Although I do absolutely love my Dual Shock controllers to death, I also have a tendency to use them to death. I have two converter boxes that let me use PS* controllers on my computers, I can’t live without my GameCube Joybox, and that’s not even counting all those damn RPGs I play on my PS2. And while I do believe the Dual Shock 2 is the best gamepad ever made, it is not necessarily the most durable. I think Microsoft did a stellar job with the Xbox Controller S in terms of sheer durability, but the Dual Shock 2 has a thin and easily worn out cable, and those sticks get pretty loose and wonky after several years of heavy use.
With that all-important game I can’t talk about occupying so much of my time lately, I decided to finally get a new controller for my PS2, as my two original launch PS2 gamepads are on their last legs. While I’ve always been down on any wireless remote, Logitech finally hit on the perfect formula with the Cordless Action Controller for PS2. Read on for my full review.
My big beef with wireless controllers is due largely to three issues: first and foremost, third party gamepads are almost always sub-standard when compared to those from console manufacturers. Corners are cut to keep costs super-low, and the quality is never the same. Secondly, there’s the battery issue, as I absolutely detest batteries in all forms, and the thought that I could be in the middle of a boss fight or some mission-critical scenario when the batteries die on me, is enough to give me major gamer nightmares. And then there’s the fact that most wireless controllers throw out force feedback to keep battery life down. I love force feedback, which is why I never seriously considered the Wavebird, even though it’s a first party controller, which meant the quality’s really quite good.
Incredibly, Logitech has taken all three of these concerns on headfirst, and produced what I think is the perfect wireless controller. Plus it’s cheap, only marginally more than Sony’s Dual Shock 2 (retail’s $40, although if you hunt around you can find it for around $30).
For quality, the Wireless Action Controller is superb, and while it feels a little different, it’s pretty close to Sony’s own gamepad. The game buttons are actually superior in my opinion, as they’re not as flat, and seem to be slightly larger than those on the dual shock. The sticks are slightly inferior, but on the plus side, they seem to be a bit sturdier. My Dual Shocks all have this weird spinning issue, where after several years the glue holding the top nub in place has worn away, so pushing forward causes the top to spin around. These are constructed differently, so that shouldn’t be a problem. The d-pad’s the weak spot here, as it’s more like the d-pad on the Xbox than the segmented one on the Dual Shock, but it’s not too bad. It’s a nice size, and while it has a bit more leeway than I’d like, I’ve gotten used to it. The shoulder buttons are smaller than Sony’s, but they’re in the right place, and easy enough on the fingers. No real complaints there.
Force feedback is something that’s optional with the Cordless Action Controller, and it can be toggled by pressing a button on the face of the gamepad. Force feedback, as you can imagine, ties directly into the battery life, although here’s where I’m most impressed with the controller — it gets an unheard of 50 hours of battery life off just two AA batteries with force feedback enabled. With it disabled, it gets 300 hours, which is pretty damn amazing. As a really nice feature, the pad will automatically disable force feedback when the batteries start to run low, instead of shutting off completely. That way you can simply pause the game and pop in new batteries, or even keep playing until you get around to buying more batteries.
The base unit is super small, and plugs into a controller port on the PS2. I have a first-generation PS2, and not the new smaller unit, so I don’t know how it’ll line up there, but on this one, it fits perfectly, without obscuring the memory card port at all.
In case it’s not obvious, this is one awesome gamepad. It’s got great battery life, it doesn’t sacrifice quality, and it keeps that all-important force feedback. It’s worth pointing out that this is Logitech’s second-generation version of this gamepad. I’ve used the first iteration, and while that was good, it was bulkier, the sticks were a bit looser, and it took four AA batteries but only gave a fraction of this newer version’s battery life. I highly recommend this gamepad. It’s wireless without sacrificing any quality.
One last note: I’ve also used the Xbox equivalent, and while I do like that, it’s more like the first generation PS2 controller than this newer, and much superior version. If you’re looking for a wireless Xbox controller, it’s a decent choice, but I’d wait for a newer version. Plus of course, you’d have to get a wireless Xbox Live headset if you want to play online with voice, which is a bit of a hassle.