Razer Wildcat
Excellent buttons but stiff competition
PRICE $ 199 www.razerzone.com
Don’t believe the beautiful rotating 3D animation of the Wildcat on the official Razer website. There’s no way you’re going to be able to get the palm grips stuck on that neatly.
Yes indeed - self-applied palm grips on this $200 gamepad, and it’s almost impossible to get them on straight. Plus, for the first week or so the edges of the stickers will feel rough, until your filthy palm-sweat softens them.
I guess the Wildcat is more like a quality baseball glove? It starts off all stiff and uncomfy, but after a few weeks it mellows, becomes supple? Well, almost.
One upon a time there were at least six gamepad brands to choose from, but the Xbox One controller has essentially killed the market.
The Wildcat doesn’t compete with a standard X-bone pad though. It’s the cool aftermarket answer to the Elite. Like the Elite it has four more buttons, but unlike Microsoft’s own superpad, it doesn’t have wireless. It also doesn’t have swappable thumbsticks, though it DOES have all the mic and headset stuff built into the bottom - just plug in any 3.5mm jack.
The thumbsticks are merely good, but where the Wildcat truly excels is in the buttons. They are very crisp, have really exact travel, and feel like they will last for at least several years of hard mashing. And the sticker handgrips, once they season, do make the Wildcat feel better in the hands than the basic controllers, if not necessarily superior to the Elite’s soft-touch coating.
So it’s sturdy, eventually comfy, clicky, and a bit blingy. What else do you need?
VERDICT:
A worthy rival to the Xbox One Elite, albeit one without wireless