All posts by Darklaharl

Gaming News

Tier1 4 Port USB HUB for Xbox One + Thumbstick Gel Caps product review

Leave a comment

If you liked the previously reviewed products from TIER1, today we bring you two more items: The 4 Port USB Hub and the Thumb Stick Gel Caps.

4 Port USB HUB
First lets take a look at the USB hub. This is a small but useful hub that you can plug into the side of your Xbox One. This is excellent for local game play with friends because it enables you to charge 4 controllers at once . A plus to the hub is the shape. It is made to the same shape of the Xbox One, and once installed its pretty easy to forget it is even there. Having the hub located on the front provides easy access so you don’t have to reach around the console to plug one cord in the back.

TIER1 designed the hub to utilize USB 3.0 technology so you can expect a fast connection if you plug in a hard drive to the hub.Other items you can plug into the hub include accessories like Guitar Hero drums, microphones, and even fight sticks.  Fight stick accessibility definitely comes in handy for tournament play since players will have to plug their fight stick directly into the console. Lastly, this is a big deal for the current gen issue of game storage, you can use this hub to expand your Xbox One memory with all 4 slots and maximize your storage capacity.

The 4 Port USB hub can be used in multiple ways and well worth the $19.99 price tag.

Thumb Stick Gel Caps
 I bet you’re telling yourself, “But what makes these stand out from other thumb caps?” While there isn’t much difference compared to other brands these gel caps are definitely more comfortable than any other thumb caps I’ve purchased. The quality of the material did not feel like a cheap knock off. One thing that did stand out to me was that you don’t actually have to remove your entire thumb stick to use them.  Just slip them on over the top and you’re good to go. The gel caps have a custom shape, which is not only more comfortable, but more responsive because of the nicely formed gel grip section directly in the middle. This became very useful during shooters or games where precision is an absolute must.

The only drawback I can say about these is that the rubber toward the bottom of the caps will occasionally rub the controller, but nothing that would really mess up your pwnage, and the logo on the caps will spin around after a few gaming sessions. Other than that, I can say these are more of a check out before you buy, rather than a must buy. What I can say for the price they are set at ($9.99), you do get enough caps to cover two controllers, something most companies do not offer.

You can find these items plus many more here.

Gaming News

NCG Recommends: Pani Poni Dash

Leave a comment

Anime doesn’t always have to make sense. Take Pani Poni Dash, an anime that follows an 11 year old teacher as she lazily teaches her students and random stuff happens. It is a hard to describe anime. It can have multiple “stories” happening in a single episode and some of them don’t even go anywhere and that’s OK because its still a fun anime to watch.

The characters are likable and the bunny will make you feel sorry for it, but you will still laugh about it. Do you think you will give it a watch? let me know in the comments!

Gaming News

Overcooked review

Leave a comment

Overcooked was released just recently and, let me tell you, this game is so much fun! Hear me out.

Overcooked’s game play is basically is working in a kitchen: grab the ingredients, prep them, cook them, deliver the finished food to the customer, wash dishes rinse and repeat. The game can get so hectic when the various stages have some sort of gimmick to make it harder for you to cook. For example, one stage is two cars that drive away from each other periodically making it hard to get ingredients or cook your food. In another stage, rats keep trying to steal your prepped food so you have to smack them away -those damn rats!

The graphics of Overcooked are nothing fancy and that’s ok; its not a game that lives and dies on them. The real beauty of Overcooked is the game play.

Who cooks on moving cars!

The controls are both simple and hard both at once. My biggest complaint of the game is on PC  you can’t really play with a keyboard and succeed (maybe you can, but I can’t). You definitely need a game pad, either a PS3/4 or Xbox controller. With controllers you only really use three buttons; chop/wash, pick up and put down, and dash. The craziness comes in when you realize that if you play as a single player you still have to control two characters, and they can both be controlled with the single controller. Doing two different actions using the same controller gets very hectic, trust me.

The real fun of Overcooked is the multiplayer. If you get three or four friends you can play through the entire campaign in your quest to become a great chef and stop the Apocalypse. You can also play against each other in a versus mode. Pick your teammate wisely. Overall, Overcooked truly shines brightest when played with friends.

Overcooked is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for $16.99. NCG highly recommends this game!

Gaming News

NCG Recommends: FLCL

Leave a comment

You ever feel like an anime ended too soon? Or do you like short anime? Look no further than Fooly Cooly with an amazingly low run time of 3 hours-only 6 episodes total.

FLCL is a coming of age story that follows Naota as he tries to deal with what else? Growing up. He’s confused and things only get more confusing for him when Haruko shows up and runs him over/hits him with a guitar.

end1

If you aren’t paying attention the whole story will pass you by and leave you confused, but that just means you can re-watch it and try to get the story. I actually recommend watching it 2 or 3 times since you will always catch something in the animation that you missed before.

If you get a chance, also read the manga. It’s only 2 volumes but it’s also a tad bit darker. Just try understanding that without getting traumatized.

Think you’ll give it a watch? Let me know.

Gaming News

NCG Review – TIER1 Tactical Communicator

Leave a comment

The TIER1 Tactical Communicator is a throat mic designed to cancel background noise and eliminates breathing feedback.

13883770_1269874436380574_133367091_nThe unit itself looks like a tiny pair of over the head headphones. I made the mistake of trying to put it over my head and thought “This is too small!” Then, I realized it’s supposed to go around your neck.  When I fit it around my neck it wasn’t too loose or too snug, and there was just enough pressure to keep it from sliding around. It feels a little odd at first, but once you get into your game it becomes an afterthought.

The audio comes through clearly and is a step up from the default headsets that come with the systems. Since the microphone is sub-vocal, you don’t have to keep adjusting the microphone -it always stays in the same place. I like this feature because it means I can keep my hands on the controller at all times.

The Tactical Communicator can be used on mobile devices, PS4, and the Xbox One, 13900849_1269874439713907_468100394_nhowever, the Xbox One needs an adapter as the headset only has a 3.5mm jack. Overall, it works best for the PlayStation 4 -but that’s what it’s advertised for anyway.

One thing I would like to see is more color options.  The Arctic Camo styling is neat for those who really like camo gear, but (and I’m sure many others would agree) I would prefer to see it in black or in other color options.

If you’re looking for something comfortable, compact, and reasonably priced with good sound quality to use on your PS4, the TIER1 Tactical Communicator is a good way to go.   you’re getting a lot more than what you pay for. You can find this neat little gadget here for $14.99.

Have you tested out the TIER1’s Tactical Communicator? Do you think you will try this out? Let us know in the comments!

logo1