Peak has crafted what I humbly believe is the best guitar controller available. Over the last week I have enjoyed playing with Peak’s Obsidian Starpex Guitar controller for the PS3/PS2. The awesome people at Peak have taken a wooden guitar body and inlaied the electronic components into the guitar. This, much like the Rock Band Ion Drum Kit will set you back a few bucks, but is a worthwhile investment if you’re really into RB/GH and you’re a PS3 owner like myself. Read on for the full review.

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Sometimes I run across a product that I think would have been awesome, had it come out a decade earlier. Usually these are themed products, featuring a character that hasn’t been popular for years. Sure, the likes of Pac-Man, Mario and the Space Invaders can stand the test of time, Sonic The Hedgehog really hasn’t been cool for a while now.

I’ll admit that I had a bit of Sonic merchandise back in the day, and even watched the cartoon show (featuring the guy that played Steve Urkel), however, I just can’t get excited about this Reactor Mini Chair featuring The Fastest Thing Alive. Not to mention the promise of “a full-body sensory experience” from Sonic just creeps me out. If that’s your thing, then you’ll be able to experience such pleasures on November 21st for $69.99.

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One thing that I’ve disliked about my Wii is the lack of a controller modeled after either the GameCube or N64 controller. Sure, the Classic Controller does its job well enough, but I still just can’t get used to it when playing certain games. Luckily there are third-party manufacturers such as Hori to pick up the slack.

Later this month (November 27th to be precise) will bring us teh Hori Classic Controller, which very much reminds me of my old GameCube controller. My only complaint is that it will take some time to get used to the neatly-arranged A, B, X and Y buttons, since they chose to model them after the Classic Controller. If you’re wondering about those funny buttons in the middle, they are autofire switches for each of the other buttons.You can pre-order the controller now for $29.90.

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When it comes to PC gaming, your peripherals can be just as important as the components inside your case. I’ve actually been using the Saitek Eclipse keyboards (the original, and II version since it came out), and they’re great. So naturally, I was excited to hear that they have announced a third version of their popular keyboard.

So what sort of features are we looking at for this new model? The color-changeable backlit keys are back, along with a two-stage height adjustment and removable wrist rest. This time around they’ve added in a touch-sensitive control panel, which sounds awesome. If it’s anything like the touch-sensitive controls I had on my old HP laptop, it’s definitely going to be a nice addition. They’ve also added in pass through headphone and mic ports, which will make things easier on gamers without such ports on the front of their cases. There’s no word yet on pricing or availability, but we’ll let you know when we find out.

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When you work for an online news site, you deal with a lot of PR agencies and personnel. You rarely meet the people that you correspond with, as they are generally many miles away, and don’t always go to trade shows. Well if there’s one public relations worker that I wish I’d have met (while she was still working there), it’s Grace Kim, formerly of Activision.

The beautiful rocker in the video above spent a good bit of time as a PR agent for Activision, handling the Guitar Hero series. As luck would have it, she managed to land a gig with Playboy, and get herself a centerfold spread in the November issue. It seems that she also had some time to rock out with the new Starpex guitar from Peak Products. When you’re done enjoying the video above, you can read her review of the controller here.

I’m sure that you’ve all seen the Premium Drum Rocker from Ion, which is a $300 kit for Rock Band. While that is a hefty price to play for an instrument to be used in a video game, you can upgrade it and convert it to a real electronic kit. Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for Logitech’s new Premiere wireless guitar.

I have to say that I’m torn on this one. While there is a part of me that is drawn to the realism of the guitar, the metal frets, rosewood fingerboard and wood neck, it really is hard to justify. I suppose if you’ve already shelled out the cash for an Ion Drum Rocker, then your plastic Stratocaster just won’t measure up next to it. If you have $250 burning a hole in your pocket, then look for this to hit stores in December, but only for the PS2/PS3.

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Wrath of the Lich King is releasing in less than a month, so I’m gearing up for some long gaming sessions. Two things on my list of upgrades are a new mouse and keyboard. My machine and monitors got upgraded a little while back, but the input devices are a little dated. While I’m still looking around for a keyboard, I think I may have found a good mouse.

We already know that SteelSeries makes some solid products, which makes me all the more eager to try out this World of Warcraft-branded mouse. The mouse looks great, but there’s much more to it than cosmetics. You get a whopping 15 programmable buttons, which can be handy when setting up in-game macros. What’s more is that you can store up to 10 different profiles for each of your WoW characters. They have even gone so far as to design the software to mimic the WoW interface, and will import your character info directly from WoW Armory.

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When Microsoft released the Chat Pad last year, it seemed like a pretty decent addition to your Xbox 360 controller. Sure, it seemed just a little bulky, but it was cradled perfectly at the lower part of the controller where it was easily accessible by your thumbs. Sony has just announced their own version, which doesn’t look quite as comfortable to use.

What I think that Sony failed to realize during the design of this product is that most people use their thumbs to type, rather than say, their index fingers. Sure, if you have larger hands, you’ll probably be able to reach most of the keys, but it still doesn’t look like it would be very comfortable. We’ll be able to test it out for ourselves when it launches sometime next month.

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One of the greatest things about the Wii is that there are so many unique peripherals available for it. Since the Wiimote snaps into them, they are essentially just cheap plastic, which also makes them very cheap. We’ve seen other Lightsaber peripherals in the past, but nothing quite as awesome as these from Thrustmaster. (They used to be well-known for making joysticks, so get your minds out of the gutter.)

This “Glo Saber Duo Pack” includes two of the most authentic-looking lightsaber peripherals that I’ve seen yet. Sure, they left out details, but I think if they looked any better they’d be getting a knock on their door from Mr. Lucas. To add that final touch, they light up with either red or blue LEDs just like the real thing. The pair of plastic accessories will only set you back $35, which is well worth it.

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I love my Rock Band drum kit, and am fortunate enough to have a good place to store it (along with my other plastic instruments). Unfortunately, not everyone has room for such a large game controller. Mad Catz has really come through on this Official Rock Band Portable Drum Kit.

All the essentials are here, and so long as you have a flat surface to set the pads on, you’re ready to rock. At $59, it will be tempting for many people to invest in one. I guess my only question is how loud the pads are when set on something like a coffee table.

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