A really nice feature about the FragFX is that you can download a program to your computer and customize the setup through a nice graphical user interface. Buttons and adjustment of pressure sensitivity is available with the softwareSplitFish provides. Just plug in the FragFX into an available USB port and you are good to go. There's a problem I'm currently running into though and that you must be running a 32-bit version of WindowsXP for this to run. I've tried Windows Server 2003 which is on my development computer and also Windows Vista 32-bit Business Edition and neither worked at all in recognizing that theFragFX was plugged in. Browsing a few boards, it seems that some people have problems with the software on Windows XP machines so I hope SplitFish is able to get the software to be solid in the near future.
So the game I decided to test the FragFX with is Resistence: Fall of Man. I programmed the controller to do the melee attack when I shook it and adjusted the sensitivity in both the game and the controller using the dial until I was comfortable. I've used a few other products before that tried to emulate a mouse setup but the FragFX is the best implementation so far. It's not perfect but it works well enough for me, a heavy PC fps gamer, to use. The movement does seem a little inconsistent though at times where I would turn fine but then I'd have bouts of stuttering. It didn't affect me too much but it did happen often enough to be a minor annoyance. The two mouse buttons don't feel as nice as a lot of other mice that i use. I think the spring feels a little too mushy and not as strong as my computer mice. Make no bones about it though, it made playing Resistance a lot easier for me since I'm so used to a mouse setup. I was definitely more accurate with the FragFX than I was with a regular controller. The combination of the Frag button and sniping really was nice to use. The Frag button is pressure sensitive so the harder you press the slower you move. I'll always prefer a mouse over a controller in FPS games and the mouse on the FragFX did a good job.
The left controller did feel pretty comfortable when I was holding it. The analog stick felt pretty good and snapped back into place pretty readily. When moving the analog stick, it offered good resistance and felt smooth moving around. The D-Pad also feels solid. Both the L1 and L2 buttons are of good size and I was easily able to tell I was pressing them compared to the smaller Frag button. The dial to adjust the sensitivity is out of the way enough for me not to reach it accidentally. Reaction to me shaking the controller was accurate and I even used the controller in a game of flOw without any problems.
By holding down the Frag button and pushing the PS/mouse button, the color of the button changes from blue to green indicating you are now in mouse mode. In mouse mode, the FragFX really makes browsing the PlayStation Store easier since the GUI is really setup like a browser on a computer with a cursor. If there's a choice between a controller and the FragFX, I'd definitely go with the FragFX to browse the store as it's more comfortable to use.
SplitFish's FragFX is a good alternative to the PlayStation 3 controller for playing first person shooters on the Sony console. Programmability through real time adjustment or through the GUI on a computer lets you customize the controller to your liking. You do get great support though as SplitFish will do anything it can to fix or help setup your controller. Also, the controller has a lifetime warranty. It's a little expensive though and it's not wireless but SplitFish is coming out with a wireless version of the FragFX which I'll be interested to see how well it does.
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SplitFish's FragFX is a good alternative for first person shooters on the PlayStation 3. It's the most successful implementation of a mouse setup for a console to date.
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