Nerd Mentality

Nyko's Air Flo Controller

Posted by Adrian DeHerrera.

Hey kids, do you know what the coolest GameCube accessory on the market is? Nope, it's not the broadband adapter. Bongo drums? Think again! Silly gamer, it's none other than Nyko's Air Flo Controller, and Nyko has made it simple by telling you right on the box! Nyko has complete confidence that its controller will keep you cool with an adjustable internal cooling system for a gaming experience of "unparalleled comfort", as if you were not only gliding on a cloud, but getting an erotic massage at the same time. I'm glad Nyko puts these things on its packages because unfortunately I didn't feel as cool, comforted and amazed so much as I felt like I spent a chunk of cash on a solid controller with a gimmicky fan system.

"This feels weird," I thought to myself upon first turning the fan on and firing up a game of Super Smash Bros.: Melee. As many of you know, during hectic gameplay ones' palms can get a little moist, especially after a couple rounds of SSBM. Still, I know a lot of greasy gamers but I certainly have never been so sweaty as to consider using a remedy to get my game back on track. Leave it to Nyko to cater to the excessively wet-handed with hand cooling technology that comes in three settings: "Off", "Is this thing on?" and "This feels weird.".

What this controller should be called is the "Strangely Stirring" controller for those who enjoy having their palms tickled or gamers who like to brag that they can get blown anytime they feel like it. The decoration on the front of the package implies that the air that streams from the small vents in the controller is somehow "icy", and perhaps by placing the controller on your crotch, a hot summer's day will be akin to taking a plunge into a shimmering swimming pool filled with Eskimos and peppermint patties. Don't let the packaging fool you, my friends. Nyko has tried innovation but mostly succeeded in providing gamers with what turns out to be quite a comfy controller that may or may not bother you while you play.

For instance, after I played a few levels of Super Smash, my best friend's 9-year-old tried it out and immediately exclaimed it felt "weird". After dying a few times he kept mentioning that it was bothering him as he played because he kept thinking about the controller and not Bowser, who was turning Kirby into a pink pretzel. I took his word that it was really the controller bothering him and not an excuse for getting whooped by Bowser, and I had to agree. There is some part of me that enjoys the idea of completely dry palms while playing a heated match, but another part of me that says, "Are you really that sweaty, hog?" And yet another part of me even wonders if my hands were drier than they would have been otherwise. The answer to that is probably a hesitant "yes", but I didn't feel icy or cool, just disappointed and wanting to turn the cooling system off.

This game gets an N-Philes score of B-.

In all, Nyko has created a sturdy controller with comfortable grips and impressive control that doesn't quite live up to its "cool" packaging. Perhaps one day hand cooling technologies will be all the rage in the industry, but for now the Air Flo controller is a fitting, but lackluster entry into the genre. Hopefully we'll have a review of the wireless version sometime in the near future.

Posted in: Reviews

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