Customer Reviews

Mad Catz Xbox 360 - Officially Licensed Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After using the Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 XBOX 360 controller (camo color) almost non-stop since Modern Warfare 2 released, I can say that I am happy with it overall. If you're a big fan of Modern Warfare 2, and can see yourself logging a ton of hours into the game, I can recommend the purchase. It comes with a bonus "combat case" that is basically a plastic case for the controller - not very useful. It is possible to buy these controllers at Walmart without the combat case, for $5 cheaper (do it). If you already have plenty of 360 controllers, or are not a HUGE fan of the multiplayer, you should probably put your $50 towards another game, like the upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 or Assassins Creed 2. Even though I have a lot of cons below, I think the pros are mighty significant, and enough to give the controller 4 stars.

PROS
+This is the coolest looking controller I have ever seen. I has an awesome digital camo color on the front with a Modern Warfare 2 logo on top, and gray on the back. I dont care for the "snow" color, but I love the camo color. And as another nice touch - when the controller is on, the analog sticks have a nice green backlight to them.

+It has "soft feel" plastic all around, so it feels great in your hands. The sides of the controller, where your palms are when you're holding it, have a grippy rubber material. It helps prevent the controller from slipping when your hands are sweating. Modern Warfare 2 is so intense, you will be sweating.

+The overall feel, build quality, materials, and presentation are great.

+There are 2 "combat" buttons on the back of the controller. The left combat button can be programmed to activate the left stick button, B, or A. The right combat button can activate RSB, X, or Y. I have the left combat button set to change my stance, and the right combat button set for reloading. This is an excellent idea, and it is nice to see some third party companies come up with some custom controller ideas for consoles. I hope a lot more custom controllers become available in the coming years.

CONS
-The biggest con: this controller is WIRED! Why on Earth would a controller for this generation of consoles would anyone be manufacturing a wired controller?! I was shocked when I first read about the controller. I am guessing Microsoft had some legal/proprietary issue with it, as the Modern Warfare 2 controller for PS3 is wireless. If the price were lower, I might be ok with this as I dont need to bother with recharging a battery, and the cord is very high quality and nylon-braided.

-The controller will cost $50 at a major retailer like Best Buy or Gamestop. As I stated above, if the controller were wireless I would be able to justify the cost. A wired controller for $40 is tolerable.

-This controller is made by Mad Catz, which has made some crummy third party peripherals before. Who knows if the analog sticks will start to wear out and become less precise, or the triggers wont work properly, or some other problem will arise months from now. The OEM 360 controller from Microsoft is so well constructed and durable. They last for years. Only time will tell how long this Mad Catz product will last, even though it seems to be very high quality.

-The controller feels a bit cramped and awkward with exteneded use. Maybe my hands are so used to the standard 360 and PS3 controllers, that any other design is just foreign to me. I dont mind the ergonomics of the controller, and after almost a week I have become used to the feel of the controller. But, I can see how some people would say the controller doesnt feel right in their hands.

-The triggers are pistol-grip style, meaning they are a little shorter and wider than the standard 360 controller's. I didnt like this at first because I thought my fingers would slip off of the triggers. So far, I havent had that problem. When you are moving your fingers quickly enough between the triggers and bumpers, your fingers might miss the triggers occassionally.

-I really dont like the design of the left and right bumpers. They are a much bigger, and completely flat, compared to the standard 360 controller. They also take a bit more force to "click" them. When I am trying to quickly throw a stun grenade around a corner where an enemy is hiding, or trying to quickly throw a Semtex (sticky) grenade at a guy with a riot shield, I feel like I have to be more deliberate and careful with my button press with my index finger.

-The combat buttons are too small, and tucked to far away into the ergonomic creases on the back of the controller. I dont find myself using the left combat button very often because of this. I do use the right combat button to reload every time. I dont find my thumbs leaving the analog sticks as often because of this, so the combat buttons are still useful, but could be dramatically improved.

Thanks for reading!

Hmm. I gotta tell you, I really wanted to like this controller. I really, really did. The mapping or the sprint and reload functions to extra buttons on the back is a great idea. Unfortunately, however, MadCatz implementation of this idea is a cheap, flimsy cash-in that you will be ultimately unhappy with.

Let me start with the good points (and there are only a couple), to get them out of the way. The "combat buttons" on the back are just a fantastic idea. They let you choose from some rather limited mapping options for some new buttons intended to be manipulated by your middle fingertips. I don't make much of an issue of the limitations to the mapping because, well, nobody has done it before and almost everyone that I can think of wouly map sprint to the left button (LB) and either reload (X) or switch weapons (Y) to the other. Being able to do all of these things without mucking up what you are doing with the sticks would have been great, but we will get to why it is not.

