PowerA Fusion Pro 2 Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S GBAtemp review
Hardware
Product Information:
Having recently picked up an Xbox Series X, I'm eager to to find the best way to play it. Though somewhat enamoured with the latest tweak to the official controller design, there's always room for improvement. With PowerA offering features comparable to the Elite controller at a much more reasonable price point, is the Fusion Pro 2 the perfect blend of function and affordability?
Now PowerA aren't some unknown brand entering a new market. We've covered many of their greatest hits on the site, most recently looking at their Switch variant of the Fusion Pro, and myself looking at their more affordable Xbox offering a few months back. Unboxing the Fusion Pro 2 is a joy. While around half the price of Microsoft's Elite Series 2 controller, the Fusion Pro 2 still clocks in at a £80 price point. Make no mistake, this is a premium controller, so it's good to know the quality is felt from the outset.
There's a lot to like about the design of the Fusion Pro 2, but a lot of that stems from the design of the Xbox controller itself. It looks official, and it feels it too. The grips of the controller have a rubber lining that feels great to hold, and is a nice step up from the modern Xbox controller's bumpy plastic grip. The face of the controller is fairly standard, with the exception of the small nub towards the bottom. This allowing you to mute the microphone of an attached headset on the fly, as well as adjust volume it's something I've found really handy, though it is worth adding that it only does this on an Xbox console. If you're using this with a PC, it's a useless addition.
The star of the show with this controller is one of the standout Elite features: paddles. Paddles are difficult. Praising PowerA's enhanced Xbox controller for its buttons on the controller grips, I went in ready and excited to use them for the first time. Unfortunately, I just can't get on with them. Their positioning on the back of the controller forces me to almost contort my hands if I want to keep them in easy reach. Where the grip buttons would be where my hands rest naturally, the paddles actively get in the way of my natural grip, leading to me either trying to avoid them, or pressing them accidentally. Now that's not to say they're bad paddles. They give an incredibly satisfying click, and though it comes with four of them, you can detach them as you choose to use anywhere between none and all four. They're versatile and they're easy to map to any face button, or combination of face buttons. They're just not for me, and I'm okay with that. If like me you don't get on with them, you can detach the module altogether and put a cover over where they went, giving the controller an entirely flat back.
Customisation goes further than to paddle or not to paddle though, with PowerA including a small but appreciated assortment of swappable parts. The faceplate held in place by magnets, albeit securely, it's a simple operation to remove it and swap out parts. Your choices are between a black and white faceplate, and a few different lengths of analogue stick. It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but it's enough to tweak things to your liking. Unfortunately, there's no alternative D-Pad though. While the D-Pad is fine, it suffers in a similar way to its enhanced predecessor in its mushiness. It's not the mushiest I've felt, but compared to the crisp and precise clicks of the new standard Xbox controller I have on hand, it really falls short.
While I wasn't expecting it to stand out so much, the feature I actually ended up using the most was the trigger locks. Using two sliders on the back of the controller, you can lock the movement of the triggers to three different positions, giving you variable limits on how far down they can be pressed. This has a huge assortment of uses. Sure, you might have shooters where you just want to press the trigger down enough and be able to put it back to neutral quickly, but I found great utility with this in emulators and other apps where hotkeys can be mapped. Do you want an easy to access quick save and load button that you can't accidentally hit? Set the trigger locks and suddenly you find the input doesn't register because you can't push it down far enough. Obviously your mileage will vary from app to app, but it's been a great thing for me.
Looking to larger use and comfort, you have all the quality you would expect to find in an official product. There's a satisfying weight to it, and the combination of the smooth matte plastic face and the rubber grips is a joy to hold. A welcomed upgrade, the controller also uses USB C for its connectivity, coming with a lengthy braided cable. Given the Fusion Pro 2 is wired-only, the quality in this department is much appreciated.
All in all, PowerA's Fusion Pro 2 is a great pick not only for the player two in your life, but as a primary controller for your Series X or S gaming. While I wouldn't recommend it for a D-Pad heavy game like Celeste, the controller shines for more traditional console gaming with premium features at an expensive-but-much-cheaper-than-an-Elite-controller price point. It's one to consider, especially if you happen to value paddles in your arsenal of accessories.
Verdict
- Detachable four-paddle module
- Swappable analogue sticks and faceplate
- Three-stage trigger locks surprisingly useful
- Very premium and official look and feel
- Built-in volume controls
- Protective case included
- USB C connection
- Still has a mushy D-Pad
