Interact is a company that makes many accessories. Most of them are good quality. This one however, is very poor. This arcade stick is a horrible investment and I imagine Interact will stop shipping these to places soon. It just isn't a good quality product. It lacks one major thing and this is a good stick.

The buttons on this arcade stick are all analog, just like all the buttons on a regular Playstation 2 controller. The buttons are sensitive, work well when pushed, and do what they should. Being analog helps the usefulness of the controller by making it good for more than just one game. Other games can be used to help get some more value out of the arcade stick.

The rest of the stick however is horrible. The stick, the main part of the piece, just doesn't work well. What you press doesn't really come out like that, the motion isn't very smooth, and it's alignment just seems to be off. With such a nice look and a perfect setup for distance on the buttons and nice sensitive buttons, it's a shame that the actual stick itself isn't very sensitive and doesn't work very well. When I was using it, I had to adjust all my motions on the stick, because down wasn't really down. It was actually down+forward. Which creates a hefty difference of fighting games, which is the main use of an arcade stick. The motions all had to be redone and even then, the stick just didn't like to react. You try to move forward and it doesn't go forward. Double tapping the stick and quick motions, just didn't register. I thought maybe it was a bad stick, took mine back and got a new one. Same thing was wrong with that one too. I took that stick back and found out it was the fourth one returned that week. So I figure, the problem is mutual. It wasn't just my stick.

And as for buying an arcade stick for the Playstation 2, I just don't see the point right now. The fighting games are few for it and really, the Playstation 2 controller works fine. But if you're looking for a good arcade stick, to practice up on your skills so when you go to the arcade, you should check out www.massystems.com and see what they offer. Their prices are stiff, but the sticks are worth every penny. The Shadowblade by Interact just isn't worth it.

All in all, Interact really put out a bad product here. There really isn't too much to say about this product rather than just save your money and get something better. The arcade stick looks nice, has a good feel, nice buttons, but a horrible stick. With the main feature being messed up, it really makes for a poor choice to spend money on. If you're really serious about getting a stick, check out Massystems and see what they have. It's a hefty chunk of cash, but it offers a much better value than this poor product by Interact.

Recommended: No