It has been a while since I have reviewed a controller, let alone one for the PC. I have only recently been getting into playing more of my games on PC, and being an avid console fan, I have been delighted that the fashion is leaning towards more and more PC games being controller-compatible. Given the ‘PowerA OPS V3 Pro Wireless Controller’ for review, let us decide if a Pro Wireless Controller real is all it is cracked up to be.

PowerA do not hold back in this neat little bundle. Included in your packaging you will find your PowerA OPS V3 Pro Wireless Controller, 2.4GHz USB adapter, charging base and a USB to USB-C cable. The Charging base is magnetic and has a neat little hidey-hole to store your USB, which is great for forgetful people like me, who may or may not lose it.

Straight out of the box, the OPS V3 Pro is a mighty good-looking controller and light too; a great weight to not put too much pressure on your wrists in long stints of gaming. Looking like the styling and layout of an Xbox controller, this pro controller is in a silky matte black with rough textured and comfortable rubber-injected grips enveloping the palm rests. It just feels nice. With a two ‘off-centre’ stick formation, 4 buttons (X, Y, A, B) and a D-pad on the front side. The face also includes a select, start and turbo button and smack bang in the centre blazened with the PowerA logo is the glowing Home button.

Underside you will find 6 mappable buttons not including the two triggers with a 3-way trigger locking ability adjusting the input distance to activate inputs. Two of these mappable buttons are located on top near the triggers for easy and lightning-quick accessibility. Perfect for shooters to aim, shoot and reload in half the time. The other four buttons sit 2 equally on each side where your remaining fingers would rest. A small LED and Programming button is situated at the bottom in the middle.

The whole overall look of the controller is topped off with 4 multi-zone RGB lighting that neatly borders the frame, the sticks, the buttons and the D-pad. It does radiate in the darkness and is a dazzling addition to any set-up.

The thumbsticks have two really cool outlying features. Firstly, they are ‘quick twist,’ meaning they are adjustable in height at a quick turn. With two other heights other than standard, you can now quickly make yourself comfortable at a turn. Secondly, the triggers and thumbsticks have a ‘Hall Effect’ meaning internal sensors provide more reliable inputs for improved precision. While I found no glaring difference to another controller, the experience was very smooth when grinding away at ‘Diablo IV’ for long periods of time. The only possible flaw I could think of is perhaps some interchangeable parts just for maintenance against wear and tear. I used to chew through rubber grips in my heyday.

The gaming buttons are mechanical switches. These are very tactile, very bouncy and clicky in nature. This is a feature you will either love or hate but I quite enjoy the ability to feel and hear every input. Speaking of the buttons, the 6 underside buttons are remappable as mentioned before meaning you can customise your gaming experience for pure effectiveness. This means you don’t need to remove your fingers from the sticks or triggers and can use the metal-plated buttons with your underside fingers. These are also surprisingly easy to use with a holding down of the programming button on the back to map these. I like simplicity and efficiency.

Even more efficient is the way this controller has 3-way connectivity. The most obvious, and preferred method of this old gaming fart is the wired possibility. It’s easy, but it’s messy. Plug and play will always be my method but having a cable draped over your desk isn’t the most elegant or most safe option.

There are two options to go wireless for the more high-tech; Bluetooth or wireless USB adapter. I tend to find Bluetooth hit-and-miss with signal strength but the 2.4GHz USB connected perfectly with lag-free low latency connectivity. I gamed for hours without issue.

The charging dock allows for convenient charging and the built-in battery, while not interchangeable, does last for roughly 25-30ish hours depending on how hard and long you use it. The dual rumble motors and RGB lighting probably have a huge effect on that battery life too.

There is an accompanying software called the PC HQ App, which I have never used before so I was hesitant. Luckily, it was very simple to use, offering a pleasant experience overall. Here you can customise the lighting zones, and the rubble strength, recalibrate and test buttons and fully remap all triggers, buttons and joysticks into different profiles to function as you need them for different occurrences. The interface for their software is very user-friendly and explanative which most people would be grateful for.

Available at the PowerA Australia website for $179.95AU, this is one pro controller with all the bells and whistles for what I would consider a decent price, especially since a standard Xbox Elite or PlayStation DualSense Edge controller retails between $199.99AU and $249.85AU. The PowerA OPS V3 Pro Wireless Controller is stylish, lightweight but sturdy, and can be fully customised at the push of a button or at the PC. What more could you want? I’m finding it hard to think myself.

Written by: Stacey