Gunnar Advanced Gaming Eyewear Impressions - Everything's Pretty Yellow

For the past two weeks, I've been playing my games at home with a fancy, new accessory: Gunnar's Advanced Gaming Eyewear, the MLG Legend glasses. The corporate literature touts these non-prescription bifocals (prescription pairs are available, however) as allowing you "SEE FASTER - LIVE LONGER - PLAY BETTER." They are the officially licensed eyewear of Major League Gaming, produced as a partnership between Gunnar and MLG. They'll run you around $99.

The expanded literature makes a number of promises. Wearing a pair of MLG Legends over an extended period is supposed to improve contrast, enhance detail, increase visual endurance, decrease eye fatigue and cut down on glare. I decided to put the glasses and their yellow-tinted lenses to the test with my not-insignificant home gaming time, and here's what I found...

IMPROVE CONTRAST -- There is indeed a noticeable increase in image contrast when you first put on the MLG Legends. There is also a noticeable change in the color, thanks to those yellow tints.

ENHANCE DETAIL -- Along with improved contrast comes sharper detail. Playing "Saboteur," for example, I noticed that the cobblestones on the streets of Paris came into sharper focus, making each individual brick easier to distinguish from those next to it. Also, everything picked up shades of yellow.

DECREASE EYE FATIGUE -- I've been known to put in marathon gaming sessions, 6, 7, 8 hours and more at a time. I've never noticed any eye strain during those sessions, and so it was difficult to determine whether the glasses do anything on that front. My non-tiring eyes did however pick up on the fact that everything was cast in yellow tones.

CUT DOWN ON GLARE -- Ah the magic of high definition. Glare is not an issue when you're playing on a 32" HDTV. Not in my gaming space, anyway. There was a decidedly yellow haze covering everything... but that was probably the lenses.

So. The verdict? Gunnar's MLG Legends seem to accomplish what they're designed to, but they also end up tinting your gaming experience in shades of yellow. Some TVs can be tweaked to compensate, but mine isn't one of them.

To be fair, these shades are designed specifically for professional gamers. If you don't participate in official competitions, it's probably not worth the $100 Gunnar is charging. A lot of the benefits are also supposed to be felt after extended use, which is presumably a longer period of time than two weeks. So if you're an amateur gamer, someone who doesn't compete in official competitions for money, your $100 is probably better spent enjoying one of the many fine games released during this holiday season.

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