It used to be that third-party pads were only a last resort and you only had them as something cheap your friends could use when they came over. The fact is that most of the time they just didn’t perform nearly as well as the official controller for a system. A lot of people like to think that this is still true, but there are actually a lot of really good third-party controllers out now. They cost significantly less than first-party products and perform just as well or close to it.
Pelican’s latest set of controllers is called the Afterglow Pro and is available for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube. The main attraction with the Afterglow Pro is that it lights up. The Xbox one is green. PS2 is blue. And GC is Red. The Pelican logo in the center of each controller also seamlessly switches between six different colors. The glow from the controllers is very bright and more than enough to light up an entire room if you are playing at night. There are a lot of gimmicky controller ideas out there that don’t really deliver, but the Pelican Afterglow Pro is actually really cool and the light up function works very well. It seems sort of like a goofy idea, but it works great and is actually a pretty neat controller.
PS2 Version
Of course, if the controller itself isn’t very good, then all of the gimmicks in the world can’t save it. Since Pelican was kind enough to send a kit with all three versions of the Afterglow Pro in it, I’ll go ahead and review all three.
Sony Playstation 2 Version
The PS2 version of the Afterglow Pro is very similar to the standard Dual Shock 2. It is slightly smaller than the DS2 but the handles are a fair bit longer. This really locks the controller in your hand and gives you a great grip. The button placement has been changed a little bit, but the changes are mostly for the better. The L2 and R2 buttons have been moved from the shoulder to the back of the controller into more trigger-like positions. Once you get used to it, this configuration works really well and is arguably better than the standard layout. The Start and Select buttons have also been moved so that they are now perpendicular to the sticks where they used to be parallel. This change isn’t all that important since it is just the Start and Select buttons after all. Since the controller is smaller than the DS, the face buttons are a little closer together, but this is super easy to get used to. Overall, the buttons are responsive and work well. They feel a little stiff, but you get used to it. The final verdict on the PS2 Afterglow Pro is that it is a good alternative to the Dual Shock 2. It isn’t perfect and thus isn’t good enough to straight up replace the DS, but it performs well and looks great.
