Some who’ve followed my career believe that I’m a sucker for gimmicks. That I like doo-dads, gadgets and most of all, weird controllers. I’m the type of guy who when he heard about the Wii, he almost fainted. But the main reason I love them is that I see video games as fantasy play. Doing virtually what you can’t in real life. Controllers enhance that immeasurably. I am on record for predicting that the first console to appeal to mainstreamers with something immersive would find a lot of money and customers. I knew this because the Eye Toy worked. The Eye Toy is a camera and software that puts you into the game. Imagine a mirror with lots of video game things to interact with. Move your head to hit the soccer ball. Highlights in gaming include: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter with my first Sidewinder Joystick. My first time on a racing wheel, first time with the DS stylus. Dance Pad, Bongo and Taiko drums, Fighing rod contollers, Street Fighter at home with an arcade stick controller, force feedback, the Wii – my god, the Wii – and now… my own freaking head!

Back in the day, roughly 10 years ago, I was a brand new game reviewer for places like PCGamer. Since I was new, enthusiastic, flast, a good writer, and since I have a lot of experience with all the genres then and now, I was generally assigned the “hard” games. The Lost Genre of Wargames, dense RTS games and Simulations. I cut my reviewing teeth on the now legendary (and still being played right now by some) Red Baron 3D. I learned that WWI flight combat is hard and also that using a mouse or joystick switch to look around sucks. Since I just bought Rise of Flight and the Combat Flight Simulator 3 total modification Over Flanders Fields (mentioned a few posts down on the front page), I realized that the limitation I was having involved seeing the enemy. In a biplane your view is obscured by wings, cables, the cockpit itself and using the mouse of the joystick hat to look around always made me move the stick with it and go into a stall or spin. I could never find the enemy. So I bought the Track IR system and I’ve never been happier with a “gimmick” in my entire life.

Track IR is a hat clip or smaller clip that fits on a pair of headphones – and a camera. The camera just picks up infrared. It sends the signals out. Most of them enter your brain and make you sleepy – uh, nevermind. The beams bounce off silver reflectors on the visor/clip and this basically gives you mouselook with your head. You can look anywhere and so long as the lighting is right and you’re sitting right in front of the monitor and camera, it’s perfect.

Normally when I get some freetime for gaming I’m looking to blow stuff up or at least not take it seriously. It’s funtime. But a flight sim can be work. The learning curve, the challenge and the fact that in WWI killing 5 pilots meant you are an Ace. And the odds of you coming back from your next sortie are … dubious. I want to fly with Track IR running because when I win, it feels like a win. A loss feels like a loss (nothing says WWI biplane than watching your precious brain go into a fiery spin. Look over the side. That’s the ground), and best of all, the travel time is much more fun. At will you can look over the side, straight up, or behind you.

Heck, one time I flew next to a squadmate in formation and he gave me the thumbs up. I wouldn’t have seen it if I couldn’t have turned over to look at him and his magnificent flying machine.

Modern planes have an even more constricted view. WWI fighters have an obscured forward view but there’s very little in the way if you need to watch an enemy fly over, under, 2  o’clock, 10 o’clock, etc., It gives a very real sense of flight and makes it more than a game.

For the first time in my gaming life I don’t care if I win or lose (I’d prefer to win). The rewards of realistic feeling and seeming flight are worth the time. I’m flying as much as I can. I’m getting nowhere but because of Track IR… it doesn’t feel that way.

Track IR also works for lots of military sims like ArmA2 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare as well as driving sims like Need for Speed: Shift and NASCAR. And only on PC. The games I’m using it for are: ArmA2, Rise of Flight, Over Flanders Fields and Need for Speed: Shift.

Here’s a video showing how it works in a game (the video is good too: Rise of Flight).

Wish the video maker had better taste in music – or even better, just the sound effects – no music. TRACK IR DID NOT SEND ME THIS TO REVIEW. IT WAS PURCHASED.

Tags: Game Reviews