Review of Controllers - Chronicle - Updated on the 9th of March 2003 Here's my first chronicle for my homepage of pointless garbage. Below, some different controllers are reviewed according to my opinions. So I'm not preaching about right or wrong, simply opinions. I've copied this idea from a Swedish site: cuben.net but the content is all mine. All of the below categories have comments and ratings from 1 to 10. Check the criteria and you'll get a translation of my system. In short: 10 is perfect, 5 is mediocre and below that is crap. If I like the feature it probably gets a nine or eight. Ergonomics: How good it feels to hold the controller, if you can play a long time without problems. Buttons: How comfortable the buttons are. Buttons (Positions): How well they are positioned. Flexibility: How well the controller fits different genres. Appearance: How good it looks. Extremely subjective. New Features: Most controllers have something new to brag with. I rate the new things here. My Grade: My subjective opinion of the controller. +/-: You'll find a "+" and a "-" after My Grade, here I list what I think is the best and worst feature of the controller. The Sum: Here I sum up all of the points. Categories that don't get any grade is counted as 5. Microsoft X-Box --------------- This review is to be taken with a huge pillar of salt due to the fact that I've only played X-Box twice. The X-Box controller (American version) is a big black Dreamcast like thing. It has six action buttons to the right and a control stick and a digital pad to the left. Under the controller are two analogue shoulder buttons. In the middle of the controller there is a huge logo and also a Start and a Back buttons. Ergonomics 7/10 I was really surprised when I tested it. Many have complained about this controller, because it's too big and uncomfortable. I guess the size was perfect for my hands because I found it pretty comfortable. But if your hands are just a tad smaller than mine, it might be hard to get a good grip. Buttons 3/10 No, no, no. Sure, they're pretty, but extremely hard and they're pointing in an annoying direction. Buttons (Positions) N/A Haven't played enough. Flexibility N/A Haven't played enough. Appearance 5/10 It's a big black block. I find nothing appealing with this one. The big X in the middle just feels like so typical Microsoft. New Features 4/10 A "Back" button and two extra action buttons. Is that all? My Grade N/A It just wouldn't be fair. I haven't played enough. + Fits my hands perfectly - Terrible buttons The Sum: 34/70 or 19/40 Nintendo 64 ----------- A controller to hate or love. It was really something new when the N64 was released. It's divided into three different sections, three handles which was very new and it hasn't been imitated much. The left most part has the classic digital pad and a shoulder button. The right part has buttons: two action buttons and four camera controlling buttons. That part has a shoulder button as well. The middle part has a Start button, a control stick and a trigger button below. There's also a socket for different accessories. The shaking Rumble Pack, an unnecessary Memory Card and a game boy information transporter named Transfer Pack. Ergonomics 9/10 Very comfortable. Some may find it too big and heavy but it's rather light without a Rumble Pack. At least it fits perfectly into my hands. Buttons 8/10 All buttons are soft and easy to push but the C buttons are too small, good thing you don't use them too much. The control stick is nice at first, but it wears out very quickly and that's very bad. Buttons (Positions) 8/10 I'm not too found of this part. The A and B buttons are well positioned as well as the Z and R buttons. The C buttons are not though, but they aren't supposed to be used in the action anyway. The control stick has a very nice centred position. Flexibility 6/10 The Nintendo 64 controller is good for most genres but when it comes to fighting, it's not good. Many complain about the digital pad, but foremost the lack of action buttons. The A and B aren't enough and the C buttons shouldn't be used like that. Appearance 8/10 Elegant, clean, rounded. I like the design. It may look like it's made for people with three hands though. New Features 9/10 The controller holds an analogue control stick which enables very accurate gameplay in 3D environments. That's the main feature. The Z button below works as a trigger button and that one is great and new as well. Buying a Rumble Pack enables the controller to shake when you get hit in a game. Even though I didn't find this too exciting this was another new feature in the home console industry. My Grade 8/10 Some love it, some hate it. I love it. It has many cons, but the very comfortable ergonomics, the soft buttons and the many new features make up for any cons. But why didn't Nintendo make a new version of the controller when they saw that the control stick got worn out so extremely easily. + Very good ergonomics - The control stick wears out too quickly The Sum: 54/70 Nintendo Entertainment System ----------------------------- It has two red buttons to the right, a start and a select button in the middle and a digital pad to the left. Ergonomics 2/10 No, I'm not nostalgic about this one. Let's be honest, it's bad. It's