Unboxing the Power

November 04, 2008 - IGN Gear has been given the opportunity to evaluate two premium PC building services, UberClok and iBuyPower. Both companies are internet-based services which offer customers to have their dream gaming rig built from the ground up by trained perfessionals. Unlike a built-to-specs Dell, both services use high quality components and personally test each PC before it is shipped to consumers. In mid-October when we first received our custom-built UberClok system, we documented the entire unboxing process. Earlier this afternoon we received our iBuyPower system and we photographed and noted every glee-filled moment of it. Read on for our full impressions. More »

DSi Launch Round-up

November 04, 2008 - Over the weekend, Nintendo released the Nintendo DSi on its official launch day: November 1st. If you were lucky enough to be on the streets of Japan, you may have secured yourself one of these coveted upgrades to Nintendo's successful DS handheld platform. But judging from our correspondents who were in Japan during the launch, unless you had prepared for the system release you probably walked away empty-handed. More »

Inside Windows 7

November 03, 2008 - It's no secret that the PC world was less than blown away with Windows Vista. Buggy applications and other complications sent user's running back to XP, and for some even into the arms of a Mac. Microsoft has been teasing us for the past year with hints of the greatness to come with their new OS, Windows 7, highly touting the operating systems use of future-tech coolness like touch technology and advanced speech recognition. But will it be enough? Microsoft knows that its next OS is going to have to shock and awe consumers to convince them that Windows 7 is not just Vista: Redux. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so see what yours is after taking a look at IGN's guide to Windows 7. More »

Alienware Launches New Breed of Performance – the M17 Notebook

November 03, 2008 - Alienware, Dell's premier high-performance PC gaming brand, launches the all-new M17 notebook, continuing its strong tradition of pushing gaming performance limits through state of the art technology, wrapped in the iconic Alienware style. More »

DSi Camera Playtest

November 03, 2008 - We weren't particularly keen on messing around with internet connections and figuring out how to convert our audio files from MP3 into something DSi-compatible, so our first experience with the DSi ended up being through the system's camera. More »

Wii Accessories Buyer's Guide

October 31, 2008 - With Nintendo ramping up Wii production for what promises to be yet another killer year in holiday Wii sales, its likely that the Wii will be one of the hardest to track down items this holiday season. If, however, you manage to circumnavigate the sea of voracious holiday shoppers and locate a Wii this winter, its important to have all of the necessary accessories, cables, and controllers immediately at your disposal for maximum fun-efficiency. With that in mind, here are a number of products that we feel are absolutely essential for both prospective and current Wii owners. More »

Captain Kirk's Chair Replica is Coming

October 31, 2008 - "Kirk to bridge, someone………has…….stolen my……..chair." And for the right price, that person can be you. Trekkies across the globe practically drowned in their own geekdom when it was first reported that Diamond Select, a popular sci-fi and comic toy store, was planning on releasing a life-sized Original Series captain's chair for purchase. Finally we have somewhere to deliver our "Captain's Log" other than the bathroom. More »

Guitar Hero World Tour Drum Tuner Released

October 31, 2008 - Guitar Hero World Tour has had a rough week. In the days following the game's launch, droves of users began to inundate the web with complaints of faulty or poor drum controller performance. Of the complaints, the most prevalent issues seemed to be tied to poor sensor calibration in the peripheral's drum pads and cymbals. Users reported that the left cymbal and drum pad were the most unresponsive and would either detect hits infrequently or not at all. Shortly after the problems became apparent to the various bigwigs at RedOctane and Activision, however, it was announced that the problem had been identified and that a solution was on its way. The solution, it would seem, has arrived in the form of the Guitar Hero World Tour Drum Tuner, which is a PC application that enables users to adjust each of their kit's kick pedal, cymbals, and drum pads to their liking. More »

PSP-3000 Screen Performance Issues Identified

October 30, 2008 - There are some truly riveting mysteries in life. Who built Stonehenge? Why do men have nipples? And perhaps the greatest of them all, why does the Sony PSP-3000 suffer from poor screen performance? True, while not as epic in scale as the others, many were left scratching their heads when the handheld device, supposedly the best version of the PSP to date, was shipped with such an unexpected problem. More »

KISS Bass Guitar Controller Preview

October 30, 2008 - When it comes to the masters of Rock, no one can argue that KISS has rightfully earned their way into the exclusive pantheon of god-like musicians that defined an era. Their tracks are some of the most popular tunes among living room rockers on both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and now you can get taste of what its like to be legendary KISS bassist Gene Simmons, and it doesn't even require white makeup or a tongue as long as your arm. More »

Rock Pedal Review

October 30, 2008 - Ask anyone who plays the Rock Band drums regularly what the weakest link in the system is and I guarantee you most of them would say it's the bass drum pedal. While the pads themselves are pretty sturdy and take a beating, the plastic pedal just isn't up to the task of being stomped on for hours on end. I've snapped four Rock Band pedals in half since the game was released last year, and that's with not playing for about five months until Rock Band 2 came out recently.

Enter the Rock Pedal, an all-metal solution that replaces the plastic stock pedal by simply plugging it into the back of your kit. The Rock Pedal almost guarantees you'll never have to stop the rocking while you wait for a replacement kick from Electronic Arts. More »

Fanatec Introduces Limited Edition Porsche 911 Turbo S Racing Wheels for Xbox 360

October 30, 2008 - Fanatec, a leading brand of high-end input devices for game consoles and PCs, today announced that it's newly introduced Porsche 911 Turbo S Racing Wheels for Xbox 360, which are offered in three different versions (911 Turbo S Edition, Clubsport Edition, and Pure Edition), are now available for pre-order at www.fanatec.com/PWTS (while supplies last). More »