What is it? It’s the Xbox 360’s official controller.
What did it cost you? It was included with my system, but it retails for $50.
How long have you owned it? Since Spring ’06.
PROS
- TRIGGERS – Seriously, these things are a necessity for racing games and shooters. With triggers, you can modulate the throttle with vehicles much more easily… and with shooters, going back to pressing a button to shoot is unbearable. They feel solid, and not cheap (like the PS3’s Sixaxis’ triggers). The triggers are also concave, so they won’t let sweaty fingers slip off them in a thousand years.
- ANALOG STICKS – They’re stubby, which allows for easier control. On the top of the sticks, there’s a concave indention with little bumps around it… and that gives you a lot of grip.
- ERGONOMICS – This is the most comfortable controller I have ever used. Ever. It literally feels like it’s molded to your hands. You just can’t beat it.
- WIRELESS – You’ll have no cords to deal with, plus there’s no control lag at all. Plus it has great range.
- RING OF LIGHT – This button is the berries. Press it once, and the dashboard comes up, allowing you to exit the game or turn some custom music on or message/invite your friends, etc etc. Hold it down while the system is on, and you can either turn off the controller or turn off the console. Hold it down while the X360 is on, and it turns on. Plus, around the button there are four light quadrants that show you which controller you’re using. Very sleek.
- RUMBLE – You just gotta love it. While it’s not ground breaking, it brings a certain… immersion to your games.
- AESTHETICS – The controller itself look very good, very stylish. It’s the same color that helped Apple profit $1,000,000,000 last quarter. For a Mac fan such as myself, it looks great.
- D-PAD – It’s a cheap piece of crap. It’d decent enough for games that only use it as something to order commands (or other small tasks like that), but if you want to use it for the Xbox Live Arcade, you’re going to be frustrated. Luckily, only some people want to use the D-Pad for 2D games (like Pac-Man), so this is only a minor complaint.
Conclusion: This is quite honestly one of the best controllers I’ve ever used, if not the best. Normally, I think Microsoft totally sucks at making hardware (Zune, X360 loudness anyone?), but they surprisingly made a near perfect controller. Just fix the d-pad, and it’ll be flawless.
Official Site
