Today, when I got home from a long day of class, I was greeted by the smiling face of an Amazon.com box on my doorstep holding my brand new baby: a DUALSHOCK 3 controller. I then happily tore into the box to unearth my new controller. I (after taking this picture, of course) immediately opened the plastic fortress that protected this beauty from my greasy, dirty hands and, instead of popping in a compatible PS3 game, I got down to the nitty gritty and put in Tales of the Abyss for the PS2. I was worried that my shiny new controller wouldn't work with my old PS2 games, so my first task was to see if my concerns were unfounded.
Thankfully, any doubts that I had faded away once I initiated a battle and felt a familiar tingle in my hands. At first I almost didn't notice it. I still have rumble in my Xbox 360 controllers, but it's been over a year since I felt the gentle buzz of a PlayStation controller in my hands. The sensation of rumble just felt right and subtlety adds to the gameplay experience. The DUALSHOCK 3 also feels as if it can deliver more subtle rumbles to give a more authentic feel to your on screen experience. While playing MLB 08: The Show (PS3), I noticed that I immediately felt more connected to what was going on in front of me and was able to move carefully guiding my pitches into the strike zone, which coincidentally improved my game dramatically, though there's no way I can directly link my favorable game results to the controller any more than I can claim that Lady Luck is on my side.
The controller itself feels just right in your hands with the added weight the rumble offers. The controller feels more solid and less likely to snap after a frustrating game moment coupled with a controller squeeze. Other than the "DUALSHOCK 3" written above "SIXAXIS" on the front of the controller there have been no aesthetic changes made to body or design. The face buttons and analog sticks both feel the same as the SIXAXIS and respond just as well. The battery life for the DUALSHOCK 3 has been impressive and can be relied to survive any Final Fantasy throwback sessions on your PS3.
My only complaint is that my new controller didn't come with a USB cable because Sony is assuming that I am happy using my own that came with my PS3. Good ol' Sony cutting corners where they can.
I'm glad to see that Sony listened to consumers and brought this "last generation" technology into the now with the DUALSHOCK 3 controller, and with it, completed my PS2 gameplay experience by giving me what has been missing since I made the jump from last gen platforms to current generation. I might even play through some of my PS3 games again to experience the rumble for the first time and to see if they can replicate the immersion I felt during my play through the MLB 08: The Show.
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