Reviewed: April 3, 2008
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Manufacturer
Sony Computer Entertainment

Type: Wireless Gamepad
System: PlayStation 3

Rating: 8.0

MSRP: $54.99

I know over the past 15 months I’ve voiced numerous complaints in many of my PS3 game reviews having to deal with the lack of rumble and immersion factor. Sometime rumble is just a gimmick and sometimes it becomes a vital part of the gameplay, but PS3 gamers simply didn’t have the option…until now. The new DUALSHOCK 3 Wireless Controller has finally arrived so LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

The DUALSHOCK 3 hasn’t changed much on the outside. It has the same look, feel, and size. What has changed, for the better I might add, is some much needed weight. I have always despised the lack of any substantial weight with the original SIXAXIS. It was like holding air, and the controller gave off the illusion of being cheap. The DUALSHOCK 3 returns to the original weight of the PS2 controller and it’s like coming home again.

The controller remains wireless, using Bluetooth technology for lag-free gameplay anywhere in the room. You still charge the controller using the mini-USB cable from your SIXAXIS gamepad and it doesn’t seem to take any longer to charge than the SIXAXIS. What I was skeptical of was just how fast the battery would drain now that power was going to the dual rumble motors inside. I typically have to charge my SIXAXIS maybe once or twice a month and I was sure the rumble feature would drain my new controller in day or less. Not so.

I’ve been playing my PS3 and using the DUALSHOCK 3 nearly nonstop since it arrived, partly with the purpose of trying to drain the battery to make a comparison with the old SIXAXIS. After two days of PAIN, God of War II, MotorStorm, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and countless laps on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue I’ve only managed to drain a single bar from the battery life gauge. While I’m sure the controller will eventually drain faster than the non-rumble SIXAXIS, it certainly won’t be a drastic or even detrimental difference.

I still remember the Sony press event at E3 in 2006 where we were told that rumble was being left out of the new controller because they couldn’t fit the motors in with the motion-sensing hardware. Obviously, that obstacle has been overcome because the DUALSHOCK 3 does both and does it very well. I fired up Heavenly Sword and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction just to make sure.

DUALSHOCK 3 Compatibility List

• Blast Factor™*
• Burnout Paradise™
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot™
• Devil May Cry 4
• DragonBall Z Burst Limit
• Dynasty Warriors®6
• Folklore™*
• Formula One Championship Edition*
• Go! Sports Ski™*
• Heavenly Sword™*
• High Velocity Bowling™
• Lost: Via Domus
• MLB®08: The Show™
• MotorStorm™*
• PAIN
• PixelJunk™Monsters
• Piyotama™
• PSOne Emulation
• Ratchet & Clank®Future: Tools of Destruction™
• Resistance: Fall of Man®*
• Snakeball
• Super Stardust™ HD*
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2*
• Toy Home
• Turok
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune™
• Warhawk™*

Obviously, future games will likely all support the new rumble features of the DUALSHOCK 3 but existing titles will require software updates, as was the case with MotorStorm, the first game I tested with the new gamepad. MotorStorm was an interesting test case. I had voiced numerous complaints, or rather observations, about the game during my initial review because playing an off-road game without rumble was a pretty lame experience. Sadly, the results after adding rumble weren’t that much more impressive. Sure, the controller vibrates a bit after the patch, but the rumble isn’t that violent (even on the highest setting) and the rumbles don’t really match up with the events of the game.

Apparently it must be more difficult to go back and add rumble after the fact. Of the few PS3 games that currently support rumble, none of them were particularly impressive. The gamepad does offer rumble on PSOne emulated titles and if you have one of the PS3’s that can actually play PS2 titles you can enjoy all those in their former vibrating glory.

Looking forward we can expect some great support for the DUALSHOCK 3 starting as early as this month with the release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. I was already several days into my GT5 preview when my DUALSHOCK 3 arrived. The difference was surprisingly evident. Rumble just adds so much to a precision driving game, although any self-respecting racer will likely be playing with a wheel.

We can also look forward to some great DUALSHOCK 3 support in the new Metal Gear Solid 4 game coming this June. Sony is even creating a new PS3 bundle that will pack in the new controller as well as a copy of this highly anticipated title.

When I heard the DUALSHOCK 3 was coming I had all these visions of the first year’s worth of PS3 games getting instantly better, but honestly, rumble only works if done correctly and I think it has to be there from the beginning. Going back and trying to add rumble to games a year later is like Ted Turner colorizing the black & white classics. It’s cool but something is a bit off.

I do like the additional weight for the new controller. It feels much more substantial and familiar in my hands. What I didn’t like was how warm the controller gets after extended periods of rumbling. The slick plastic on the DUALSHOCK 3 already promotes sweaty palms and when the controller starts to heat up you’ll need to keep a towel handy. The gamepad also emits an odd electrical smell after extended vibrations, much like those old electric Tyco slot racers.

Is the DUALSHOCK 3 going to change the face of PS3 gaming? Probably not. If anything, this is the controller that should have released when the system launched in 2006. So far my best experience with the new rumble gamepad has been playing old PS2 games and one PS3 game that isn’t even out yet. I have high hopes for immersive vibration effects in future titles, but until those titles arrive I wouldn’t be running out to purchase one just yet.