I’ve come to a point that I cannot play video games without rear paddles – trigger stops and all those extra elements are nice, but I need rear buttons – and because of players like me, we have companies like PowerA creating not only customizable pro controllers, but premium quality with minimal cost to overall capabilities, at a budget range. Here we have the Xbox Series FUSION Pro 2 – a modular pro controller that’s mappable on the fly and feels excellent to play with.
Durable with a Premium Touch
The overall quality of its material is of hard plastic with excellent weight distribution across the controller – the triggers are gloss finished just like the original Xbox controller and feels just as padded – it also includes the ability to adjust trigger actuation, though it’s not as effective as I would like; the tightest option still felt like I had distance before activating shots. There are grip textures similar to the Elite Series 2 controller – a controller I primarily used up until this one. You can detach the paddles if you want which a cover is provided by PowerA, thankfully.
This is a wired controller but can be removed – great for traveling pro players. The paddle textures seem to be aluminum, matching the quality of Elite Series 2 as well, including the joysticks. Unlike the Series 2 controller, and very much similar to Scuff’s older controllers – in order to swap joysticks, you would have to remove the magnetically attached faceplate, which gives potential stylized options for players. Overall, the controller feels about 90% similar to Microsoft’s official pro controller, minus features such as dialing the joysticks tension, profile switching, software tuning and removal of vibrating modules.
Presentation Matters Here
The packaging was utterly surprising. The presentation was premium from the get-go with matted finish across the entire box and upon sliding it open, you see this incredible art in display- which I did not expect. Additionally, the controller comes with a carrying case, additional faceplate and 2 additional height joysticks to swap from. Honestly, the controller alone is worth the $89.99 price tag, the rest is just freebies making the value of this product hard to dispute.
Performance wise – I saw no hinderance to dead zones or input lag – it seems to function the same as the original Xbox Series controllers – it’s a shame there’s no software tuning to help with precision – but it is a budget controller aimed to reach a wider audience for a chance to be in the same level playing field. As mentioned before, you can remove the rear module if needed same with the paddles individually. It’s a fairly standard overall pro controller that should be familiar to enthusiast.
REVIEW SCORE: 8/10
If you’re tight on cash but need to compete, this is it – especially for PC players that want those aim assist capabilities. PowerA is paving the way for accessibility, and I can’t recommend them enough.
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