Those of you in-the-know already know, but for those who don’t know or just pretend to know, you really need to check out Attack of the Show—‘cause they know, you know?  And the latest “Attack This” segment proves how much they really know.  Their World Class Gaming Gear feature this week is the single best segment ever featured on G4TV… EVAR!  Of course, we’re a little biased because KontrolFreek was spotlighted in this week’s slice—but whatever.

Anyway, we’re pretty excited about it and wanted to thank all of you Freeks once again for your continued support.  We love seeing our products on TV, we love Alison Haislip talking about them on TV and we love you guys and gals for helping us get there.  Thank You!

Luckily a diamond in the rough has revealed itself that not only does what it claims, but exceeded expectations. The FPS Freek, from Kontrol Freek, is an analog stick enhancement designed to offer gamers a greater degree of control and motion sensitivity to improve a player’s accuracy. Sitting atop the standard analog sticks for either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the adaptor snaps into place with a bit of pressure minus awkward or obtrusive changes to the appearance of the controller.

At the most basic level the controller has taller analog sticks. With this simple adjustment the controller has more sensitive analog sticks that either lessen or remove many of the complaints commonly levied against first person shooters on console. The extra height decreases the amount of force a player uses to push the sticks, thereby limiting the amount of overthrow a player could experience in a heated firefight. The greater degree of accuracy can be appreci ated by any serious  first-person shooter player, but  the improvements aren’t exclusive to that genre alone; FPS Freek also works well with any game that makes use of the right analog stick.

Due to added height the FPS Freek adds to the controller there is a definite learning curve players will experience when they first adopt the product. It took about three hours before we really became comfortable using the device and another three to when shots had markedly improved and surpassed prior FPS prowess. This becomes all the more evident when the FPS Freek is removed. There was an immediate decrease in performance. Shots were less accurate and we regularly overthrew our reticles and required quick adjustments. The Freek was quickly snapped back on.

Players looking to step-up their performance quickly and efficiently need look no further than Kontrol Freeks’s FPS Freek add-on.

I love co-op as much as the next guy.   Well, maybe a little more than the next guy.  Okay, so I'm a junkie for co-op, whatever.  And I have been to some pretty shady places to get my next fix--like Army of Two, and yes, even 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.  Sometimes I just need a break from playing competitive multiplayer with a-holes and a nice, casual game of co-op is just what the doctor ordered.

So that's why I'm always disappointed when a top-tier game comes out and there's no cooperative campaign to be had.  I have seen a trend building by which more games are including, at the least, an independent co-op mode.  But this rarely cools my importunate co-op fever.   Let’s focus the stank-eye on Ghostbusters: The Video Game for a moment.  I loved the campaign—and the included cooperative multiplayer was fun.  But in a game so naturally fit for cooperative play, the lack of a true co-op campaign seemed like a serious missed opportunity.

Now, here comes Modern Warfare 2, ready to set the world on fire with its Michael Bay-esque campaign and top-notch multiplayer modes—the perfect recipe for an unforgettable co-op romp!  But to my dismay, the game will only include an independent co-op mode.  I'm sure it will probably be fun for a few minutes at least, but why do game developers continue to shatter my dreams?

Well, Infinity Ward's reasoning for not including a full co-op campaign is sound: they don't want their vision of the campaign experience to change by adding another person to the mix that could break the immersion.  I know that they are just protecting their game from cut-scene-chatterboxes and run-ahead-and-steal-all-the-kills-guy, but I just wish that I could have made that decision for myself.  Many times I like to play a game through the first time by myself and then invite a friend (not an obnoxious stranger) to play along with me.  This assures me the optimal gaming experience and adds replayability to a single-player campaign that I would otherwise never play again.

What do you guys think?  Are your cooperative fixes met by these independent co-op modes, or do you think full co-op campaigns need to become the standard?

Epic Games

• Collect multiplayer experience by playing Horde mode. Players currently gain experience at this rate:
  • 50 points per completed Casual wave
  • 75 points per completed Normal wave
  • 100 points per completed Hardcore wave
  • 125 points per completed Insane wave
• Ability to restart Public Horde from the current failed wave, instead of having to start over from wave 1
• Allows the host to boot players from a Public Horde
• Adds a message at the end of the match to explain to players that they should wait before quitting, so they avoid penalties for quitting early
• Adds support for the new campaign chapter, "Road to Ruin"
• Adds 13 new achievements worth 325 points. All of the new achievements require the Dark Corners Map Pack, a set of seven new maps and a deleted campaign chapter to be released July 28. The 13 new achievements are:
  • "My Way or the Highway" (25 points): Without being detected, complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene after choosing the stealth option.
  • "Highway to Hell" (25 points): Complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene after choosing the guns-blazing option.
  • "Two for the Road" (25 points): Complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene in co-op as either Marcus or Dom.
  • "Be Careful What You Wish For" (10 points): Reach level 5 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 10 on the War Machine map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Ride It All Night Long" (10 points): Reach level 10 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 10 on the Highway map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "No, But His Face Rings a Bell" (15 points): Reach level 15 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 20 on the Sanctuary map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Lost in Transition" (20 points): Reach level 20 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 20 on the Way Station map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Like Father, Like Gun" (30 points): Reach level 30 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 30 on the Allfathers Garden map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Am I Only Dreaming?" (40 points): Reach level 40 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 40 on the Memorial map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Blood on the Sand" (50 points): Reach level 50 in multiplayer and complete waves 1 through 50 on the Nowhere map in Horde (any difficulty).
  • "Afraid of the Dark" (20 points): Play a multiplayer match on each of the seven Dark Corners Map Pack maps (any mode).
  • "Did Not Go Gentle" (30 points): Win a multiplayer match on each of the seven Dark Corners Map Pack maps (any mode)
  • "Is it Hot or Is That Just You?" (25 points): Kill 25 Bloodmounts with a Scorcher Flamethrower while playing Horde on a Dark Corners Map Pack map (any difficulty).