a rectangular brick with sharp edges which offers no comfort at all. Buttons 4/10 A slow digital pad and small buttons with craters in. Buttons (Positions) 7/10 Two action buttons and a pad. You can reach all buttons at once. There's nothing to be critical about. Flexibility 8/10 The controller development hadn't come far so this controller was OK for every type of game. Appearance 5/10 It's grey and not rounded anywhere. New Features N/A My Grade 5/10 I don't know what to say. It was released almost 20 years ago. + It's so simple - As uncomfortable as they come The Sum: 36/70 or 31/60 Nintendo Gamecube ----------------- Nintendo's most recent controller is loved by many, hated by few. Great mix between the Dual Shock, the Nintendo 64 controller and the Dreamcast controller. The shape is similar to the Dual Shock. The control stick, the buttons and the round design are inspired by the Nintendo 64 controller and L and R buttons are taken from the Dreamcast controller. It has a control stick in the upper left corner and a digital pad to the right below the control stick. There is a large green A button in the middle of the right side of the controller and it's surrounded by B, Y and X buttons. Slightly below the buttons is an analogue C stick. It has a Start/Pause button in the smack middle of it. There's one pair of analogue L and R buttons positioned on top of it. And there's a worthless Z button on top of the R button. Ergonomics 10/10 This is the most comfortable controller I've ever held in my hands. It fits my hands great and I think it does the same to most hands, large as well as small. Buttons 9/10 Great here as well. All of the buttons are round and soft. They are also very easy to depress. The control sticks has rubber surfaces which unables your thumbs to slip. The sticks are tilted perfectly. The L and R buttons are shaped to fit the index fingers extremely well. Buttons (Positions) 8/10 Terrific new button set-up. Having the A button in the centre with the other buttons around is great. It works well in most games. I have hardly used the digital pad at all but I've heard its position is worthless. Just as the position of the left control stick of the Dual Shock is worthless. The control stick is very centred though and that's great. It's on the control stick the thumb find its place first. The L and R buttons have great positions as well, but the Z button on this controller is as worthless as a wool coat in the middle of the desert. You cannot reach it well at all. Then you must remove the right index finger from the nice R button. The C button's position is not great, but it's not used that often anyway. Flexibility 7/10 Works well for most genres, but I think it's bad for the fighting games. The digital pad has a worthless position. It's tough to reach it. Then we have the button placement. Great for most genres but not for fighting. Appearance 9/10 I like it a lot. Round everywhere, smooth, clean colours and a nice logo on the top. New Features 7/10 Not much. You could say the wireless controller Wavebird. It never breaks contact and it's neat to stop worrying about people ripping down machines from the shelves. It's also a nice feeling to play without cords. It eats two batteries per 100 game hours and it doesn't shake, but I prefer it over the normal one. My Grade 9/10 My favourite. May lack some things, but its ergonomics are so great, nothing can compare with it. + Must be the ergonomics, best ever - The Z button The Sum: 59/70 Sega Dreamcast -------------- Sega's space ship like controller. It's round to the shape with a control stick and a digital pad to the left and four "Super NES" action buttons to the right. There's a digital button and a control stick just below on the left side and a start button in the middle. It has two analogue buttons underneath. There are two sockets between those buttons where you can have the VMU memory card with the display and rumble pack. Ergonomics 6/10 Too small somehow. My fingers can't stop packing together underneath the controller. They are pressed towards the underside and that's not funny. Then handles are quite comfortable though. It becomes really heavy with two VMUs inside. Buttons 6/10 The action buttons are soft and easy to depress but I don't like the control stick and the digital pad. The control stick feels like it's stuck in glue and it's much too small and too hard to get a good grip on. The digital pad is just uncomfortable. The L and R buttons is a good idea but they are very hard and it's tough to depress. My finger aches after awhile. Buttons (Positions) 8/10 All of the buttons are easy to reach and that's great but the control stick is too high up. Flexibility 8/10 Play any games you like. Appearance 8/10 I like the space ship like round appearance. It looks pretty neat. New Features 7/10 There are two major new features with this controller. First, the analogue shoulder buttons came to life: the L and R buttons are positioned on the underside. It's great in racing games and a very good idea, but I find them very uncomfortable and hard to depress. The other new thing is the VMU memory card. There's a hole in the front side of the controller where you can watch the memory card's small display. In some games you must watch the VMU for