The Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station is a new recharging solution for the Wii Remote controller. Nintendo’s Wii Remote controller is a (AA) battery drainer, even when it’s not in use. You’re best off getting a recharging solution sooner rather than later. This recharging station is an option to consider.

Ok, so what does the Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station offer that other chargers don’t? You just read its major reason. Right off, it’s the brand name and recognition. We’re all familiar with Energizer’s association with batteries. Brand recognition (or a pink bunny) is one of the strongest points this recharging solution offers.

The form factor is pretty straightforward. The rechargeable Energizer batteries snap into the Wii Remote's 2 AA slots. Remove Nintendo’s Wii Remote standard battery cover and replace it with an Energizer one. The weight of the battery pack is very similar to the weight of 2 AA batteries. You should be ready to play within a few hours of the initial charge. Being that this is a fairly new system, I couldn’t test the longevity on the batteries' recharging life. We'll have to see just how long lasting a life these rechargeable batteries have.

The dome-like shape of the Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station ensures it won’t topple over as easily as other Wii Remote chargers may. It also cradles the Wii Remote without having to shove it in. There’s a groove along the side of the base to allow the Wii Remote Strap to fit neatly while charging. No need to remove it.

If you’re particular about keeping your Wii accessories color-coordinated, the base is a white cradle and the Energizer Wii Remote battery covers are white as well. However, you’ll probably miss that Wii blue glow from this charging system. The charging cradle alternates between two colors, based on the charge level. Orange for charging and green for fully charged. The signature blue light was missed.

Price-wise, this may be the biggest thing going against this recharging system versus others out there. The Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station has an MSRP of $39.99. Additional battery packs go for $12.99. If you’re thinking of using this on four Wii Remotes, you’re hitting $65.97. Other recharging systems that can charge four Wii Remotes at a time don’t pass the $50 mark. Dual charging systems can also be found for less. You’ll have to consider if its price and charging two Wii Remotes at time is a factor for you. If you’re looking for an established brand name in rechargeable batteries, this is it. With a big name like Energizer tied to it, there’s nothing else that comes close to it for the Wii Remote.

See pictures of the Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station here.

The Wii Energizer Power & Play Charging Station comes from PDP, Performance Designed Products. Visit the official website here.

The NERF Racing Wheel is a new accessory for the Wii from PDP. There may be quite a selection of Wii racing wheels available, but this one has the distinct advantage of NERF material. The cushy NERF material is ideally suited for a Wii racing wheel, providing a comfortable grip, not to mention padded protection. It's also slightly indented around the palm and thumb areas to give you a better grip. The core is made of a harder plastic, which snugs your Wii Remote.

The NERF Racing Wheel is slightly larger than Nintendo's Wii Wheel, which comes packed with Mario Kart Wii. At the side of the NERF Racing Wheel is an opening, which allows use of the Wii Remote's pointing function while inside. Having the functionality is mainly useful in the Wii system menu, however, this was my only difficulty with the NERF Racing Wheel. Selecting items in the upper portion of the screen was tough, because of the opening's design. The NERF Racing Wheel's opening seemed to be a little bit deeper and not as wide (all around) as the Wii Wheel's opening. Not a major setback, since you won't be using that in-game. It's easier to navigate around Mario Kart Wii's game menu with the d-pad when using the NERF Racing Wheel. Use the Wii Remote on its own when in the Wii system menu, and pop it in the NERF Racing Wheel after launching Mario Kart Wii. The other opening on the back of the NERF Racing Wheel allows for use of the Wii Strap, as Nintendo recommends while playing.

You may be breaking the color scheme of the Wii's traditional white and blue with the NERF Racing Wheel, but the color accents help make a distinction between players (Mario=Red and Luigi=Green!). Overall, the NERF Racing Wheel makes a great wheel for use on Wii racing games. Once you get your hands on the softer grip, it's tough to go back to the harder plastic Wii wheels. This is one of the best applications of NERF in video games yet.

See a gallery of photos from the NERF Racing Wheel here.

The NERF Racing Wheel has an MSRP of $14.99 and is available in Red , Blue , Green and Gray colors.

