Inside of ten minutes, Jamie assembled the Renegade and plugged it into our crazy demo room set up. The chair needs an external power source to give it life, as well as an audio connection from your console (we went 360). Since our 360 is running digital audio out to our demo AV system, the normal red/white RCA cables were free, so Jamie didn‒t even have to use the included pass-through connectors. Slick! Once hooked up, the chair was a wonder to behold.

Not only is it comfy as hell (reclining seat, padded seat, back, head and armrests), but this chair is to other chairs what your car is to Vin Diesel’s Acura (or whatever was under all that plastic) from the Fast and Furious. The Renegade has 12 pants-kicking motors (eight in upper and lower back area, four in the seat cushion) that transcend mere “rumble,†speakers at head level, a drink holder on the left arm and a wicked flashing blue light underneath. I suggested that the next version of the Renegade incorporate either spinners or hydraulics, but only because I want to be Xzibit when I grow up. Both the rumble motors and the light can be fine-tuned using easy controls on the chair, which helps you dial in the precise frequency response you want for the effects. We hopped into the chair, leaned it back and threw DMC4 into the 360, then took a moment to get the Renegade set so that every time Nero fired Blue Rose there was a slight kick from the chair, followed by larger bumps and thumps for explosions or blasts of demonic hellfire.

The Renegade supports your head and neck with an adjustable headrest, and also comes with speakers that wrap around the left and right side of your skull. The speakers have volume controls that are separate from the rest of your audio gear, allowing you to play at night with just the chair‒s speakers on without waking roomies, parents or significant others with your video game shenanigans. If you need to go super-stealth, there‒s even a headphone jack on the side, so you can plug in and completely tune out the rest of the world. Best of all, when done nerding out, you can fold up the Renegade to a relatively smaller size and stash it somewhere out of view, which is good for keeping the wife from setting it on fire when you aren‒t looking.

Seth sez: “That chair is sweet. I prefer to keep my pulsing disco lights on the dancefloor, but the bass was in my face and I liked the adjustable headrest as well—nice to see a product that does not punish the tall men of the world for their natural superiority.†Chris Tou added, “I thought it was very cool. Immersive sound, vibrations, and the chair itself was actually pretty comfy. Also saw it when it was folded up, so it looks like it was easy to store as well.â€

With a little persuasion (aka, we wouldn‒t let him take it), Jamie agreed to let the Renegade take up a temporary residency in the Unity labs. So, if you‒re wondering what‒s holding up posts or forum moderation, it‒s a safe bet we‒re getting our bodies rocked while playing DMC4 in the demo room. Did we mention there‒s also a massage mode? To see more on the chair (and order online if you can‒t find it at retail), check out the website: http://www.ultimategamechair.com/products.php

UPDATE: the Ultimate Game Chair guys have created a 20% off retail price coupon for anyone interested in ordering one of the Renegade units. Enter “CAPCOM” in the coupon field when you order to save big.  This coupon is only good until 2/28/08, so take advantage of it while you can!