Who Is Your Daddy, And What Does He Do? (Xbox Official Controller S)

Member Name: Guile176

Product:	Xbox Official Controller S
Date:	06/04/03 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfort

Disadvantages: Black and White buttons are abit awkwardly placed

When the XBox launched back in November of 2001, one of the biggest
complaints by most gamers was its controller. It was not only
massive but the buttons were spaced just a little too close
together. When I first used it, I hated it. There was no way I could
get used to this thing I though. Thankfully, when I eventually got
my XBox on launch day along with a few games, I began using the
controller more and more and eventually got used to it. Heck, I even
grew to like it. I had really no problem with the size or the button
placement any longer.

Last winter the XBox launched out in Japan. Along with the launch
overseas came a newly designed pad for Japanese gamers. The design
was much smaller and featured better spacing between the buttons. I
was considering importing since it looked like a rather good pad and
it had gotten some very favorable reviews. Around the same time,
Microsoft announced it would be releasing the a slightly improved
version of the Japanese pad titled the Controller S. Looked
interesting and I wanted one. Not that I had much of a problem with
the standard XBox pad at this point, but as a hard-core gamer I
always like to have at least 2 different types of control pads for
each of my consoles.

Like I mentioned, the Controller S is much smaller then the original
XBox pad. Despite being smaller, it still features all the same
buttons and features as the original pad. You get 2 analog sticks
which can be pressed in as extra buttons, 1 digital D pad, 6 action
buttons on the face, 2 L and R shift buttons on the rear of the

controller and a back and start button on the face. Also featured
are a built in rumble feature, 2 expansion slots for memory cards
and other peripherals and a break away cord to avoid any unfortunate
tripping over the cord accidents.

The quality of the Controller S is second to none. Its built very
sturdy and feels as if it was really built to last. Like I mentioned
before, the 6 action buttons on the face of the controller are
spaced out much better then before. This is great for avoiding
accidental button presses. The L and R shift buttons also now have a
much loser and better feel to them from the rather stiff feeling
ones found on the original pad. This seems to make racing titles a
little easier on the fingers if you happen to have the gas and brake
configured to them.

Finally the digital D pad itself feels far better then the
originals. It has a far more precise feel to it that will be welcome
once Capcom decides to port over some of its popular fighting games.


I tried the Controller S with quite a few XBox titles of mines and
to my surprise, it out performed the original pad in every game.
With the 2 Tony Hawk titles, I found myself doing better then ever
before. In fact, the control felt better for the game then even the
standard Playstation controller in which the control scheme was
designed around. Next up was Halo. This one took me a little longer
to adjust to then Tony Hawk but within 5 minutes I felt right at
home and felt more in control then ever. Some of the other titles I
tried were Azurik, Rallisport Challenge, SSX Tri
cky, DOA 3 and
Morrowind. Like I mentioned earlier, the Controller S was better on
everything.

Now, the Controller S is not without its flaws. In my opinion,
there's only 2 flaws which i've found so far. Those flaws are the
placement of both the Black and White action buttons and the Back
and Start buttons. The Black and White buttons are now placed just
below the A, B, X, Y keys instead of more towards the top of the pad
like before. They seem a little awkward to hit on the fly and may be
a problem if your playing a title that requires frequent presses of
them. So far though, I haven't really had any kind of problems with
them.

As for the Start and Back buttons, its much the same story. These
keys were taken from the center of the pad and moved over to just
below the left analog stick. They seem a little awkward to hit on
the fly. However, these shouldn't really be too much of a problem
where they are since these 2 keys aren't really used too much in any
title. These are mostly used for either selecting options in menus
or calling up pause or status screens in games.

Overall, i'd highly recommend the Controller S to anyone that owns a
XBox. You can pick one up for around $30-40 at most stores and its
well worth the cost. No, its not perfect but the Controller S is now
my second favorite control pad of all time right below the ultra
perfect Saturn pad. Great Job Microsoft.

Summary: