That’s right, I haven’t even laid hands on an XBox One X yet, and I’m willing to go on the record as saying Razer’s Wolverine Ultimate XBox controller is the best piece of kit you can buy for Microsoft’s latest console.
And yes, I’m considering Microsoft’s own Elite controller.
Out of the Box Impressions
If there’s another peripheral manufacturer that has as good of a handle on superior materials (other than Apple), I’m not aware of them. The heft and finish of the Wolverine screamed “top tier” as soon as I took it out of the included hard case. The textured grips ensure that the controller won’t slip out of my hands during long play sessions.
The Wolverine has triggers and extra shoulder buttons just like the XBox Elite Wireless controller, interchangeable thumbsticks (short and domed), and two different D-pad styles (one 4-way classic, one multi-directional). The thumbsticks and D-pad are magnetic for easy interchangeability.
Razer Synapse Customization
I was ready to make the Wolverine my main controller before I even plugged it in, but once I did, the Razer Synapse features joined the party. Just like Razer’s PC hardware, the Wolverine’s light strip is completely customizable. You can tweak it to glow in hundreds of different colors and seven different glow patterns. It’s ostentatious, sure, but it’s the kind of bling that I’m a sucker for.
Light patterns, haptic feedback level (that’s vibration to you and me), template creation, button remapping, and more are all accessible via the Synapse app for XBox. Anyone who’s ever customized a piece of Razer hardware on the PC will feel right at home. All those changes can be combined into templates and saved so that you can toggle between them with the press of a dedicated button.
One of my favorite features is the “Focus/Agile” customization. With it, you can increase or lower the track rate of the thumbstick with a button press (again, customizable via the Synapse app). What this means for players like me who just can’t seem to track without blowing past their target is that I can tweak sensitivity way down to compensate for my complete lack of fine motor skills. Will it make me a Widowmaker main? Probably not, but now I can at least snipe without embarrassing myself (more than usual).
Is It Worth the Premium?
The only downside is that the Wolverine is 100% wired. For those of us that play from across the room on the couch, it’s a bit of a bummer (for those of us with new kittens, it’s possibly life-threatening). The nice thing is that it’s a nicely braided, fully breakaway cord. Tripping over the Wolverine’s cord should do no more than disrupt a few seconds of play while you connect the cable back together. Plus you don’t have to worry about batteries!
The Razer Wolverine Ultimate doesn’t come cheap. At $159, it’s $10 more than Microsoft’s Elite Wireless controller. But the additional physical and virtual customization you get with the Razer controller is well worth the extra cash. Grab yours on Amazon and get the premium controller your premium console deserves. If you’d like a little more info on the Wolverine Ultimate, head over to the official Razer page.
Thanks to Razer for providing a media sample for this article. Opinions and awful sniping skills are my own.
I have to agree, the Wolverine is by far better then the elite. I had to exchange my elite CONSOLE bundle three times cause the XBOX elite controllers thumb sticks kept getting loose. What I mean is if you were on the couch and sat back with the controller over your head behind you the thumb sticks would keep falling as I pushed it in to move or do whatever. It was so frustrating I knew this was not how it was supposed to be all my regular Xbox controllers the thumb sticks were always nice and tight never jiggled or bobbed up and down when I shook it,even after years of use. So I looked this problem up and to my surprisement not many people had this issue yet I had happen to three of them till I finally just took it apart and did a quick jack job to it to make it stop. Even every time I saw an elite on display I would run over to it and pull the thumb sticks up just to see if I was just that in lucky,and guess what they where loose too just not as bad cause after more use the looser they get. So I don’t know if people just think this is normal or they really all got elites that where made right. Now the Wolverine is a whole other ball game. I love this controller,yeah it’s wired I know but you will get use to it. And the back paddle buttons I will say are better on the elite cause they seemed easier to reach with your fingers but again you will get used to that even quicker. And the Razer app to customize it is amazing,and it’s lighter. My wife always said she hated using my elite cause it was to heavy feeling to her. Any way, I’m very serious when I say this if your going for an elite control please go with the Razer you will not be let down I promise you that. Like I said you will have to get used to the wires part, and if you never used an Xbox elite then you don’t have to worry getting used to the back paddle buttons cause then you have no idea what I mean by that. And I’m not promoting Razer, this is actually my first product from them it was a Christmas gift and I could not be happier. I could go on and on. You have the cash to drop get the Wolverine.