In the last 20 years, third-party controller offerings have come a long way, to the point where they can be preferable alternatives to first-party offerings. PowerA’s line-up of Enhanced Wired Controllers for Xbox is high on the list for one such option.
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Officially licensed by Microsoft, PowerA brings to the table a controller that checks all the right boxes for form and function as long as players don’t mind having a wired setup. Whether as a cost-effective secondary controller option or for switching over to a mainly wired gaming setup, there is a lot to love about these controllers!
PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller
The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox is a cost-effective wired alternative to standard wireless Xbox controllers. Offering compatibility with Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, players can enjoy this controller when playing Rocket League. Two programmable rear buttons further expand the controller’s capabilities.
Aesthetics And Build Quality
It is easy to mistake PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controllers for official first-party controllers as they bear a striking resemblance to one another. The familiar shape and feel, and every button are present and accounted for. Face buttons stand noticeably taller but have a good feel. Anti-friction rings surround both thumb sticks providing excellent smoothness during use.
Bumpers have been flattened out to a more ideal shape, but it is worth noting that neither the bumpers nor triggers feature any textured griping. The handgrips, however, feature a nice diamond texturing that provides a solid grip and is less coarse than standard Series X/S Controllers.
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Joining the traditional button setup is a traditional D-pad, a pair of remappable rear buttons, and a volume rocker for wired headset users. Mixed in with the shoulder buttons is the recessed USB port for connecting the controller to an Xbox One or Series X/S console orPCwith the included 10-foot USB cable.
The controller comes in lighter than Microsoft’s pads, but the overall build quality is solid, being able to take everyday wear and tear in stride. More stressful endurance testing also showed that the Enhanced Controller is quite capable of taking a beating. A number of color options are available, eclipsing what Microsoft has on offer, giving players more choices to showcase their preferences.
Gameplay
Again, the Enhanced Controller is a wired controller instead of wireless, which has its own pros and cons. Wired communication ensures lower input latency over wireless controllers, making it ideal for more competitive setups, but it does come at the expense of a wire draped across the room. There is no breakaway section on the included cable so do keep that in mind if the system in use is in a high-traffic area.
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No matter the game in play, every button on the controller behaved beautifully. Even with the extra height, face buttons remain responsive with a good throw distance. Bumpers are a highlight with responsive micro switches that feel great to the touch and activate promptly no matter where they happen to be pressed. Dropped inputs are nonexistent and the quickest button spamming can be pulled off with ease.
Triggers are less impressive with resistance during pulls being on the weaker side compared to a first-party controller. This hasn’t negatively impacted gameplay in any way, but it does take some adjustment to get used to for any games that make use of specific trigger positioning. It does, however, benefit titles that require faster-repeated input like shooters. Quick firing is a breeze even without having any form of a trigger lock found on more premium controllers.
Another highlight of the Enhanced Controller experience is the thumb sticks. They behave identically to a standard Xbox controller and have nearly identical grip and resistance. This assures players get perfect gameplay, and throughout multiple test games, no faults have presented themselves! The anti-friction rings further elevate the experience. L3 and R3 are a bit stiffer than expected but nothing deal-breaking. Whether tackling a track inForzaortaking down opponents inApex Legends, the experience is fantastic!
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As for the D-pad, preferences aside for traditional vs disk, in-game it has been accurate and rolls extremely well. It provides the right rigidity ensuring that prolonged use doesn’t become tiring.Fighting gamesand retro compilations have been a joy to play and swapping to a game-winning grenade inApexregisters perfectly. Diagonal presses are also no trouble, unlike some other third-party offerings.
The rear buttons are the top highlight of the Enhanced Controller and what sets it apart from first-party standard controllers. It can’t be stated enough the advantages such buttons can bring to players in any number of games, competitive or casual. Regardless of hand size, players should have little problem using them as they are a good size and align well with the natural grip of the controller. Programming them is a breeze and doesn’t require any additional software, allowing for on-the-fly adjustments.
Wired headset users will be pleased that the wired connection of the controller ensures that there are no audio dropouts during gameplay. Spatial sound capabilities also work perfectly, allowing for better positional audio in supported titles. Mostly a huge plus for competitive shooters, butevery game typically benefits from having better audio! The volume rocker is also very convenient for adjusting volumes without navigating menus.
What It Could Have Done Better
While the gaming experience of the Enhanced Controller is mostly top-tier, it isn’t without drawbacks. Face buttons are a bit on the loud side which in turn makes the pad sound hollow during rapid presses. This drawback is repeated in the triggers which have no padding at the end of a pull, resulting in loud clacks. Both result in the controller feeling much cheaper than it actually is, both in build quality and in-game performance.
Conclusion
While lacking the traditional wireless capabilities of modern pads, the PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller has a few extras included that make it great for players looking to get a bit more out of their standard controllers. Remappable rear buttons enhance any gameplay experience and the base performance of the controllereasily matches that of an official Microsoft pad. There are some minor annoyances with button noise and lack of resistance in the triggers but none have negatively impacted the gaming experience enough to be deal-breaking. Best yet, they come in significantly cheaper than first-party offerings and there are also just so many great colors to choose from!
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PowerA Enhanced Wired Controllers are available now. Game Rant was provided a sample for review purposes.
