A Controller Can Only Take So Much
March 27, 2009 by Amy Tucker
Filed under Gaming
I LOVE my PS3. So much so in fact that I named him-Steve III. Don’t ask…I name all of my gadgets.
Steve III is a 20GB PS3 that was purchased right after the PS3’s launch.
You definitely pay a premium when you buy cutting edge technology while it’s still “cutting edge” and we paid an arm and a leg for the thing. I don’t begrudge paying what we did since I wanted the PS3 NOW [well...then] but I think it’s funny that I can find a 120GB PS3 with a game for less than what I paid for my 2oGB system.
Alas, I digress.
The controller that came with Steve III was a run-of-the-mill Sixaxis controller. Nothin’ fancy, just a cute little charcoal colored controller.
This controller has seen better days.
After spending a couple of years being drooled on by two infants, being dropped numerous times from varying heights and once having a beer spilled on it, I’m surprised that the damn thing still worked.
But, worked it did and I have been playing Flower and Fallout 3 with no issues…until yesterday.
Usually the controller sits somewhere on the couch within easy reach for impromptu gaming sessions. For some reason, the controller had been moved to the top of our entertainment system [about six feet tall]. Tucker [the husband], intended to grab the controller so that he could play Call of Duty4 and instead, hit the controller’s edge and rocketed the poor thing to the floor…the acid stained concrete floor.
Now, we were the proud owners of a controller that kinda-sorta worked but only if you held your mouth in just the right position and didn’t expect the thing to be able to shoot anyone with any sort of accuracy.
How the hell was I supposed to snipe Super Mutants if the controller had a mind of its own?!
We begrudgingly sped made our way to Target and purchased a dual shock Sixaxis controller for the low-low price of $54.99 and though I haven’t used it yet, I doubt that I’ll be disappointed.
The main reason that I wasn’t standing in line to get one of the first PS3s was that I just couldn’t give up the Dual Shock functionality of the PS2 controller. Maybe that sounds stupid to some, but I feel that the “rumble” feature adds a a lot to the gaming experience and I couldn’t part with it.
Obviously, I reconciled that hang-up but I am VERY excited to give this new controller a whirl.
On a related, yet annoying side note, Tucker fixed our original controller. So now we have two controllers and he’s trying to get me to take the new one back.
Ain’t happening.