Looking for an alternative to the plastic pedal? I’m sure everybody who plays Rock Band drums has gone through at least one of those plastic drum pedals. I’ve gone through five. Enter The Destroyer Pedal. It may just be that sturdy, high quality metal pedal you’re looking for.

The big metal Destroyer Pedal is basically a real drum pedal with an electronic attachment for use with Rock Band and Rock Band 2. The Destroyer Pedal has great sensitivity, sound, feel, and it doesn’t tire out your foot as much as the plastic pedal. The Destroyer Pedal is nothing short of amazing.

After I plugged in the Destroyer Pedal, I immediately found that the pedal had intense accuracy. I was able to double-kick (hit twice real fast) fairly well. The weight kept the pedal firm on the ground and it felt natural on the foot. Some players may play on a solid floor, which makes the drum set move when you use the drum pedal. This pedal has some weight to it, so you don’t have to worry about your pedal or drum set moving.

The Destroyer Pedal also made a “thump” sound when the pedal hit the stopper. It felt like an extra layer of bass, and it sounded nice when I played along to a song.

The only one problem I had with this pedal was a squeaking sound when stepped on. Every time I pressed down I would hear a faint squeak. However, this was easily fixed with a tad of lube.

Is the Destroyer Pedal worth it? Absolutely! Even though it may be cost prohibitive for some, if you are an extreme Rock Band drum player, I would definitely purchase this pedal. If you break the Destroyer Pedal, you’ve thrown it off the Empire State building.

See a few photos of The Destroyer Pedal here.

Check out more information and ordering details on The Destroyer Pedal at www.rockbandpedal.net.

BAJA: Edge of Control

Baja: Edge of Control is a recently released off-road racing game developed by 2XL Games and published by THQ. The game features four player split-screen multiplayer and online multiplayer for up to ten racers. The online portion of the game was not reviewed due to technical difficulties (on our side, not the game).

Top Spin 3 is the latest tennis game by 2k Sports and PAM Development in the Top Spin series, and is a solid effort in the genre. Released this past June, the game aims to provide the most realistic and fun tennis experience around. The PS3 release does have a mandatory download, which weighs in at about 3.63 GB, though the download seemed to fly by.

Read the full review of Top Spin 3 below.

Soulcalibur IV, available for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3)
Release date: July 29, 2008
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games (US)
Developer: Project Soul
Official website

Review summary:
Soulcalibur IV is one of the best fighting games this generation has to offer. Although the Story Mode may be short, one on one versus combat is what this fighting game is about. Whether playing the new online versus mode or local versus mode, you'll be coming back to Soulcalibur IV for more. Hundreds of unlockables, leveling up your characters and their weapons, and mastering the many moves keeps the reply value high. A few minor things like unbalanced Star Wars characters, graphical tears and soundtrack content only available by purchasing it online keep the game from perfect, but there are few blemishes on this blade that is Soulcalibur IV.

Read the full Soulcalibur IV review below.

*note: we have removed the rating scale from GamingBits.com. Read below for a complete picture and judge for yourself!

Rated: 5 out of 5

Read the full review below.

Watch a video trailer below.

As weird as it seems to conduct a review based on a game soundtrack rather than the game itself, sometimes in life we have to shift from the paradigm into a new direction.

Enter Harry-Gregson Williams: composer extraordinaire, who showcases a variety of "soundscapes" most producers dream of. From contrasting scores such as Kingdom of Heaven, Enemy of the State and Antz (to name a few), they only begin to graze the surface of Gregson-Williams' talent at composing musical scores. With a career spanning over one-hundred films, one can begin to assume that Konami made a wise choice by enlisting someone who can mold sound in the vein of Merlin with his alchemical prowess.

Now, the Metal Gear Solid series has always blended the atmosphere and moods from Kingdom of Heaven and Enemy of the State together.  A fusion of old world symphonic instruments and new school electronic rhythms, Gregson-Williams proves why he has been delivering electro-orchestral masterpieces since Metal Gear Solid 2.  With MGS 4, the composition will not disappoint those who may be true audiophiles, dedicated to labeling intricacies found within a song. At the same time, the soundtrack is just enough to curtail the MGS 4 story directly into the mood it needs to set, pleasing those who are just there for the ride.

