Thursday, June 28, 2012

Fight Stick Review Part 3 - Hori Fighting Stick 3

After using my arcade sticks on different fighting games (SFIV, MK, Marvel vs Capcom, and MK vs DC) I've decided that the Hori Fighting Stick 3 is the one I like best. It may not be pretty, but it gets the job done easily and with no hassles. The joystick and buttons are more loose on my Hori stick than they are on the Combat King controller that I also purchased. When I reviewed the Combat King controller I mentioned that I preferred the tight feel of the buttons on the Combat King. This is still true but the fact that the controls are a little more loose on the Hori stick is only a minor detail. I also mentioned in a different post that a friend of mine preferred the Hori stick from the beginning because it was a little more loose, I guess it's all about your personal preference with that kind of thing. 

I got my Hori stick used. I'm not sure how long the previous owner had it but it works great and I have no problems with it at all. In a few ways the Combat King feels like the more professional joystick. The Combat King both looks and feels a little more like the sticks that you see people using at tournaments. The Hori Stick 3 doesn't have a macro setting, but it does have a turbo button and the R3 and L3 buttons. When I first got my fight sticks I liked the Combat King a little better than the Hori 3, now that some time has gone by I actually prefer the Hori 3. This is really just because of convenience. I use the sticks on a PS3 and (rarely) sometimes also on a PC. For me, choosing the Hori stick is just a matter of convenience, the buttons are laid out more or less like they are on a PS3 controller so it feels a little bit easier most of the time to get right to the action. People using the controllers are usually familiar with the standard PS3 controllers already and the layout of the buttons, it's just more intuitive.




Recap:

Although I originally preferred the Combat King over the Hori Fighting Stick 3, I know like the Hori 3 just a little more than the Combat King. I still use my Combat King and they are definitely both well made sticks, they do their job like they're supposed to and are fun to use. The edge now goes to the Hori 3 mainly as a matter of convenience for a PS3 user.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Now Playing: Silent Hill Homecoming

For the last couple of weeks I've had the craving for a horror game to play on the PS3. I didn't own any horror games so I went out to see what I could find used and I came back with Silent Hill Homecoming. I've only played through the first level and I've been slowly progressing through the second. My first impressions are that it's overall a pretty good game. I like the creepy atmosphere so far, but it's my first time playing a game in the series and I found it a little hard to find direction in the game sometimes. It's been annoying at some points because there's a considerable bit of puzzle solving involved and the levels have been a maze so far. I think the graphics are cool so far, the enemies are creative and scary and it's also nice to have silence and sound effects in the background instead of the constant drone of music.