I need a new Xbox controller!

Cafe Society
1

I love both my Xbox and my PS2. I don’t want this to degenerate into yet another Xbox vs. PS2 debate, but one area where I love my PS2 more is the default controller. I HATE the controllers that came with the Xbox, so I’ve decided I need to get a new, third-party one. So I’m looking for recommendations. Anyone have one they’re particularly happy with? Also, I’ve seen an adaptor that connects the PS2 controller to the Xbox. Anyone tried this? How’s it work out?

Here’s why I dislike the Xbox controller, so you know what I’m looking for:

  1. It’s big and bulky. This has been complained about many times before by many other people, but it’s true. It just feels uncomfortable. The PS2 controller, on the other hand, feels perfectly natural in my hands.

To be honest, this is a pretty minor point, and the least of my complaints. I also know Microsoft makes a smaller version of the default controller, but I don’t wanna get it, for my other two reasons.

  1. Look at the buttons and pad on the PS2 controller. They’re made of a softer plastic, and flat. What this means is, I can use the controller for a long time, and the buttons don’t press into my fingers.

The buttons on the Xbox controller, on the other hand, seem to be made of a harder plastic. And they’re not flat; the buttons are ‘sharply’ rounded, and after using them for a while, they begin to press into my fingers, and it starts to hurt. The pad (which is easier for me to use than the thumbstick, because of the size of the controller), has ridges which do the same thing: dig into my fingers. Ouch. Yeah, I’m a baby. But I use the controller hard, and it hurts after playing for a while. The PS2 controller doesn’t.

  1. Okay, both the Xbox controller and the PS2 controller have thumbsticks, which are great for when you want extreme, 180-degree accuracy of movement. But you don’t always want this degree of exact accuracy. In some games, when you want to hit ‘up’, you want to hit ‘up’, not ‘up and evvvvvvvver so slightly to the right’. This is important in such games as Tony Hawk and SSX, where the tricking systems are based on ‘up, right-X’ type combos. On the PS2, this works out fine with the four-direction pad. But on the Xbox’s round directional pad, this can present problems. In the heat of the game, you might think you’re hitting ‘up’, when in fact, you’re hitting ever so slightly to the right of it, and the trick you thought you were about to pull off is gone.

So. Any Xboxers out there have a controller they wanna recommend that might fit my exacting needs?

2

I know you said you didn’t think the Controller Type S was an option, but I’m gonna make an argument for it.

Much more comfortable - I have fairly large hands, and it’s a very comfortable fit, unlike the old controller. Plus, the buttons aren’t that bad, and I play a lot.

As far as the D-Pad, I never liked the PS/PS2 one, because it didn’t have the diagonals where I could hit them fairly easy. Then again, I played more Street Fighter-type games than Tony Hawk games, so that could be part of it.

If you’ve got a buddy with a Type S, try it for a while. You might like it.

3

The Type S is much better, but the buttons are the same, and they still hurt after mashing 'em a while.

I’d like to know if those adapters are any good as well, actually.

4

I love the original X-Box controllers. My PS-2 controller feels alien in my hands now…it’s just so tiny!

I don’t think I’ve ever used the directional pad on the X-Box. But I mostly play Madden’s and Halo, so I need the finely tuned control.

The biggest complaint I have is that the curved design of the controller causes it to fly outta my hands like a friggin rocket if the cord gets caught on something. Combine that with hardwood floors, and I’ve bought far too many of those damn things.