Much of the playlist this round includes the usual fast-paced glitch induced drums blended with synthesizers, heavy guitars, strings and horn sections galore. This is the definitive soundtrack for all the world's super spies. With the inclusion of songs like "Love Theme" and "Old Snake," you can't help but shed a tear due to the sorrow brought by knowing this is Solid Snake's finale.  Those two tracks are wonderfully crafted pieces of music that should never be overlooked just because they are associated with a videogame.  

Off to my one and only gripe with this soundtrack. It lies in some of the production techniques within Gregson-Williams near-perfect opus. My issue is that Gregson-Williams introduces some fresh elements in the form of different production styles, yet some of the tracks occasionally sound a bit lazy and recycled ("BB Corps").  Now, as minute as the repetitiveness may be, it still is overshadowed, colossally, by the sum of its parts (all those great parts).

Thumbs up to Harry Gregson-Williams!!

Favorite Song: "Love Theme"

Rating: 4 out of 5 Bits

Note: The Metal Gear Solid Soundtrack CD is included in the MGS 4 Limited Edition. Otherwise, enjoy in-game.

(See a summary of the game below.)

Who's it for:
Music/rhythm junkies who want a humorous take on the genre.

The Good:
+ Unique twist of the music/rhythm genre:
Hearing a hip hop track go country on the fly is pretty funny. The on-the-fly musical switchover is the highlight of Battle of the Bands.

+ Visual Variety:
Variety of bands and backgrounds keep the visuals fresh. Character animations during gameplay will keep onlookers entertained.

+ Entertaining Music Player:
A time-killer where you select a song and then switch up the style on your own while it’s playing. Almost spoils the fun of playing through the game.

The Bad:
- Repetitive, disjointed motion controls:
Controls come down to timed flicks of the Wii Remote, which feels disjointed from the music and repetitive. After a couple of songs, even the game warns you to take a break.

- Short single-player mode:
It only takes a couple of hours to get through the 10 stages of Adventure Mode. Not a really rewarding experience, except for unlocking weapons (which don’t have much variety themselves).

- Avoidable storyline:
Dialogue boxes before matches feel tacked on and don’t add anything memorable. Presentation of flat 2d illustrations don’t help it.

- Song selection:
Depends on your individual taste, but there aren’t too many memorable songs here or even some that work great for mashing up (See gameplay video below for listing of songs).

Check out the Battle of the Bands video below for a sampling of gameplay.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Game Summary:
Battle of the Bands is a music/rhythm game, exclusively for the Wii from THQ.  Players pick from bands with musical styles ranging from rock, hip hop, latin, country and even marching band. Gameplay modes include a single-player Adventure Mode and a Versus Mode (two-players or vs. CPU). Using the Wii Remote, players must move (or shake) at the correct time to score points and dominate the song. The music changes on the fly, according to the player who is doing best in the match. An interactive tutorial is included to get you up to speed on how to play. In addition to timely Wii Remote movements, each band packs their own stock of weapons. Weapons can also be used to cripple opponents, which you unlock throughout the Adventure Mode. There are thirty songs to select from, with five variations for each track, according to the music genre.

Plot:
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is the prequel to the PSone's Final Fantasy VII role-playing game. It's exclusive to the Sony PlayStation Portable system. In Crisis Core, you play as Zack, a Shinra SOLDIER with a burning passion to not only rise to the rank of 1st class SOLDIER, but to be a hero. Zack is often scoffed at throughout the game for such a lofty goal. The bigger picture of Crisis Core is man's creations vs. nature. Crisis Core is an engaging story that provides a solid backdrop to Final Fantasy VII.

Gameplay:
Crisis Core is a mix of action and RPG gameplay. The first option you'll have to decide on is whether to take the adventure on in Normal or Hard Mode. The difference between the two is that battles will be more difficult in Hard Mode.

Zack is the only character you control, as there is no party system traditionally found in Final Fantasy RPGs. Gameplay takes place in third-person mode. The characters are not super deformed as in Final Fantasy VII, but more along the scale of Final Fantasy 8+ RPGs.

Enemy encounters happen randomly in the playing field, but the "boss" or other primary enemies can sometimes be spotted. You can execute evasive or defense actions, or keep at a distance from enemies and use magic. If you attack enemies from behind, you're likely to land some "critical" blows. Preset equipping options include Magic, Offense or Defense. I stuck through magic pretty much the whole play through of the game, mastering a few of them.

