Controller Chaos Custom DualShock 4
Custom controllers come in all shapes, sizes, and
prices. They can be as simple as getting a first-party gamepad in a
different color, or as complex as spending weeks molding and painting
your own unique project. The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller
offers some mechanical and programming customization, but it only comes
in black. If you really want to customize your gamepad both
mechanically and aesthetically, and you lack the skill or time to do it
yourself, Controller Chaos might be the best option for you. Controller
Chaos is a company that doesn't make gamepads, but remakes them. It
takes stock PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 and Xbox One Wireless Controllers, and even Nintendo Wii U Pro Controllers,
and overhauls them with custom color schemes and paint jobs. Then it
adds, optionally, a variety of mods that can help you in playing certain
first-person shooters (read: cheat).
Custom Options
Controller Chaos offers
custom controllers with a wide variety of options. You can get different
colors and finishes for the controller casing, different colored
buttons, and art on the touchpad and light bar. You can also have custom
gamer tags and call signs written in various fonts on the grips and
back of the controller, and if you really want an ostentatious look, you
can replace the analog sticks and face buttons with flat brass or
silver bullet casings. These are all stock customization options.
Controllers start at a base $89.95 price, with
individual customizations ranging from $4.98 to $29.98. Internal mods
start at an additional $9.98 for individual mods, $19.98 for the Rapid
Fire Chip, and $49.98 for the Master Mod (you can read more about these
mods below). You also can spend an extra $19.98 for a hard, zip-up case,
and $12.98 for a 10-foot cloth-wrapped USB cable for use with the
controller.
VIEW ALL PHOTOS IN GALLERY
Custom Paint Job
Controller Chaos went beyond the standard options and designed a custom DualShock 4 specifically for PCMag. The PCMag.com
gamepad has a glossy black backplate and a combination red-and-white
front plate, with the site name printed on the touch pad. It's a
striking and unique design, though getting a fully customized paint job
like this will likely cost more than using the standard selection of
options (of which there are a very generous number). The completely
custom paint job aside, the PCMag gamepad would cost $219.75 with all
the design and mod options included.
Build Quality and Design
Beyond the look,
the custom Controller Chaos DualShock 4 feels excellent. The completely
replaced and customized casing of the gamepad is a glossy plastic that
feels very solid and sturdy in the hand, and a bit more pleasant to the
touch than the standard DualShock 4. The X, Square, Triangle, Circle,
and PlayStation buttons are all made of the same glossy plastic, and the
analog sticks, direction pad, and triggers feel identical to those on
the stock controller.
By default, the custom controller works exactly like a
standard DualShock 4. If you plug it into a PlayStation 4 and press the
PlayStation button, it registers as an ordinary DualShock 4 and pairs
automatically with the system for wireless play. Controller Chaos
recommends using its gamepads solely with their intended gaming devices,
but there's no reason you can't connect your custom DualShock 4 to a
computer or a mobile device with Bluetooth and third-party drivers.
Mods
Customization can be more than just
superficial. Controller Chaos also installs custom mods to the
controller circuitry, and loaded our DualShock 4 with the company's
Master Mod. It's a set of the 10 most popular mods Controller Chaos
offers, including Rapid Fire, Jump/Drop Shot, and Fast Reload.
Almost all of the mods are solely for first-person
shooters, and almost all can be considered cheating. The mods manipulate
controller inputs to take advantage of certain mechanics in games.
Controller Chaos promises that the mods will not show up as cheating
devices when playing online, because they're purely modified inputs sent
to the game system, and not any sort of hacking performed between the
system and the game servers. These mods are handy, but they aren't
exactly fair or sportsmanlike.
Rapid Fire is the most simple mod. It turns a constant
trigger pull into a series of rapid trigger pulls, turning
semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons. It can be brutal when
used with a powerful pistol. Jump/Drop Shot is even dirtier. It
automatically makes you hop or go into a prone position when you fire.
This tactic throws off your successive shots, but it also makes it very
difficult for opponents to accurately return fire. Fast Reload outright
abuses the timing of reload animations for certain games to reload your
weapon faster.
You can adjust most mods to fit your game and play
style. Rapid Fire offers several timing options so you can get the most
shots in the least amount of time with your preferred weapon. Jump/Drop
Shot can be set to make you jump or drop when you shoot, and you can
optionally disable it when firing while scoped. Fast Reload has plenty
of options if the default setting isn't properly letting you cheat when
reloading.
The active mods are displayed on a small array of four
multicolor LEDs on the bottom edge of the gamepad, just below the
headset connector. Each mod has its own light position and color, though
when you start stacking them up you'll probably have to consult the
manual to understand exactly what you have enabled.
All installed mods are controlled with a small Mod
button placed on the underside of the gamepad. It's a tiny rubber nub
that you likely wonn't press accidentally, and when used in conjunction
with the face buttons, direction pad, and triggers, you can enable and
disable individual mods at will. The lights will flash a certain number
of times to show the setting number (which, once again, you'll have to
read the manual to understand).
Basically Cheating
I used the custom PCMag controller with mods while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
All of the other players must have been cheating, too, because I got
destroyed pretty reliably in it despite the controller mods. Or maybe
I'm just bitter about my lack of skill in first-person shooters.
However, while my skills weren't up to the task, the mods functioned
fairly well. Rapid Fire with a pistol is a surprisingly powerful
combination. And while the Jump/Drop Shot disrupted my aim worse than
the people I was shooting at, it functioned perfectly fine and would
likely be useful to a more experienced player. Quick Scope fired as soon
as I zoomed in with my scope, which is handy when using a
medium-distance weapon like a machine gun.
Fast Reload didn't work at all; I kept repeating the
reload animation and taking more time rather than less when reloading.
This type of mod is very specific to certain games, and it simply
doesn't work with Black Ops III, though Controller Chaos says it works
with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Basically, you can trust the simple
mods to work reliably, but don't count on the glitch-abusing ones to
work with all of your games, or even most of them.
Controller Chaos is a fantastic way to get a fully
customized DualShock 4 (or Xbox One Wireless Controller, or Wii U Pro
Controller) made to your specifications, with the exact layout and
reliability of first-party controllers. It can get very pricey depending
on what you want (and a fully custom design like our PCMag DualShock
4 is a special job not directly offered on the Controller Chaos site),
and a loaded custom gamepad can easily eclipse the Xbox Elite Wireless
Controller in price. If you're a serious, competitive gamer who relies
on a gamepad and wants to truly make it your own, though, you'll be
getting a rock-solid overhaul to your specifications that probably looks
and feels better than anything you could do yourself.
