SplitFish's FragFX Shark 360
This extra is attached to this story, click modify to view or change it
For years, professional and ultra-competitive video gamers have used SplitFish's mouse/gamepad hybrid controllers on the PlayStation 3 to have an advantage over their opponents. New this year onto the Xbox 360 is the company's FragFX Shark 360, a wireless FragFX hybrid controller formerly only available as a PS3 accessory.
While at first glance the Shark 360 is nothing more than a funky gamepad for one hand and an optical mouse for the other, spending a little time using it on a suitable title (FPS games are most recommended) and the user will find it provides for a mostly superior gameplay experience when compared to the standard Xbox 360 gamepad.
At its core, the mouse half of the Shark 360 is a standard two-button computer mouse with scroll wheel. On the side (where the player's thumb would be) is where the colored A/B/X/Y buttons reside. The mouse is large-ish and fits nicely in the hand of a full-grown male. The thumb buttons are positioned well and are easy to access save for the 'Y' button, which takes some maneuvering to press compared to the other three.
In the user's left hand is the Shark 360's traditional-ish gamepad. Featuring both an analog stick and a multifunction 'D-pad', it is something that console gamers will find instantly familiar compared to the more PC gamer oriented mouse half of the setup. This part is more-or-less exactly like the PS3's Shark controller and provides pretty much the same kind of functionality.
Like previous FragFX controllers, the Shark 360 comes with a reinforced mouse pad. It's reinforced so gamers can use the mouse while seated comfortably on the couch. It's best if used on a stable, flat surface to minimize stray movement, but the pad typically does well enough on its own.
Playing FPS-type games, as mentioned before, is what the Shark 360 is best for. Deep Silver's Dead Island and Valve's Left 4 Dead worked very well with this controller setup -- probably better than they do with the standard 360 controller. Other titles, such as non-FPS title NBA 2K12, didn't translate nearly as well at all. Then again, the FragFX Shark 360 wasn't designed with games like NBA 2K12 in mind.
FPS gamers who decide to take a chance on SplitFish's offbeat controller for the Xbox 360 shouldn't be disappointed and they should see a boost to their game. The quicker response time and natural PC-style feel are an advantage that all Xbox 360 (and PS3 in regards to last year's FragFX Shark) should be utilizing.
News10/KXTV