For months, I searched for some alternative.  Surly, some third party had the forward thinking to create a PlayStation 3 controller with some of the attributes of an Xbox 360 one.  I knew I couldn’t be the only person looking for such a beast.  I even contemplated commissioning Ben Heckendorn to build one of his Frankenstein-like creations, but at $750 it was way out of my price range.  Then I saw it: the dreamGEAR Shadow!

The Shadow is a simple third-party PS3 controller, with some great improvements – just what I was looking for.  First, the elongated handles of the Shadow include red rubberized palm grips, great for long gameplay sessions.  Additionally, the plastic shell of the controller, although not made of a soft rubber-like material, is constructed with a finish that seems to inhibit slipping.  Since your fingers wrap around the handles holding this material, it’s a welcome addition that further prevents slipping.

Aside from the bright red handles, the most noticeable feature of the Shadow is its left thumbstick placement, which much like the Xbox 360, is in the upper-left corner of the controller.  Picking up the controller (as an Xbox gamer) I noticed the angle of the handles is not as wide as the 360’s, but one easily becomes accustomed, and the thumbstick is so welcoming in its new home.  The D-pad is moved to the traditional left thumbstick position of a PS3 controller, which works well. Sadly the materials used to create it make it feel a little week, especially when compared to the solid construction of the rest of the Shadow.

Another substantial improvement over PlayStation’s DualShock 3, is a simple, but ingenious one.  Anyone that has ever held a DualShock 3 will notice the afore-mentioned convex shape of the L2 and R2 buttons.  Considering these are often the most frequently used buttons in driving and FPS titles, resting your finger on something that naturally wants to repel it can feel clumsy.  dreamGEAR re-engineered these buttons to conform to the shape of ones finger, in essence creating little triggers.  Although they could have benefited from some additional length, they are a big improvement over Sony’s original design.