Personally I found myself using the arcade stick in my lap more than having it flat on my tabletop. This setting helped me take advantage of all the features of the controller as well as not throw out my back from hours of being humped over a coffee table. The response time on the joystick itself is fantastic. All of the games I tried out responded just as if I was playing it on a five-foot tall wooden arcade unit. The face and shoulder buttons were just as quick and did not have that “spongy” feel that you get from a lot of the third-party controllers. For the older arcade games you need to take use of the d-pad, and if you use find yourself frustrated from trying to use the d-pad on the normal 360 controller then definitely give the GameStick a chance. The d-pad is firm and feels great, it reminds me of the d-pad on the original NES; easily one of the best d-pad’s ever created. For fighting fans this obviously may not be the ideal solution but I actually found myself winning more games of Street Fighter than I had previous using the normal 360 controllers.
Overall MadCatz has quietly created and released the best solution out there for Xbox Live arcade titles. This is what the Arcade GameStick was created for, shown by including three free games in the sixty-dollar price tag. With a solid design, all the buttons and joysticks you could ask for, and the look of a first party accessory, the MadCatz arcade stick is just what I have been wanting ever since downloading my first game over Xbox Live Arcade. Because the competition is so light the GameStick easily takes the first place trophy as a solution to an arcade controller. During the review period I found myself having trouble finding things I disliked about the unit; for it’s purpose it is right near perfect and for that reason I have to recommend this controller to all you Xbox Live Arcade gamers out there. The first game you have to download to test this bad boy out on is Alien Hominid HD, a simply amazing game that will make great use of the Arcade GameStick and all of it’s features. MadCatz has successfully taken me back to the 80’s when mullets and arcade’s were in, thanks!
Overall Score: 9/10
