Razer Onza Hands-On: Power Play?

Razer Onza Hands-On: Power Play?

By Mr Toffee — Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 @10:05 AMPosted in Hands-On

After testing out the StarCraft II Razer peripheral trifecta, the folks over there let me have a hands-on with their first experiment with console controllers; the Razer Onza. Even if it's a prototype, it still feels finished and refined to me because it's good to a point where it'll make you forget about the original Xbox 360 controller.

From a distance, it looks pretty sleek with its black color, its Razer logo decal on the right side of the controller, and the matte overlay that prevents sweat from getting in the way. The grip handles are slightly longer than the usual Xbox 360 controller, but otherwise the design and size are about the same. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Holding it and playing Super Street Fighter IV on it felt natural and good. It's not too light, though not as weighty as standard controllers. The D-pad sticks out so you can pull off quarter-circle motions with ease. However, 270° executions on the ground are still tough; perhaps Razer needs to tweak this part further. For the most parts, however, your fingers won't turn red if you're casually using the Onza's D-pad. The Left and Right triggers are shaped concavely to a point where my fingers wouldn't accidentally slip off if I go Right trigger-heavy when playing an FPS. I should also point out that the face buttons and triggers are mechanical, meaning that they can last for a long while through repeated mashing.

There are also extra bumper buttons near the left and right bumper buttons; these serve as programmable buttons where you can assign one button of any choice to that customizable bumper. For instance, you can map the "Up" button to that bumper. You can't, however, map both "Up" and "Right Trigger" on that bumper; Razer's only allowing you to set up one macro button to each of the bumpers due to tournament legality issues.

Another neat feature to exploit are the adjustable tractions of the Left and Right analog sticks. Twist it left or right and you can set the sensitivity of the analog sticks on the fly. If you're playing an FPS, for instance, you might want to loosen the Right analog stick so that you can move the stick on all directions fully. If you're playing a third-person action game and don't use the camera controls too often, you can tighten it up so you wouldn't overshoot your view accidentally when all you wanted was just to nudge the camera slightly.

In short, the Razer Onza just feels damn good to use. I do hope the final product impresses; my only concern is the top extra bumper buttons that may get in the way if you wish to jump in and play a game with the controller straight away, along with the D-pad issues I mentioned above.

I can tell you this: if this pans out, we'll definitely see Razer making PS3 and Wii snake/mythical animal-themed controllers. All of the black. What is it with these tournament-made controllers and their obsession with black?