DreamGEAR Turns up the Volume at E3

DreamGEAR, a mainstay gaming accessory company showed up to this year's E3 with a smattering of new products to show off under the branding of i.Sound. Yes, our little friend the iPod is involved, though today we'll be talking about game related devices - this is E3 afterall. The first of these was an innovative device for the PSP called the i.Sound Drive-in Cinema. This handy little accessory straps to the headrest of any car via two velcro straps. You then place your PSP in the slot made specifically to fit the device and voila, instant car theater without the overpriced hassle of a pro-audio/video system. The Drive-in Cinema comes equipped with wired remote that plugs into the headphone jack, a d/c power supply to keep things going on those long road trips (which also charges your PSP at the same time), and a 4 speaker sound system to make up for that part that mobile game systems just can't seem to lick - the sound. Granted, with the loud show floor music and sounds blaring around me, I didn't get to experience the full effect of what it may have to offer, but the rep we spoke to said they would be sending us a demo unit to give things a try, so we'll be sure to let you know how things sound in a controlled environment. It should be noted that we were told this piece of hardware is intended to be used as a movie playing/music playing device and should not be considered to fill your gaming needs - indeed, they loaded up a game as part of their demo, and it was a very cumbersome affair. All-in-all the concept (of which I have no previous experience of ever seeing, so one could say this is entirely original) is solid and well delivered. Now if only the price of UMD movies would come down...

We were then shown a somewhat interesting 3rd party PS2 controller called the Lava Glow. Taking the cue from the 70's lamps of yesteryear, these controllers are your standard dual shock 2 configuration, yet in the handles resides a pool of colored liquid that makes up the "lava". Though definitely reaching towards the "cool" factor, this author has never found a reason to like any 3rd party console controller due to the fact that most designers try to "improve" upon something that was never lacking in the first place. The rep we spoke to mentioned that the controller was different in that it was designed to be more ergonometric, yet we could not verify this claim, as they did not have a demo out for getting a good feel. If you're looking to attempt to wow your friends with something a little different, this may be the controller for you, but if you're just out to play the games on a tried and true controller, stick with the dual shock 2 - no need to reinvent the wheel, as they say.