Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows & Xbox 360 Console

The controller was official, which was my main concern. Everything works great, no sticky/loose buttons. Even the rubber on the thumb sticks aren’t that worn, no visible scuffs, seems barely used. Cord seems in great condition. Overall surprised at the quality. The greatest controller design with the bonuses of no input lag, and finger room with the absence of the battery pack. Only complaints being the cord length, and the package I received being a bit shoddy, otherwise I more than satisfied.

I wanted a wireless but unfortunately Microsoft made theirs the only one with native game support for windows games and the wireless is 10 tons of fail. This is exactly the same controller as the regular X-Box 360, but comes with an installation disk. (Which you can DL from Microsofts site instead.) It was very much plug and play, no real setup needed other than key mapping in games. Also the cord is fairly long. Anyway, will be comparing this to PS3 controller since that is the only other one I use. The grip is much more comfortable than the PS3 controller and button layout is designed for comfort of use rather than to look nice. (Still looks nice.)The movement sticks (or whatever they are actually called)have an indent and 4 small bumps that help grip to your finger to keep it from sliding, which the PS3 controller doesnt have. They are also placed much more intelligently and easy to move with your thumbs, which again the PS3 are intentionally out of the way for aesthetics rather than being functional. (This is because the original controllers games primarily used the directional pad and they inexplicably refuse to change the design...) Now for its downsides. It is incredibly heavy compared to the PS3 controller... and those have long lasting wireless batteries built in. I dont know if this is an issue with the actual controller or just game support for it, but so far there seems to be no difference how far/fast you push the movement sticks. If you lightly shift in a direction it moves the same speed as jolting it as far as it will go. The PS3 controller matches how fast and far you take it and will move slower if you only lightly press. Also while the bottom trigger buttons are fairly convenient the top ones are very annoying to use, whereas on the PS3 all 4 are easy to use. The X-Boxs trigger buttons also feel like you are just pressing down a button whereas the PS3 feels like squeezing a soft trigger. Finally the light indicating which controller it is (1-4)is right in the center of the controller facing you, which is slightly distracting since it is a bright neon green. On the PS3 it is next to the trigger buttons where you cans see, much smaller, and red which wont be as distracting in a dark room. All in all it works very well. Since Microsoft forces you to buy this for native controller support in games if you want to use a controller it is this or the Logitech one that emulates it. I do wish they would make a wireless controller that isnt completely terrible and maybe cut down on weight, but do like the design of the outer casing and how comfortable it is.