KontrolFreek - Shields "Ammunition" (PS3)

I think it was either late last year, or earlier this year that I reviewed my first KontrolFreek products. I was truly impressed with the craftsmanship, the overall designs, and functionality of the "FPS Freek", and "FPS Havoc" controller enhancements. In fact I still use them to this day when gaming with my brothers in "Black Ops 2". The in-game improvements that these two products offered definitely showed throughout my product testing phase, and beyond. However good that may sound it is not the reason why I'm here today. It was recently announced that KontrolFreek was releasing a new line of controller add-ons to their online store, and I felt that these new products would be another noteworthy item worth featuring here on this blog. These latest add-ons, dubbed as "shields" were said to provide the gamer with a cleaner, more protected controller. In simple terms it's KontrolFreek's own unique take on controller decals.

After sending in my request to KontrolFreek's main man, and getting the email back that the goods had been shipped I patiently awaited the shield's arrival. I would say that it took less than a week for me to finally get my hands on these bad boys, and being short on game review material it was a godsend. I think the reason behind the products fairly quick arrival though is due to the fact that KontrolFreek headquarters is not too far from where I live. I imagine it may take a little longer to arrive in your mailbox according to where you live, and assuming you choose to order a pair. As far as the arrival condition is concerned the shields came packed in a bubble wrap envelope, and were in pristine condition upon opening. The package wasn't bent, or damaged which was a relief considering my mailman can be a proper asshole sometimes. Inside the bubble wrap envelope was another clear sealed envelope that contained the actual product.

As you can likely tell from the above photo I opted to get the PS3 version of the "shield". It's basically a 7 piece controller decal made from a fairly durable vinyl-like plastic with an adhesive backing. When I requested this particular shield I chose to get a specific design that I really liked, but there were a handful of other designs that I could have chosen from. The above design is called "Ammunition". It's one of seven different designs that you can choose from when ordering your shield/s. I will say that there are some shields that are gender specific (guy/girl), and some that are more on the gender neutral side. As time goes by I'm sure the guys at KontrolFreek will likely add more designs though. 

Peeling, and applying the 7 piece shield set was a simple task once I figured out how to place everything properly. I started with the handle decals which looked a little odd to me, and I ended up having to reposition the first handle decal to it's accurate position only once after figuring it out. The lack of a placement instruction guide was a bit unhelpful, but I will say that most of the 7 decals are easily placed without the use of such a guide. After I had placed both handle decals I chose to place the circular DPad, and button decals which were a little difficult in their own way. You have to be careful when peeling these particular pieces from their backing, because the hollow circles that go around the thumbsticks could fairly easily be torn upon removal. The next piece I applied was the middle start/select button piece. I found it interesting that this midsection decal actually wrapped over the top of the controller, and fitted around the USB cable port. Lastly I applied the two smaller decal pieces that fit on the spaces in fronts of the shoulder buttons. I actually almost discarded them thinking that they were just extra material left from the decal cut outs. Don't make my mistake there folks.

The application of the 7 pieces was fairly simple overall, aside from the one mishap I had with the first handle decal. As far as overall quality is concerned the shield seems to be fairly durable. Heed my warning though about the DPad, and button area decals. Rushing to peel them off could result in a tear, especially in the more thin circular areas. Another thing I need to touch base on is the price. Each pack of 2 shields (duplicates) will set you back $12.99 plus tax/shipping. As I mentioned earlier you'll likely receive your package in top notch shape though due to the proper packaging, and delivery methods unless your mailman/lady is an asshole like mine usually is.

VERDICT:

In the official website product description KontrolFreek claims that the "shields" keep away dirt, and grime. My problem with this "fact" is that the shield decals offer only partial coverage of the controller's surface. This mainly includes the front part of the controller, and a small portion of the top. I know from experience that the main areas where dirt, and grime collect on a controller are in the crevices around it, and around the buttons/thumbsticks. Making decals that could remedy all of this would be damn near impossible, and intrusive to the gamer. In that sense I find the product description partially misleading. Aside from the whole "dirt & grime" issue I also found the price to be a little steep. While the material these shields are made from do seem to be a little more durable than others I've gotten in the past I still don't think they warrant such a high price. The fact that they only have 7 available designs to choose from in the online store, and the fact that they are somewhat mundane in appearance only further adds to their lack of desirability.

Unless you really like the graphic designs printed on KontrolFreek's shields then you may want to pass this product up. I think in the end KontrolFreek needs to stick to making controller enhancements that improve gameplay instead of trying to make controller decals. Products like the "FPS Freek", and the "FPS Havoc" are definitely the company's strong points. KontrolFreek thumbstick add-ons for fighting games would definitely be a good thing to look into since the fighting game genre has seriously picked up over the past few years. I also suggest some sort of DPad add-ons. If they can figure that one out then they'll definitely have a top seller since everyone playing fighting games has issues with the DPads on console controllers. Unless they can improve the graphics of the shields somehow as well as expand the coverage area of the decals then I don't think the product is really worth it. Maybe if they offered the gamer a way to make/request custom shields then they might have a winner on their hands. To me though it's just another controller decal from another company. I hate to say that, but it's the truth.