Lo guys
Heres a review for the Pelican Eclipse wireless controller for the xbox
Nintendo fans have it made for wireless. Bitch all you want about the lack of rumble feedback, but the WaveBird is light, comfortable, and works flawlessly. If we could get Microsoft and Sony to follow their lead we'd all be happier gamers. For now, however, you have to turn to a third party, which is always a crapshoot. Thus far three companies have gotten in on the act: Logitech, Mad Catz, and Pelican. We first reviewed the Mad Catz Lynx and then moved on to the Logitech Wireless. Both pads performed well, though the Logitech is much better built and has a superior feel. Despite the many requests for the Pelican, we weren't able to get a review unit until very recently.
Pelican brings one thing to the table: value. None of these controllers is cheap, but Pelican undercuts Logitech and Mad Catz by $30.00 and $20.00, respectively. I can hear a lot of you laughing already at the name Pelican. Granted, the company has been successful largely because of its budget solutions. And, unfortunately, high value often means low quality. However, you'd be cutting yourself short if you dismissed the part for that reason alone. Surprisingly, the Eclipse Wireless is a solid performer. It's not as finely crafted as the Logitech and feels a little cheap, but if you want to get in on the wireless action without blowing your whole load, then you should give this controller a chance.
You should immediately detect that Pelican looked toward the formidable Controller S for inspiration, which I think is as smart a move as you can make in the third-party controller game. The layout is much like the Controller S and the two controllers are similarly sized. Pelican adds ribbed rubber coating to the outsides of the handles. The coating doesn't do much, but it's a nice enough touch. Somehow Pelican was also able to keep the weight down. Combined with the size, this makes for a pad that's both light and natural feeling
Pelican arranged the wireless options down the middle of the pad and on the front between the handles. From top to bottom you have a four-channel channel selector, a power/rumble on/off switch, and A-B band selector. In order to use the controller you simply set the controller switches to match the settings on the transceiver.
The biggest surprise was that the designers actually did a good job with the actual controls. They're not perfect, but there are some very impressive accomplishments. For starters, the D-pad is actually very good. It's small compared to the Controller S's, but it's fast and well designed. The concave is somewhat deep and the pad has a healthy resistance. I played a good deal of THPS4 to test the D-pad and I was able to consistently hit the diagonals, double tap in any direction, and make generally fast moves without any trouble from the pad. That a D-pad comes on a budget third-party controller is nothing short of amazing.
The main action buttons feel good but aren't arranged as well as they should be. The problem is that the white and black buttons are set much too far from the main four buttons. All six buttons feel very good and are fast to react and recover, but you will find the black and white buttons out of reach. Thankfully, Pelican makes up for this with a very innovative solution: extra white and black buttons are installed above the triggers. The two shoulder buttons feel strange initially, mostly because we're not accustomed to four shoulder buttons on an Xbox controller, but the placement is very smart and extremely effective. The only downside is that the added buttons are mounted too loosely and feel flimsy. Sadly, you can't program them, but they are still convenient.
The analog sticks are pretty average. They feel good and have the familiar scalloped tops, but they are a bit too loose. I spent some time with a few driving games to test the sticks and found them accurate but not stiff enough. I've felt much worse, but it was a little too easy to push the sticks to their extremes. Strangely, the click depression when you push them in is extremely stiff.
On a brighter note, the triggers feel very good. The fronts are a little flat, but they offer plenty of resistance, which I think is crucial for analog triggers. I was able to carefully regulate the gas in driving games without even thinking about it. For some reason triggers are another problem area for third parties. Kudos to Pelican for getting it right and keeping it cheap.
The wireless performance was as impressive as the overall performance as a controller. Pelican claims 50 feet of operational range. You'd have to live in a field of daisies to achieve this distance. However, I was able to play with a reliable connection from about 25 feet in the office. I encountered occasional hiccups in play, but they were very infrequent. The fast action of THPS4 was no problem for the Eclipse, even in our interference-riddled environment.
Pelican states that the batteries will last about 50 hours with vibration turned on. This seemed unlikely until I turned on the rumble. The controller has two motors, one in each handle, but they are extremely weak. The rumble barely feels like anything at all. I think that solid battery life and wireless action is worth sacrificing rumble feedback, but if Pelican chose to include it I wish they would have with a bit more enthusiasm.
Lastly, and like all Xbox wireless controller, the memory card slots, which you also use for Xbox Live, are on the transceiver base.
Conclusion
What don't I like about the pad? The biggest beef I have is that it has a cheap feel to it. Then again, it is cheap. Considering that you have to spend a good deal more for a different wireless pad, the relatively low build quality is a lot easier to live with. Besides this, though, you have a pad that feels very good, operates very well, and offers tremendous value. You don't get the refinement of the Logitech or the Mad Catz, but do get one hell of a pad for one hell of a price. If you're looking to go wireless and are on a budget, then the Eclipse deserves serious consideration.
Recommended.
