I eventually received both headsets, or this article obviously would not exist and you would not be reading it.  Upon opening the box I became like a kid at the candy store at Christmas time in Disney Land/World.  I lifted the hefty packages out of the box, I do mean hefty as these seem to be very durable, and proceeded to parade my goodies around the house whenever a room-mate arrived home.

Note: If I had actually researched the product before buying, I would have discovered that these are made to replicate the feel of being on the sidelines of an official NFL Football game.  Do I care though?  No!  Although I do enjoy watching football, I do enjoy playing the official NFL video game also known as Madden.   I am in fact liable to de-brand the headset of its NFL and EA Sports stickers because I certainly don’t want to be in THAT game.

So the headset itself is durable feeling as it is very well built.  The earpiece cups the ear providing an exceptional feel.  The top and side padding are also very comfortable.  I myself did not feel like the headset was too tight, but I have now seen Amazon reviews of those who did.

The big question, How well does it work?  Exceptionally Well, Thank you for asking.  The headset seems to be powered, seeing that it plugs into the 360 controller via a blade connectors, and had a quick switch for the mute and nice volume control.  This does make the headset have a wide range of volume and to be honest, I did not have to crank mine to max what-so-ever.  The cupping of the headset provides less audio leakage and provides more of it directly into my ear which also may attribute to the excellent volume control.

The audio cable that plugs into the blade dongle may occasionally start to come loose, as I have also found on regular headsets, and may crackle when rotate as lots of other things do.  An additional item to note is that during my research (admittedly after my purchase) I found that the mic seems to be noise canceling.  Needless to say, BONUS!

This was a great headset purchase and can still be found for cheap around the ‘net if you’d like one yourself.  My final words are “A+++ Purchase, Would buy again!”

First up, to complete my roll joke, the F.L.Y. 9 wireless flight stick for the PS3.  Originally offered as a PC accessory, PS3 gamers now have a chance for complete control in game such as;  Afterburner Climax IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey and H.A.W.X. .  The stick itself offers customization by allow gamers to adjust the handle length, handle rake angle and head angle.  Though, you really have to love flight simulation because this flight stick weighs in with a M.S.R.P. of $99.

Now what I really like to read about are the new accessories coming out for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360.  More specifically, these are for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, but as I don’t plan to get that game I think these will work with other games.

Mad Catz has an interesting control  coming out, entitled Call of Duty: Black Ops Precision AIM control.  The 360 version is wired to reduce latency, but apparently the PS3 doesn’t have that problem as it will have a wireless version.  They both will be a fairly standard button layout with a few additions. There are two new button at the rear of the controller that allow gamers to use ‘Precision Aim’ which slows the analog thumb stick down to allow gamers smother aiming.  Also, the combat buttons will allow gamers to re-map the action button or thumb stick commands to swap melee or sprint to the rear button to keep full control of the thumb stick while gaming.  This should really improve aiming in  lots of different shooters other than Black Ops.  Oddly enough, the controller won’t be much cheaper than an actual controller at a M.S.R.P. of $49.99

The last thing that caught my eye are the OptiCOM ProGaming Glasses.  This is basically a combination of GUNNAR glasses and a headset.  The pair are able to separate in case you end up not liking one.  Of course, this isn’t much of a combination, but it ends up being cheaper at $99.99 than the $140 pair of GUNNAR glasses that showcased at PAX a while back.

I love all the ideas that a third party manufacturer comes up with.  The fact that the prices are not as cheap as they used to be gives me hope that the quality has improved.  I do hate that everything is labeled with Call Of Duty: Black Ops, so of course I dropped that while writing this up today.  I wonder how long before Microsoft says that the Precision AIM controller is unfair and bans yet ANOTHER third party product.

Here is the montage:

And in case you missed it, here is a screen shot that I took of the occurance.

“Text input on the Wii has been limited to the on-screen keyboard or large, clunky hardware,” said Chris Arbogast, director of marketing at Nyko Technologies. “We are excited to see the Type Pad Pro release and provide a convenient all-in-one solution to type, navigate and control your Wii experience.”

It may look a little funny, like perhaps a Wii-mote with wings, but Nyko states that this setup will be ideal for typing on the Wii while maintaining pointer functionality.  Currently the Type Pad Pro is ideal for the Opera Browser, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Wii friend messaging.  In addition, the Type Pad Pro has two triggers on the back that are mapped to the A and B button.

The Type Pad Pro is available now at major North American retailers or directly from Amazon.com for a MSRP of $29.99.  Certainly this product fills a gap between the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Coming very quickly, as in this fall, The Lord Of The Rings Online will be turning into a free to play game.

“Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is bringing quality games based on The Lord of the Rings to multiple platforms, and the franchise’s expansive adventure story lends itself perfectly for LOTRO free-to-play, giving a wide range of players the opportunity to experience the game,” said Jeff Junge, Senior Vice President Online Games and Digital Games Platforms, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are focused on expanding our game franchises onto new digital platforms to maximize quality experiences for gamers worldwide and LOTRO’s new model is a great leading example of this.”

This means that I will soon be downloading LOTRO and getting online with my roommate.  Heck, the financee might even want to download this considering she won’t have to pay for it.  From the looks of it, to offer this as a free to play game with options to purchase content really won’t limit the free players at all.

Here’s some of the features offered.

• Free means Free! – Players will download LOTRO by visiting www.lotro.com and join with millions of other adventurers as they explore the most complete and authentic recreation of Middle-earth ever created and participate in LOTRO’s award-winning epic story up to level 50 for free.
• Visit the new LOTRO Store! — The LOTRO Store is loaded with thousands of convenience items as well as expansion packs, premium content, additional character slots, potions, character customization and more! The LOTRO Store is seamlessly integrated into the game and lets the player identify new and exciting ways to enhance and customize their experience using points which can be purchased in the store or earned through gameplay.
• Be a LOTRO VIP! – Players who elect to become a LOTRO VIP will have unlimited access to all premium content, receive priority server access, 5 character slots, a shared bank slot, and a monthly allotment of points to spend in the new LOTRO Store.

In fact, there will be a beta to test out these new features.  Be sure to visit http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/ to get signed up for that.