Free yourself from the shackles of corded controllers and enter the world of wireless. There are a handful of wireless controllers for the Xbox, but in terms performance and overall design, the Logitech Cordless Precision Controller towers above them all in quality. It’ll set you back around $40, which is pretty spendy for a controller, but you won’t find a better wireless Xbox controller so it is money well spent.
Design
From a design standpoint, the Cordless Precision is quite a bit different from the Controller S. The button layout is the same, but the shape of the controller itself is very different. The Cordless Precision is a little bit wider and has longer handles that are set closer to parallel than the S. It is a little heavier than the S and I think that overall Microsoft’s controller is more comfortable over long play sessions, but the Cordless Precision feels pretty good in your hands and you aren’t going to cramp up from using it which is good enough.
There are a handful of other differences from standard controllers. The black and white buttons are a little closer to the main buttons and are easier to use. The triggers are also positioned slightly differently than the S – they are set a little bit forward of where your hands normally rest so you have to reach to use them. They aren’t bad performance wise, but it takes some getting used to. The D-pad is just like the S but it is set up much higher and feels sort of loose. Again, not bad, just different. One slightly negative aspect of the controller is that the analog sticks sit up much higher than on the S and they are almost too easy to move.
Performance
The Cordless Precision Controller comes with the controller itself, AA batteries, and the receiver that plugs into your Xbox. Setting it up consists of installing the batteries, plugging the receiver into the Xbox, pressing a “connect” button on the receiver in order to establish a connection with the controller, and that’s it. Logitech claims that you can get around 50 hours out of one set of batteries with the rumble feature turned on and over 100 with it turned off. I can’t confirm these numbers, but I have been using the PS2 version of this controller for about 8 months now and haven’t had to change batteries yet. That is pretty impressive.
As far as gameplay performance goes, the Cordless Precision does a pretty good job. Some things such as the high analog sticks and the position of the triggers take some getting used to, but once you use it for a while everything feels great. The buttons are very responsive and there is no noticeable lag. It is about as close as you’re going to get to matching the performance of the S in a wireless controller.
It Isn't Perfect ... But It'll Do
There are some negatives about the Cordless Precision, however. First of all, there aren’t any memory card slots on the controller itself and it doesn’t present any other solutions for using a headset with Xbox Live. In other words, if you are a big online gamer and you still want a wireless controller you are going to have to sacrifice some performance and pick up a different controller with headset support. Another issue is that the receiver has a 20 inch cord attached to it and has two memory card slots built in. This was Logitech’s half-hearted attempt at offering some sort of headset support, I’m sure, but sitting that close to your Xbox and being tethered to it even though you are holding a wireless controller in your hands just feels weird. This poses another problem due to the fact that the Xbox’s disc drive is right above the first controller port. Figuring out where to put the receiver itself and where to stash the cord so it isn’t in the way of the drive are annoyances that have no business being attached to a controller that is otherwise so good.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a wireless controller for the Xbox, the Logitech Cordless Precision Controller is a solid choice. It performs very well, but a lack of headset support for Xbox Live and questionable design of the receiver unit knock it down a few pegs from “must have” status. If you aren’t planning on using it with Xbox Live, it does a great job and offers everything a quality wireless controller should. It cleans up the cords strung across your living room floor and it has a very long battery life that will keep you playing for many months between battery changes. As long as you are aware of the deficiencies of the controller going in, it is a solid purchase that I highly recommend.
