Customer Reviews

Xbox360 Fighting Stick EX 2

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

let us make something clear, if you aren't going to play fighting games, you should not buy this stick. i tried it on pacman championship edition and pacman was acting like a drunk. It works just fine for DoA4, Virtua Fighter 5, and Street Fighter, but don't even think about trying anything else with it. The one thing that it does have going for it is the fact that it is the only fighting stick on the 360, unless you want to cough up a couple of hundred dollars for one with a picture of kokoro on it. And there is one other matter that needs to be considered. it clicks. the stick itself clicks like a card trapped in some bicycle spokes. Some people love it, some people end up in padded cells because of it. A good indicator of how you would react is how you feel about the strum bar on the guitar hero controllers. Finally, if you have been playing fighting games with a controller for some time, prepare to be practicing for some time in order to be competent. it is worth it in the end, your skills will improve, eventually. all in all a good product.

Overall, I am happy with this stick. Just so you know, the VF5 edition is this same exact stick with a sticker sheet in the box and VF5 sticker on the front. Once you open it up, it is clear that it's the standard FS EX2 repackaged.

I would have preferred a face button layout that mirrors the actual 360 controller, but reassigning buttons is hardly a task. The joystick has a square box to work in (if you're not sure what I mean, I am referring to the track beneath the surface that the stick traces), which might feel strange to some, but I don't really mind at all. I have used it to play SF2:Turbo and SF3:3S on Live. I was more successful with 360 degree motions and super combos in 3, but I think this is the result of a more forgiving input system for later SF titles. The joystick sat comfortably on my lap while playing with the headset plugged in. It may be an issue if you use voice while playing, but the clicking sound can get rather loud in the heat of battle. It didn't bother me of course, but my friend could hear it through the mic when I tried to recover from a dizzy. The cord length is generous enough; it seems to be about 7 feet or so.

I also tested the stick on the PC. Upon plugging it into the USB port, XP recognized it as the FSEX2, and loaded up the appropriate drivers. I tested it out with a few different SF titles (and a little DoDonPachi for good measure), and found that there were some issues. Trying to do Zangief's fast lariat proved to be impossible. When I checked the controller input screen for calibration I found that the two triggers being mapped to the face may not have been the best choice. It seems that the XP driver recognizes the triggers as opposite analog inputs on the Z-axis. This quirk makes it so that a press of RT followed by a press of LT will result in a net gain of 0. It will be as if you never pressed anything. This means that any techniques that require 3 kicks to be pressed simultaneously will be unavailable to you unless you remap the buttons. This may be solved with a keyboard to joystick button assignment program. I haven't tried that yet. While this is a problem, Hori does not market the stick as PC-capable, so I guess I can't really complain.

I do feel that the 60 dollar price tag is a little steep as it doesn't quite feel like a 60 dollar product, but that does not worth picking up. I am quite happy with it, and considering the strange absence of arcade sticks on the market, you may want to scoop it up before they disappear and you're forced to wait until the next big fighter releases for them to begin distribution again.

Keep in mind that this is not quite the arcade stick you are probably used to from back in the day. It's a Japanese-style stick with a ball top instead of a bat top, and convex buttons instead of concave. The main difference is that the stick is much more sensitive: a light touch is all that's needed to set the stick off, and this in turn makes the kind of movements that advanced fighting game players need much easier to make.

An entry-level stick like this isn't going to compare in feel to a proper arcade setup or the premium-grade Hori sticks, but it's certainly going to do the job that you need it to do. If the special move doesn't come out on this stick, you can be assured that the problem is not with the controller. That said, this is still a world away from the awful 360 d-pad and the best quick solution for 2D arcade games. The stick will serve you suitably until, one day, it breaks. It doesn't break easily, but heavy play-- mine went out after about 2000 Virtua Fighter matches-- will eventually put it out of action.

Mine is not a special case. I don't know any heavy players who use this stick without experiencing a breakdown, so if you're looking to play a LOT, you'll probably be better served by a Real Arcade Pro or the upcoming Street Fighter IV tournament stick.

This is another high quality fighting stick from Hori that upholds the reputation of their fighting sticks for other platforms. If you love arcade style games (especially fighting games), you will enjoy the feeling of using this control.

One of the best things about this product is that it will increase your enjoyment of all your arcade style Xbox Live Arcade games as well as current fighting games. It can also be used with your PC.

The quality of the arcade stick is more of the same for Hori. The stick itself is very responsive and well suited for fighting game moves that require finesse. The control face features the B,X,Y and A,RT,LT in typical fighting game configuration, great for practically all fighting games. However, RB and LB are located at the top edge along with Start, Back, and the Dashboard button which effectively places LB and RB out of reach during heated play. A feature that I always felt was overlooked in Hori fighting sticks is the heavy plate on the bottom of the control. This prevents you from lifting or moving the stick around on your desk or tabletop surface during play. Of course, the joystick functions as a D-Pad, not an analog stick.

