When it comes to PC gaming, diehards will go to extremes for a more immersive experience. To help them feel every ripple in the “track,” for instance, racing-game fans will pair their rigs with massive, high-resolution monitors and wheels with force feedback. The $279 Philips Ambx Premium Kit, potentially one of the most immersive gaming accessories around, is aimed at these hardcore players.
The system includes a pair of small fans, a wrist rumbler, a wall-washer light, two satellite speakers (each with a light on top), and a subwoofer. The lights and fans are synchronized to the action via USB cable, and the audio signal itself comes from a single, standard PC speaker cable between the computer and the subwoofer. The wall-washer unit, designed to sit behind the PC, serves as the point of connectivity for the system’s speakers, fans, and power adapters. The package sets up much like a normal 2.1 speaker system—it took us about 15 minutes to put together.
To get an idea of how it works, we plugged it in and played Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. When we were flying, the fans kicked in, mimicking wind rushing by as we hurtled through the air. The lights matched the action, too: Flying scenes prompted a blue tint, and firing the Strogg rail gun made the lights glow the same red-orange hue as the gun’s plasma trail—and activated the wall washer, which turned the wall behind our PC the same shade. Through it all, the wrist rumbler vibrates much like an Xbox 360 controller would.
The biggest downside of the system is that there are too few Ambx-compatible games on the market. Fortunately, some newer titles, including Mass Effect, Far Cry 2, and the new racing game GRID are shipping with built-in Ambx support. (You have to download a custom mod for Quake Wars to enable the Ambx effects.) For titles that don’t support the system, you’ll have to do some programming with the included software. Late in 2008, Philips announced that a software developer's kit, scheduled for release in early 2009, would make Ambx compatible with even more titles.
Another nit: Not every driver that came on the accompanying CD worked with Windows Vista. The Ambx Web site offers Vista-compatible drivers for download, but we were disappointed they weren’t on the CD in the first place.
Finally, we could have done without the wrist rumbler. The vibration was too intense, and the system was too noisy, even at its lowest setting. We also thought the rumbler was too tall, which put our wrists at an uncomfortable angle to the keyboard.
Overall, the Philips Ambx system is a very interesting addition to a gaming PC, and it definitely helps you feel fully immersed in whatever game you’re playing. More and more top-tier titles are shipping with Ambx compatibility, and Philips offers several packages to fit different budgets. The starter kit with the satellite speakers and the wall washer sells for $149; the ProGamer kit includes the starter kit and the subwoofer; and for $79, you can get an extension kit that adds the wrist rumbler and twin fans. The Premium Kit, which we tested, has it all.
Price (at time of review): $279 (direct)author : Shane McGlaun
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