Put some oomph in it

As one might guess from the looks of it, X-Arcade is a controller. To be precise, a arcade game controller. In addition to doubling as a gym weight it claims to bring the true arcade feeling to your home. No more playing old arcade games with puny keyboards that have no feel at all, X-Arcade is the way to go.

This piece of gear is brought to you by Xgaming. The manufacturer sells two versions of it, Solo (Smaller, single player model, retails for about $100) and Dual (wider 2 player one, priced at $130). Dual version is the one I’ve been meddling with and writing about. Solo is almost identical, except it naturally has buttons and a joystick for one player only. Priced that high they certainly are not the cheapest controllers available, but to balance the price tag you get a high end quality controller with a lifetime warranty. Some might say it’s an investment (then again, some might not).

X-Arcade works with a very wide range of systems, ranging from Dreamcast to PC although you have to shell out some cash to buy the necessary adapters as X-Arcade ships with just one (in this case, PC). My tryout is limited to PC, as I had only the PC adapter available. The X-Arcade PC adapter is connected to PC’s standard PS/2 keyboard connector. The controller has a built-in PS/2 plug which allows pass-through for your regular keyboard so you don’t need to juggle wires just to be able to use keyboard.

So. Now that you have a controller like this, this is strictly old school. You’re not going to use it to play that new 3D-shooter you’ve been waiting for ages (Well you could, but where’s the fun in that?). The proper way to use X-Arcade is to kick up MAME and lay back with some retro gaming. Other emulators may be acceptable too, it might be interesting to play Super Mario Bros with this. For MAME use, there’s a nice application called GameEx which gives you a easy-to-use, nice looking frontend to use MAME with.

GameEx brings easy access menus to MAME that can easily be operated with X-Arcade (or any other controller). This essentially removes the need to use mouse to switch between games. GameEx has a nice category-based system for displaying the titles, you can for example choose to view all games in your library by name or from certain year or by genre. It also has many other features such as music playlists, news reader and video player. GameEx is ideal for home theater PC solutions as tuse of mouse is not necessary in the menu driven interface.

X-Arcade Dual (click for larger image)

Armed and dangerous

Once the software’s tuned up, it’s time to play and this is where X-Arcade is expected to shine. The controller is rather heavy (in fact, the manual suggests the weak to hit the gym) and this has a few advantages. Weight helps in achieving that sturdy arcade feel and you don’t need to worry about controller sliding around the table. The size also makes it potentially a ergonomical nightmare if you place it on a high table and sit much lower yourself. The joystick and buttons can be a strain to your wrists when playing for long amounts but I suspect this is nothing new for those having used similar controls in arcades.

Both the joystick-part and the buttons have a nice feel in them and there’s certainly no need to worry about them breaking up in middle of intensive gaming. There are 8 regular buttons for each player on top of the controller plus 2 buttons for choosing 1 or 2 player mode. X-Arcade also has a button on both sides so there’s no need for compromises even on pinball games, which I thought was a nice touch. The controller is fully programmable, but I did not test those features as the basic setup suit my needs.

I have to say that X-Arcade really does keep it’s promises. If you’re a fan of arcade gaming and don’t mind the price, this controller is the way to go. Xgaming has game adapters for most recent systems available and plan to add support for upcoming ones as well. Currently they are working on Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo Wii support. Playing emulator games never had the shine of the originals when sitting in front of a keyboard, but X-Arcade manages to bring some of the magic back.

GameEx is an equally good piece of software to tag along. Having a dedicated computer with X-Arcade hooked up on a TV running GameEx, what else you need? Although real hardcore gamers probably won’t be satisfied unless the setup is built in a real arcade cabin (Xgaming has one for sale)…