Waphlez
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As some of you may know I recently got a Xbox 360. I felt like doing this review because of the love and frustration I've experienced with this controller. The controller I am reviewing is the MadCatz Gamepad Pro Series.
MadCatz Gamepad Pro Series Xbox 360 Controller ^^^
Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless controller ^^^
Okay first the pros; lets talk about the design. There are four main features that make this a great controller. Firstly is the D-Pad, the Microsoft 360 controller's D-Pad was hard to give accurate movements because the design made it prone it pushing it in the wrong direction; however MadCatz used a traditional D-Pad style which made it very easy to press what you want to press. This is great for fighters like Dead or Alive 4 (which I use the D-Pad for) as getting the right combos was easier with the better precision.
The second major feature is the anologs. Microsoft's controller has great anologs but the Gamepad Pro's needs less force to move it around. This is good for me as I perfer this, but this may turn away some gamers who like amount of force as with the default controller. I find this great in shooters (first or third person). They also stick up alot taller, weither this is a better way, well I can't tell but MadCatz and Microsoft both have great anologs. But I find it to be a little easier to click the sticks on Microsoft's then the Madcatz's but none too bothersome.
The third is my most favorite feature of the controller which is the trigger and bumber buttons. I am usually a "two-finger" guy (both with the 360 controller and PS2 controller), which means I only use both pointer fingers on the shoulder buttons with my middlefingers pressed on the back on the controller (along with my ring and pinky fingers). But under certain situations and games I switch to "four-finger" meaning I have my pointer fingers on the bumper buttons (or L1 and R1 on the PS2) and my middle fingers on the triggers (or L2 and R2 on the PS2). I use four fingers on the Lost Planet demo because the bumper buttons are used for turning and the triggers for shooting and lobbing grenades and both (turning and attacking) need to be combined to effectivly eleminate enemies.
(You can see the placement differences between the two)
This is where I have a problem with the standard 360 controller. It feels so unnatural using four-fingers because the bumpers and triggers are placed both close together and the triggers are at somewhat of an angle giving an awkward feeling. The MadCatz design however has them spaced further apart and not directly below and above eachother. This makes it very comfortable to use four fingers to control.
The fourth and final pro is that it retails at $29.95 USD which is $10 cheaper then Microsoft's wired controller and $20 cheaper then their wireless one. Great value!
Okay now to the minor pros. Actually this one is both a bit of a pro and a con; it's wired. I consider wired being pro because of two things:
a) No need to worry about batteries
b)You can easily use it on a PC via USB port
Another minor addition is the invert switch on the back of the controller, it allows you to invert the y axis very easilly. I found this very useful because my friend uses invert and I use standard and we don't have to scuffle with making game profiles or menus so he can have his way.
The final minor pro is the injected rubber grip. I like this grip because it allows air to reach your palms preventing sweaty hands and controllers and they are quite comfortable.
Now here is where I have to get into the cons of the controller:
This is the most dissapointing flaw with the controller and it is a very big one. The standard Microsoft Xbox 360 headset for Xbox LIVE doesn't sit in the plug right. It constantly gives feedback (like your talking) weither or not you muted it or not. This essentally ruins online gameplay because you either annoy friends/teammates by having constant feedback from another players mic or not having one at all breaking down communication (if you decide to not drive other players insane with the annoying feedback). I have not tried other third party headsets with it to see if it works. This pretty much restricts it as the second player's controller, the "battery saver", or a offline controller. I have to revert to my standard wireless controller (which I still love to death) when I decide to play online. This is the only major con with this controller. This isn't just mine, everyone is like this at least from multiple websites.
The only two other minor cons is that it isn't wireless (which again is a plus and a minus) and the 360 button (the circular button in the center with the big Xbox logo on it) doesn't look nearly as good as the first-party Microsoft ones.
Notes:
The MadCatz design has a flat-like design to the front and back and this it is up to you to consider this a pro or a con ( I consider it more of a con really).
The MadCatz anolog sticks look skinny and fragile but I assure you they are tough and never felt like I was going to break it (like I did once with a third party N64 controller while spinning it with my palm).
The start and back (select) button are placed differently and shapped different too. Neither really bothered me so it isn't a pro or a con (to me anyway)
It also has a turbo button but I haven't yet found a good use for it.
You can also get the MadCatz controller in black (but I got white to match my console and other controller).
Verdict: 7.5/10
+ Great anolog, D-Pad, and trigger/bumper designs
+ Doesn't use batteries and can be used with a PC*
+ $10-$20 cheaper!**
- HUGE problem with Microsoft 360 headset
- It's wired and has cheap 360 button
I could easily give this controller a 9.5 if it wasn't for the major flaw with the headset which really killed my soul knowing I couldn't use it online. This is an awsome controller to use as a secondary controller for friends or if you don't have LIVE. But using it as your main with live is very frustrating as you can't use the mic unless you want to annoy others. And it not only gives feedback (muted or not) my voice is very low-quality from what other players said to me. To be total honest I am very satisfied with this controller as I wasn't planning on using it as my main controller anyway but as one me and a friend could use.
* The same can be done with other first and thrid-party wired controller
** Compared to wired and wireless Microsoft controllers
By the way, how do you feel about how I wrote this review? I don't want no suck-up "It's great (even though I don't think it is, I just don't want to hurt your felling blah blah blah)" responses.
