I am one of many who love Nintendo’s GameCube controller. I found it to fit my somewhat large hands quite well, even though it was designed with smaller ones in mind. To me the size and shape of Nintendo’s controller are perfect, so when I received Guillemont’s knock-off I was pleasantly surprised.

Though it may be hard to tell from a photo of the controller’s face, the Firestorm Powershock’s layout mimics Nintendo’s so well, it’s practically art. The stylistic look tries to hide it, but from the button layout and size to the handle length this controller is spot on. Though not quite as pronounced as the original, the molding is fairly comfortable and really does still feel like a GameCube controller's. There are some differences though. The controller does not feature a gap between the D-pad and C-stick, creating slightly less room for the index fingers and making it resemble the Wavebird. This is to accommodate two buttons that control the added Turbo features. Normally Turbo features are ignored most of the time, but on this controller they are placed where the Start button should be. Meanwhile, the Start button has been moved directly in between the D-pad and C-stick, making it very, very inaccessible. Fortunately, if there is one button that can be sacrificed on a controller it is the start button...especially for a “backup” controller such as this. The shoulder buttons are also shaped and placed more like a PS2 controller’s, but they are bigger and more comfortable, so this is not an issue at all.

The placement of components and overall feel of the controller are important, but the properties of the individual parts are just as significant. The four digital face buttons, D-pad and Z-trigger are decidedly more rigid than those on the standard controller, giving it a slightly firmer but equally comfortable feel along with a more assertive “clicking” sound. Players will be able to go back and forth between Guillemont and Nintendo’s digital features without any complications whatsoever, making it a perfect fourth controller for games like SSBM, where all of the action is centered around the four face buttons. Unfortunately the controller doesn’t perform nearly as well in the analog arena. For games like SSBM and Monkey Ball’s “Monkey Race,” the sticks are usually pushed all of the way to begin with, making subtle changes a non-issue. But the controller holds up poorly in Luigi’s Mansion and falls flat on its face in Monkey Ball’s main game—games where precision makes all of the difference. The main control stick is well made with a great rubbery grip and a smooth ball, but its resistance is very low. This would be adjustable were it not for the stick’s very sensitive detection system. All but the slightest tilt of the stick will send a monkey flying, and the controller sends a signal claiming the stick is completely tilted slightly before this is physically true. The C-stick (narrower than Nintendo’s) suffers the same problem to a greater degree, as it reaches its maximum signal and becomes even looser at the half-way point. In fact, the intensity slightly decreases when the yellow stick tilted all the way, though this is only detectable in static environments such as the SSBM menu. These calibration blunders cause abrupt movements in games like Luigi’s Mansion that are amusing to watch but can be a source of great frustration for the player. The analog triggers are also of questionable integrity: though they feel sturdy on their own, the controller doesn’t acknowledge any applied pressure until the triggers are pushed down half way. Players will once again struggle with small distances containing a wide range of sensitivity, though at least here the controls are a little stiffer. The digital click works perfectly on the right side but was less solid on the left. It is likely that my left trigger was slightly defective, but it isn’t worth complaining about even if it is standard.

As you can imagine from my comments, this controller has some serious problems, but it really does work well for party games that don’t heavily rely on the analog features. And the internal rumble mechanism is somewhat more powerful than Nintendo’s without an unbalanced or overpowering sensation, which should be a plus for most gamers. The Firestorm Powershock is a very respectable controller and should work well with many titles. It’s no substitute for the original, and using it in a one-player game would be ridiculous, but no one should complain about or blame the controller during a late night Smashfest.