Review: 3rd Space FPS Gaming Vest

Although games have been getting more immersive, thanks to better graphics and in-depth sound, playing one still can't make you feel fully like you're in the thick of the action.

The FPS Gaming Vest, available from Firebox is an attempt to rectify that: it's a combat-style jacket that includes several exploding air pockets, each of which is used to simulate being hit by gunfire (it's designed to work with shooting games). When we say exploding, we actually mean 'popping slightly' because while the jacket works, it's not very effective.

The air pockets are small, so when they pop the effect is more like being gently prodded than actually being shot. The system relies on an air compressor (which is supplied) to refill the air in the pockets, and this can be quite noisy when it kicks in (it's used every so often depending on how frequently you get shot).

The vest comes with the comparatively ancient but great Call of Duty II and a game created by the vest's makers, which is reasonable but not particularly engaging. It will work with others, though, including F.E.A.R., Crysis and Quake 4.

While the FPS Gaming Vest does work, we'd suggest that most players, apart from the absolute shooter-obsessives, would be better off spending their money on some new games rather than this.

Buy the 3rd Space FPS Gaming Vest.