You guys remember the MGS4 Bluetooth headset we reported about a month ago? A bunch of pre-production images of the product have finally been released, so those still on the fence about buying the headset will probably finally be able to make up their minds. See the images at the full article.

 

In a screenshot posted by monkeycatdx on Flickr, it seems that Bungie Studios has laid an unexpected Easter egg into their recent sci-fi FPS game, Halo 3.

We guess it would make some sense that the war scarred, jungle planet that Master Chief finds himself in would have some sort of native life forms in it, but beyond this small cameo that's all about it for this little surprise.

The picture was first reported by XBL gamer "Caboose Church" and posted on the Bungie forums. Our teddy bear hugging simian friend can be found in the first area at the start of the game. He can be found in a small ledge previous occupied with four aliens with Brute Shots, specifically after the dam area but right before the downed Pelican.

With the game barely into its first week, who knows what other surprises Bungie has inserted into this great game.

Around January of this year, accessories manufacturer Pelican came up with PS3 Pro Cooler (a gadget that aims to keep our PlayStation 3 units from overheating). However, it received a lukewarm reaction the gaming community because of reports concerning defective third-party cooling accessories.

Anyway, here's another product from the company and at first glance, it does look promising. It's a USB thingamajig and some of its key features include:

• It's made by Pelican and has a 5-year warranty. Pelican will replace or repair your console if a Pelican product damages it.
• It has a "PS Home" button on it and four red LEDs to indicate controller number.
• Guitar Hero 1 and 2 Ready: Plug in your favorite guitar and rock out to Guitar Hero 1 and 2 on your PS3.
• It doesn't support rumble.

We still don't have the accessory ourselves but gaming site Aeropause mentioned that the PS Home button is pretty much accurate. Also, the site noticed that if you hold down the analog button on the DualShock 2, the menu for Home will pop up as well. However, Aeropause wasn't able to test the promised GH-compatibility.

If you manage to get hold of one of this and you still have your old guitar controller, why not give it a shot and tell us about the results.

Bad puns aside, we noticed some people on Sony's PlayStation boards discussing the arrival of a PS3-specific cooling system. Needless to say, they're not impressed.

Thanks to a tip from Deric, we learned that GameStop was taking pre-release orders for Pelican Accessories' PS3 Pro Cooler. As the name implies, it's supposed to keep your unit from overheating, leaving you with a worry-free gaming experience.

They just picked a very bad time to market something like this. Reports of defective Nyko intercoolers and lack of confidence from Microsoft really didn't help the sales of Nyko's Xbox 360 cooling system. It also didn't make the idea of third-party cooling accessories very popular among gamers in the know.

Some members of Sony's PlayStation forums held the same view about Pelican's move to sell the Pro Cooler. In this case, their assertion for why the PS3's vents get hot is because the console's cooling system is doing its job and dissipating heat.

As a parting shot, Ninja-Matic probably had the best comment there, applying scientific concepts to game consoles:

I'd worry if you felt NO heat coming from your vents and it was still inside the system. Remember folks, heat rises - there are no vents on the "top" of the playstation - so turn that biznatch on it's side so the vents are up.

T-minus two days to next year, guys. And while you're wondering what's '07 got in store for us, let's take a look at some of the better things we've seen.

IGN's hosting an awarding ceremony over at their site, and it'll be covering the best of what's happened in 2006. And while it's a long list, taking a look at what's been good per console, we'll be focusing on their "Best Gear of 2006" collection.

Under this category, IGN reports that the best new console of 2006 was *drumrolls* the PS3, the Wii taking second place. IGN chalks up points for the PS3's sheer processing power, its packaging as a computer rather than as a gaming platform, and the availability of Linux supported distributions.

Sure the console's still got a long way to go given its slow start,  but given the package's initial strengths, it'll be interesting to see what will develop in the near future.

As for the other "Best gear of 2006":

• Best Gaming Peripheral: Xbox 360 HD DVD player
• Best Gamepad: Pelican NERF controller
• Best PC Peripheral: Ideazon Zboard Fang
• Best Portable Audio: Microsoft Zune
• Best HDTV (Panel): Sony BRAVIA KDL-46XBR2 LCD
• Best HDTV (Projector): Panasonic PA-AX100U

This Black Friday, you can get a whole lot of good PSP deals. How cheap exactly? Okay, at Circuit City, they're selling GTA: VCS for thirty bucks, you get a free Pelican kit with a purchase of a PSP, and ATV Offroad, Ape Escape, Infected, and Hot Shots Golf are all ten dollars each. What else? Oh, yeah, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is only US$ 17, so get happy with Captain Jack or something.

