notes on gaming tests: The ZXR made all our test games sound clean, clear and incredibly realistic. The surround sound aided in pulling me into the games and getting my heart pumping and my feet jumping!