Camera controls sometimes get stuck. Meaning, when pressing the L or R button to rotate the camera (particularly useful when looking for treasure chests and pathways), the camera gets jammed and doesn't fully rotate. Sometimes hitting the L instead of R or, or vice-versa, may work. Other times it takes moving Zack a little to try again.

There are frequent save points, which is a good thing for the portable format. Shops are accessible any time through the menu, so you have no need to worry about venturing out without enough supplies. Gil never seemed short either. Zone Maps are also accessible at any time, so you won't have too much problems finding your way around.

You'll meet some of the characters you may remember from Final Fantasy VII, including Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie and Sephiroth. Add Genesis, Angeal, Cissnei and Tseng to the list of memorable characters you'll find in Crisis Core. As you meet characters, they are added to your DMV. DMV, short for "Digital Mind Wave," is a strange part of Crisis Core. When the roulette wheel of characters first popped up on the screen, I thought I had to hit a button to make it stop, but it is totally non-interactive and random. The DMV results in status effects (aka "Power Surge") which give you invincibility, level ups, no MP costs, summons and even more cutscene animations that fill in the story. You'll hear "Modulating Phase" frequently.

One part of the game that didn't capture me too much was the Materia Fusion. Various materia can be combined to upgrade to more powerful materia. It'll give you a preview of what will result, so you don't have to worry about wasting materia to find out. You will have to figure out how to combine them best. Probably the hardcore Final Fantasy gamers will use this most, but it isn't required to advance in the game. I dabbled in it, but wanted to keep the story and action going rather than working on the stat screen. That's what it felt like. More work than fun. There are some surprise mini-games throughout Crisis Core. I won't spoil them for you, but they provide a mix to keep the action fresh.

Graphics:
Although the palette may be primarily dark, the graphics look exceptional on the PSP. Mechs and monsters are nicely detailed, with some bosses overshadowing the scale of Zack. There's a few cutscenes and summon spells that show some high quality 3D rendered animation, equal to the animation and quality found in the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children UMD/DVD Movie. There aren't many of those sequences, but the few that are there look amazing. Other cutscenes are done using the in-game graphics. There are some parts later in the game where cutscenes can be an annoyance. That's when you have to repeat a boss battle previously lost. There's no way to skip several minute-long segments.

Audio:
The soundtrack is a treat, with a few themes likely to stick in your head throughout the adventure. Crisis Core's soundtrack is created by composer Takeharu Ishimoto. The music is a fuze of techno and rock. There are original compositions and remakes of some Final Fantasy VII tracks. Character dialogue is a mix of text and voice acting. Voice acting was well done, also similar to that found in the Advent Children movie.

Replay Value:
The primary quest is linear, but there's plenty more to experience in the Mission Mode. You can access the Mission Mode from any save point. While finishing all the missions are not required, there's a few exclusive items, summons and characters you'll only find while on the missions. The missions vary from Very Easy to Very Hard. Most offer brief subplots. You can easily get wrapped up in hours of the Mission Mode. This is one part you'll want to come back to even after finishing the game, so keep a few save slots to go back to.

The individual missions aren't too long themselves. You can complete some in minutes, but there are many of them. The main game may last about 20 or so hours, but factor in Mission Mode and you'll easily triple the entertainment time you'll get from Crisis Core. After 25 hours of gameplay, I had only cleared 19% of the Mission Mode by the end. You can always go back and play in Hard Mode for more of a challenge, and play on the big screen if you have a PSP-2000 with video out. So yes, there is replay value in this RPG.

Buy It, Rent It or Hardcore Only?
As hardcore as the dedicated Final Fantasy RPG player may be, just as Final Fantasy VII opened the genre to many so will Crisis Core. Detailed gameplay elements like Materia Fusion and Mission Mode won't hold you back if you opt to skip them. If you own a PSP, add this to your collection. If not, consider this game as your door into the PSP. By the end, the story ties right into the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. Just as Final Fantasy VII struck emotional chords in gamers, so will Crisis Core. Buy it and you'll feel rewarded by the end.