Telepathic Destruction...Kinda

The most innovative controller may be one that has no buttons at all. My girlfriend's roommate linked me to a product that quite possibly could change the way we play games ten years from now. The OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator actually reads the electronic activity in your brain by using sensors on a headset and then translates those activities to affect the on-screen play.

"If X area of the brain lights up, do Y. If this muscle contracts, do Z. That's the short version. The first time you use the NIA [the thing that reads your brain function] in a game, it's a struggle to make your first movement, but then you twitch forward, accidentally fire your weapon, and twitch backward again as you create a feedback loop between yourself and the NIA. Eventually, you figure out how to move in all directions - it happens instinctively and, paradoxically, when you stop struggling to make it happen" (Decker, gamesradar.com).

According to the article, found here, one the main problems with this gadget is that it takes a long time for the user to become accustomed with the technology and to use it effectively. However, this product holds great promise since, if you have ever played a first-person shooter before, every second counts. And if this product was perfectly wired to your brain, your response time would become quicker, giving you that much more edge in a gun fight.

It's currently listed at $169.99, so it is a bit pricey for now. However, I'm flabbergasted at this new piece of technology, and if it becomes more user-friendly and cheaper, I may have to buy one and kill things...with my mind!

Mwa ha ha ha.