Cool Rhythm Score: 99% Developer: Nuby Device Type: Accessory

Function: The beloved PlayStation has undergone many slight changes throughout its history -- different models have different sized chipsets, an added feature here or there -- but none of them ever REALLY addressed its original downfall completely: shag carpet. Yes, the newer models have been less susceptible to overheating, but evidently, the engineers never heard of (or at least never considered) deep, comfy, shag carpet. In a related note, it seems that most video gamers set their videogame consoles up on carpeted surfaces to play them. (This is most likely due to the above mentioned ?comfy? aspect of carpet.) These two factors have traditionally come together to cause glitches, game freezes, and various types of general mayhem resulting in hours of lost work (okay, play, but it?s still an aggravation).

Performance: Nuby?s Cool Rhythm addresses this heating problem in a couple of ways. First, the Cool Rhythm acts as a stand for your PlayStation. This lifts your system a couple of inches off of the floor (high enough to evade the shaggiest of carpets). Second, the Cool Rhythm has a built-in circulating fan to keep air flowing across the bottom of your PlayStation. I tested the Cool Rhythm in a Silent Hill-spree, followed by some good ?ole RPG playing,? and the unit does its job well. I have not yet taken any temperature readings for comparison, but I will do so in the near future. Let me say this, however. While the bottom of my PlayStation usually gets hot during long sessions such as my test, with the Cool Rhythm, it wasn?t even WARM. Once Nuby figured out a way to keep the PlayStation cool, they figured they?d add some extra features while they were at it. So, they added a pair of amplified speakers on the front of the unit (and of course, volume and on/off controls for the speakers), a headphone jack (so you can keep playing your favorite game into the wee hours of the night without disturbing others), and a storage compartment large enough for 14 memory cards (we ALL have at least 14 memory cards, right? And, finally, to keep it compatible with everything, they included a video and audio pass thru. This means that you can still plug your PlayStation into whatever audio device you want (such as your TV or stereo system), and also use the speakers on the Cool Rhythm.

Features: PlayStation stand Circulating fan Stereo speakers Headphone jack Storage compartment for memory cards

Drawbacks & Problems:: The only problem I encountered while testing the Cool Rhythm involved using it in conjunction with the Xploder game enhancer cartridge. It seems that the Cool Rhythm unit was designed to filter out any interference it caused itself, but when the PlayStation is connected to the computer (to grab screen shots, etc.) the stereo speakers experienced a distinct and annoying ?buzz.? (This was not the case when a game enhancement cartridge was used without a connection to the computer.)

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins