Mad Catz has come a long way in redeeming their name, and their new Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller continues that trend. While it costs a little more than the standard wired controller Microsoft offers, you also get a little more performance for your money. This controller is a standard game pad meant for use in almost all sorts of games; it isn’t just a Modern Warfare 2 tool. Like most typical game pads, it offers twin analog sticks, the d-pad, four face buttons, two triggers and bumpers... everything the normal controller has. Where it differs is in a few additional design features, ones that probably justify the extra $10 price.

Straight out of the box you get a wired controller and a plastic ’combat case’ to store it in. The controller is about the same size as the standard Microsoft 360 pad, with minor differences here and there to the shape and layout. It has one of two camo-style finishes (your choice of black/gray or white/gray patterns), and the cable is a nice braided cloth one nearly ten feet long. It also has two switches and buttons on the under side of the controller, near where your middle fingers rest; these are the ’combat buttons’ that can be mapped to a variety of functions, and they are one of the controller’s more compelling features. Here’s a quick look at each part of the pad:

Analog Sticks: Similar in size to the standard Microsoft analog sticks, these have three major differences worth noting. First, they have variable resistance as you move; the start of any motion is extremely easy and the tiniest nudge will move the sticks but they apply more resistance as you go further into that motion. I suspect this could be used for very close fine-tuning of one’s aim, depending on what kind of games you’re playing. Second, these sticks have no ’thumb nubs’ to provide grip or texture; I didn’t mind this, and I suspect whether this matters to you or not is a matter of preference. Finally, the sticks have what the box calls ’immersive backlit analog stick modules.’ This is a fancy marketing term for ’The sticks glow light green. Immersive!’ I do not care for it, but it doesn’t hurt the product aside from looking silly, so I was able to live with it.

D-Pad: Is an oddity, using a vaguely Nintendo-style ’plus’ design except thicker, and with each of its four edges raised while the center is indented. Motions are very stiff and there isn’t much room for subtlety, but it’s still an improvement over the standard Microsoft d-pad. I found it acceptable for various games where you would prefer the d-pad over the analog stick (such as many old arcade games from the XBLA catalog), and the only genre I wouldn’t really recommend it for is fighting games. This is fine; the Combat Controller is a general purpose pad, not a genre-specialist one.

A, B, X, Y, Back, Start, and Guide Buttons: All of these are more flat than the Microsoft default, but otherwise located where you would expect them. No complaints here; they’re easy to press and feel well enough in the hand once you get used to them which should only take a few minutes.

Bumpers: Located on the shoulder areas as you’d expect, these are much larger than the Microsoft ones. I really like this change, as some of my favorite games play better if you have easier access to the bumpers.

Triggers: Also where you’d expect to find them, the Combat Controller’s triggers have a curved protrusion at the bottom that I assume was meant to make them more like a gun trigger. The effect partially works, and they feel fine on your fingers. Their range of motion seems ever so slightly lighter and shorter than the Microsoft controller’s triggers to me; I am not sure it is enough to make a difference.

Combat Buttons/Switches: The major feature of this product, these rest on the under-side of the controller where your middle fingers would normally rest. The first switch can be set to Left Stick Button, A, or B while the other is for Right Stick Button, X, or Y. Pressing the associated combat button beneath the switch then causes you to have effectively pressed the chosen button, and this is an excellent feature. The only problem is the two buttons are a little too small, but this can be overcome with familiarity. This is nonetheless a great idea, letting you press some face buttons without moving your thumbs since your middle fingers can do an equivalent press for you.

Grips: The Combat Controller uses the same curved, ’ergonomic’ design you see on most controllers these days and includes rubber, textured pads on the sides. These feel nice enough on the hand, though bizarrely enough the back of the box claims these are ’ergonomic pistol grips.’ ...No. Just, no. These are not ’pistol grips’ despite Mad Catz’ marketing team wishing it was so. A pistol grip is something one finds on certain guns; these are normal controller grips with some nice rubber texture to them. But when the worst complaint I can come up against the grips is "their marketing team is trying too hard to be extreme and hardcore", it’s fair to say I have no real issues with the controller’s fit in my hand.

’Modded Controller’ Concerns: As you may know, some controllers result in their user being banned from Xbox Live due to being classified as ’modded controllers.’ This is usually due to the inclusion and use of features that are obviously meant for cheating, which the Combat Controller clearly lacks. But just to be sure, I asked Mad Catz if they thought there was any risk in using the Combat Controller online. A company spokesman told me that they worked alongside Infinity Ward to develop these controllers, and the Combat Buttons aren’t cheating devices since they only let you press buttons in a different position than normal. This matches my experiences; I did not find myself banned by Xbox Live Enforcement for using this controller, so it seems to be a perfectly legit, on-the-level game pad.

In summary, I put the Combat Controller through a variety of games across several genres and had fun in each case. Certainly there were times where I had to adjust to the different grip profile or how the analog sticks move, but I never had any real problems. As a general purpose game pad, it does what it should; it lets you play most games on the system and do well at them. Admittedly this controller costs more than its competitor; the MSRP for Microsoft’s wired pad is $40, while this retails around $50. Your ten extra dollars get you a pair of ’combat buttons’, a storage case, a nice USB cable, a camo finish, rubber grips, and various other tweaks to the controls. Is that worth the extra cost? I think you can make a very strong case for that, and while it may not fit everyone perfectly I believe most people will find it suitable for their hands. With that in mind, the Combat Controller succeeds both as a general-use game pad and a neat collectable item.