Hip Gear's Wireless PS2 Controller: Not For The Impatient
Written: Aug 18 '04 (Updated Aug 19 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's wireless and the price is not bad.
Cons: Bulky, usability is bad especially in the beginning
The Bottom Line: Hip Gear's 2.4GHZ wireless controller for the PS2 is a decent buy for it's cheap price.
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| roheblius's Full Review: P2 WIRELESS 2.4GHZ CONTROLLER - HIP GEAR for PlayS... |
I have no problem with wires. Actually I would rather have wires than not, but sometimes, it's easier to not have wires. That's what happened with my Playstation 2 set up at my home. It was becoming dangerous for me to be able to play my PS2 and not hurt my back at the same time. As we were trying to sell our house, the couch was arranged in a slightly different way that made my comfortable view of the television farther than it had been. My cord was now stretched out and I wasn't able to lean back on the couch in order to play. Enter the new 2.4 GHZ wireless controller from Hip Gear.
The controller was actually on sale for $20 and the wife decided to buy it for me. Great wife right? I get points for having a wife willing to buy me a video game controller that she knows will actually inspire me to play more video games. And not only that, but she bought me two. She figured that since it was only $20, I could totally go wireless and not need a controller with a wire ever again. Well, I loved her enthusiasm, but I'm here to say, that my enthusiasm didn't meet hers. But it wasn't her fault. Not at all. It's all the fault of Hip Gear. This controller had its heart in the right place. It didn't mean to be an average controller. I'm sure it would've liked to be the best wireless controller on the market. In fact, I actually liked the bulkyness of it. Hey, it was wireless. You have to take the good with the bad right? Didn't Mrs. Garrett teach us that in Facts of Life? You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of life, the facts of life. Even though it was heavy, bulky, and the buttons tended to stick at times, I was fine with it, as long as it was functional. But I was too giving. Initially, the functionality is what almost killed it.
Before I go there, I'll describe it a little more. There are two parts to the controller. You have the actual controller and the controller's device. The device looks like a memory card, but much thicker and fits right into your controller port. The controller has an on/off switch and if your device is in the port, it will immediately look for a signal if you turn on the controller. It finds it in seconds. I've had no problem with this. And while it's not as good with the signal as the Wavebird, it's good enough for me. I don't walk around the room too much, but I do sit a little far at times and it's worked fine. But it's not like the Wavebird where you can play from the other room, under the chair, and through a wall. But we're not talking about the Wavebird so I'll move on.
It's much bigger than the regular PS2 controller which is both lighter and much more responsive. The only part of the design that's near awful is the back of the controller. Like I said earlier, the controller is bulkier than the Sony version, but for most of it, it's not that bad. The bad part comes from the battery compartment. It takes 4 AA batteries (they are provided) and where the batteries sit, the controller literally explodes into your knuckles when you first pick it up. Those players with big hands will hate this. Others might not mind. But it's the biggest problem I had with the feel. The best part of the design is the grip. Much of the controller is smooth, except the back end of where your hands hold the controller. It has little grooves that hold your hands in place, though not like I've had problems handling my controller before. It's not like I fumble my controller while playing Madden doing my Ahman Green impersonation. But still, it's a nice part of the design. The actual control pad isn't as responsive as it could've been, and the plastic used feels cheaper than that of the Sony controllers. The buttons are also cheap feeling and can stick at times. The R1, R2, L1, and L2 buttons are bad and tend to stick alot. But that's not the worst part of these buttons. Before I get there, the analog sticks are fine, though I've heard stories of them breaking. I don't use them much so I'm not worried. Now the bad.
When I put in last year's version of Madden and went to my depth chart, in order to change positions, you hit the R2 button. As I hit the R2 button, all of a sudden, it was like I hit the button 20 times in a row. I checked to make sure none of the 4 "function/mode" buttons were pushed and tried again. Same thing. I pushed the L2 button and it acted like I hit the triangle button and opted me out of the menu. I thought it was odd and couldn't figure out why it was doing that. It did it during the actual game too. The R2 and L2 buttons weren't programmed correctly. I wondered if the 4 "function/mode" buttons had anything to do with this. Those 4 buttons are select, macro, turbo, and start. The macro buttons allow you to program specific button functions all into one button. I'm sure this helps in fighting games, but really has no use with the games I play. But I figured it out. And it took me awhile to figure it out. For some reason, my controllers (both of them) came programmed with both the R2 and L2 macroed to some button configuration. You'd think that if the first controller was having that problem, the second one wouldn't. But it did. And I know of other buyers who have had the same problem. Hip Gear isn't all that responsive in answering e-mails and letting users know that all you have to do it clear the macroes. Not a great experience, and especially not for those who want everything working right out of the box (don't we all?) and don't like figuring things out. I'm guessing Hip Gear has lost many a customer like this.
All in all, the controller is decent, if you can get it to work properly. It's not as light and responsive as the Sony's wired controller and it's not as easy to use as the Wavebird for the Gamecube. But for the cost, I can say that it's a decent buy. It's on the low budget end of the wireless spectrum and I'm guessing that Hip Gear is going to improve this controller soon. But if you can get it for $20 like my wife did, I'd say go for it. Be sure to read the manual though. If I'd done that the first day I bought it, I wouldn't have been so frustrated.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
roheblius
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Member: Garrett M. Gonzales
Location: Gilroy, CA
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