Second, the material it is made of is phenomenal. It is super comfortable and the raised grips on the sides give the controller a nice tactile feel and are not slippery at all, like the MS controllers tend to get.

Third, they look really cool. The backlighting and camo pattern is really slick.

Now, ON TO THE BAD!!!

First and foremost, the ergonimics are ATROCIOUS!!! It is so diffucult to manipulate the "combat buttons" that any benefit derived from their existance is completely outweighed by their difficulty of use. The L and R shoulder buttons are very difficult to get to. A huge hassle since the MS controller has them essentially resting under your finger and need only a slight roll or your knuckle to work. The wrist angle is all wrong. When you are using this controller you will feel like it wants your wrists to move in ways they should not. It is very uncomfortable once you have to start pressing buttons.

Second, the whole thing feels cheap. The D pad is muddy and has no tactile response at all. The triggers have not near enough travel or spring tension. The L stick button provides no feedback at all when the stick is pressed forward (which is the only time you would use it in this particular game).

Finally, and most unforgivably, it is CORDED!!! This is simply inexcusible. This may be MS telling them they cannot have some proprietary wireless tech or something, but it certainly is lame.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are a serious MW2 player you will look at this controller and want it. The features look really good on paper. Do not forget, however, that the stock controllers for the 360 are excellent. This is a great idea that falls completely flat in execution. Do not buy this thing. You will be disappointed (and your wrists will hurt).

You can reload and crouch without leaving the joysticks, they were on to something very valuable here. Unfortunately, the controller lacks the ergonomic curvature of the stock controller; it is generally uncomfortable for me and it cramps my hands. The triggers are nice, but they have very loose springs, so it takes some acclimation. The L1/R1 buttons are big and cheap feeling. The joysticks don't have a distinctive click to them, so I'm not impressed with that either. Maybe worth it if you need another controller, but I wouldn't replace the stock one.

The material that covers this controller is quite nice and I'd like to see it on the standard 360 controller. Other than that, this controller is rather filled with negatives and at best plenty of indifference.

The first problem is the shape of the controller. The contours of the 360 are clearly designed for the human hand. Almost all of those contours are erased from the Mad Catz controller and you instead have what is essentially a very controller that is kind of like attaching handles to a rectangular piece of toast. It also feels much smaller than a regular controller and far lighter. Almost small enough and light enough to be on the verge of feeling not just poorly designed, but cheaply made.

The D-pad doesn't feel right. It feels "mushy". The ABXY buttons feel cheap and clanky. The triggers don't have the right "feel" when you pull them. They kind of have the same tactile "give" of the trigger of a cheap squirt-gun. Worse, they're kind of tiny and thin, which feels odd with your fingers wrapped over them. As if those aren't bad enough, the bumpers are horrendous. They're very large and entirely flat. Not curved around the corners of the controller like the standard controller. I can't see this feeling comfortable after long term use. I don't see why they needed to change the default setup of the triggers and bumpers at all.

The main point of those whole controller is the set of "extra buttons". These are on the back. The biggest problem I have with these? They're TINY. If you hold a controller as I and most people I've surveyed do, you will be pressing these (near the base of the back/inside bend of the controller) with your ring fingers. How tiny are they? They're basically 'reset' buttons. You know, the kind of button you would use the tip of a paperclip on to reset a consumer electronics product to its factory settings. I looked forward to using the extra buttons for quick MW2 knifing or sprinting. These are too inconvenient and small to use with length (for running) or agility (for knifing).

And of course, on top of all of this, it is a wired controller. Regardless of if that's a decision by Mad Catz or enforced by Microsoft - it's still inconvenient.

I saw the negative reviews on this. And the more common "meh - it's fine, but there's no point in bothering with it" reviews around the web. I really sold myself on the two extra programmable buttons, though. I sure was let down. Probably the most useless purchase I've made through all of December and will never be plugged into the console for use again.

I've had this controller for a month now, and overall I'd give it 3.5 stars.

