Thoughts, Rants & Reviews: Review: Splitfish FragFX Shark

BEFORE I BEGIN: Yes, I haven't been on in awhile. Yes, I still put stock into this blog, No, I will not finish my review of Gran Turismo 5, and let me tell why. This game came out in November buggy and incomplete. PD has been patching and fixing the game since, and it has improved considerably. I enjoy the game. The realism factor is much better than Microsoft's Forza Motorsport 3 (though irony strikes me because I play FM3 a hell of a lot more), as well as the textures and true resolution. Other than that, no...FM3 beats GT5 in presentation and customization. Anyway, The way PD has been approaching this game, with no DLC of any kind yet, all these patches seem to be the stuff that they should have looked into before releasing the game. They are essentially finishing the game up before they even decide to upgrade or release new stuff. On those grounds, I can't give an accurate review because these updates change the scope of the playing field.

So onward to a new device that I have...and this will be a quick review. The FragFX series of controllers have been around for quite a bit. It's suppose to give the feeling of playing your FPS game on a PC, which the players are much more accurate (which is also why you don't see much games with cross platform online because it would suck for pro console players to lose to mediocre PC players..this was actually tested from Microsoft quite some time ago.) with aiming. I bought it because as much as I tried to be, I can't be good at both a controller and a mouse. Plus, the aim assist that consoles are plagued with (and for some, give the illusion that they're actually good) throws me off quite a bit. You can turn it off on titles like Call of Duty, but it's forever on for games like Killzone, and Bad Company 2.

This controller somewhat levels my playing field so I can enjoy my investment a lot more. Afterall, I did buy the damn game, it's no good to me if I can't enjoy it the way I want to enjoy it. Some people can't seem to grasp that concept. Anyway, The Frag FX Shark is the newest variant to (I believe) 3 other versions. It is supposed to be fastest responding model in their line, and it's wireless. It is currently compatible with the PS3, PC, and the Mac. As you can see below, It's a 4 piece set with a mouse pad, the receiver, the chuck controller and the mouse .

Click for larger image..I think..

The the chuck, the typical PS Home button is above the analog stick. The shoulder buttons are large and very responsive, and the extra 3rd button act as a function switch and works in conjuction with the D-pad, and select button. The two functions you would be dealing with are the stick swap and button remapping functions, and I will tell you why shortly. Below and to the side of the chuck is the power switch and the deadzone wheel. The deadzone wheel allows you to change the dpi levels on the mouse mainly for the PS3.

On the receiver, there is a switch that you have to hit in order for it to work on your computer.

While we're on computers, initial playing was not pretty good. The test game was the very consolized Crysis 2. I figure I try a game with that was ported to the PC and was ultimately designed for the consoles. For starters, I couldn't set it up so I'm using a controller (for the analog movements of the chuck), and a mouse for aiming since that is somehow associated with the keyboard. Because of this, your movement on the analog stick is binary based, and it acts as if you're hitting the default movements keys (W/A/S/D). As for the mouse, it runs at 1800 dpi, so people who only run their mouses at around 2000 dpi, than the mouse is fine. It's very responsive. My PC mouse has the ability to change the dpi on the fly therefore, I never stuck with the Shark mouse.

Gaming on the PS3 is an entirely different story. For those who are dominant PC but always wanted to tap into the console world to play with your friends (because lets face it, for most people, their friends are gaming on a console over a PC), the Shark is your ticket in! It's not by any means a seamless translation of the mouse movement you would experience with a mouse on a PC shooter (1:1), but it's much more responsive and controlled than any analog stick at full sensitivity. Another factor is how the game is setup. For starters, the mouse reacts differently to most games, and it's a matter of getting comfortable with it. For instance, the most titles that the mouse emulates PC style aiming is Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops. In fact, I had to tone down the sensitivity (Deadzone: 4 - 5. in-game: 8 - 9). Another thing I do is turn the aim assist off so your movement is not hindered...Of course, you can be a diseased phallus shaped object and leave it on you cheating console only punk (U MAD? :P).

