FPS Freeks Review

From my blog:



Here's the "FPS Freeks" I got a few days ago from KontrolFreek.com. I've been playing around with it lately and think I've adjusted enough to write a little review on my experience.

To start off, I was just as skeptical as you probably are looking at that picture. It DOES look kind of stupid and pointless, but upon receiving them and playing a few games you can see a clear improvement with the consistency of the stick movement. The extra 40% length to the stick gives you more control over tiny, minute adjustments, while you can still throw it to the side and get a spinning 720 noscope headshot (I think I saw that on a Top Ten somewhere once...). I found it a little harder to control at first...I just put my sensitivity down a notch, and now I've been able to bring it back up to normal after adjusting.

I tried it in a few games to see how it would go. First off, I have to say...Call of Duty 4 with the FPS Freeks is awesome. You can still whip around and kill people, and adjusting to the recoil and making small adjustments to hit moving targets works really well. In the vein, SWAT and Snipers in Halo 3 is also really good with these. I then moved on to Half Life 2 and tried them out. Still pretty good...but the FPS Freek advantage is much reduced with the fast-paced run 'n' gun style. Nonetheless, I felt a little more in control and saw no reason to take them off my controller.

Installation is fairly easy on paper. Snap on to put them on, snap off to take them off. Unfortunately, the FPS Freeks feel like they are NEVER going to get off the freakin' thumbstick, they have a practically iron grip. I figured out after a few times that if you hold the bottom of the thumbstick and push up while you pull up and to the side on the Freeks, it comes off alright. To be fair, however, I'd much rather have a hard time taking off my FPS Freeks than have them popping off in the middle of a BR fight.

Only problem I've had with them so far is the oversized new thumbsticks. They fit on top of your old sticks and add another one, but this one's actually bigger than the old one. Don't get me wrong, I love the bigger thumbstick, but I miss the finger comfort on the Thumax grips, and I don't see why it should have to be one or the other...I can kind of stretch the Thumax grips over them, but it's a pain.

As you'd expect, the space to the buttons is increased; this obviously comes with having a taller thumbstick. After a few games I adjusted fine and it wasn't a problem. In fact, I feel like I can reach over the sticks and have better control than before, so I'm liking it more, actually.

Kontrol Freek also sells a racing thumbstick that looks awesome for racers. I don't have it so I can't give any opinions, but by just looking at it:

You can pretty much tell it makes turning right/left more accurate. Looks great for Halo or other game racers alike. I believe it's the same price as the FPS Freeks.


I still feel like I'm adjusting to the FPS Freeks and I really like how they're working so far. I'd recommend anyone who plays games that require minute adjustments while still using fast turns (Call of Duty, Halo SWAT, etc) to pick these up. People who play other games or gametypes will also benefit from these...and very possibly even Forgers. The FPS Freeks are sold for $10 a pair at kontrolfreek.com.

 

Never said it makes you an instant pro. The idea is that games like COD get much easier...Halo not so much, but it does help a little.