The Razer Onza Professional Xbox 360 Gaming Controller

The subject of some recent controversy between Razer and the MLG (Major League Gaming) is the new Onza controller. An MLG representative stated in a forum posting that the controller would be banned from tournament play. Razer was taken aback as the MLG had not even had one in their hands yet when that call had been made.

I did have one in mine at GamesCom and I have to say, it’s fantastic. I won’t say something sensationalistic like it will revolutionize console gaming or anything like that. But I will say that they certainly put a lot of thought into it and took into account a lot of things gamers say about console controllers. The main feature of the controller are two mappable multi-function bumper buttons (MFBs) which fix a problem that even Dennis zDD Dozier mentioned to me when I was at the Split Fish booth, having to reach for a button and then reach back. The MFBs allow you to map the A,B,X,Y, back, Start and thumbstick clicks to them (one per button of course).

Simply put it’s brilliant. If, for example, you need a thumbstick click to, say, run (like in Modern Warfare 2) you have to then have a fairly sturdy and steady pressure on the stick removing some manueverability. When you map it to a bumper button, you can utilize the thumbsticks as you normally would and don’t even have to move a finger to activate the run. Another example is that the Back button is used to spot enemies in Battlefield II which means you would have to move your thumb off the left thumbstick, or reach across the controller, to activate that. With the MFBs, those days are done. What Dennis said to me was that having to move a finger or thumb to crouch and then go back to its normal position would be enough time for him to have already crouched and shot them in the legs (while we were speaking about the new Split Fish FragFX Shark). So when I saw the mappable buttons on the Onza, I knew Razer was on to something...

But those MFBs aren’t the only extra features on this controller. The controller buttons are mechanical Hyperesponse which give faster actuation and excellent tactile feedback. Plus they light up which is mega cool (as sometimes when playing it gets dark and I don’t notice).

The third feature in the Tournament edition of the controller is the adjustable tention rings on the analog sticks. Generally the sticks are quite loose and trying to do something precisely with them is nigh impossible. But no more my friends! Now you have an adjustable solution. Say you want some better fine grain control on your aiming stick, you can now manage that on this controller by tightening the ring making the stick harder to move meaning better control. If you combined that with something like the Control Freek Thumbstick caps you could certainly have some massively fine control on your aim and movements. Not so important in your casual puzzle games, unless it’s Bubble Bobble or Peggle, but extremely important in your FPS and TPS games.

I was told at the show that there will be two versions. The Tournament Edition which will retail for 49.99 (USD/Euro) and feature everything above and a Standard Edition which will retail for 39.99 (USD/Euro) which will not have the tension rings on it but will retain the MFBs and the Hyperesponse button mechanics. Set for an October release.

Early marketing copy stated there would be a slider for auto-fire on the MFBs. During the design phase that feature was removed and was confirmed in today’s Razer Interview that it will not be included.

The feel of the controller, as I was foruntate enough to play around with it, is much like that of the now standard Xbox 360 controller. The D-pad is slightly fancier and the controller felt a bit larger. Most likely due to the extra gear inside ans the larger trigger buttons which have more of a curve to them for better gripping stability. Overall, I believe that when the review unit arrives, it will replace my other controllers without a doubt.