Younger players will remember an awkward-looking virtual heads-up display released during the Doom heyday. It allowed to see the game and to move the player with your head. The device was heralded as the future of gaming, but in truth it was more like a (valid) science fair experiment than the dawning of a new era. Call us old-fashioned, but no matter how many e-book readers the market throws at us, the good old book – yeah, the analog one, printed on paper – is still around and a terrific concept. The same goes for the duo mouse-keyboard for gaming.

Of course OCZ deserves kudos for developing the NIA. That is no small scientific and engineering feat. It’s a great and revolutionary product that will amass some die-hard fans despite not being able to conquer the market due to its price and complexity. It feels like if one day we will truly control a videogame with our minds, the device will be heralded by its maiden achievement with due respect. But, unfortunately, the NIA isn’t the neural implant the Neuromancer novel, the Matrix film and several other cyberpunk works had had promised us.

Strong Points

• Comfortable headband
• No need of an exterior power source
• Increases immersion during game play
• Laudable engineering achievement

Weak Points

• Steep learning curve
• Hard to master
• Incompatible with drinking/eating/team speaking during game play
• Prototype technology of things to come