Another game that ran well with the Shark is Bad Company 2. Currently, I have the Deadzone at around 3 - 4 and the ingame sensitivity at max. It's responsive enough to dominate in your K/D department, although unlike the mindless arcade action you get with Call of Duty, Battlefield is completely role based and strategy based. IMO, you shouldn't worry about that, but a lot of current console BC2 player just play it like CoD and end up losing the match. /rant ANYWAY, the Shark will definitely add to your response time when arming an MCOM, checking for fools who want to take shots at you. One thing I don't agree with (but it's just me) is the fat that the aim assist (yes, that again) is forced in this game so at times, your down sight aiming is hindered with stair stepping, especially with a sniper scope. That is when Stick Swap comes in handy (refer to Other Thoughts).

The last game I tried is Killzone 3. This is where you'll have an upper advantage over all the Move users. I have the Deadzone at 1 and again, the ingame is at 100% for both axis. When you're using all non-sniper related weapons, the reaction time is spot on. Sniping is ridiculous using the mouse. It's possible if you're in a rather good position where players are just chilling in the killbox, but leading a target is also plagued with the staircasing effect and you have to make long than normal movements to fine tune your aim. I also don't recommend Stick Swap because of the faster pace this game has over BC2. What I do recommend is only get center-mass shots. Yeah, you'll miss out on an extra 50 points, but I found no justification to fine tune your shot for the head with the Shark. If you're used to sniping well with a controller, just use the controller, BUT I recommend using this mouse for every other weapon.

OTHER THOUGHTS...FANBOYISM..

A bit of advice for those console-only players: if you ever get a chopper gunner killstreak, you're not going to like the movement the mouse makes when aiming. That is when the Stick Swap function is for. Just press and hold the F button and press select, after the LED flashes, tap on the Stick Swap function, repeat the first step and presto! Another neat feature is the Button Remapping function. With the exception of game-specific features (if any), you can your controller up so the layout remains the same for all the games you play. My personal changes for Call of Duty is that I swapped the grenade button (R2) with stance button (circle). Now I have I can just right click to change stance (which is important to me for CoD). I also changed the melee function to the sixaxis gyro in the chuck. For BC2, I haven't changed anything. For KZ3, all I did was change the ingame control layout to Alternative so my L1 is the aim.

Another thing I want to touch up on is the state of whiny fanboys who cry about people who use the controller. I only had the Shark for a week and I was called a wallhack on Black Ops for getting a 18 - 7 K/D in Havana jumping in mid-match. I forgot that they can see the moments leading to their demise with the killcam and they can see my mouse movements as I snapped to his center-mass and pressed the mouse button. Let's get one thing straight. Everyone has a preference in how they want to enjoy their gaming (much like life). No one has to conform with the controller. I never bitched about the dude using their Move orb thing to snap and kill me. It's just how it is in KZ3. Besides, those very people shouldn't be bitching in the first place since they rely so heavily on their aim assist to make their kill. And don't tell me you don't use it. People on Reach tell me that everytime, but oh, a little feature called Replay Theater tells all. To top it off, the Shark in the right hands are destined for dominating constantly. If you're like me, you're average at playing. Your K/D is either slightly above or below 1, and you're inconsistent with your score and kills. For instance, I played a conquest match on BC2 a couple nights back and managed to get 21 - 7 with almost 5000 points. Tonight, I had a K/D on the same map of 4 - 14 with a score no higher than 300. It's easy to get frustrated with the person who keeps killing you, but one: don't blame the input method and two: It's just a game...calm down. No one cares (unless you're a 12 year old with a mic).

IN CONCLUSION:
For me, the Shark is an asset to my gaming enjoyment on the PS3. I recommend this to any PC dominant player who has a PS3 and want to play with their friends. I also recommend to any console-only player. Once you get used to the movements and layout, you're going to realize how much better a mouse is over an analog stick. Be aware to the fact that you do need a desk, or a table to effectively use the mouse. There is a reason why the mouse pad is larger than normal, but I highly recommend using a flat surface that doesn't rest on your leg or arm rest. You also want your wrist parallel to the rest of your arm unless you love being uncomfortable and Carpel Tunnel.

LAST LAST REMARKS (to 360-only folk)
Jealous of this greatness. I think most are not because the community is pretty snub and arrogant to begin with (yet, I only have 2 games now). Either way, don't be jealous! Splitfish didn't leave you out. They are releasing their FragFX Shark to the 360 soon. They also have a very powerful (and many claim a much better addon than the Shark) but rather expensive device called the XIM3 which allows you to plug in your keyboard and mouse and download firmware layouts for games.

VIDEOS!

FragFX Shark Black Ops