I get a lot of crap sent to me. It's one of the "perks" of being a mid-level writer at a lesser known tech and gaming website. Usually, it's a product that I have little use for and doesn't have much appeal. There's a lot of new brands out there that want to get their name on the interwebs, and I respect that. But it doesn't mean I have to like/endorse their product. More often than not I don't do product reviews because of the old "if you don't have something nice to say" rule.
But I have a lot of nice things to say about Kontrol Freek.
First and foremost, the question FPS fanatics want to know: Is Kontrol Freek worth it? And by "it" we mean the $14 or so Kontrol Freek charges for their analog stick extenders. My answer is yes. Kontrol Freek IS worth it because it actually works.
I was incredibly skeptical when I received a set of Kontrol Freek Phantoms back in December. I didn't know much about the company, and the little plastic extenders seemed like the kind of gimmicky crap I normally get sent. But I had an Xbox One at home that wasn't seeing much game time since I had blown through most of the launch window titles. Kontrol Freek gave me an excuse to revisit some titles and try their product on casual gaming. I played a lot of Assassin's Creed and Dead Rising with the Kontrol Freek Phantom and didn't notice much. A little more comfortable, a little more precise, but nothing extraordinary. But I left the Phantoms on my Xbox One controller because I'm lazy. It seemed like another product destined for me to ignore.
Then came Titanfall.
I didn't notice the benefits of Kontrol Freek until I played a few rounds over at a friends' apartment. I was having a very off game. Normally, I found myself in top three after each match. But the controls just seemed sluggish and weird and I shouted a lot of curse words at lag that didn't exist. Later, when I talked to avid Kontrol Freek user Jimmy Markowski (a.k.a. YouTube phenom chaosxsilencer) he summed up the difference between using/not using Kontrol Freek.
"It's like going to lift weights for an hour, then go try and shoot a basketball," he said.
It's true. Kontrol Freek adds a LOT of precision that is hard to notice until it's gone. When my friend came to my place to play some Titanfall he asked about the Kontrol Freek Phantoms on my Xbox One controller. I explained that they were "for work" with a shrug and let him game. He was crushing it. I had him take the Phantoms off and play a few rounds without and his score dropped. I did the same. That was the moment that convinced me that Kontrol Freek actually does work. Here's the science behind them, if you're interested:
On its website, Kontrol Freek is upfront about their product being useful for serious Call of Duty players. I don't play COD, I was always a Halo guy. And now Titanfall fills that void (until all those Halo games drop in November). But FPS is as FPS does and the results I see in Titanfall sync up with the boasting Kontrol Freek does on its site. I do get more headshots. I do have faster reaction times. I do everything better.
I wouldn't recommend Kontrol Freek for casual action adventure gaming. I leave mine on all the time because it certainly doesn't hurt, but you're not faced with the kind of split-second situations in games like Watch Dogs or Wolfenstein that you are in multiplayer FPS combat. But if you are even a casual player of FPS titles then Kontrol Freek is a great investment. It's less than $20 and delivers results. The wallet-friendly price point makes it an awesome gift for fellow gamers, too.
So, is Kontrol Freek worth it? Yes. Does it really work? Yes. Should you buy it? Absolutely. Unless you're happy being in the bottom half of the leaderboard.
