DSi owners found that bigger screens and faster operating speeds presented an unwelcome side effect, lower battery life. Thankfully, TeknoCreations' TekCase for DSi combines a glossy protective covering that contains a battery that nearly triples your playtime. To prove its worth, we took it on a long flight to Paris and then gave it to nature's most destructive force, a five year old, for "durability testing." The results were far better than expected.

Defined as a shell, the TekCase fits snuggly around the DSi without the need for adhesives, straps or clips. Cutouts around the hard case give you access to volume, game cart slot, SD card slot, L and R shoulder buttons and headphone jack. The DSi pen is accessed by using a small switch on the bottom of the device that pops it out from the DSi. At the back of the TekCase is a knob that plugs into the DSi's power port. This knob allows you to recharge the DSi and the TekCase using any mini USB cord (so you can leave your DSi charger at home) and the case does come with a USB wall charger that you use to charge the device or any other USB powered device.

On our flight to Paris, we got around 8-9 hours between the DSi's native battery and the TekCase's battery, with an additional 2-3 hours back in the hotel and return flight. Once the DSi battery winds down, you flip an on/off switch on the case to supply the additional power. The battery also did well and didn't seem to lose much of a charge when it wasn't in use.

Given to a five year old with an addiction to Pokemon and a penchant for dropping stuff, we found about 11 hours of battery life as well. Plus, he dropped it a several times and while the cart popped out once, the DSi and the case survived with just a few scratches.

So we love the additional battery life, the sturdy plastic casing, the USB charging and the little cutout for the outward facing camera (which otherwise would get scratched). Our biggest gripe was with the return of the mirror black casing, since we're fond of the DSi's naturally fingerprint-free casing. The additional girth that the TekCase adds (along with a nearly 1/2 inch knob at the back) will force you to ditch any slimmer cases you might already own but still feels comfortable in hand. Also, if you have a two-prong DS/DSi set of headphones with microphone, one of our bigger adapters didn't fit -- leaving you to use more conventional headphone. But if you're going on a long trip, the TekCase proves to be durable, adds hours to gameplay sessions between charges and at only $29.99, it's an easy pick-up.

Keeping pace with the insane bass of Guitar Hero Metallica takes nerves of steel, a near unachievable level of speed and a good set of eyes. While Nyko can't legally speed you up or has yet to venture into eye accessories, its new Metal Pedal does offer Guitar Hero and Rock Band players a way to smack down that bass with toes of wanton destruction.

Over the past week, we took the coffin-encased pedal through the paces and discovered several advantages that drummers will enjoy and, at a mere $19.99, a nice upgrade to their default kit's bass pedal.

First and foremost, Nyko's Metal Pedal isn't all metal. It's mostly plastic but a screwed on chrome-like metal inlay sits on the foot pedal along with a raised metal area made to look like spikes (we'd like real spikes but for $20, we'll let it slide). It's also compatible with Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kits via a switch on the coiled cable. An included Dual Pedal Adaptor also lets Rock Band 2 and World Tour players play with their original pedal and the new metal pedal.


World Tour players have the most to gain since the petal is wider than the stock pedal and comes with four rubber pads that should solve the bass pedal drift that World Tour players are used to. Of course, there are cutouts for the Rock Band drum kit's cross bar and with two rubber inlays, players should find less side to side motion.

While it's highly recommended as a replacement for the stock pedal, getting our Rock Band 2 kit to recognize it took several attempts. Once working, the two rubber pads as the bottom of the pedal produce a nice "thock" sound as a smaller pad hits the sensor pad. There's one other issue too. While the metal plate should last quite a while, the plate itself has a chrome skeleton that looks cool but when surrounded by a smooth black surface, so boot wearing drummers might want to put on some sneakers instead.