Oh! Gizmo

By Shane McGlaun

Turtle Beach has been making nice gaming headphones for the PC and the Xbox for a while. The line has been a bit scant on headphones for the PS3 though. I have used several of Turtle Beach’s PC surround sound headphones and they work pretty well.

The company has now announced a new set of gaming headphones called the P21 for the Sony PS3 console. The P21’s feature a USB powered inline amp to provide deep bass. A mic boom allows players to take advantage of in game chat functions. Read the rest of this entry »

By Shane McGlaun

One of my favorite Need for Speed games back in the day was Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I liked being able to play the cop and give people tickets and I liked running from the police as well. I guess EA tried to go all “PC” with Need for Speed ProStreet and took the racing off the streets. The game was cool, but I wanted police chases.

The latest title in the franchise, Need for Speed Undercover, gave me my wish and EA has announced that new DLC for the game is available for the PS3 and coming soon for the PC and Xbox 360. One of the DLC packs is a free offering called the Challenge Series and adds 60 events to the game. Along with new events called Highway Wars and Highway checkpoint races.

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By Shane McGlaun

I am a huge UFC fan and have been watching the events since they first started back in the late 90’s. I still have fond memories of one of the early events where the boxer came in with one glove thinking he was going to beat the other guy down only to find himself on his back getting beat like a drum a few seconds later.

I have been waiting for the new UFC 2009 game to come out and it is almost here. The game is set to ship on May 19 for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Until then THQ has announced that a playable demo is available for download for both game consoles right now.

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By Luke Anderson

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks playing Rock Band. Fortunately I’ve been lucky enough to have a set of instruments that play perfectly (if only the same could be said about the person playing them). I’m also fortunate enough to be an Xbox 360 owner, as my Guitar Hero II and III controllers both work with the game. The same cannot be said for PS3 owners.

There was supposed to be a patch last week that would allow PS3 owners to play Rock Band with their Les Paul from Guitar Hero III. The announcement was made by Harmonix that it would be available last Tuesday, but the patch never came. Naturally, people everywhere were outraged that they would be lied to in such a way. It wasn’t until over a week later that we learned why the patch mysteriously disappeared from the radar. Apparently Activision (Guitar Hero III’s publisher) has been putting legal pressure on Sony to not release the patch into the wild.

I’m not affected by this particular issue, but frankly I’m appalled at Activision for taking this stance. The only reason for them to object to the patch is that they’re afraid that Rock Band may end up becoming a more popular game. They don’t seem to care that the only people upset are loyal Guitar Hero III customers that just want to be able to use their controllers. Hopefully Activision wises up and figures out that the only people they are hurting are their customers, and themselves.

VIA [ GamerFront ]

By Shane McGlaun

Sony officially announced today that the much-anticipated 40GB PS3 is heading to America and will be available for purchase on November 2. The 40GB PS3 version will retail for $399 in the U.S. and Canada and come bundled with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray.

Sony also announced that effective immediately the 80GB PS3 console would be reduced in price to $499. The sacrifice the 40GB PS3 makes in the name of lower cost is PS2 compatibility. The 40GB PS3 will include HDMI out, Blu-ray drive, WiFi and all of the other features offered on other PS3 models with the exception of the PS2 compatibility and the reduction from four USB ports to two on the 40GB version.

VIA [ Sony ]

By Shane McGlaun

Any owner of a PS3 knows that when you go online there always seem to be hoards of 13-year-olds that have nothing better to do in life than to try and make gaming more arduous for the rest of us. Logitech has released a new Bluetooth headset for the PS3 that will let you work out your frustrations during online play, by taunting back.

The Logitech Cordless Vantage Headset uses an ambidextrous design so it can be worn on either ear. Logitech says the device is easy to connect and provides a reliable link for voice chat or gaming. The headset uses large-diameter audio drivers and advanced noise-filtering circuitry for clarity.

Those concerned with the quality of their hairdo while gaming will be glad to hear the Cordless Vantage for PS3 is a behind the head design. The headset is powered by an included rechargeable battery good for a claimed 12 hours of use per charge. The Logitech Cordless Vantage Headset will be available in November for $79.99.

VIA [ Logitech ]