At Wal-mart GTA: LCS sells for only US$ 15, and a PSP will go for only US$ 170. At Meijer, a PSP will go for even lower at US$ 150!

Target only gives you a US$ 25 gift card for a PSP purchase, but hey, that's still 25 bucks worth of things to give to relatives on X-mas.

[PRESS]You know what they say: If you can't beat them... accessorize! [insert groan] No, but seriously. All of us here agree that what matters in gaming is gameplay. Heck, a lot of us even say that, in terms of being a next-gen, the Wii console beats everyone else by a mile because of the Wiimote gameplay. And so, we have to make sure that our gaming experience is pure dead perfect.

That's why third-party manufacturers develop accessories - not to replace the status quo - but to enhance it. And when you're talking about accessories, one of the giants in that industry is Performance Designed Products (PDP).

They have just announced that they're going to release a full line of accessories under their Pelican brand to support the Wii. Come November 19, their accessories will already be available on the shelves, with a couple more products set to arrive early next year.

Sad to say, they weren't able to show any of the products they plan to release. Previous rumors have led us to believe that they're set to release some Nerf-based controllers, but unfortunately, there's no confirmation of it yet. The Wii section in their website hasn't been opened yet, so just sit-back and relax, guys. In the next couple of days, we're sure to home-in on something.

For you console and handheld owners, Performance Designed Products would be more familiar if we used one of their brand names: Pelican. Yes, in the countdown to PS3 Launch Day, one of the more well-known third party accessories manufacturer is joining Nyko in prepping a lineup of add-ons and subs for Sony's next-gen console (our bet: we're going to hear from Logitech next).

What does this mean? Who knows, maybe Nerf SIXAXES. We know a five-year-old who might appreciate it. And it wouldn't be Pelican/PDP's first foray into a motion sensing controller. Still remember the Tiltforce 2 that dates back to the PSOne? Then there's that mysterious "PS3/PS2 Controller Adapter" the boys of PS3 Fanboy found (you can check that article out for details, all theories are spread from heck to breakfast).

Well, PDP prepping to make PS3 accessories shows their confidence in the console, come to think of it. Or at the very least, they see a market well worth entering into. We'll see in the weeks after Launch Day if PDP will launch a Pelican PS3 Nerf controller, and we'll be there to tell you about it. Nope, these pelicans won't eat pigeons alive - what the...

The Nyko Intercooler has indeed achieved record-breaking sales in UK. Not to contradict ourselves here, you might want first to take a look at this before buying one for your beloved Xbox 360. Whenever call inquiries are made to Microsoft regarding a broken console, they often ask whether the cooling device is added on to the X360 or not. Hmm, interesting.

According to one representative, the device drains too much power from the X360. Every time the console is turned on, power is supplied to every part of the machine and being built the way it is, it is just getting enough electricity, especially during startup.

An add-on like the Intercooler grabs some of the power, making the supply inadequate for the rest of the system. Another representative mentioned that Nyko's device causes scorch marks on the console. The Intercooler was designed in such a way that it touches with the AC input of the X360.

The two both explained that the Nyko Intercooler is a third-party, unlicensed device meaning Microsoft does not recommend using it. One of the reps said that the Pelican Fan Stand is an acceptable replacement. Though it isn't license as well, the fan stand is a USB device rather than a peripheral competing for electricity.

It's a fact of life that the SIXAXIS won't have the Rumble feature. Kaz says they dropped it because of costs. No Rumble means cheaper controller, right? But some of you have commented that if Sony were to include Rumble and raise the SIXAXIS price, you wouldn't mind at all. As some of you would say: "What's a few more dollars, anyway?"

You guys have a point. But still, Sony seems to be sticking to a Rumble-less controller. To whom can those who want Rumble turn to now but third party hardware manufacturers?

The guys up at PS3 Fanboy were able to sight a mysterious "PS3/PS2 Controller Adapter" from Pelican to be sold in EBGames come December 1 for US$4.99. But more than that, there's no info of what it actually is. There's no picture, even (at least not when we went there to look at it). But PS3 Fanboy thinks that it could be an add-on accessory that will simulate a Rumble feature for the PS3 (and PS2) controller.

If you want to believe it or not, it's going to cost you five bucks. If this controller really is a Rumble add-on, then those of you guys clamoring for one can just shell out a day's worth of allowance (or less, even) to get your vibrating toy. If it turns out to be a different kind of "controller adapter" and not a Rumbler, then it's only a matter of time before someone comes out with one.