The Nyko Charge Base IC for the Nintendo Wii is without a doubt one of the best accessories for the Wii next to the Wii Motion Board or Wii Motion Plus. Even though standard AA batteries have a long life in your Wii-mote, you will inevitably be forced to replace your battereis at the wrong time – like right in the middle of a Wii party with friends. The Nyko Charge Base IC offers a cost effective recharging solution with a few technical upgrades that make it one must have accessory.
Much like prior Wii-mote charge stations, the IC offers the ability to charge two Wii-motes at once. The difference is that this charge station has two magnetic cradles, which will let you charge a Wii-mote with the Wii Motion Plus Accessory or with a standard silicone sleeve. The cradle holds up the Wii-mote so that it is free floating. This eliminates the hassle of having to de-sleeve to replace AA batteries or simply to put your stripped Wii-mote in a standing charger.
One of my favorite features is the power button. Prior charging accessories you may leave in your charger over night, or even for a week when you are not using. Though some people claim the newer rechargeable batteries don’t have a memory, I have seen several Wii rechargeable batteries become useless from being left idle in a charge station. The IC lights up bright green to remind you that the charge station is on and you can turn it off with a quick press of the button. When you put a Wii-mote in the cradle, the neon light will turn blue to indicate that it is charging.
The IC uses a power pass-thru port, so that you can always have an extra socket. Once you plug the base station’s plug into the wall, you can plug any other device right into the base station’s plug. Though daisy chaining multiple devices is less accepted to a surge protector, it is an excellent feature because everyone runs out of free sockets from time to time. Another excellent feature Nyko added is a USB power port. Now, I no longer have to turn on my computer to charge my USB devices (like my phone, camera or Touch). Instead, I can simple tap a button and charge USB devices and Wii-motes simultaneously. The IC also comes with a key so you can sync your Wii-mote to your Wii without taking out the battery. Thank you, Nyko. Now, only if I didn’t have to take off the Wii-motion Plus too, I’d be in complete bliss.
The only thing I’m not a fan of is the adhesive tape used at the bottom of the device. This is supposed to keep the unit in place, which is fine, but for gamers who are always moving things around (like myself) will run the risk of the sticky base eventually losing its grip.
Whether you are in the market for a charge station or still have one of the older sations without the convenience of a power button, the Nyko Charge Base IC is one must-own accessory for you.
Accessory Name: Nyko Charge Base IC
Unlike the Charge Base IC, The Nyko Action Pak is somewhat less impressive. The pack consists of a Wand (which is Nyko’s version of a Wii-mote), a Pistol-grip and a silicone sleeve. For the most part, the Wand is the same as the Wii-mote. You can press the A-button and the B-button simultaneously to see the charge on the Wand.
The Pistol Grip allows you to insert the Wand into the grip so that you can play rail shooter games like you’re right at the Arcade. The only problem is getting the Wand in the Pistol Grip. The instructions just happened to leave how that’s done out. So, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. If you’ve used a gun, you may figure out the mechanics for inserting the gun a little more easily. You’ll have to pull the back of the gun back so that the wand can slide in. Then you have to push it forward so it snaps into place. The first time you do it, you will think you’re going to break the gun, but don’t worry you’ll be fine. Once it’s in you can activate the A and B buttons digitally. However, getting the gun out is another problem all together as it requires a fair bit of force.
The action pack somewhat defies the charge station because you can’t use the rechargeable pack. You’ll have to take out the rechargeable pack and use AA batteries. Nyko has made charge stations in the past so it was sad to see they didn’t find a way to take this into consideration.
There’s an orange grip for the front of the gun, but it’s there just in case you don’t want to look like your Wand and Pistol Grip combo was a real gun.
The Action Pak is a nice accessory if you’re into on-rails shooters. However, the mechanics of actually setting it up is on the difficult side. Also, not being able to use your rechargeable batteries is a definite buzz kill.
Accessory Name: Wii Wand Action Pak
