Pelican AfterGlow Pro
Written: Mar 25 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Durable and comfortable
Cons: Neon lights quit working
The Bottom Line: Great controller. Very durable, really comfortable and inexpensive. I no longer use the standard PS2 controller.
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| krial's Full Review: PS2 Pelican Afterglow Pro Controller After Glow fo... |
Introduction
My girlfriend got into playing some role-playing games on the Sony Playstation, but since she has small hands she really wanted a smaller controller to play with. We went to Wal-Mart and looked around, and eventually decided on the Pelican AfterGlow Pro. It's a pretty standard clone of the original Playstation Dual Shock controller, and actually isn't that much smaller like we had originally thought. It is changed just enough that she is more comfortable playing with it, yet not so much that it bugs me either. It has grown on me as well, I use it all the time and no longer switch back to the standard PS2 Dual Shock when I play games.
Look & Feel
The AfterGlow Pro is a transparent controller, and you can see the inner workings of the controller through the clear plastic housing. The entire controller glowed a bright neon blue, and the little round Pelican logo in the middle of the controller had a kaleidoscope effect that made it change colors; blue, orange, green, pink and purple. The outer edges of the wings have tactile rubberized grips attached for added comfort and to help you keep ahold of the controller more easily.
It features the same buttons as the Dual Shock. The L1 and R1 trigger buttons are on the top shoulder like normal, but the L2 and R2 triggers are set about an inch further down and tilted at an angle. That makes it more comfortable to rest your middle fingers on them, and gives you a greater reaction time than with the Dual Shock when using those two buttons. The square, triangle, circle, and x buttons are in the same location as they are on a standard Dual Shock, as is the directional pad. All of the AfterGlow Pro's buttons are fully analog and pressure sensitive.
The start and select buttons are set vertically instead of horizontally, and the analog selection button is a little bigger and easier to push. The dual analog sticks are set just a tiny bit closer together, making the entire controller a little bit smaller from end to end. The AfterGlow Pro is not quite as wide as the Dual Shock, but is a little bit taller due to the wings being longer. The height helps make the controller more comfortable due to the lower placing of the L2 and R2 trigger buttons.
Not only is it a surprisingly comfortable controller, but the AfterGlow Pro is a pretty durable controller as well. It feels more sturdy than the Dual Shock, and is still going strong after two years of heavy gaming (and my little brothers sure never went easy on it). I've even thrown it across the room in frustration myself a few times. Stupid cheating games, grrr!
It features two motors, one in each wing of the handle, for rumble/force feedback. It weighs about the same as the Dual Shock, maybe an hair more. It also features an 8 foot long cord, which turns out to be an inch or two longer than the standard Dual Shock's cord. I'm not a big fan of wireless controllers, because I'm too cheap to replace batteries in them - but I would die if I had to play with a controller with a 4 foot cord, so I'm perfectly happy so far.
My Experience
After my girlfriend finished playing with her new toy, I proceeded to break the sucker in. I loaded up Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and went to town, choking guards left and right, shoving them in lockers and bathroom stalls, shooting cameras out and stealthing around. Then I loaded up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and entered some handy cheat codes. Blew up some police cars, stole an army tank, etc. The AfterGlow Pro was quick, responsive, and performed exactly as I expected - never leaving me mashing the button fifty times and cussing at it for not working.
Fast forward. Two years of heavy gaming later, thrown around by me and beat up by my little brothers, I figured I would play through Sons of Liberty again. Apart from the L2 trigger button sticking just a little bit, the controller performed just as well now as it did two years ago. The only other thing is that the neon blue lights and the kaleidoscope logo effect have both stopped working at some point in time. After two years of hard use, I'm not complaining... the AfterGlow Pro has held up more than adequately.
Final Thoughts
Pelican offers a full 5 year warranty on the AfterGlow Pro. Additionally, and I quote, "If Pelican's AfterGlow PRO causes damage to your PlayStation 2 console through normal operation, Pelican will repair or replace your system at no charge." Can you really beat a warranty like that?
I couldn't be happier with my AfterGlow Pro controller. It's more durable, easier access to the shoulder trigger buttons, and the cord is a couple inches longer than Sony's Dual Shock. You know how when you have a friend over, you give him the junk controller to play with? Well around here that friend gets the Dual Shock.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
krial
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Member: Frank Ellis
Location: Mio, Michigan
Reviews written: 43
Trusted by: 75 members
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