Pros -
Looks cool: The camo pattern and the lit thumbsticks fit the MW2 theme well.
Combat buttons: These are an interesting idea, and their usefulness will vary depending on the user. Especially nice if you don't like clicking the sticks to sprint and melee.
Triggers: They are curved to be more like a gun trigger. I prefer the feel of these to the stock MS triggers.
Cons -
Wired: This has pros and cons of its own, but in the end the price is a bit steep for a wired controller. At least the wire is of good quality.
Slippery thumbsticks: The sticks are extremely slick. My hands do not even get very sweaty but I'm constantly wiping off my thumbs to keep them completely dry so they don't slip. I've considered putting a piece of hockey tape on them to add some texture, but haven't tried it yet.
D-Pad: I didn't think it was possible, but this D-Pad is even worse than the MS one. It's sufficient to call in killstreaks and stuff, but very mushy and somewhat inaccurate.
Combat button placement: This is a con only because you can't use the combat buttons very well right out of the box. It takes some practice to adjust your hands in such a way that you can easily reach both of the buttons.
Combat button selector switch: They advertise "on-the-fly" map swapping for the combat buttons, but the switch is poorly designed for that. I don't ever change the mapping but if you plan to -during matches, good luck.
Combat case: If you get one with the combat case, the thing is completely useless. I don't know how they expect you to get the controller in there with the cord, but I could never get it to fit properly. Good for holding index cards though.

One final note that probably won't apply to most users is that if you plan to use this controller with surround headphones, you may run into some incompatibility. I use the Tritton AXPROs(great headset, probably the reason I do so well in MW2) and I had to turn the vibration function off because this controller sent feedback through the microphone every time it vibrated.
In the end, I would recommend this if you are one of those people that really hate pressing the sticks(I don't personally mind it) or if you need another controller and can find this for about $30.

Anyone who has given this controller a positive review has tiny hands, has never used it, or is a Madcatz employee :P

I too absolutely loved the idea of this controller- and then I actually got to use it once it arrived :/

Problems:

1. Immediate thing you notice is that the black plastic on the thumbsticks is quite slick...the stock xbox360 controllers have a slightly ruggedized texture, concave surface, and tick marks to help hold your thumb in place: of all of these, this controller has one and it's only the very center of the stick that's concave. I took a knife to the surface to scuff it up, and now it holds in place just fine. Which brings me to problem 2:

2. The headset voice has what sounds like a phase delay- gives an echo to the sound and making any headset sound far less crisp than even the basic microsoft headset (plugging that headset in sounds just terrible). Wish I had spotted this before trying to modify the thumbstick into a usuable feature because I'd have returned it on the spot if otherwise. Test your new stuff in a real game, not in a private lobby alone so you're testing things you might not realize don't work right: which brings me to #3

3. The bumper buttons are huge and the sensor pad for them are near the top- so the bottom portion of the buttons that I touch the most are intermittent at best. Cooking a grenade? I hope not :P Reallllly disliked seeing a grenade I'm trying to carefully time suddenly fly out of my hand because the bottom of the button wasn't applying enough pressure.

4. Trigger frame and bottom buttons. Unless you've got tiny child-like hands, you're going to have a hard time finding a comfortable position to put your fingers so that they sit on the combat buttons on the bottom. I don't know anyone who doesn't wrap their middle, ring, and pinky fingers around the palm grips of a 360 controller, so why not put these buttons there? The sloping of the frame where the trigger is pulled into makes it impossible to hold the controller tightly and use the combat buttons. I'm in the middle of trying to figure out a way to balance a beam across a bearing over the button to extend these down the underside of the palm grips, but I why should I have to redesign the controller to make it usable? That's Madcatz's job and they failed at it. Great idea, incredibly bad implementation. Great controller to let someone you hate use, so unless that someone is you, don't buy one.

SO I bought this with the hope in mind of a little faster knife on MW2 and a slightly more comfortable controller. Not to mention I'm a bit old school and like the corded controllers. Instead I get a less comfortable, cheesy triggered, sticky button turd. The triggers stuck, the controller is designed for someone with a 5 year olds hands, and the buttom programmable buttons are in a terrible spot! I had to move my hand to reach them, negating the idea in the first place. The only good thing about the whole process is the return policy so I can get my 50 dollars back. Way to bone another one madcatz!

I got this controller a few months ago when i bought my mw2 edition xbox on ebay. The controller is great, the lights are very unique and i like them a lot. The wire is long as well. The buttons on the back don't work well but i never even wanted to use them any ways so it doesn't matter to me. This controller does take time to get used to since its pretty big. My hands hurt for the first 4-5 uses after about one hour of playing but it got better.

This controller is nice if you are looking for the alternative button placement. I have X-large hands and find it does not really benefit me. The buttons on the bottom are not in the way otherwise and it is nice to have the lit controller when I am playing low light with a projector. If my fingers were normal length, it is nice to be able to have an additional reload button or kneel/prone action. The bottom buttons are programmable with the flick of a switch from x/y and a/b respectively, or disabled. Though I like my wireless controller, this one is more reactive and I do not see any lag.

This controller is really amazing but after about a month i would be playing and suddenly it would disconnect and reconnect by itself. I dont know how to fix it but i tried all three slots to plug it in and it constantly disconnects and then reconnects! If anyone else has this problem or knows whats wrong please help!