Downtown and Zboards

By Guy Cocker on 09 August 2005, 11:23am

If our egos weren't already inflated from having killed our way to Lance Corporal ranking in Battlefield 2, we're now going to seriously bring the pain to the infidels with our Zboard. The latest in a long line of peripherals for totally l33t gamers, the Zboard has brand new keysets for certain games, and by happy coincidence the one we were sent was for our Favourite Game Ever™.

It's a cool idea, but it certainly divided opinions on Crave. Those who've got used to the standard keyboard layout -- or their own custom set -- found it difficult to adjust, and when you've clocked up 50+ hours, any change is bad. Others found it much more easier to adapt -- not only are the keys better spaced, but they're all labelled, so if you decide to bail out of a helicopter, you can find the parachute button before your face meets the pavement.

You might need to be a professional gamer to afford all this though -- the keyboard itself costs around £35 and the Battlefield 2 keyset costs £15. Our tip -- don't buy the game-specific boards, as the only difference is the sticker on top.

On the Internet though, only the hardcore survive. We've started rebuilding our Zboard against the clock, and we'll be able to do it blindfolded before the end of the week. Terminate... with extreme prejudice. -GC