To save power, there are two sleep modes. After three minutes, the battery LED’s will start flashing to signal that it is in sleep mode 1. The unit will shut off after ten minutes of inactivity and all lights will turn off. You have to press the rumble button to turn it back on.
Plugging a standard ole PS2 controller into the transmitter, I tried out Tony Hawk 3, Grand Theft Auto 3, and Virtua Fighter 4. I usually play these three on cordless controllers to test out the responsiveness along with the accuracy of the analog buttons. For VF4, I did a few fights and found that the WOW unit held up really well. Fighting the computer, I had no trouble pulling off any move and it was pretty responsive. Combined button presses registered perfectly along with any combination I pulled. So far so good.
Grand Theft Auto 3 showed me that the analog buttons and sticks were transmitted flawlessly. A light press on the accelerator and the car responded with a slow acceleration. I pressed harder and the car quickly got up to speed. Pushing lightly on the analog sticks produce a slight turn while a hard push gave me a tighter turn. All in all, the WOW unit also performed well here.
Finally, I tried Tony Hawk 3. If I could generate the same scores as I normally do and pull off the quick combos, then Saitek’s really got a quality product here. I’m glad to say that I was pulling off grinds and combos without any problems. The unit transmitted my commands quickly thus minimizing the lag. All the games I tried worked out great thus showing that the Saitek WOW unit works as advertised and works wonderfully.
Oh I almost forgot to talk about the range. The unit worked great at around 20 feet away and started to become more erratic as I inched away. 20 feet is pretty far and unless you have a really big TV, I doubt you'll move to a point where the unit is out of range.
I also tested the unit out with a few different brands of controllers and all seem to work fine with the unit. So for those that don’t have the standard PS2 controller but some third party device, you shouldn’t have a problem with it.
Saitek’s With Out Wires has succeeded in providing gamers with the power to turn their controllers into cordless devices. It’s designed well and provides a flawless game playing experience. At $39, it isn’t priced too badly. Unfortunately it only works with two controllers. But I can’t tell you how nice it is to sit far away from the TV, play games, and not worry about anyone tripping over cords. The unit does a great job and I highly recommend it if you are in search of a cordless setup.
A-
If you want a cordless controller but don’t want to give up your old ones, then the Saitek WOW unit is for you. Recharging capabilities, solid design, and great response time makes this one of the best PS2 peripherals around even though you are limited to two controllers.
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