certain information. Sure, it's a neat thing, but I've never really understood the purpose of it. At least I find it difficult to watch the controller at the same time as I play. My Grade 7/10 It looks neat but I don't like it that much. It's no serious cons but it hasn't much to brag about either. + It looks neat - Uncomfortable analogue buttons The Sum: 50/70 Sony Playstation/Sony Playstation2 ---------------------------------- Overrated... It has a digital pad to the left and a set of four action buttons to the right. It has two pairs of shoulder buttons on top. Start and Select buttons are also included. On the upgrade to this controller came also two control sticks and a rumble feature. Ergonomics 5/10 Not good. It's so small, too small for my hands. You can't really decide where to hold the controller. Am I to have the middle fingers on the L2 and R2 buttons? Then the grip will be unsteady. Shall I have the middle fingers with the rest of the fingers? Then they will suffocate. Why did Sony inclide those stupid buttons. No one has imitated them in that department so why stick with them. Buttons 7/10 Not too much to complain about here, only that the digital pad is very uncomfortable. They copied the Super NES controller so much that they could have taken that controller's perfect pad as well. The sticks are all right, although they are a little weak. The shoulder buttons are good. Buttons (Positions) 7/10 The four action buttons are positioned all right, but not the analogue sticks. Their positions are very uncomfortable and hard to reach. You have to bend your thumbs a lot to find these (the left one only, really) important buttons. I don't like the positions of the L and R buttons either. Shoulder buttons are for index fingers. The middle fingers are supposed to hold the controller. Flexibility 9/10 Here's where the controller shines. It fits practically all genres. Nothing that really stops you. Appearance 5/10 Very compact. I don't like the design, that's maybe because I dislike the whole controller (except the flexibility). It's very dull, sharp and the buttons look so ugly. New Features 5/10 The original Playstation controller was really only a Super NES controller with handles, a second pair of L and R buttons and an uncomfortable digital pad. That's nothing to brag with. Then came the Dual Shock with double analogue sticks positioned badly. Sure it was a new thing with double analogue sticks, but the Nintendo 64 had already introduced the single one and the second one is not used in many games. It also came with built in rumble to compete with the Rumble Pack on Nintendo 64. That was a nice thing for those who like the effect. My Grade 6/10 So overrated you don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Sure it fits most games very well, but what do we have then? Nothing? + Fits most genres - The ergonomics The Sum: 44/70 Super Nintendo Entertainment System ----------------------------------- The Super NES controller reminds me of a pair of glasses. It has a digital pad to the left and a set of four action buttons in different colours to the right. Two shoulder buttons are positioned on the top. It also has a Start button and a Select Button. Ergonomics 8/10 Nothing to complain about here. It's nice to hold and it's so simple it fits most hands. Buttons 8/10 Soft buttons and they are easy to depress. Best digital pad ever. It has just the right size and it's very soft. Buttons (Positions) 8/10 Great. For your left thumb you have the perfect digital pad and for your right thumb a selection of four buttons to press. You can reach the shoulder button easily with your index fingers. I miss a real "confirm" button though. Flexibility 9/10 Can't think or a game it didn't fit in its period of time. Has four action buttons, a digital pad and shoulder buttons. The game producers didn't ask for more back then. Appearance 8/10 Nice and smooth. The different coloured buttons look very neat. The shape reminds me of a pair of glasses. New Features 8/10 It introduced the shoulder buttons, better and more buttons and a nicer grip. Think of the NES button and then hold your Super NES button. These new features are really very heavy. My Grade 9/10 One of my favourites. It's very good all over. It has very few cons. Great controller, as simple as that. + All-over great - Nothing The Sum: 58/70 Below I've ranked all of the controllers in the different categories. Again, don't take this seriously. Especially not about the X-Box and NES ratings because I haven't played those consoles enough to give a fair judgement. Ergonomics Buttons Buttons (P) Flexibility ---------- ------- ----------- ----------- Gamecube Gamecube Gamecube Playstation Super NES Nintendo 64 Super NES Super NES Nintendo 64 Super NES Dreamcast Dreamcast X-Box Playstation Nintendo 64 Gamecube Dreamcast Dreamcast Playstation NES Playstation NES NES Nintendo 64 NES X-Box Appearance New Features My Grade The Sum ---------- ------------ -------- ------- Gamecube Nintendo 64 Gamecube Gamecube 59/70 Nintendo 64 Super NES Super NES Super NES 58/70 Super NES Dreamcast Nintendo 64 Nintendo 64 56/70 Dreamcast Gamecube Dreamcast Dreamcast 50/70 Playstation Playstation Playstation Playstation 44/70 X-Box X-Box NES NES 36/70 NES X-Box 34/70 © 2003 Christian Wall