With the growing realism of peripherals for Rock Band (and now Guitar Hero), hardware is becoming more equipped to handle the lust some gamers have for making the experience as true as possible. Sure, playing guitar in a music game won’t give most people the courage or, most likely, the ability to play a real guitar, but as Rock Band developer Harmonix has pointed out on several occasions, playing the drums in their game can teach you to play on a real drum set.

Far be it from me to disagree with them. I’ve been teaching myself to play the drums slowly since Rock Band’s release last November, ever so slowly, and can complete several of the more difficult songs on Hard in Rock Band 2. I owe that to practice, and lots of it, as well as the hardware.

Recently, I’ve been testing out several different pieces of equipment for Rock Band, including the Pearl Omega P-120P Drum Pedal. This strangely designed game pedal looks and feels more like a real drum pedal than any other, which is both its greatest achievement and hold.

The Omega is made, as you can see, to be used like a real kick drum. The shaft physically hits the connector, which activates the drum in-game. Sure, a tacky-looking wire sticking out the side and held in place by black tape is what translates the physical action into a digital signal, but it also feels real, because it is real. Every kick is another hit on the drum, except this one makes sound through your speakers.