Mad Catz announced several new accessories while at E3.  Now I know what people say about Mad Catz, that their stuff is crap but really over time they’ve gotten better.  Plus it always cheaper than the regular accessories and don’t we all really like that?

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.

One of my fellow Hawty McBloggy Hawty McForums member Rowboat 000 finally finished a montage of his Halo: Reach multi-player beta experience.  Besides the fact that ends up being a pretty cool montage, something weird happens at the 44 second mark.  During one of his headhunter games, he’s given the option to pick up a skull as if in oddball mode.

Here is the montage:

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

Nyko just pumped out a full QWERTY chat pad for the Wii .  They felt that there just wasn’t a good enough tool to utilize the full functionality that some games and applications offer.

“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.

Here is the second episode in a series of shorts for the upcoming Crackdown 2.