When I was younger, I drove a Subaru Impreza WRX. It was more car than I needed. It had a whole lot of zoom under the hood, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and steel pedals. The car had a turbo gauge on the steering column and a short-throw Momo shifter. I have since replaced the Subaru with a Toyota Camry, a sensible car for an adult. Last year, Microsoft debuted its Elite Controller, a high performance piece of tech that looks super sexy. The homepage resembles something out of Forza's Autovista. The Elite Controller is a piece of hardware one covets, but in the grand scheme of things, the controller is probably not something one "needs." But goodness, it sure is fun to take for a spin.
The Hardware
Just a brief overview for the unaware, at $150, the Elite costs half price of the past holiday console bundle rates. For comparison's sake, the standard Xbox One controller retails for $60. Honestly, unboxing the controller was just about worth the price of admission. The sheer reverence in which the hardware is treated is readily apparent, the quality of construction and material unquestioned. The controller comes in a protective case. There are six interchangeable nubs of varying lengths and textures and surfaces. Two D-pad options include the saucer (pictured above) and the NES-standard four-way cross. The parts use a magnetic system that has proven reliable and sturdy.
As I see it, however, the two features that make the Elite controller stand apart from a functional standpoint are the rear "paddles" and the hairline trigger option. The paddles consist of up to four rear buttons that can be assigned any button push from face buttons to stick clicks to bumper presses. The hairline trigger option allows the gamer to shorten the distance needed to activate fully the trigger(s). All of these options work in conjunction with the Xbox Accessories app available on the console to provide fairly unlimited choices. As an added bonus, the Elite controller has two profile slots that can be toggled via a switch on the controller itself.
How It Plays
So does it make a difference? Going in, I believed any advantage the controller conferred fell squarely in the province of the first person shooter. These days, for me, that means Halo 5: Guardians. In Halo, I have traditionally played with the game's default set-up with a significant downward adjustment to look sensitivity and inverted Y-axis.
I looked at the suggested Halo settings via the Xbox Accessories app and thought they did not make a whole lot of sense to me. In essence, I sought to map all of the face buttons (A, B, X, Y) to the paddles to more or less allow me to maintain constant right thumbstick control for camera/aiming. I still need to access the D-pad to switch grenade types and use bumpers for grenades and melee. I turned on the hairline trigger switch for right trigger (fire weapon). The basis for the change was that a quicker trigger pull could make that fractional second difference when firing, especially for SWAT.
There is a definite learning curve involved with retraining the muscle memory, especially when the action intensifies. I constantly fight the urge to clutch the controller when making quick, sudden movements. I access the paddles using my middle and ring finger fingertips and so inadvertent jumps and jetpack boosts are not uncommon. I have gotten better with it, but I have played Halo for ten-plus years. Change does not come so easily.
Am I better now because of the controller? Yes. I really think it makes a difference. Am I the top of the leaderboard because of the controller? No. Not always. And yes, in fact, I still have really bad games. It really is never the controller's fault, standard or Elite. With respect to the remapped paddles, I feel more often than not, I am fairly ready to respond to attacks. With my low level of look sensitivity, there are limits to how quickly I can respond, in particular when attacks come from behind. The difference is perceptible but not game changing.
The bigger difference comes in the quickness with which the gun responds to the hairline trigger pull. In SWAT, those milliseconds can mean a lot. Of course, the caveat always come that successful play, particularly evidenced in SWAT, is about more than just twitch reflexes. It is very much knowing where and when to be, knowing where and when to expect people to come into your view. But straight up, you see me and I see you at the same time, I felt like I won that confrontation more with the Elite controller than without. Where the hairline trigger also made a big difference was with the Covenant carbine. The semi-automatic rifle can be fired incredibly quickly when utilizing the hairline trigger and I found myself using the weapon much more as a result.
How It Feels
I went into the purchase believing the benefits to gameplay were solely realized in a shooter. I still think that is largely true. But that statement does not take into account the benefit to play where performance is not necessarily the end purpose. And playing Forza with the Elite controller was just a joy regardless of whether I felt like I raced better.
I picked up a launch Xbox One and an extra controller. I cannot tell you how frustrating it has been for the last two years to hear my standard controllers creak with every squeeze. In fact, when I play FIFA 16, the Kinect controls attempt to pick up commands from the noise. I have always enjoyed the feel of the Xbox controller but my Xbox One controllers never felt solid.
I had just the opposite experience playing Forza with the Elite controller. Everything felt just right. I mapped the paddles to mimic paddle shifters for a standard transmission racer. The feedback motors of the Elite controller (adjustable) were strong and accurate. Braking and throttle felt responsive. The Elite controller is weighty, smooth and grippy. I have driven a lot of miles in Forza through the years and I have not had a better feeling playing. And I do attribute that to the controller.
Is It Worth It?
Ultimately, it is a personal decision about whether the controller is worth it. I did not think it was something I needed and after using, I do not think anyone needs to replace the standard controller with the Elite. The Elite controller may make you a better gamer. More importantly, the Elite controller will make you enjoy your gaming more, and I have no regrets with the purchase.
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