Gadgetory

(electronic music) - We've talked a lot about different weird controllers before and a lot of them have come from Hori and this next one is no exception, although I think it has one of the most interesting gimmicks that we've seen them do historically. This is a PS2 controller that let's you do this. This controller lets you split in half and use each side independently while playing a game, although, since it's an old school PS2 controller you still need to actually connect them with a cable. But it ends up working out a lot like this old school version of what we currently have with the joy-cons on the Switch or maybe even Wiimote and nunchuck from the Wii. It's this very comfortable experience where you don't have to have your hands together at the same time, or if you prefer, you can just put them back together and use it like a regular controller. Now, of course, I could test this out on a PS2, we've done that before with other retro controllers, but there's something else that we're going to take a look at today with this that's also interesting. We actually found an adapter that allows you to use PSone and PS2 style controllers on a PS4. So we're going to take this controller and try it on a modern game. There's a few interesting things going on with this controller aside from the obvious fact of how it splits. Because of the fact you can't make any use of the middle section of the controller, everything has been relocated to this right hand side of it. You've got the select, start, and analog switches all down here and you'll also notice that the L1 and L2 buttons have been placed here, even though we have them over here as well and the reason for that is that this controller actually is three different modes of use. There's together like a regular controller. There's the split design where you're using a cable between them and you have this kind of relaxed controller on either side of you motion. Or you can actually play with just the one right hand side by itself as a one-handed controller design and the way that works is still have the shoulder buttons right here and then you use this switch to change what exactly this stick does, either acting as the left joystick, the right joystick, or as the arrow keys. Now obviously this is not something that will work for every game out there but in the ones that just need that kinda minimal input, it's an interesting option to have and very reminiscent of another PS2 Hori controller that we've looked at before which offered that kind of one-handed gameplay style. Now this very modular aspect controller is very interesting but the part that I find the most compelling and really want to talk about is using the two controllers when they are connected by a cable because I really think this is the most interesting idea that was very much ahead of its time because like I said, it's something that in practice is very similar to what Nintendo did with the Wiimote and nunchuck or even more so, the pair of joy-cons. This idea of having a single controller that is actually one controller tied together like we're so used to, this kind of liberating comfortable option of just being able to have both controllers and you can lay back with them. So we're just gonna mess around playing Kingdom Hearts through with this, I'm just at the very beginning of the game, and yeah, this definitely working. I'm actually surprised, more than this controller, the adapter surprises me. I really thought this was going to be a bigger problem but it's reading all my inputs fine. I'm going to admit, it's a little less comfortable than a normal controller if I'm doing it like this but that's mostly for the benefit of you guys being able to see the controller. I think if I could just play like down here and just not even think about it, like I was laying down on a couch, or just hanging out somewhere in a chair, just didn't even have my arms up, this would actually be really comfortable. By the way, if you guys are wondering how a PS2 controller can actually fully work on a PS4 controller, well while you're using this adapter most of the buttons you need for most games are on both controllers. The only thing that a PS2 controller is really missing is the touchpad and a home button. So for the home button, there's actually a hot key with this adapter where you just hit the left analog and start at the same time. For the touchpad, there's options for like pressing down on parts of it by using a directional stick and start but there's no way to actually copy the full motion of a touchpad. So when a game that actually needs in-depth touchpad controls, you're not gonna get that with this. Otherwise, for the vast majority of games, this works. I really gotta say that, so far, while just playing with this, I have some complaints about it as a controller in general which we'll talk about a little later but just the basic concept of having this cord, the cord itself is a little silly, but being able to just hold either side of the controller wherever I want within reason, it does add a certain degree of comfort here that you don't really get with traditional controllers. So I've been messing with it in the extended form like this. Let's go ahead and switch back to it as a regular controller just for a little bit to see how it compares. It's kinda weird going between these 'cause it's more comfortable and it's less comfortable at the same time. Like this feels familiar, I'm used to having a controller like this. The only time I don't hold a controller like this anymore is I'm either on keyboard and mouse or if I'm using joy-cons. But most controllers, this is the experience and there's something just familiar and comfortable about that. Whereas, if I'm using it in the split mode, it's different but it kinda works out better, I think. Real quick, I just want to talk about this adapter we picked up. This is a PS2 to PS3 or PS4 controller adapter that's made actually by Brook Accessory, the same guys that made that Xbox One controller adapter that let's you use it wirelessly with other Bluetooth devices. And if you're interesting in checking this out, I'll have a link down below but when we first got it, I actually thought it was broken 'cause I just couldn't get it to work with any of our PS2 controllers and then I realized what the issue was and it's actually really dumb. The base here, that's behind the USB port itself, is just a little too big to fit inside the lip of the PS4, at least the PS4 Pro, so it will look and feel like it's plugged in all the way but it's actually only 70% or 80% of the way there so you actually have to plug it into the back USB port, that's gonna give you enough room. So if you pick this up and you're wondering why doesn't this work, try that. It's interesting to try out this controller on a modern system because it really makes you think about the approach companies take to designing the controllers that we're currently using. Because, yeah, look for it's time, it was an okay so-so controller. The buttons are whatever, the stick heads are tiny and not very comfortable, the D-pad is very mushy. It's an old third-party controller but just the concept of splitting it and being able to use both ends is something that I think modern console manufacturers should actually take a look at and clearly, Nintendo is one of those companies that has because that's how joy-cons work. Don't get me wrong, I still love the traditional modern controller design and that is still a controller I would prefer to use for serious gaming. If I'm doing something competitive or I'm playing a very difficult game where I gotta do a lot of complex input and stuff, yeah, I'm gonna prefer that for a pro controller design. But if I just want lay back and relax and play some games and just maximum chill possible, this is a really intriguing cool idea. That's why I love the joy-cons on the Switch 'cause whenever I use it in dock mode, I don't like putting them in the comfort grip, I just like being able to lay my hands wherever they're gonna be and play a game and just not have to really think about it. To have something like that for Playstation or Xbox or even something you can use on the PC, that's really awesome and I kinda want it now.