FPS Freek CQC
As long as there has been gaming consoles, there have been accessories that are claimed to give gamers an edge over others. Even back when the NES first came out there were many companies that released accessories with the promise of improving gameplay. Of course many of these, like the Speedboard or Powerglove, where terrible and a complete waste of money as they did absolutely nothing to improve gameplay and often times impeded it. Occasionally there are accessories that do in fact improve players abilities, and the Kontrol Freek’s FPS Freek CQC falls into that camp.
The premise of the FPS Freek CQC controller add ons is to increase the length of the controllers joysticks so that the player will have more precise control and better accuracy while playing first person shooters. This version is actually a bit shorter than previous versions and adds only 7-8 millimeters, whereas the original looked to add 12. Kontrol Freek claims that by being the shorter than the older model, it will be better suited for gamers that prefer medium range weapons such as shotguns and sub-machine guns, hence the name CQC.
Out of the box, the FPS Freek CQC is simple enough: they have three prongs around the bottom of the extenders that snap over the Xbox controller’s joysticks. However instead of being grey like the joysticks, they are bright green so it makes it pretty obvious to others that you are using some sort of accessory. The surface of the extenders is some sort of tacky rubber, which I assume is to make sure that gamers do not lose their grip while playing. Unfortunately, once the extenders are on one must be very careful when removing them. I was not very careful, and tore a little piece off the underside of the right joystick. It’s not really that big of a deal as it doesn’t affect gameplay in any way, it just a little irritating to see that mark whenever I play a game with out the extenders.
After successfully attaching the extenders, it wasn’t long until I was playing Halo Reach. It takes probably ten minutes to get used to the height difference on the joysticks, but I began to forget about it after a while. Performance wise, I was rather surprised. It seemed as if I was actually able to aim better than I could on my previous play through. Having that little extra leverage was definitely to my advantage, because I was able to line up more headshots on Elites more often than I was previously able to. Even though these are advertised to improve the use of submachine guns and shotguns, I noticed the biggest improvement with the sniper rifle. Even when playing Modern Warfare 3, I noticed improvements to some of my abilities. The infamous “no scope” head shot that many 13 year old online gamers brag about was much easier to achieve.
The FPS Freek CQC joystick extenders certainly do improve gameplay in first person shooters. There are very few problems to speak of and the added height is to the player’s advantage. And for the price of $9.99, this is an accessory that I highly suggest.
The FPS Freek CQC accessory is a great controller add on for the Xbox controller. Allowing greater control and accuracy in first person shooters, it is definitely worth a buy.
Rating: 9.5 Exquisite
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.