As a gift for Christmas, I received a pair of FPS Freeks from KontrolFreek. In case you are unfamiliar with KontrolFreek products, the company claims they “are designed to elevate your gaming experience, by improving your performance while reducing fatigue” and “carefully engineered to reduce force inputs while increasing player comfort, helping you improve your accuracy and decrease your reaction time”.
Put simply, the FPS Freeks from KontrolFreek are an accessory which clamps on the top of the analog sticks on either your Xbox or PlayStation controllers, as well as many third party controllers. They look exactly like your existing analog sticks, and by accessorising your controller with this product, you are essentially doubling the height of the analog stick.
By extending the height of the analog sticks, KontrolFreek claims to increase your overall range of motion while playing first person shooters and increases the player’s range of motion by a full 40%, thus increasing accuracy while relieving stress on your hands and thumbs.
So, all claims aside, do FPS Freeks pass the test?
I’m a die hard Call of Duty fan, so I tested the FPS Freeks on Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer. As a self-proclaimed hardcore gamer, I, of course, already have my sensitivity at 10, or insane, and often complain it isn’t sensitive enough. So, seeing that KontrolFreek claimed their FPS Freeks would increase my accuracy and range of motion made me do my happy dance. Really! You should have seen it!
First and foremost, it must be said that the FPS Freeks were unbelievably simple to snap into place. Took about 20 seconds, tops. Also, they are gripped, so they already won me over since my Xbox 360 controller had no more ridges and grips on them!
Now, before I even turned my Xbox on, I noticed something. Remember when I said this accessory doubles the height of your analog sticks? Well, I wasn’t kidding. I have really small hands, and an Xbox controller is already pretty big and heavy for my little fingers. So, by extending the height of my analog sticks, it did put stress on the muscle right between my thumbs and index finger. So, before blaming Bill Gates for having big hands, I tested them out on my PS3 controller. Much less problems. I discovered that the Xbox controller, aside from already being bigger, also has its left analog stick very close to where the palm of your hand would sit, so, when extending the height of the analog, it made it very difficult for me to handle. Meanwhile, the PS3 controller has both analog sticks in the center, allowing me to extend my thumb both upwards and outwards. This is only a problem for players with small hands, though. (My Mom’s boyfriend was happy to test them out for me, too!)
Now that you know how it feels, you must be screaming at your computer screen for me to tell you how it plays, right? Well, I’ll admit – I noticed a difference. It definitely took a few games to get used to (goodbye kill/death ratio!) Finally, once I got the hand of it, and found a comfortable way to hold the controller, I kicked some major ass! As a girl who prays at night for increased sensitivity, the FPS Freeks do what they claim!
It felt as though I was moving my finger from left to right less, and, instead, only slightly moving the analog stick and still getting a much wider range of motion and brilliantly precise target.
Honestly, no amount of words will be able to describe how fantastic these are! So, instead, why don’t you head on over to KontrolFreek and pick up a pair! They also have Hoops Freeks, an orange basketball shaped accessory, and TD Freek, a football shaped accessory, both intended to add grip and reduce thumb fatigue. Then, they also have Speed Freeks, which, personally are the coolest things ever! This cool product also snaps on to your analog stick, this time, instead of increasing the height of your analog stick or adding grip, they are u-shaped, allowing your thumbs to take turns with ease while playing your favorite racing games!
