Retrocon is out

[Ragnarok the Red]

I just picked up the actual RetroCon a few hours ago. I'm really digging it so far.

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801729

Impressions plz, buddy

[Mamoscott]

Impressions plz, buddy

Here you go.


Before I get started, please keep in mind that I am not a very big fan of Sony’s Dual Shock controller. I find it to be barely tolerable at best, and I’ve outlined my complaints about it here a few times (http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/s...ght=dual+shock). The RetroCon does not address all of the issues that I have with Sony’s design, but I figured it was worth a shot, since I’d probably spend the $25 on cheap beer (or something equally as worthless - like Rez) anyway. Plus, I want to show my support for third parties willing to take a chance by releasing PS2 controllers that aren’t cheap Dual Shock clones.

First off, the controller is small and so are the analog sticks. When I first saw previews of the RetroCon, I assumed Mad Catz was more or less staying faithful to the look of the NES pad, but what surprised me is that it’s almost the exact same size as the standard NES controller as well. And even though they’ve managed to squeeze all the Dual Shock 2’s buttons and functions on it, no part of the controller feels especially cramped.

The d-pad has performed admirably so far, but I haven’t had a chance to use it for an especially great length yet. I’ve tried out the RetroCon with Madden 2004 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004, but mostly you just use the d-pad in those games to aim shots and assign hot routes, nothing completely d-pad intensive. There’s nothing to complain about yet, but I’ll post some updated impressions once I try a game that is going to give the d-pad a workout.

By far the hardest thing to do is condition yourself to the new layout of the shoulder buttons. Instead being located on top of each other, they’re directly next to each other. L1 and R1 are closer to the outside, while R2 and L2 are closer to the middle. One of the reasons I played Madden first is that you make frequent use of the shoulder buttons, all four of them. In Madden, L2 puts your quarterback into scramble mode instead of pass mode, and the L1 button is assigned to one of your receivers. If you accidentally put your QB in scramble mode when you’re trying to pass (or vice versa), 99% of the time you’re screwed. I figured this situation would be a good “trial by fire” in forcing me to get used to the shoulder button layout. Madden’s doing its job pretty well so far.

Aside from the retro design and the buttons that light up, the RetroCon’s biggest assets are its analog sticks and face buttons. The face buttons are about the same size as the Dual Shock’s (despite having less overall space to work with), and they’ve got a slightly more rounded and “bouncy” feel to them, which seems to give my fingers more feedback when I’m trying to use the controller’s analog button functions. The analog sticks are small, but very tight, similar to the Xbox Type S sticks (or the PS2 Chameleon controller’s sticks, though I’m sure far less people have experience with that model). For those who don’t know, the Tiger Woods series utilizes an analog swing, requiring players to more or less move the stick directly down on the backswing and directly up on the swing for a straight shot. I hate the “looseness” of the Dual Shock sticks, and because of that, it’s much easier to hook or slice shots in Tiger Woods 2004. With the RetroCon, I could pretty much put the ball exactly where I was aiming every time, similar to the way I could in my Gamecube version of Tiger Woods 2003. With the Dual Shock, I’m often stuck accounting for a hook or slice before even hitting.

While I’ve admittedly spent a limited amount of time using the controller, I’m fairly impressed with it. After I get home from work, I’m probably going to try the RetroCon with Sly Cooper, Ico, Contra:SS, Metal Slug (PSX), Castlevania: SotN, and a few other titles to see how it operates under different types of games.

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

EDIT: IGN's review is here - http://gear.ign.com/articles/433/433778p1.html

[Frogacuda]

bbobb is hardCORE!!!!1111oneone

No, I think anyone who plays fighting games and prefers pads to sticks knows this. those 2 controllers were leagues above anything else.

[Captain Vegetable]

Prefers pads to joysticks, or can tollerate pads if they can't get a joystick? I can tollerate pads, but if the choice is mine, the joystick will always win. My brother is the only person I've ever known who prefers pads to sticks.

[Mzo]

Prefers pads to joysticks, or can tollerate pads if they can't get a joystick? I can tollerate pads, but if the choice is mine, the joystick will always win. My brother is the only person I've ever known who prefers pads to sticks.

Some people like getting pissed and shit on. They even pay other people money to do it to them.

[kabuki]

EDIT: IGN's review is here - http://gear.ign.com/articles/433/433778p1.html

I very rarely care to look at IGN anymore, but I wanted more info on this controller so I clicked the link. Instead of bringing me to the review, it brings me to some dumbass ad page that basically froze my computer for about twenty seconds because it would not load properly.

Then I get to the review and I see nice sentences such as this: "You'll have to wait until sometime this fall for yours, but the worth might be worth it." I sure hope that the "worth" is worth it.

So, anyone else have some competent impressions they would like to add?

[Diff-chan]

kabuki, and dont forget the fact that they say that the wait "might" be worth it... its a fucking goddamn review! They're paying this asshole to tell people whether its worth it or not!

IGN is so retarded.

[kabuki]

LMAO

[James]

Loaded fine for me, no pausing or anything and hitting Reload as soon as the ad appeared did its usual job of making it go far, far away. Overall I thought it was a pretty thorough review, one glaring typo in the intro notwithstanding.

Mamoscott, any comment on their D-pad paragraph now that you've had a bit more time with it?

James

[Mamoscott]

Mamoscott, any comment on their D-pad paragraph now that you've had a bit more time with it?

I actually much prefer the RetroCon's d-pad to the Dual Shock's. I tried out Contra: Shattered Soldier with it and have no complaints. For what it's worth though, my brother feels that the d-pad is slightly less responsive than Sony's, because comparatively, you have to supply a bit more pressure to a direction before the RetroCon responds. Regardless, he plans on buying his own RetroCon soon as well.

Also, the shoulder buttons are more comfortable than I expected. It doesn't seem unnecessarily difficult to constantly be switching between shoulder buttons, but then again it's hard for me to determine how much of the difficulty in using the new shoulder layout is due to bad design or just because it's so different from what I'm used to with the Dual Shock.