MadCatz Gamepad Pro Series Xbox 360 Controller ^^^
Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless controller ^^^
Okay first the pros; lets talk about the design. There are four main features that make this a great controller. Firstly is the D-Pad, the Microsoft 360 controller's D-Pad was hard to give accurate movements because the design made it prone it pushing it in the wrong direction; however MadCatz used a traditional D-Pad style which made it very easy to press what you want to press. This is great for fighters like Dead or Alive 4 (which I use the D-Pad for) as getting the right combos was easier with the better precision.
The second major feature is the anologs. Microsoft's controller has great anologs but the Gamepad Pro's needs less force to move it around. This is good for me as I perfer this, but this may turn away some gamers who like amount of force as with the default controller. I find this great in shooters (first or third person). They also stick up alot taller, weither this is a better way, well I can't tell but MadCatz and Microsoft both have great anologs. But I find it to be a little easier to click the sticks on Microsoft's then the Madcatz's but none too bothersome.
The third is my most favorite feature of the controller which is the trigger and bumber buttons. I am usually a "two-finger" guy (both with the 360 controller and PS2 controller), which means I only use both pointer fingers on the shoulder buttons with my middlefingers pressed on the back on the controller (along with my ring and pinky fingers). But under certain situations and games I switch to "four-finger" meaning I have my pointer fingers on the bumper buttons (or L1 and R1 on the PS2) and my middle fingers on the triggers (or L2 and R2 on the PS2). I use four fingers on the Lost Planet demo because the bumper buttons are used for turning and the triggers for shooting and lobbing grenades and both (turning and attacking) need to be combined to effectivly eleminate enemies.
(You can see the placement differences between the two)
This is where I have a problem with the standard 360 controller. It feels so unnatural using four-fingers because the bumpers and triggers are placed both close together and the triggers are at somewhat of an angle giving an awkward feeling. The MadCatz design however has them spaced further apart and not directly below and above eachother. This makes it very comfortable to use four fingers to control.
The fourth and final pro is that it retails at $29.95 USD which is $10 cheaper then Microsoft's wired controller and $20 cheaper then their wireless one. Great value!
Okay now to the minor pros. Actually this one is both a bit of a pro and a con; it's wired. I consider wired being pro because of two things:
a) No need to worry about batteries
b)You can easily use it on a PC via USB port
Another minor addition is the invert switch on the back of the controller, it allows you to invert the y axis very easilly. I found this very useful because my friend uses invert and I use standard and we don't have to scuffle with making game profiles or menus so he can have his way.
The final minor pro is the injected rubber grip. I like this grip because it allows air to reach your palms preventing sweaty hands and controllers and they are quite comfortable.
Now here is where I have to get into the cons of the controller:
This is the most dissapointing flaw with the controller and it is a very big one. The standard Microsoft Xbox 360 headset for Xbox LIVE doesn't sit in the plug right. It constantly gives feedback (like your talking) weither or not you muted it or not. This essentally ruins online gameplay because you either annoy friends/teammates by having constant feedback from another players mic or not having one at all breaking down communication (if you decide to not drive other players insane with the annoying feedback). I have not tried other third party headsets with it to see if it works. This pretty much restricts it as the second player's controller, the "battery saver", or a offline controller. I have to revert to my standard wireless controller (which I still love to death) when I decide to play online. This is the only major con with this controller. This isn't just mine, everyone is like this at least from multiple websites.
The only two other minor cons is that it isn't wireless (which again is a plus and a minus) and the 360 button (the circular button in the center with the big Xbox logo on it) doesn't look nearly as good as the first-party Microsoft ones.
Notes:
The MadCatz design has a flat-like design to the front and back and this it is up to you to consider this a pro or a con ( I consider it more of a con really).
The MadCatz anolog sticks look skinny and fragile but I assure you they are tough and never felt like I was going to break it (like I did once with a third party N64 controller while spinning it with my palm).
The start and back (select) button are placed differently and shapped different too. Neither really bothered me so it isn't a pro or a con (to me anyway)
It also has a turbo button but I haven't yet found a good use for it.
You can also get the MadCatz controller in black (but I got white to match my console and other controller).
Verdict: 7.5/10
+ Great anolog, D-Pad, and trigger/bumper designs
+ Doesn't use batteries and can be used with a PC*
+ $10-$20 cheaper!**
- HUGE problem with Microsoft 360 headset
- It's wired and has cheap 360 button
I could easily give this controller a 9.5 if it wasn't for the major flaw with the headset which really killed my soul knowing I couldn't use it online. This is an awsome controller to use as a secondary controller for friends or if you don't have LIVE. But using it as your main with live is very frustrating as you can't use the mic unless you want to annoy others. And it not only gives feedback (muted or not) my voice is very low-quality from what other players said to me. To be total honest I am very satisfied with this controller as I wasn't planning on using it as my main controller anyway but as one me and a friend could use.
* The same can be done with other first and thrid-party wired controller
** Compared to wired and wireless Microsoft controllers
By the way, how do you feel about how I wrote this review? I don't want no suck-up "It's great (even though I don't think it is, I just don't want to hurt your felling blah blah blah)" responses.
