PlayStation 3 Holiday Buyer’s Guide

Accessories

HORI Tactical Assault Commander 3

Seriously, how cool is this thing? It’s a mouse and hotkey pad for your PS3, which allows gamers more comfortable with PC gaming to return to their comfort zone and remain on Sony’s console. The keypad has the WASD setup for PC gaming, as well as a handful of other hotkeys for things such as grenades, inventory, or anything else one would need for FPS gaming. While this is definitely something geared toward the hardcore FPS gamers, it’s something those folks will have a lot of fun with and not feel so restricted when it comes to purchasing for a specific platform based on control options.

Tritton Kunai Headset

The first of two headsets on this list, the modest price (about the price of a boxed retail game) and relatively easy setup of the Kunai make it a good choice for gamers on a budget or who don’t want to mess with too many wires and gadgets. Plug the USB into the PS3, and the red and yellow audio cables into the TV, play with some settings on the PS3, and you’re good to go, with the only requisite fiddling with actual buttons being on the volume control.  I experienced a handful of mild issues with the bass tones in my experience, but they’ve since become less common with the other games I’ve tried.

Tritton Pro+ Headset

Now, this headset is for gamers that want to milk their aural experience for all it’s worth. Look at that sucker: with a ton of buttons on the volume control itself, as a whole extra box for more options, the Pro+ earns its $200 price point. On the wire itself is a controller which allows users to switch between the different speakers inside the headset itself—that’s right, surround sound in your headphones. Just press a button and the sound travels with it. Chat and voices are controlled on the other device, so if you hate hearing other people talk you can simply turn them down or off. This thing is pretty sweet if you’ve got the scratch.