Tech Talk with Terence

Here is my quick review on the Razer Onza Tournament Edition controller for the XBOX 360.

With all the “no-slow” Microsoft controllers out there, and the third party controllers being what they are (cheaply made and just all around bad) I was hoping that Razer would be able to step it up with their newly released Onza controller.

I was one of the lucky few to receive it here in Canada from the first batch of pre-orders.   And here is a quick summary of what I thought.

Pros:

Feel:  The rubberized texture of the controller was really nice.  I don’t sweat a whole lot from my hands when I play but I can imagine that anyone that does will benefit, especially coming from the smooth plastic of a Microsoft controller.

XYBA buttons:  The change from membrane to click was actually very well done.  Knowing you pressed the button from the audible click and tactile feedback was very nice.

Triggers:  It doesn’t take much to actuate the triggers.  They definitely decreased the amount of travel it takes = faster reaction for shooting.

Neutral:

D-pad:  Separate buttons for each direction, not sure how that translates well to games like Street Fighter, but definitely an improvement in regards to accuracy.  Although you do need to push them a bit farther in.

Backlit XYBA buttons:  Doesn’t add to anything to the user’s experience.  Don’t know about you, but I don’t ever look down at the buttons I’m pressing.

Re-Map Bumpers:  I put this under neutral because I didn’t really like using them.  I have skinny fingers but I still sometimes hit them when I wanted to use the actual bumper.  I know some people would like to use them, for instance to re-map the jump button so they can jump and aim at the same time (never having to lift their thumb off the right stick) but for me I just never thought it really helped me much.  As far as functionality, they definitely work.  I mapped the left custom bumper to the back button to check scores.

15 foot braided cable:  The cable was also really nice, but man was it long.  I play in front of a monitor using an Astro Mixamp and headphones with mic, and I already have enough cable length annoying me as it is.  Some will like the extra length if they play super far away from their TV.

Cons:

Adjustable Resistance Analog Sticks:  At first I thought this might be a neat idea, to be able to adjust the resistance on the fly, but it quickly became apparent that there was a flaw (maybe only in mine).  When the resistance was all the way to nothing (counter clockwise) it was definitely looser than the Microsoft controller.  When the resistance was all the way tight (clockwise) it was definitely noticeable but not what you might think.  When you moved the analog stick to the limit in any direction you would feel the resistance, the resistance isn’t shall we say consistent throughout the movement.  If you were to draw small circles and then larger circles with the analog stick, the smaller circles would be less resistance than the larger ones.

Start and Back buttons:  What a dumb place to put them at the bottom.  When you need to check scores in MW2, your thumb has to travel so far to hit it, as stated above I remapped the left custom bumper to the back button for this reason.

Final note:

This could also be the first version of the controller and it might get better from here, but I did have one major issue (which is why I sold it and there are no pictures).  The slightest movement on the right analog stick to the left and upper left corner didn’t register (can’t super slow pan).  Not good when you are trying to aim precisely.  No problems on my Microsoft controller where the resistance is consistent.  I hope that this isn’t the case with all of them and maybe it’s only on the adjustable sticks and not on the non-tournament edition.

If you have one of these controllers (non tournament or tournament edition), let me know what you think of the sticks.

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