First Impressions
The Fusion Pro 3 is a wired controller for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, alongside Windows 10/11 PCs currently in stores at £79.99. In a matte black design, the Fusion Pro 3 is a good-looking controller, with its silhouette reminding me of a certain PDP Afterglow Wave controller which I previously reviewed.
The controller came with a standard USB-C cable, which essentially looks and works exactly like the official Xbox USB-C, although this cable is built with a rope-like toughness to combat any breakage.
Design
The silhouette of the body instantly reminded me of the Xbox One controller, with almost the exact same shape bar the flat bumpers, which changes the likeness to be closer to the PDP Afterglow Wave. Additionally, the layout of the buttons is identical to an Xbox controller, with a slight indentation around each button, although this is not noticeable when playing.
The triggers and bumpers are quite rigid looking, with a flat, square design for the bumpers and a robotic set of triggers. There are four underside buttons that are programmable and rest on the instep of the hand grips, although I feel that positioning makes the buttons prone to an accidental click.
The body is plastic, which feels sturdy and strong despite its relative lightness, with no feeling at all of it being flimsy or tacky. The matte finish somehow reinforces this point, as there isn’t any glossiness apart from the buttons and triggers, which tends to emphasise the plastic element.
The sticks are all plastic with a rubber concave grip on top of each stick, which looks good, however, performance-wise I feel there could be more grip inside the actual conclave, although that is a personal preference.
Additional sticks are included with the Fusion Pro 3’s £79.99 price tag, with one stick being a taller conclave style stick and the other being an exclave stick, with tyre-like grip around the edge and a filled-in centre, giving the user more options to customize their experience.
Fusion stored the controller and its accessories in a neat-looking mesh casing that seems to be very sturdy indeed. This travel case has a blood orange accent for the zip, which combines beautifully with the black-on-black Fusion logo on the top of the case.
Performance
The Fusion Pro 3 performed rather well for me in the general landscape of things, with slight gripping on the handle area of the controller being comfortable and the overall shape being familiar. This of course is probably because it heavily resembles an Xbox controller, so there was no awkwardness with getting used to its feel.
The triggers and buttons also perform and feel sharp with a snappy nature that springs quickly back into place. The triggers have adjustable 3-way trigger locks, meaning players can make the triggers shorter where they do not need to be pressed down as much to be activated, which is very handy as each side has its own lock. This means you can tailor the LT and RT to your preference.
The bumpers have a more clicky and plasticky feel, which did give off an air of tackiness, although I don’t think it is a major downside as the triggers more than make up for the bumpers’ slight flaws. For £79.99, I was hoping to not find any real tacky feel at all.
The sticks are very responsive and smooth, with no sense of fragility or tackiness whatsoever, delivering an impressive high-quality feel. I would’ve liked a bit more grip on the top of the sticks, as my thumbs did slide around a little.
Buttons can sometimes feel quite sticky or wobbly, however, I must say the buttons here on the Fusion Pro 3, I had a very pleasant experience, with an extra soft feel and zero flaws at all. The same goes for the D-Pad and the Home buttons.
The main downside I experienced with the Fusion Pro 3 was the slightly uncomfortable underside buttons. I understand that some people love the idea of barely moving to click a button, however, I don’t think it is as enjoyable when the buttons are rather bulbous and almost feel like they’re in the way.
Other Features
A nifty feature of the Fusion Pro 3 is the “Program” button located just beneath the USB port. When held down for 3 seconds, players can re-program any button of their choice by clicking the button that they want to re-program, followed by the button they wish to assign.
This alongside the interchangeable sticks makes the Fusion Pro 3 a very personalized controller that is able to be customized to fit the players’ preferences.
The fact that this controller is wired is one downside, as I feel most controllers now have both wired and wireless functionality, so being limited to wired-only function does seem to be a tad old-school.
Conclusion
Overall, the Fusion Pro 3 Xbox Wired Controller is a controller which no doubt performs well. At a price point of £79.99, it most certainly isn’t a bargain. However, for a pro controller that has many nifty features and a generally solid build, I don’t think it is a rip-off whatsoever.
The customizable buttons combined with the very responsive and smooth triggers make for a controller that is solid, but not world-beating. I feel the Fusion Pro 3 isn’t exactly unique in the sense that it’s a good controller, but not good enough to the point where I would say “yes 100% buy this controller”, therefore I will say it’s simply a good option for those buying in the £60-£80 price range.
| Product Rating |
Design: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Performance: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value for Money: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall ranking: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars – 4.0-star rating
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