With the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4, one of the few games that makes me care about using rumble, getting closer and closer, I figured that I would use what was left of a Meijers gift card and get a Dualshock 3. While many people seems to hate the Sixaxis, I rather liked a couple of aspects of it. For example, I liked how light weight it was and because of the lack of rumble, I would get lots of playtime before I would be required charge it. It does have some issues though. While the lack of rumble didn't bother me as much as others, the noise of both sides of the platic shell rubbing each other made the controller look and feel very flimsy. Also, the traingle and X buttons would sometimes stick. Lastly, the controller seems to just cut out from time to time (depending on the game from what it looks like) and I'll have to go a couple of seconds without any controller input to my PS3.
So with the Dualshock 3, I've noticed a couple of things right out of the box. This thing weighs a lot more than the Sixaxis which is both good and bad in my opinion. Like I said, I really liked how the Sixaxis weighs so little, but with the inclusion of rumble, the Dualshock 3 feels like it's been built with a much better quality than the Sixaxis. Heck, I really like that I can't see any light passing through it when I hold it infront of my monitor. Lastly, the sound of rubbing plastic is gone when I sqeeze the controller a little bit. Everything feels sturdy on this controller.
I'll give my impressions on how it plays once it's finished charging since I've only recently returned from the store, but I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this matter.
*edit*
After 30 minutes or so with Assassin's Creed and Warhawk, here are my initial thoughts,
I played some Assassin's Creed and Warhawk with rumble for a little bit. I don't really know what there is to say about it. It's rumble... and it makes the controller shake in my hands.... whoop di doo....
With Assassin's Creed, there was only rumble when I'd get damaged and that was it (though this was only with like 10 minutes of running around so there could be more areas with rumble). It didn't make me feel like I was missing out on anything by not having it. Warhawk was more like a traditional game where shooting, getting hit, and boosting in the plane would rumble and again, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.
I'll try to play more Warhawk as soon as I can because it's a game where I know that the Sixaxis will frequently drop out in.
*edit 2*
With Warhawk, I played for an hour in splitscreen with my friend on the Sixaxis and myself on the Dualshock 3. It seemed to play alright, though neither controller dropped connection. Though I wouldn't say that's a conclusive yes or no to the Dualshock 3's bluetooth quality, but I haven't had anything happen yet.
