I've had my hands on many of them. From the Atari 2600, to the Sega Dreamcast, To the NES, along with the Sega Genesis. Up to the Gamecube, even to the XB360, across to the Jaguar and back down to the N64. But as of November 2013, they all have to bow down to the new king on game controllers.
The Dualshock 4 is not perfect by any means, the analog knobs still have some ways to go, but it just does most things so so right. Its a beautiful evolution of what a next generation controller needs to be.
When you put the side by side with the also recently released XBOne controller, it's quite evident, the Dualshock 4 straight out kicks it's butt.
Much can be said for the much improved caved L2/R2 triggers, along with the Share button and suprisingly weird Light Bar. But it's the Touch Pad & Internal Speaker that deserves most of the Dualshock 4 spotlight.
The video game controller has always been the main connect that bridged the player to the game, building a sence of connection and a way of immersing the players sences with the game. the DS4 's touch pad & Speaker has now bridged that connection closer in ways that no other controller before it has.
Whe playing Resogun you could hear seperate voices from the controller that is seperated from the in game sound. Killzone Shadowfall used the internal speakers to play voice notes and it works perfectly with the mood of the game. Controlling your Owl with the Touch Pad is also smooth as silk, allowing for not just another button on the controller, but also an easy, very simple swipe funtion to execute.
Other games have used the Touch Pad & Internal Speaker to enhance gameplay, but it's the recent inFAMOUS Second Son that shines the most.
(SPOILER)..... Whether it's using the Touch Pad to drain energy from the enviroment combined with the sound of it coming from the Internal Speaker making it sound like your hands are actually absorbing the energy, or swiping on the Touch Pad to open doors, or even using the Touch Pad to hold up energy conduits while you smash them with the R2 button. Even small things like hearing his cell phone ring. Combining them all into the game experience just so refreshing.
Is it the perfect controller, NO, but with the combined features that it brings to the table, as it stands as of today, the Dualshock 4 is hands down the Greatest Controller ever made.
