RGT: G1 Universal Light Gun Review
by Adi Wickramaratne - 6th June 2005The RGT:G1 is the first product from eReal Games, a new company looking to take advantage of a growing gap in the gaming peripherals market. The RGT:G1 light gun is claimed to be a breakthrough in game technology that allows it to work with any TV screen, be it traditional CRT, LCD or plasma.
Compatible with Xbox and PS2 (GunCon2) light gun games, the gun comes packaged with an RGT Tracking Camera that sits on top of whatever screen you are planning on using. The camera is an integral part of the G1's functionality as the gun is wireless and the camera (once calibrated) will accurately track the movement and direction of the gun.
The camera itself is not the most attractive part of the package, being about 4" tall and about 3" inches wide. EyeToy this ain't, but -considering that this is the first incarnation of the G1- we expect newer models to get smaller and more streamlined.
The gun has fairly blunt styling -all black and red plastic- and reminded us of the shotguns that adorned the House of the Dead III arcade machine, though without the cumbersome (but comforting) weight to it. A D-pad is situated on the rear end of the gun in close proximity to your thumb and there are a number of buttons placed on both sides of the barrel for easy access by your non-firing hand. The G1 is topped-off (literally) by a scope-like piece that houses one of the emitters that the camera needs to track the gun.
The right side of the gun has a hardware calibration button (for setting the gun up) and a software calibration button that PS2 owners will need when calibrating their Guncon 2 games.
The left side of the gun has five buttons (Start, Select/Back, A/X, B and C/Y) and an ON/OFF switch -though the G1 has a handy Auto-Sleep function that will shut the gun down if it hasn't been used for three minutes. This handy feature help preserve the batteries, which have a normal life of between 20 and 30 hours. (eReal Games have -bless 'em- included a set of batteries with the gun, which is a nice touch.)
Setting up the gun is a pretty painless process: place the camera centrally on the top of your screen and plug it into your chosen console, hit the H-Calibration button twice and, taking your cue from the lights on the front of the camera, just fire at the top left and bottom right corners of your screen, wait for the green acknowledgement light and then you're ready to go.
Now we come to the most important part of the equation -the wireless performance. Using the gun throws up a strange issue; you need to keep the G1 in approximately the same position so that the camera can track it accurately. This might sound like a pain, but if you're standing eight feet away from a 42" plasma screen, it's less of a problem than you'd imagine.
We tested the G1 with a 28" widescreen CRT, a 42" plasma and a 32" LCD screen, and we're pleased to say that it worked pretty much flawlessly with all that was thrown at it -and if we needed to radically change our firing position, then the G1 can be recalibrated on the fly in a matter of seconds. House of the Dead III worked fantastically well on our Xbox and Time Crisis III was like being in an arcade, only without the chavs, fag butts and dodgy men in raincoats.
Despite the potential for wireless lag, the G1 performs extremely well -perhaps not as well as the Guncon 2 (which is a wired light gun and cannot be used with non-CRT screens), but the performance is exceptionally good. As wired guns won't work with non-CRT monitors, the G1 is the only way that you can play light gun games with your LCD/plasma/projection screen -and if you're looking at upgrading to one of these high end TVs, then get an RTG:G1 right now -then you won't have any worries when your new telly turns up.
The styling may not be to everyone's taste, but we reckon that eReal Games have kick-started the next generation of light guns with a great product. Get one now.
Build Quality: 9
Performance: 8
Features: 8
Design: 7
Value for Money: 8
Overall Score: 8/10
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