Wireless controllers for video game consoles are all the rage, so it's no shock that we're seeing more battery rechargers such as Nyko's Power Kit 360 amongst the ranks of video game console accessories.

This inexpensive video game console accessory is a third-party version of Microsoft's own Play & Charge Kit that sells for $5 more, with a cord that's one foot longer. It performs in the same manner as the first-party accessory: there's a NiMH battery pack for your wireless controller and a cable that plugs into your controller and to a USB port on the Xbox 360.

You can play games as the battery pack recharges, although you're tethered by the cable during the recharge. But as video game console accessory's cable is 11 feet long, so you've got room to lean back on your couch during the recharge process.

Since it's getting its power via the USB port, the battery pack doesn't charge as quickly as a recharger hooked up to an AC adapter. But you can charge a fully-depleted battery pack in around six hours with the PowerKit--and you can keep playing games the whole time.

There's an LED indicator on the end of the cable that plugs into your controller. It glows red while charging and then switches to green when the battery pack is close to being fully charged. There's no indicator on the battery pack itself to tell how much life is left, but you can access a battery gauge within the Xbox Dashboard.

The only problem is that when you're running low during gameplay, you don't want to bring up the Dashboard to tell how much life is left. But a fully-charged battery pack offers up to 25 hours of game time, so that's a rare occurrence.

An investment in a video game console accessory such as the Power Kit will pay for itself in replacement batteries, especially for avid gamers. And it works as well as Microsoft's version at a reasonable price of $14.99. The only mark against it is the short 90-day warranty, but the accessory is simple enough that you shouldn't run into any problems that would need warranty coverage.

If you've been replacing AA batteries in your Xbox 360 wireless controller often, the Nyko Power Kit 360 video game console accessory will save you money in the long run.


Pros: Can play and recharge at the same time
Cons: Short warranty

Warranty
90-day limited