Having had my 360 since launch, I’ve been dealing with the wired and wireless Microsoft controllers since day one. There was one major issue that seemed to be common to all Microsoft controllers that were owned by myself and my friends. The issue was that the left analog stick would stray to the upper left on it’s own after a while. With my friends, it was one direction or the other, but for the most part the issue is that the stick fails to operate correctly after a period of time. I’ve never had this issue with any other analog sticks on any other systems in the past or present. Another issue, which wasn’t a defect but a design flaw, was the d-pad design. It’s basically a flat plastic disc that, when tilted, presses a direction button. This design does NOT work for fighters and felt very clumsy to use. Microsoft even acknowledged this issue and designed a new controller that has a “transforming” d-pad. What this does is, if you turn the d-pad, the plastic space between the up, down, left, and right arrows on the d-pad sink into the controller so it feels more like a traditional d-pad and not a round piece of plastic. I’ve never used this or talked to anyone who has, so if you would like to share your experiences in the comments or on the forum, I’d be glad to know your experiences. Another design flaw are the face buttons (A, B, X, and Y). I always call these the big jellybeans because they stick out too far from the controller and you have to press them really hard for it to register a button press. This is VERY bad for fighters (as well as the original d-pad disc thing). The d-pad and face buttons don’t really bother me in any other genres since fast and accurate button presses aren’t required. For fighting games like Mortal Kombat 9 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3, you MUST have lightning fast and accurate usage of the face buttons and the d-pad (unless you’re one of those wizards that can perform magic with a thumbstick in a fighter).
To replace the defective Microsoft pad, my nephew bought the PDP Afterglow AX.1 controller. At first I really liked it. The bumper buttons felt better, the thumbsticks seemed looser, it even had a lighting option which flashes lights all over the inside of the controller whenever the rumble is activated. What I didn’t like right off the bat was that the face buttons and the d-pad were exactly the same as the original 360 pad, meaning this was another pad that just wasn’t meant for fighters. Not only that, but after a few weeks the same problem happened with the left analog stick (which took several years before the same problem started happening with my original Microsoft pad). The problem isn’t as frequently noticeable, but I know it’s only going to get worse. Overall I can’t recommend the AX.1 as a decent replacement for the original pad, however I did find it felt better using it with shooters and racers before the analog stick started to list to the left on it’s own.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was released shortly after and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get the most out of my fledgling fighter skills with either the original pad or the AX.1. The problem was that the only options I had were either the Mad Catz Street Fighter 4 FightPad or an arcade/fight stick. My issues with the FightPad were that the buttons on the face were Right Bumper and Righter Trigger. Right Bumper being right there on the face was nice because then I can call in one of my assists and/or switch characters. Having Right Trigger there was pointless thought, seeing as I only ever use that when I want to activate X-Factor. The only other option was to buy the limited edition Mad Catz Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fight stick. That was way outside of my price range, at about $160. Lo and behold I found the best option yet, the PDP Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fight pad. Designed for MvC3, right and left bumper are right on the face of the controller, the analog sticks were removed, and the d-pad was made a whole new way which I think is the best design feature of the whole thing. Instead of a d-pad which hits 4 buttons (up, down, left, right, or a combination of two buttons to make diagonals), they used a small analog nub that presses 8 microswitch buttons (up, down, left, right, and 4 buttons for the diagonals) for more accurate directional inputs. The face buttons are also much easier to press than the AX.1 and Microsoft pads, as they’re made much like fight stick buttons, flat pieces of plastic on microswitch buttons. The face buttons have barely any distance between raised and depressed so the input is much faster. If you only intend on playing MvC3 as a fighter, get this PDP pad. This is my tool of fighting destruction.
(keep in mind that’s concept model, the sticks aren’t that big)
I don’t only play that one game though, obviously. I still needed a replacement for all other uses. Seeing as the AX.1 was a colossal failure, my next option was the brand new Razer Onza Tournament Edition controller. Let me start off by saying that at first I was blown away, but now I’m noticing one big drawback. First awesome feature, the extra shoulder buttons that can be assigned to any button press, even the thumbstick press counts. This is great for some shooters because then I can have grenade, weapon switch, and fire be on the same side, and 2nd grenade, weapon switch, and aim on the same side. It makes it a lot easier. Or I can use the bumpers as sprint or melee if I don’t want to use thumbsticks at all. It’s all up to me how I have them set up. Another plus is the adjustable thumbstick resistances. All you do is twist the thumbstick and it either becomes looser or tighter. This is useful in games that just don’t have enough stick sensitivity options, or if you just want to fine tune the settings that are already there. What’s nice is that they’re independent, so you can adjust each stick to your liking. In shooters, tightening the left stick makes precision aiming (like, say, with a sniper) much more accurate, and loosening the stick is better if you’re spraying and praying (like with a LMG). Another bonus is that the face buttons are way easier to press than the AX.1 or Microsoft pad (however not designed like the PDP MvC3 pad), which should make this a decent fighter controller if it weren’t for one flaw… the D-pad. Designed as 4 independent buttons, it isn’t all that accurate, and being raised off the controller, it is basically harder to press the buttons than the AX.1 and Microsoft face buttons. This is terrible for fighters, and more in line for better menu navigation. It’s decently accurate but too hard to press for any kind of reflexive action. The final feature that I’m glad for is the elongated triggers. They’re longer, so you can double tap for faster semi-auto fire, and the distance between squeezed and released is shorter so you can get the shots in faster. This is definitely a controller that I favor for shooters. I tried it with a few racers, and with the sticks tightened just a bit, it does really well. For every other genre it fairs just as well as any other controller, it’s just not good for fighters unless you’re one of those thumbstick fighting wizards. The only other flaw in the Onza is the cable. It’s nice that it’s braided so it’s VERY unlikely you’ll ever see breakage unless you happen to feed it to a pack of wolves. The problem is that it’s entirely too long, at 15 feet long. I don’t ever play more than 6 feet away from the TV, so having that extra 9 feet of cable all over the place (which is very stiff, so it’s always in different bends and never just flat on the ground) leads to a very hazardous walking space.
All in all, the PDP MvC3 pad is my fighting pad of choice, and the Razer Onza is my general use black pad of death. I have Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition on pre-order, so I will have that Mad Catz MK limited edition fight stick to play with. I’ll fill you all in on how that fares. I know it will be like the PDP MvC3 pad and only be useful for one game, but I still want to see how it performs and if it’s worth the $90 price difference between the retail version and the tournament edition (Priced at $150). Comment or post in the forums and let us know what controllers you all favor. I’d love to hear about PS3 and Wii options.
