True, quality gaming is accomplished through immersion and immersion is accomplished through the senses; sight (graphics), sound (audio), touch (rumble), and taste and smell, which have no place just yet in today’s games. When it was announced that the Playstation 3’s new cutting-edge controller, the Six Axis, would be released without a rumble feature, a collective groan emitted from Sony fans worldwide. Sure, there were noticeable improvements from the Six Axis’ predecessor, the Dual Shock 2, like Bluetooth support for wireless gaming, strong battery life, and Wii-like motion controls, but games felt empty without that tactile feedback.
I recall how strange playing the first person shooter Resistance felt at the PS3 launch party in New York when shooting an assault rifle as the controller lay silent in my hands. At another Sony press event, I played Formula One and commented multiple times to the (annoyed) PR reps how badly the game needed rumble feedback. They indicated that incorporating rumble into the Six Axis was a strong possibility and it seems more than just coincidence that the Dual Shock 3 was released, in all of its rumble glory, soon after Sony settled their lawsuit with Immersion, the developer of force feedback.
The Xbox 360 has been the beneficiary of this, as it had rumble support from day one, and consumers focused on a rumble feature may have factored that in when deciding to purchase a 360 unit. Now with the release of the Dual Shock 3, that advantage has been eliminated. Combine that with Blu-ray’s convincing win over HD-DVD and rising PS3 sales and it is clear that momentum is shifting in Sony’s favor.
The Dual Shock 3 looks nearly identical to the Six Axis, save for the blue branding of its name right above the mini-usb port, but pick it up and you’ll notice some extra heft.
The added weight is a welcome addition, and it feels less toy-like than the featherweight Six Axis. The non-removable battery still remains, unfortunately, so you’ll have to ditch the controller when the battery dies. Turning rumble on is a big drain on the battery, providing an estimated 15 hours of play versus 30 hours with rumble turned off. Another downer is that you can only charge the controller though the PS3’s USB port while the PS3 is on, forcing you to leave the PS3 on overnight to charge a controller. I would hope a future software update would allow for charging while the PS3 is in the sleeping state.
Many of the launch titles support rumble for the Dual Shock 3, so going back and playing those games again just became a lot more interesting. I dusted off my copy of Resistance and after several hours of playing, appreciated how much rumble enhances the gameplay. The force feedback mechanism felt good with varying degrees of intensity depending on what gun I was using, and the left and right side can rumble independently. Still, I could not notice a significant improvement over the force feedback technology in the Dual Shock 2. Also, not every first-gen game that supports the Dual Shock 3 will feature the same level of rumble; when playing Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, I had to double check that the rumble feature was on because my controller barely rumbled. The full list of compatible titles is available on the official Playstation site.
The Dual Shock 3 is not only a welcome addition to the Playstation family, but a necessary one. It fills a gaping hole in the Playstation 3’s functionality, and brings the PS3 in line with its competitors. If you already have a PS3 unit, you’ll have to shell out $55 for it, a substantial price but well worth the money. If you don’t have a PS3, then you could wait a few months until the Dual Shock 3 is packaged in, saving you some money in the process.
Rating: 8.5
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