This (like other Hori fighting sticks) is an EXTREMELY accurate and responsive control which makes it wonderful for most players. However, I have encountered some guest players who were not accustomed to using an accurate control and needed a little time adjusting to it.

The controller is NOT wireless and uses a USB cable to connect to the Xbox 360 console or PC. The Xbox Live headset can be connected to the controller on the edge facing you.

When connecting to your XP (and probably Vista) PC, it is recognized and given a default driver that works great with practically any application. Some software might require the use of a different driver. There are custom drivers out there if you don't mind doing some tinkering.

Overall, this is a great product that will provide you with more accurate control than the D-Pad and more fun playing arcade style games.

This stick seems fine for my uses. I am a casual gamer, and I bought this specifically for Super Street Fighter 4. There was no setup, it was immediately recognized.

When first starting, the game chose a very strange layout as the default controller scheme, with some buttons being mapped to combinations of buttons. But, by changing to another pre-set it worked exactly like the arcade stick.

So far I have had no issues, but I am an adult gamer and I do not pound or beat on the controller. I have no idea of its durability for rough play.

Being old school, I would have preferred the buttons to have been in a straight line instead of the curve. But that is just personal preference.

I also wish it were available as a wireless unit. The cord is too short to reach to the couch, so I have to sit in the floor.

I bought this fight stick to specifically play Street Fighter 4. It came recommended to me by a friend of mine who is a fighting-game aficando and who owns multiple arcade sticks from different makers.

I enjoyed playing Street Fighter 4 with my 360 controller, but found it difficult to pull of some of the bigger combos and precise timing. In addition, I wanted an arcade stick because the last time I really played Street Fighter was in the arcades when I was a little kid. Ambivilent to spend too much money on a game I enjoy, but otherwise don't put in everyday, I wanted something inexpensive as well as reliable.

My friend recommended the EX2 fight stick. Possibly the oldest arcade stick to hit the 360, I was uncertain about it since so many iterations were already done to this model and, therefor, there were much more improved versions albiet at a much higher price.

My worries were unwarranted. As soon as I plugged this in, everything about Street Fighter suddenly came back to me. The feel of the moves, the combo patterns, etc... It's tactile. The joystick "clicks" when you move it (which I happen to like, but others may not), and the buttons can stand my abuse as a mash away on them like crazy.

The joystick itself hasn't really made me any better of a Street Fighter player on-line, but it's made the game far more enjoyable. I'd highly recommend getting this arcade stick if you have the money and want to get the most out of your Street Fighter 4. Looking forward to SUPER Street Fighter 4 with more gusto!

This stick out of the box was awesome. I still currently use it now and am also building my own custom stick at the same time. Whatever you do though. DO NOT play with a Mad Catz TE stick because then you will know why this stick was only $50. It's still a good stick, but I wish I would've just spent the cash on a new TE stick. They are just so much higher in quality and responsiveness.

This fighting stick is an absolute must buy for vf5 owners.
the game is virtually unplayable with the 360 pad. I have owned mine for
3 months, and ive been destroying the competition online. the stick is very
well made, almost arcade quality. i dont know how it performs on other games, but it works like a dream for virtua fighter.

I really don't understand the trend of these reviews... The most critical one was actually just a "fair" one and the greatest warning was that the stick breaks easily... I really wouldn't agree with that. As stated within my title, this stick is definitely greater than the default 360 controller, that really can't be argued, conversely however, it's definitely not of the quality I was expecting after reading most of the other reviews up here myself. I was expecting very intuitive diagonals when it comes to the area around the stick itself... The buyer doesn't get those. The buttons require a GREAT deal of pressure to actually have moves come out, especially if the buttons have to be used within a uniform fashion. Overall there simply isn't as much control as the average user would expect; frankly I feel much more comfortable playing on my Madcatz pad than on this stick.

I was somewhat fortunate in that I won this within an auction format and ended up paying only about 20 USD, which was one of the reasons I felt even more obligated to write this review. I haven't gotten another stick yet, so I can't make any definitive comparisons, but based off reception I've seen from some people I know to be very skilled when it comes to fighting games, the Street Fighter Tournament Edition stick is far superior, and it can be bought for roughly the same price (brand new) as most of the Hori EX 2 sticks listed here. With that said, while I don't know if I can totally recommend the Street Fighter stick, I would suggest anyone reading this to at least check out the reviews thereof and/or maybe ask friends about it who are knowledgeable when it comes to fighting games...

More important than anything else, DO NOT BUY THIS unless it's your only option over the default 360 pad; I would definitely prefer no one else make the same mistake I did.

When it comes to quality at the best price, you can't do any better than Fighting Stick EX Hori stick. It will last you a long time, the range is 4-way (not 8-way as some other sticks may be), but the button and stick quality are top notch. I also got myself the Madcatz Tournament Edition stick, and although it is a bit more sensitive (the buttons are Sanwa parts), this EX 2 stick is just as good.

Definitely recommend this stick for anyone who doesn't want to shell out $120+ on a stick, and wants to perform just as well as the next guy on fighting games.