Philips amBX

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It's the next generation of immersive gaming accoutrements - but is it any good?

Philips promises that more and more developers are interested in working with the new technology. While few of them can have the smarts of Broken Sword creator Charles Cecil, it's obvious that amBX's multi-sensory experiences will be even more powerful if games begin to come packaged with dedicated, embedded and scripted support for the various bits and pieces.

However, here comes the crunch. The set we were wafted, illuminated and rumbled by could cost you as much as a brand new Xbox 360, given that it was made up of at least 10 components. We're told that a kit containing the lights-plus-speaker combo, the wall-washer control unit and a sub-woofer will be priced somewhere above £100, though pricing has yet to be finalised.

The amBX system is currently heading for launch in the US, not reaching us until around spring next year. But, once it does, Philips will already have enhanced the existing system, with amBX's upgradeable, modular design meaning that the first, potentially cheaper sets will also work with the more advanced later components. Still, we can't help but wonder who'll be able to shell out upwards of a couple of hundred for the full effect.

However amBX is undeniably the next step up from kitting your PC out with a full surround sound set-up, and it really does add atmosphere and enhance a game's visual and sensory impact. Even if it promises to make an even bigger impact on your bank balance.

Ben_Richardson

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.