[EDIT]
Someone please tell me how I can edit the first post and title
[/EDIT]
@l33t_5n1p3r_max: If I could, I would, trust me
@viralbug: I know! It's basically "around Rs.1200", and that guy hooked me on by reducing the price by Rs.50. Win-win, yay!
@atiamd: I have that free version, and I'm using it, I tried PGP trial and it doesn't run on 7. Bummer...
@baccilus: Thanks, man
Now, to put an official end to this thread, I'll describe my experience with the Xbox 360 Controller For Windows.
Note: The "ratings" given here are
purely based on
my personal experience with the controller, not the controller itself. This is
not a review of the controller!
Feel: 5/5:
It's a treat to the hands. I read the reviews but I didn't know how right they were, it fits into my hands perfectly
It's not too heavy, but not too light, it's just right. The weight distribution is also good, no complaints whatsoever in this category.
Design: 4/5:
I'm used to the PS2 controller layout, so I was curious how an analog would feel in place of the D-pad, and it feels darn good. The analog sticks are well-proportioned. They're not too big, not too small. The depression on the stick helps the grip a lot unlike my older controller which had a round surface. The sticks' surface is rubbery, which also feels very good. The button under the stick also presses well without any ominous creaking like my old controller. As for the D-pad, I read at multiple places that it doesn't operate correctly, but it does for me. I always preferred separate buttons for the four directions (as a durability measure), only time will tell how good the D-pad's quality is. What really impressed me are the shoulder buttons and the trigger (LB, RB, LT, RT). The buttons have a nice "click" to them and they are very easily reachable. The triggers press down softly but firmly without any creaking or squishy feeling. This means you can press them down without worrying about them getting worn-out. Finally, the proximity to the start and select buttons is very comfortable. I didn't have this with my old controller and it's a delight.
Functionality: 3/5
The controller was compatible with all the games I have installed right now (Prototype, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Prince Of Persia, Tom Clancy's HAWX), that's one thing I like. It's not unexpected, but it's still a pleasant semi-surprise (due to lack of a better word). It's worth mentioning that Burnout has support for triggers, detects the controller just fine, but it didn't have a pre-defined setup for the controller. I could be wrong, though. As for the other FPS-like games, one thing I'm disappointed about, is that the default controls are weird. For example, JUMP in both Prototype and Prince Of Persia are mapped to A, the green bottom-most button. I'm used to jump being the top-most button, so it's a negative. It got worse due to the fact that I could not configure the controls in Prototype and POP. That's a real sad thing. In Prototype, the SPRINT button is very important and it's mapped to one of the triggers. While it's not bad to use a trigger as a button, it gets a bit tiring after a while. I know it's got nothing to do with the controller itself, but still, the context mattered to me. Just a quick question: do all the games map JUMP to the A key in similar Xbox games? I want to know if it's a set convention in Xbox games.
Now coming to the Guide button and the Ring of Light. I didn't expect a lot out of these, but I'm still a bit disappointed. Pressing the guide button brings up a small notification indicating the status of the controller. This is with the drivers installed of course. That notification is just that, it does nothing more. I tried holding it down a couple of seconds to see if anything happened, but nothing happened. I was expecting (or rather hoping) that it would "turn off" the controller (or at least the ring of light which is lit). Coming to the Ring of Light, the first quadrant of the Ring of Light (the Player-1 part) is always lit. This put me off, because I tend to leave my controller connected to the PC all the time, and it worries me to see it lit all the while. I leave my PC for downloads overnight almost daily, so I worry that the light might just stop working one fine day.
That's it folks, thanks a lot for your inputs. I think this is the best 1150 bucks I've spent lately
