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Omega 2
Score: 74%
Developer: Nyko


Function:

This controller is a third-party version of the DualShock 2, and as such has all of the features of that controller. Every button is analog (excluding Select and Start), and there's another button that you can use to switch between Analog and raw digital mode. The Omega 2 has an extra button on the centre of the controller as well, which lets you turn any button into a Turbo-ed version of itself. And while this is a nice feature, the controller's flaws make it a less than optimal choice for a DualShock 2 replacement.

Performance:

Why, you say? For one, the four buttons in the centre of the controller are placed in an obnoxious format. Instead of having the Select and Start buttons across the middle, with the Analog/Steering button and the Turbo button where the Analog button is on the normal DualShock 2, they have the latter two across and the former two down. This means that every time you want to pause the game, you've got to reach between the two analog Sticks, and any game that uses Select or Start as an actual game function becomes much more irritating to use.

That's a minor problem, though. The main problem with the Omega 2 is its D-pad. When you press it, it reads the correct direction . . . seventy percent of the time. The other thirty percent, it doesn't think that anything's been pressed. This isn't so bad in games where precision is not needed, but in this day and age where the Analog stick is the standard and the D-pad is only used in precision movement, this is a fatal flaw. Navigating menus with the D-pad is an exercise in frustration, as the selector never goes down or up like you want it to.

The rest of the buttons and controls on the Omega 2 work fine. The analog Sticks are nice and precise, reminiscent of the tight DualShock 2 ones rather than the loosey-goosey DS1 sticks. And I had no problems with any of the face buttons or shoulder buttons detecting my pressing of them. But the D-Pad drove me up the wall.


Features:
  • Full DualShock 2 capabilities
  • Turbo button to make a button Turbo-ized
  • Supports Steering controller as well as standard Analog
  • Clear case

Drawbacks & Problems::

I said it before, so I'll only say it briefly here -- the D-Pad sucks. The placement of the Select and Start buttons suck. This would be a decent budget controller, as it has all of the functionality of the standard DualShock 2. But at the same price as a DS2 and with a suboptimal button layout and irritating D-Pad, you're much better off buying the real deal instead of this. The turbo feature and the steering feature aren't enough to make it worth dealing with the imprecise pad and bad layout.

-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications
AKA Phil Bordelon

Windows iFeel Mouse Sony PlayStation 2 PX4000

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated