ACX Headquarters

NOTE: Yet another draft that I’m posting that’s about six months old. Sorry, but I’m just giving some love to my poor blog.

Because I’m bored…and I want to do something today (no classes because of the storm passing through), I think I’m going to review the controllers I own, little by little. Note that I’m not going to be brief, but it’s not going to be a full article for each controller.

NES CONTROLLER

I’ll start things off with the NES controller. Nice little piece of device, which pretty much established the standards of what we see in controllers today: a directional pad instead of a joystick, two face buttons, and two “navigation” buttons – Start and Select. This singular setup may sound dated nowadays, but don’t you notice how many games out there mostly use two buttons for their game only? It’s simple, effective, and most of all, it gives you what you want. The NES controller was a beauty all by itself, although you may laugh a bit at its square design compared to other controllers that comfort in your hands. Still, it’s the granddaddy of all controllers out there, and I think it deserves a good score. 8/10.

SNES CONTROLLER

If the NES is the grandfather of all controllers, the SNES is obviously the father AND the most influential. There are two things in this controller that is a standard in modern controllers today: four face buttons arranged in a cross fashion, and two shoulder buttons. The shoulder buttons was something unique to the SNES until the PlayStation came out and gave us four of them in its controller, but here’s the thing I want to tell you: if my mom, who doesn’t know how to play the Wii (of all things!), can understand this controller, that means that it’s the best out there. Oh, and I want to give it bonus points for being the sturdiest thing alive. It has crashed down to the floor countless times and it still works. Talk about quality. 10/10

N64 CONTROLLER

Here’s where things get a bit weird. Nintendo, in an attempt to look revolutionary, released this huge-ass airplane controller. It sure looks like it needs three hands to use it, but that wasn’t the intention anyway. The whole idea was to make it comfortable for you when holding it and playing any kind of game, be it 2D or 3D. So if you need the Control Stick – a revolutionary piece for the industry, by the way), you don’t need the Control Pad, so it’s out of your way. In any case, you still have the requisite shoulder buttons (along with a Z-trigger), 6 face buttons (which sounds perfect for fighting games like Mortal Kombat), and a Start button in the middle. No Select button is seen, but for the sake of understanding, thanks to the fact that you are always selecting stuff using the stick or the D-pad, there’s no need to use the Select button. Besides, we’ve got more than enough buttons out there to worry about it, anyway. 8/10

SONY PLAYSTATION DUALSHOCK

I’ll be the first to admit it: Nintendo is a monster when it comes to revolution, but Sony is the one who does it better. When the PlayStation came out, its first controller was very similar to the SNES controller, only with a more ergonomic design and two more shoulder buttons added. When the N64 came out, Sony responded with making the Analog Pad, which added not one but TWO analog sticks in their controller. And when the Rumble Pak appeared, Sony duplicated them and made them integrated into the controller itself rather than making it an add-on. The payoff? It was the best controller made. Ever. When the PS2 came out, the DualShock 2 was the standard controller included, and since then the console slowly became the best-selling console of the decade. The DualShock is testimony of Sony’s creed of doing things better than anyone – it’s not only making copycats, it’s making it their own. It’s one of my favorite controllers, and while it owes every bit of its power to Nintendo, the fact that it’s as iconic as the NES or SNES controller proves that Sony knew what they were doing with this thing in the first place. 10/10

NINTENDO GAMECUBE CONTROLLER

Not to be outdone by Sony, Nintendo decided to counter the DualShock with this piece of artwork. The now standard dual analog sticks is now evidenced with the inclusion of a C-Stick instead of the four C-Buttons from the N64, and the rumble feature is now integrated into the controller. However, a few differences can be noticed: instead of placing the Control Stick at its side, it switched sides with the Control Pad. The face buttons are now weirdly arranged, placing the A button in the center and the B, Y and X button surrounding it. The Z button is now a simple digital shoulder button, while the L and R buttons have been upgraded to become analog shoulder buttons. The requisite Start button is now called the Start/Pause button – which it’s logical since most games use this button to pause anyway. As for what I think of it overall, I like its design except for a few details: one, I don’t like the small Control Pad. For games that require you to play with this small thing, it’s rather clumsy to be playing it down there, and it’s too small for my tastes. And two, the rubber grips on the Control Stick do wear overtime, so it’s not as durable as you think. Nevertheless, it’s a nice evolution to Nintendo’s quality of standards. 8/10

