Freebird wireless 2.4Ghz X-Box controller Manufacturer: Logic3 Product Type: X-Box Wireless controller Connection Type: through X-Box port System Requirements: X-Box Extra: 2 memory ports Retail Price: 75,90 euro Date posted: 5 May 2005 Written By: Bjorn A new Wireless controller Good wireless controllers for different consoles are hard to find. Sure almost every manufacturer makes them but not all are passing high standards. Customers are only sure, when a controller is good or bad if they get informed from various sources. And some of them are probably reading reviews online and that's why we're here as well. Informing our visitors and making sure they don't buy a cat in a hat. Regarding wireless, some devices will have problems detecting or receiving the signal or the signal won't go even through a wall. So it was time to review another wireless controller for Microsoft's X-Box and after our "Piranha Xtreme review" (read here), hardware manufacturer "Logic 3" came up with their own wireless controller, named "Freebird". We tested it and compared it to our other controller review and came up with the following thoughts. Free like a bird Freebird. That's the name of Logic 3 own wireless controller also with a 2.4 Ghz frequency. Basic idea behind this all is that there are absolutely no cords! And that's a huge advantage over a normal controller. Most of the time you'll be dealing with cords strapped in eachother or getting irritated if the controllers cord is just nog long enough. With wireless controllers it all disappears. No hassle, no irritation and no cords! Logic3's "Freebird" is a RF controller. Meaning that it's controller by 'Radio Frequency'. So unlike other infrared devices where signal was lost when you crossed the infrared signal, with RF that's history. You can put your hand before the controller, obstruct it, ... your RF signal will still be as strong as before. And that's a serious advantage. It also offers a 2.4 Ghz frequency which means that other devices that are also working on RF signals won't disturb the controller's signal. The Package and its features When opening the package you'll find the following : - Freebird controller - 4x AA batteries - RF receiver - manual The Freebird features: - dual vibration motors - twin analog sticks - auto player matching - 10 metre (30ft) 2.4G RF wireless transmitting & receiving distance - turbo fire setting - macro programmable setting - low power indicator As you can see, this isn't just an ordinary wireless controller. No it has a bunch of interest features that we'll explain one by one. Installation Installation is easy. Put the 4x AA batteries in the back of the controller. Plug the receiver in a free X-Box port and power on your console. A green led will flash on the receiver. Once you power up the controller and it has made a connection with the receiver, the green led will glow continually. Connection established. On the controller there are 3 switches for ON/OFF. The first switch will turn it off while the second ON. The third will turn the controller ON too but with vibration enabled. If you're low on battery, simply turn it off and use switch 2 instead of 3 and it'll save you some battery life. It's stated that battery life goes up to 50 hours but when writing this review we didn't spend 50 hours yet with it. Using its vibration feature will shorten the life of your batteries, that's for sure. The controller itself is made of strong material, green color with black D-Pad and direction sticks. The other buttons are all transparent. The vibration function works well but in some games it may be not that strong. The receiver has 2 extra ports for memory cards and a force connection button. A short cable connects to the X-Box console. More on its features The 2 most important features and most interesting ones are the "Turbo Fire Setting" and the "Macro Setting". The turbo fire setting, like it name already says is a built-in Turbo Fire function on each fire button. To use this feature you only have to press the turbo button (it will start to glow) and then press one of the fire buttons that you wish to set the feature too. After that the Turbo LED will turn off and it's complete. It's a nice feature and mostly used in shoot-em-up games or other shooting games. The Freebird also has a interesting "Macro Setting". This feature enables you to enter a maximum of 15 button keystrokes and assign them to one of the buttons that has macro capabilities. Not all the buttons on the controller have this feature so it's only the Back, White, LT and RT button. Press the 'Macro' button, the LED will start to glow and then press one of the Macro function button. You only have 10 seconds to enter your button keystrokes. When complete, simply push the Macro button again and its LED will go out. You can do this for all the buttons that have Macro capabilities. It's even possible to clear a Macro setting on every button. We have tested it with various games and to our surprise this feature worked out very good. Best working is of course the fighting games such as 'Dead or Alive 3 (Ultimate)', 'Soul Calibur 2' etc. We don't think that this Macro feature will be of any use with racing and adventure games. Force Connection A good option that Logic 3 has included with this wireless X-Box controller is the option to "Force its Connection". Sometimes it may occur that when turning up the X-Box and the Freebird or after turning the controller off while the console and receiver are still powered on that the connection between controller and receiver is gone. The green led on the receiver will start to flash again and you'll have to unplug and replug the receiver back in the X-Box port so it can, hopefully, make the connection again. With the "Force Connection" option you won't have to do that. You can manually connect the controller with the receiver again by just pressing the FC button on the receiver and then press and hold down the 'Back' and 'LT' buttons simultaneously on the controller. The led on the receiver will stop flashing and glow continually. The force connection is complete and you're ready to play again. Even if the controller is not used for more than 2 minutes it'll go into "sleep mode". You can turn it on again by pressing any button. Conclusion After our intensive hardware review of "Piranha's Xtreme Wireless X-Box controller" we were afraid that it was the ONLY good controller available. Now after testing Logic 3 "Freebird" we're confident that it's also a must-buy controller for anybody who just hates cords and wants freedom when they play. Sleek design with good placement of buttons, vibration can be turned ON or OFF and a list of interesting features such as the 'Turbo' and 'Macro' setting, this wireless controller has all what a serious gamer needs. -Bjorn Up Previous Page If you want to review your favorite game, or if you work with a computer game company and want your products reviewing, mail info@playdevil.com. All contributions are welcome. Any problems and/or suggestions are always appreciated on webmaster@playdevil.com Nothing of this entire Site, animation & logo's included, may be reproduced, stored, saved, transmitted, in any form or means, electronic, written or otherwise without the prior permission of PlayDevil. Other Logos & Names are Copyrighted Material of its respectful owners. All Rights Reserved. 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