Nyko Air Flo Game Pad Review - Comparisons
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I tested the Air Flo with a standard PlayStation game pad. Most people have at least seen one of these, the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 controllers being identical in most aspects. In all fairness, they were designed for a game console but with a $15 USB adaptor I found on eBay it became my main PC game pad about 6 months ago. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an adaptor to use the Air Flo on the PS2 and its USB ports wouldn’t recognize it)
The design likenesses that the Air Flo has with PS game pad are very obvious and for good reason: the people at Sony came up with a great design, and it has become almost a standard for many of today’s more popular game controllers.
Although the dimensions of the two controllers aren’t exactly the same, the structure itself is very similar. The weight however was a bit different and probably not in the way you would expect. Looking at the size of the Air Flo when compared to the smaller PlayStation controller, I expected Nyko’s product to be the heavyweight. But, due to the hollow nature of the Air Flo, there is a fairly significant lightness to it. The weight of the Air Flo was definitely a good thing: it didn’t weigh so much that I got tired holding it, but it wasn’t so light that it felt cheap.
The hollowness, thankfully, did not translate into weakness. After white-knuckling this thing for a half-hour straight while playing Need for Speed: Underground, there were no creaking noises in the plastic. The creaking is a warning sign of a controller that might break easily under pressure. The Air Flo isn't in danger being crushed under your intense grip, but if you're in the habit of bouncing the controller on the ground every time you get killed or lose a race, then you might want to look elsewhere, since this would probably crack after just a few hard spikes.
Next: Design Notes >>
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