Thrustmaster Eswap Pro Controller

The idea is a good one. Considering how many gamers across the globe prefer the asymmetrical analogue stick placement pioneered by Microsoft and its Xbox controllers, the third party peripheral giant Thrustmaster creating a modular controller where users can place the analogue sticks, d-pad and buttons wherever they want makes sense. Okay, the "wherever" part might be a little bit of an overstatement, but you can switch certain things around and thereby customise the ergonomics of the controller to your specific preferences.

If you have big hands, you'll recognise the struggle of playing a game with a controller that's on the small side. This is an issue that you won't experience when using the Thrustmaster Eswap Pro Controller because it's a big controller that, as we stated before, lets you move the layout around.

Before we mention the odd modular design of the peripheral, we have to mention the price. You see, the Thrustmaster Eswap Pro Controller will set you back £149.99, should you choose to purchase one, which is rather steep and up there with the likes of Scuf's Pro controllers and Microsoft's original Elite controller.

This brings us to talk about the design of the Eswap Pro Controller because it doesn't appear solid enough to warrant its price tag. The high-shine hard plastic in combination with the look of the analogue sticks gives the controller the look of a bargain bin low-end product rather than a pro controller with a high-end price tag. That said, it certainly feels well-put-together and it's rather comfortable to use. The Thrustmaster Eswap Pro Controller is well-made but ugly. Extremely ugly.

Apart from giving users the option to move the button and stick layout around, Thrustmaster also offers "kits" that lets you customise your controller by switching out parts for more colourful ones, but these, of course, cost extra. The battery life, should you want to use it wirelessly without the included charging cable, is non-existent. It's not a wireless controller and even though one could argue that "no pro gamers play games with wireless peripherals", having the option would have been nice.

The weight of the controller is perfect and the height and the resistance in most of the buttons are great, as is the resistance in the analogue sticks. The triggers, however, are really tiny, which makes it almost painful to play action titles for a long period of time. Hopefully, Thrustmaster will release a mod kit with more substantial triggers further down the line.

The price of the controller is steep and this fact along with the lack of an internal battery and small triggers left us unimpressed. Thrustmaster can most definitely do better.