STACK April 2016 Issue 138

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visit GAMES FEATURE
64 APRIL 2016
GAMES
L ast year at E3, a thronging crowd
massed around the Xbox Elite stand –
a controller announced during the
Microsoft press conference the day prior – in
wonderment, awaiting the opportunity to pick it
up and hold it for 20 seconds before being
jostled out of the way by the next gamer
anxious to take a look. A burly and eagle-eyed
security guard watched the crowd, poised to
strike should anyone even think about making a
dash for the exit with it in hand. Many initially
baulked at the price, claiming it would never
sell – but they were wrong.
So, what do you get for the investment
and is it worth your hard-earned coin? If you
spend a serious amount of time playing on your
Xbox One, are a professional gamer or just
want a competitive edge, then the answer is a
resounding yes. The first thing you notice is the
increase in weight. Sporting the same overall
design as the standard Xbox One controller,
it does feel significantly heavier, but this
becomes unnoticeable after an hour in hand.
The controller is contained within a shell
case for easy transportation, where you’ll find
storage for the three different
variants of the thumbstick for
your own personal preference,
and a place for one of two
interchangeable metal D-Pads.
Aesthetically, the monochrome
finish adds the panache you’d
expect from a top end accessory
– with the palm grips and metallic
trigger and bumper buttons, it
just feels superior. But it’s so
much more than just appearance
at play (pardon the pun) here.
The implementation of the
paddles fitted under the grips
feels uncomfortable initially, but
again, with a few hours in hand
you barely notice they are there.
However, these detach, so if you
don’t like them, you can take
them off.
On the reverse of the
controller are two green hair-
trigger lock switches above the
Elite by name,
elite by nature
paddles. Clicking these shortens
or lengthens the pressure on the
trigger. Shortening the trigger will
give you the jump on the opposition
in shooters with less pressure
required to aim and shoot, while
lengthening the trigger pressure is
ideal for driving games.
But that’s just where the
customisation options begin. By
downloading the Microsoft Xbox
Accessories app, users have the
option to customise just about
everything, from thumbstick
sensitivity to vibration intensity. And
the buttons and paddles can all be
assigned to different actions depending on the
game you are playing. Over 250 configurations
can be saved, but only two at a time –
activated by a switch below the Xbox button
– can be selected from the controller.
In summary, the build quality, appearance
and feature set on the Xbox Elite is
incomparable; the customisable options mean
that you really can configure a controller that
best suits your playing needs. Competitive
gamers will certainly recognise the advantage
it provides, where a split-second can mean
the difference between winning and losing. A
word of warning though – once you start using
the Elite, there really is no going back; the
controller really is in a class of its own.