Performance
Very good wireless performance, especially considering the price. Solid controller design except for the black and white buttons and somewhat loose sticks. 8.5
Build Quality
Not as bad as some other third-party efforts, but still nothing special. The battery door is flimsy. 7.0
Value
It's not a perfect pad, but it undercuts the competition by a large margin and performs well. 8.5
Features
The extra black and white buttons are smartly placed, even if they feel a little wonky. Plenty of wireless channels to choose from. Silly rumble feedback. 8.0
Overall Rating (Not an average) 8.3
Heres a review for the Pelican Eclipse wireless controller for the xbox
Nintendo fans have it made for wireless. Bitch all you want about the lack of rumble feedback, but the WaveBird is light, comfortable, and works flawlessly. If we could get Microsoft and Sony to follow their lead we'd all be happier gamers. For now, however, you have to turn to a third party, which is always a crapshoot. Thus far three companies have gotten in on the act: Logitech, Mad Catz, and Pelican. We first reviewed the Mad Catz Lynx and then moved on to the Logitech Wireless. Both pads performed well, though the Logitech is much better built and has a superior feel. Despite the many requests for the Pelican, we weren't able to get a review unit until very recently.
Pelican brings one thing to the table: value. None of these controllers is cheap, but Pelican undercuts Logitech and Mad Catz by $30.00 and $20.00, respectively. I can hear a lot of you laughing already at the name Pelican. Granted, the company has been successful largely because of its budget solutions. And, unfortunately, high value often means low quality. However, you'd be cutting yourself short if you dismissed the part for that reason alone. Surprisingly, the Eclipse Wireless is a solid performer. It's not as finely crafted as the Logitech and feels a little cheap, but if you want to get in on the wireless action without blowing your whole load, then you should give this controller a chance.
You should immediately detect that Pelican looked toward the formidable Controller S for inspiration, which I think is as smart a move as you can make in the third-party controller game. The layout is much like the Controller S and the two controllers are similarly sized. Pelican adds ribbed rubber coating to the outsides of the handles. The coating doesn't do much, but it's a nice enough touch. Somehow Pelican was also able to keep the weight down. Combined with the size, this makes for a pad that's both light and natural feeling
Pelican arranged the wireless options down the middle of the pad and on the front between the handles. From top to bottom you have a four-channel channel selector, a power/rumble on/off switch, and A-B band selector. In order to use the controller you simply set the controller switches to match the settings on the transceiver.
The biggest surprise was that the designers actually did a good job with the actual controls. They're not perfect, but there are some very impressive accomplishments. For starters, the D-pad is actually very good. It's small compared to the Controller S's, but it's fast and well designed. The concave is somewhat deep and the pad has a healthy resistance. I played a good deal of THPS4 to test the D-pad and I was able to consistently hit the diagonals, double tap in any direction, and make generally fast moves without any trouble from the pad. That a D-pad comes on a budget third-party controller is nothing short of amazing.
The main action buttons feel good but aren't arranged as well as they should be. The problem is that the white and black buttons are set much too far from the main four buttons. All six buttons feel very good and are fast to react and recover, but you will find the black and white buttons out of reach. Thankfully, Pelican makes up for this with a very innovative solution: extra white and black buttons are installed above the triggers. The two shoulder buttons feel strange initially, mostly because we're not accustomed to four shoulder buttons on an Xbox controller, but the placement is very smart and extremely effective. The only downside is that the added buttons are mounted too loosely and feel flimsy. Sadly, you can't program them, but they are still convenient.
The analog sticks are pretty average. They feel good and have the familiar scalloped tops, but they are a bit too loose. I spent some time with a few driving games to test the sticks and found them accurate but not stiff enough. I've felt much worse, but it was a little too easy to push the sticks to their extremes. Strangely, the click depression when you push them in is extremely stiff.
On a brighter note, the triggers feel very good. The fronts are a little flat, but they offer plenty of resistance, which I think is crucial for analog triggers. I was able to carefully regulate the gas in driving games without even thinking about it. For some reason triggers are another problem area for third parties. Kudos to Pelican for getting it right and keeping it cheap.
The wireless performance was as impressive as the overall performance as a controller. Pelican claims 50 feet of operational range. You'd have to live in a field of daisies to achieve this distance. However, I was able to play with a reliable connection from about 25 feet in the office. I encountered occasional hiccups in play, but they were very infrequent. The fast action of THPS4 was no problem for the Eclipse, even in our interference-riddled environment.
Pelican states that the batteries will last about 50 hours with vibration turned on. This seemed unlikely until I turned on the rumble. The controller has two motors, one in each handle, but they are extremely weak. The rumble barely feels like anything at all. I think that solid battery life and wireless action is worth sacrificing rumble feedback, but if Pelican chose to include it I wish they would have with a bit more enthusiasm.
Lastly, and like all Xbox wireless controller, the memory card slots, which you also use for Xbox Live, are on the transceiver base.
Conclusion
What don't I like about the pad? The biggest beef I have is that it has a cheap feel to it. Then again, it is cheap. Considering that you have to spend a good deal more for a different wireless pad, the relatively low build quality is a lot easier to live with. Besides this, though, you have a pad that feels very good, operates very well, and offers tremendous value. You don't get the refinement of the Logitech or the Mad Catz, but do get one hell of a pad for one hell of a price. If you're looking to go wireless and are on a budget, then the Eclipse deserves serious consideration.
Recommended.
Performance
Very good wireless performance, especially considering the price. Solid controller design except for the black and white buttons and somewhat loose sticks. 8.5
Build Quality
Not as bad as some other third-party efforts, but still nothing special. The battery door is flimsy. 7.0
Value
It's not a perfect pad, but it undercuts the competition by a large margin and performs well. 8.5
Features
The extra black and white buttons are smartly placed, even if they feel a little wonky. Plenty of wireless channels to choose from. Silly rumble feedback. 8.0
Overall Rating (Not an average) 8.3
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