The Price: $45

The Verdict: It's good. Not only does it come with four rechargeable battery packs for your Wiimote—which dock into contacts in the slots on the base station—there's also a complementary set of four colored wrist straps so you can tell your controllers apart. All four Wiimotes are charged in about four hours, but you do have to remove the rubber safety condom prior to docking. You might not personally use them, but if you're like us, you force your clumsy family members to use them in order to protect your HDTV.

One complaint is that the base station's blue lights are always on, even if a Wiimote isn't docked. That blue neon look is fine for a casemodder's alien skull PC, but it looks out of place in a more subdued living room. It's a small complaint, but might be a dealbreaker for some. Also, the rechargeable battery place in the Wiimote makes contact with the charger via two metal pins that might wear down after a year or two; similar to the way Logitech mice wear down the contacts in their chargers after a while. We've no way of telling if it will, but it's something to watch out for. Our other complaint is that the four lights that indicate battery state default to on when nothing is docked. If you the Wiimote doesn't make proper contact with the charger, that means you may think it's full even when it's not!

If your family plays 4-player Wii games a lot and are always hunting around for batteries, $45 isn't too big an investment for the convenience of just shoving your Wiimote into a dock. If you're not a huge gamer or already have rechargeable AAs, this might not be as worth it to you. [Penguin United]

The big deal about the updated Front Man Wireless Guitar for the PS3 is that it is the first guitar controller that can be used with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Like the previous version for the PS2, to switch between games, all you need to do is hit the pedal—which is a nice touch. Other features include: 25 feet worth of cordless fun and an included USB play and charge cable. The device above is still a prototype, so expect a few cosmetic changes before it is released in March for $59.99.

Nyko has also released a version of Front Man for the Wii that is fully compatible with Guitar Hero III. It also features 3 interchangeable pick guards in designer colors (the tool to remove them is located in a back side compartment), and customizing stickers. Available in March for $49.99.

The updated Zero wireless controller for the PS3 features 25 hours of gameplay, wireless range of 30 feet, backlit LED buttons, metal polymer hybrid design, and full six axis motion and rumble. It played great, felt solid, and the rumble feature worked well. Plus it will be available at the end of January or early February—before the sixaxis controller rumbles its way to North America. Priced at $59.99.

The Wireless Nunchuck controller for the Wii has full accelerometer support and it offers 30 hours of gameplay on two AAA batteries—which thoroughly sucks. According to the rep, they didn't want to develop an integrated rechargeable battery until a large user base has been established. So it could become a reality sometime in the future for anyone willing to pony up the extra cash. Expect to see it on store shelves in February for $29.99.

The Charge Base for the 360 offers a convenient drop in design that makes recharging easy. It also features 2 custom NiMH batteries that provide up to 25 hours of play time. The Charge Base will be available in March for $29.99.

The Price: $29 (includes rechargeable packs)

The Verdict: The Charge Station is super useful for charging multiple packs overnight. And since it comes with two, you can use one in your controller and charge another at the same time, swapping back and forth when necessary. And if you do a lot of multiplayer, you can charge two overnight to ensure you're always ready to go. The fact that it includes two battery packs, which cost almost as much it does when sold separately, makes this a definite buy for new 360 owners. New Xbox 360 owners should take a look. [Nyko]