So the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator was kind of a wash, and the Blood Sport thing is downright psychopathic. So why not combine the two? Because that would be insane. And insane is apparently the watchword of the artists' group, "/////////fur//// art entertainment interfaces", the creators of the Painstation. Not strictly a gaming peripheral which you could bring into your home (although manoeuvring the Dream Machine into your living room would be a trial), what with it being more of an art installation project thing rather than an actual arcade game, but it's been placed in public enough for it to be pretty easy to get a go on one. Although, you'd have to be something of a masochist. That name is literal. Originally developed by a couple of students at the Cologne Academy Of Media Arts and inspired by the children's game Folter-Mau-Mau (not a clue), it's now better known as "The artwork formerly known as Painstation" because for some reason Sony weren't wild about their console almost sharing a name with a table which is based loosely on Pong, except the electronic controls are connected by digital transducers to several components providing sensory feedback to players. Which means that whenever a point is scored against you, you suffer an electric shock. They call those controls PEUs (Pain Execution Units), for chrissake.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
