Admit it, when you heard the announcement for the console release of Street Fighter 4, your excitement was cut short by a shocking realisation. Whether you own a PS3, 360 or both, your joy will have been muted by the sad truth that your controller is useless for 2D beat-em-ups. Both controllers have shockingly awful d-pads making a game such as Street Fighter far more frustrating than usual.
Despite their reputation for shoddy and nasty looking peripherals, Mad Catz has landed the opportunity to produce licenced controllers for both console versions of Street Fighter 4. They are almost as sexy as Jamie Lynn-Sigler nude oil wrestling with Scarlett Johansson, with some superb artwork, interchangeable faceplates and what looks like solid construction. As always the proof will be in the pudding, but they look classy, expensive and built to last. I've already invested in my own Hori arcade stick, but I'm seriously thinking of picking up one of the control pads. It has a proper 8-way d-pad and six-button layout. It reminds me of the Saturn controller which was perfect for beat-em-ups as my man Bojack will happily tell you.
I'm going to get my ass handed to me anyway, but at least some decent hardware will force me to get better and stop using the "Crappy D-Pad Excuse".
FEBRUARY! WOO!
The Faux Bot