Discrete Vector

I dug up one of my older games yesterday: Prince of Persia: Two thrones. I had abandoned it a few days after I bought it last year because it was a pain to play using the keyboard… and I didn’t want to buy a game controller just for one game.

But today I thought, what the heck, maybe it would help me play my other games better. So I went out and bought an Xbox 360 controller. I was initially bent on buying the wireless version. But to cut a long story short I couldn’t find one compatible with the PC. And the regular (wired) one was guaranteed to work seamlessly on both the Xbox and the PC.

The Xbox 360 Controller plugs into your USB port. You will have to first install the controller software available at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/download.mspx. The documentation that came with the controller said the software was available at www.windowsgaming.com but I could never get that site to open. I wonder if it even exists.

So I installed the software, plugged in the controller and I was all set to go. Configuring the controller in POP was pretty straightforward. It detected all the buttons on the controller except for the RT and LT buttons. Probably I can use the XBCD drivers to get them to work.

The controller comes with two analog sticks, one D-Pad, 4 standard buttons (X,Y,A,B), two shoulder buttons (LB, RB) and two trigger buttons (LT, RT). In addition to this there is the guide button (the big X button on the top) and a back and start button. The guide button is pretty useless on a PC. It just brings a small window where you can launch the help documentation. The guide button is surrounded by a green light strip which is divided into 4 quadrants called the ring of light (like on the Xbox system). You can hookup up to 4 controllers to a system and a different quadrant will light up for each controller.

And boy, does this controller rock or what. The analog sticks are so precise and sensitive to the slightest touch. In POP, pushing the analog stick softly makes the prince walk slowly and if you push on it a bit further, he starts running. On the keyboard you would have to first press the walk toggle key and then use the direction keys. I had to say, WOW (Microsoft would have loved that). You really have to play the game to experience it.

On supported games (such as POP) the controller provides vibration feedback for certain actions. For example, in POP, when you hit an enemy or land after a jump, the controller vibrates to acknowledge this. Pretty cool! The controller is ergonomic and fits comfortably into your hand. All the buttons are easily reachable and you don’t have to stretch your fingers for any of them. And to top it all off, the controller is unbelievably light for its size.

The controller also supports connecting a Xbox 360 head set or a 2.5 mm headset to it. Haven’t tested it though.

I bought it at Rs. 2150. I was thinking of getting it from PlayAsia, but the delivery takes over three weeks. I am still waiting for my Lost planet CD that I ordered on the 12th. Now that would be a cool game to play with my new controller. Fingers crossed. Hope it come soon.

Conclusions:

The Xbox 360 controller is a tad expensive but if you are a passionate gamer you really wouldn’t mind spending that kind of moolah for this amazing piece of hardware. Probably the best gaming controller for the PC. Period.

The wireless version of this provides exactly the same features except that it is, well, wireless. It comes with a rechargeable battery pack or you can pop in a couple of AA batteries. The charger for the battery pack has to be bought separately though. And its slightly more heavier that the wired one because of the battery. So the TCO for the wireless controller is pretty high because either you’ll have to buy the charger for the rechargeable battery (thats another 1200 odd rupees) or keep buying AA batteries. Take your pick.

Personally, I am glad I stuck to the wired one. The wire is a small price to pay.

PS: I looked up windowsgaming.com in the WHOIS database and the site is indeed registered to Microsoft. I strongly suspect the site was replaced by www.gamesforwindows.com. The download link at gamesforwindows points the link I mentioned earlier

CW Rating: 4 Widgets