NINTENDO GAMECUBE WAVEBIRD WIRELESS CONTROLLER

What a name! The WaveBird has been known as the most popular GameCube controller for one simple, important reason: wireless. That’s right, Nintendo became the first company to introduce a first-party wireless controller to our houses. Of course, we were teased since they announced the Nintendo GameCube in 2000, as the WaveBird was shown along with the set of accessories that the Big N demonstrated. When it finally came out, it was adored by many. I gladly own one myself, and I can say that the freedom I’ve got with this makes me feel claustrophobic once I jump back to a wired controller. True, there’s no rumble, but that small price is worth playing your games freely without worrying about having your mom asking you to clean up the floors cables while she mops around your room. As for the rest, it’s all the same story as the original GCN controller – just no rumble and wires. But it’s better. 9/10

LOGITECH DUAL ACTION PC CONTROLLER

This controller has the same shape and design as an ordinary DualShock, but it’s for PC rather than for a game console. In that part, it’s a good thing – I’ve already stated that the DualShock is my favorite controller, and the familiarity helps. The only thing that I miss is, well, the rumble. But for the most part, it’s very well designed and it’s sturdy as any controller should be. I’m not very fond of the D-Pad, however. 9/10

Wii REMOTE

God, I hate this controller. Sorry, but I really do. Motion gaming was a novelty in 2006, and it’s a revolution as the Wii’s project name implied, but c’mon. I hate it for the simple fact that every single game *has* to play with the damn motion gaming. No other options like the GameCube controller or Classic Controller. Nope, you gotta play it by swinging it around or by pointing at the screen. Well, in reality, that’s the only thing I like about the Wiimote – point-n-click stuff is far more fun than swinging and shaking. But here’s the myriad of problems: only one face button at the reach of your hand, not counting the Control Pad. When turned sideways (something many games do to give you that “classic” feel), the controller doesn’t feel like a NES controller at all. Add the fact that some games actually ask you to use the B trigger while playing like this, and you might wonder yourself why the hell are you playing with a damn controller that’s so awkward to use in your hands. With that all said, it’s hard not to look past its achievements: it’s one of the most simple controllers out there, making it easy for people to jump in. And when hooking it up with a Nuchuck, it’s a pretty awesome controller for FPS games like Metroid, Resident Evil, or House of the Dead (though the latter doesn’t play with it, heh). But seriously, Nintendo. You should have included the Classic Controller in the console in the first place. Fatties won’t get up to do exercise with it – why bother? 6/10

Wii CLASSIC CONTROLLER PRO

Remember the original Classic Controller? it was a nice device, if you ask me. Devilishly similar to a SNES controller, the only three things different from it are the analog sticks, the two added Z buttons, and the Home button in the middle. It was meant for playing old-school Virtual Console games, but it could be used for other games as well, like Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Mario Kart Wii if you simply hate the Wiimote (like me). So what brings the Pro version to the table? Apparently, Nintendo finally decided to copy the entire DualShock setup into their newest controller. Designed mostly for all of those serious gamers who don’t give a f*** about motion gaming, the CC Pro is a nice upgrade to the old version. The Z buttons are now basically another set of triggers behind the old L and R buttons, which are now fully digital. The analog sticks are a bit farther from each other, minimizing the possibility of thumbs hitting each other while using both at the same time. And there’s some added grips, too. But overall, the CC Pro is basically what you can call the lovechild between the SNES and DualShock Controllers. Considering that both are excellent designs, it makes it all the more appealing. I still wish Nintendo could give us rumble on this one, however. I think it’s more of a limitation of the Wiimote itself – more reasons to hate the elongated travesty. 9/10

LOGITECH PS2 CORDLESS ACTION PAD

When I bought this thing, I did expect it to be of top quality; I already said that I loved the Pro Action Pad from PC, and that my favorite controller is the DualShock. I also like the wireless functionality of the WaveBird, and man oh man do I want me some rumble. So hell, it’s like the DualShock, the WaveBird, and the Pro Action had some weird Frankenstein child and came up with this. It’s so frickin’ awesome, I’ll give it a 10 even if it still has that stupid d-pad I always hate. It’s just. That. Good. 10/10