This week we received the new Zero Wireless Controller from Nyko, a futuristic industrial-styled controller for the now aging PlayStation 2. I'm always hesitant to review third-party controllers because they're usually craptacular knockoffs of the console's OEM version for a few bucks less; but these guys are trying something else -- a luxurious PS2 experience at a $49.99 commission. The quality build of the controller is apparent, but does it suck in practice? I've spent all weekend with it and have the verdict.

I spent a lot of time with it so the review is rather lengthy and picture filled to help you make an informed purchase. Having discussed this pad for hours with some friends this week, it became apparent to me that all gamers are not looking for the same things in a joystick. I'll come back to that at the end, but first let's go over the total ownership experience:

FROM ZERO TO GIDDY IN SIX SECONDS

Devirginizing the Zero is a pleasant experience. The well designed glossy joystick package emerged from a little brown shipping box unharmed. It looks like a million bucks at a glance -- high quality photos, flip top preview pane, and a featureset in three languages on the back.  The weight is substantial; this is no plastic little toy. My creative director alter ego found it strange that they failed to put the product name in plain sight on the actual controller (it's written on the underbelly of the battery pack). Thus, guys not unfamiliar with the company will inevitably end up calling the device "The Nyko". That's a little free branding 101 there, let's keep going.

The contents are also generous:

• The Zero controller (I received the white version)
• One long (thin) USB cable
• One NiMH battery pack
• A secondary battery cradle for normal AA batteries
• The receiver for the PS2 port (see below)
  
• An instruction sheet most of you will never read
  
  

INSTALLATION

Simple stupid. The NiMH battery comes charged, so all I did was pop it in, dropped in my Nyko plug into the PS2, pressed the white button on the receiver (shown above), pressed the link button on my Zero, and the blinking light goes solid. I was up and running in less than 10 seconds.

COMFORT

This is one of the areas where the controller, frankly, stinks. My gut reaction when I picked it up wasn't positive because my fingers have been trained to grip a PS2 controller like I do the DualShock 2, so having the battery pack sit in the middle was a huge problem for me the first couple of days.

After awhile you get used to where things are and slide your three lower fingers to the bottom a little more, making it more comfortable. It's an adjustment I have to make every time I pick up the controller; so even after a week I'm still not used to it. Generally speaking, I like third party controllers to respected established ergonomics so the change was not a welcome. I don't game on the 360 as much as I should, so it the learning curve may be less severe for some of you.

1. Button position

The joystick is vastly superior to both the PS2 and Xbox 360 controller in some respects -- there's a metal and polymer (that means plastic for you dropouts) combination with slick looking 3 axis security screws on the faceplate. You could probably club someone to death with this thing and not get a scratch or stain on it -- much respect there.

 

My biggest gripe here is that everything is kinda squished together to resemble a 360 controller, so the buttons are all a little closer together. Compare the two controllers above -- you have concave smooth analog sticks, so they feel less precise since they're more likely to slip back into place under loose grip (where the PS2 ones are like rubber sandpaper). The 4 buttons are marginally closer together and the overall distance between the directional pad and the buttons are about a full inch closer, so your hands are closer together. This creates some finger clutter.

I'm also not a fan of the circular directional pad at all. I like the soft squishy cross with the middle cut out and edges sanded down of the Dual Shock a lot more because it's less likely to crease your thumb after 6 hours of nonstop gaming. This makes the Nyko's analog sticks and directional pad inferior to the old PS2 controller, which is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of people.
 

On the flipside, my biggest gripe isn't the battery pack though -- it's the lower R2 and L2 buttons.  They have a cool looking shark-fin design that helps balance the controller when it's set down, but are both A) too far back on the joypad and B)  the tips of your middle fingers will ram up against the battery pack unless you arc them outwards.  This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the fact that the 4 circular buttons are much closer together than you would expect, so you need your thumb and palm grip to be tight on the lower right hand corner. In their defense, these are underused buttons in most games, but it nevertheless severely detracts from the entire experience.

There's just significantly more room beneath the original PS2 controller beneath to rest your fingers. For exaple, let's reflect on an oldie but a goodie that also had a big block underneath. The N64 controller (pictured in blue above) addressed this problem by having a vertical bridge attachment and a much wider controller that would allow the hands to wrap around the corners.  In this case your fingers don't have much of an escape path. You have to train them to stay low and to the sides.

Not all the buttons are bad -- the L1 and R1 buttons feel sturdy and are very ergonomic and large, and the middle buttons are stock squishy rubber, and the 4 right action buttons are made of very sturdy plastic.  They're almost glass like and felt a little stiff, but pardonable. Nothing looks out of place either, it all comes together well. If the controller was just a tad big wider I think the majority of these problems would be addressed. Either that or firing all of their small handed beta testers. I'm pushing 30 though -- young kids will not have a problem with the size.

2. Build Quality

 

The pimp factor is strong here -- they are actually backlit! Don't worry about battery drainage, you can hold down the Link and Vib button and turn them off until you need them. The mode button also lights up in red and green and the batter indicator lights up when it's charging. Here's what they look like when you lock yourself in your bathroom with the lights off while singing Danger Zone:

IN ACTION

No complaints -- solid response times, never any fuss to get it detected or initialized. Once you get used to it and forget that you're not on your DualShock, it's just as reliable as the wired controller.  The 2.4GHz frequency didn't interfere with any of my mobile devices and I was able to sit in the next room and still control it; pushing the 30 foot promise to the limit. The battery has yet to die on me but I like the fact that I can pop the additional 2 AA battery pack if I must be wired or use it as a quasi-wired controller (charging with the USB cable) as I play without missing a beat.  You're never going to be without a controller for gametime with it, they more than covered that. The vibration is also solid and can be disabled to save battery life ... and prepare you for the disappointment of not having it on the PS3. Not that I'm bittter. 

What they didn't do, however, is address how we're supposed to keep it charged at all times. The controller will only charge when the PlayStation 2 is fully booted; blue light on. It's not like there's a cradle you can just rest it on and always have it ready to go. But!!!  This appears to be more of a Sony greenhouse issue because the PlayStation 2 will powersave/cockblock the USB ports when it's dormant. This is not the case if you have a Nintendo Wii, who runs up your electric bill while you sleep.  Just plug the USB into your Wii and it will charge even when it's sleeping, yellow light blinking.  You can also keep the USB cable at the PC and charge it there. If you already keep a mini USB male cable for your digital camera around, you can use the same one. Granted, these are all hacks. If you have neither a PC or Wii near your gaming rig, it sucks 2BU.

THE FINAL VERDICT

Men don't judge overpriced luxury cars and difficult, whiny, needy, but incredibly sexy women on a ten point system, so I'm not going to go there. If you're a Nextlusting futurist with an endless appetite for home theater bling, you won't regret buying two of these. You will impress people that come over and play your PS2 -- they're available in silver/black, jet black, and Apple white to match whatever your shi-shi HD decor may be.  I intially had some gripes about the price being $49.99, but then again it's all in there -- the metal face plate, good wireless, backlit buttons, double battery cradles with AA backup, long usb cable, and crazy red light base station. You can buy a joystick for $25 that's more comfortable directly from Sony with a wire, or get a cheaper third party one for a little less and feel the cheapness.

In my case, I'm just happy to finally have something that will prevent girlfriend from "tripping over those damn cords". I'll get a lot of use out of this, but I'm not quite ready to throw out your DualShocks just yet. 

PS. I've loaded five ultra high res photos in the gallery: