The XFPS 4.0 Force is one of those things that you don’t really know you need until you use it. The unit plugs into one of the USB units on the PS3 and then either connects to a controller, or to a PC.
When connected to a controller the XFPS 4.0 Force gives turbo functionality to any of the controller’s buttons. This is great if you’re in an FPS or TPS that has a one-shot pistol or a fighting game where you need rapidly repeated button presses. Not so good for many other games though. But it’s not designed for all games.
Now I have a turbo function on my Snakebyte controller already but it requires me to set it up with a few button presses. Not really a big deal. But the XFPs 4.0 Force has the added benefit of two levels of turbo: Medium, 15 shots per second and High, 30 shots per second. Setting the turbo is as simple as flipping a dip switch on the face of the unit into the proper place. It’s great if you’re near the PS3 when you play but troublesome if you’re sitting some distance away. The unit does have a 1-meter cable from the USB plug so it does not need to sit right on top of the PS3.
Since I had my Wireless USB-dongle Snakebyte controller handy, I decided to plug the dongle into the dongle, Snakebyte dongle to XFPS 4.0 respectively (sounds like the beginning of the end of the world no?), to see if it worked and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it did indeed. However, at times some of the buttons were non-functional on the controller. Namely the select and start buttons. But since the unit wasn’t really made to work like that it’s not a real drawback.
The unit is made to intercept the signals from the controller to the PS3 so when you hold down a button it sends a continuous stream of button presses to the console. It’s made to use a wired controller that you plug into the 
base of the unit. I suppose you could use a USB-extension cable to move the unit closer to you (further from the console) and then have the controls at your disposal at all times.
The true brilliance of the unit shows when you plug it into a PC. Unfortunately, you have to have a PC with USB cable distance of your console as it must remain plugged into PC while you are playing. The control software is pretty straightforward. You are given an image of a stock PS3 controller. On the menu head to Tool, Settings and you will get a list of profiles. Clicking new lets you name the profile and then clicking MAP gives you the controller to keyboard/mouse mapping utility. What would be a really cool addition in a later version would be 2 USB ports on it that you could plug the KB/mouse right into after having done the mapping and downloaded the configuration to the unit via USB. Then you wouldn’t need to have a PC handy when gaming. Of course, some of us keep all of our gaming units in the same room or area so it’s not always problematic to have it connected to the PC.
Once you have to software and the unit setup you can map the standard controls to your keyboard and mouse. The great thing is you can map the same control to multiple keys or even mouse and keyboard. Also, you don’t need to map all of the buttons,
only the ones that you’re going to use so there’s no needless setup involved. Once you’ve got the mapping complete press F12 and the keyboard/mouse are now your PS3 controller.
A brilliant little device that could have a massive amount of potential for those first-person, third-person shooters and some PS3-based RPG, RTS and fighting games. It’s taken me awhile to get the review done because I haven’t had a lot of games to use it with. Killzone 2 was the testing platform and MAG just arrived so I’ll test it with that. Comes with the unit, instruction manual and a USB cable.
Software:
Version 1.60
The version allows you to assign the button from the PS3 controller to 1 more place on the keyboard, that mean you can map a button to 2 different keys on the keyboard, this will let your gameplay more playable!
There is also an Xbox 360 version the XFPS 4.0 Speed which offers the exact same functionality for that console. Both units are available online and you can find further information and the software needed for the mapping at XCM.cc who make an assortment of cool gaming peripherals, controllers and accessories (my personal favorite being the X-logo Xbox 360 replacement cases). They’re also working on light guns for the PC and PS3 and that’s something I’d like to see soon.
