Let's start off with the 'installation' of the device. The Avenger Elite is designed to fit over any standard PS3 or 360 controller. As long as your controller is designed based off the core controller style it will fit nice and snug. While it does look like it is a bit of a mess and Rubik's Cube like level of difficulty to strap on, it is surprisingly easy to get on without any instructions. In fact I didn't even see the instructions in the box I received as was able to get everything set up in seconds based off a very basic snap and play design. I was worried at first given the crazy look of the attachment but as I've said it locks right in with great ease so you can start playing with a quickness.

Now that it was installed, it is time to move on to its actual functionality. Unfortunately, this is where everything fell flat and lost all sense of ease for me. The design of the "extra controls" is to make it so I only need to flex a finger or move a lever only a little bit to actually hit buttons on the controller. Effectively forcing myself to forget the years of training and muscle memory to not hit the buttons but only to twitch slightly. Needless to say this led to great frustration and had I been a lesser being I would have just thrown up my hands and grabbed a controller without the attachment added on. I really found no use for the device for myself at all as it was forcing myself to try and learn a "new trick" that I really didn't need.

To ensure that I gave The Avenger Elite a real 'college try' I played through the same mission on Black Ops II to see if I really could get any advantage using the device. That is when I learned two things.

The first was that no matter how many times I tried using The Avenger Elite I found that I was always playing better and faster without it. Be it a learning curve that I couldn't get past with it or the fact that I have played with the basic controller for almost two decades now; there was just no speed improvement. In fact the only improvement I could really use would be with the aiming as using two sticks is still nowhere compared to a mouse and keyboard, but that is a different argument for another time. The end point is that The Avenger Elite just couldn't beat out playing with a standard controller for myself.

The second thing I learned is that while this controller may not be for me at all, I can see the uses for other gamer's out in the world. Children whose hands are not large enough to navigate a basic controller without completely moving their hands away from other controls, for instance. Elderly gamer's or those who don't have full motor functions would also gain some benefit from this device. Even though it isn't completely marketed that way, I see that being the target demographic as I feel that most of us 'adult' gamers who have no motor function issues have no real use for this. Maybe when I get older and the arthritis sets in I will sing the praises of The Avenger Elite as I won't need to try and break my thumbs to toss a grenade in CoD: MW 20 but as right now moving my thumb half an inch is easier than twitching my index finger a bit.

Overview

As I said, for most gamers out there I can't really see a real reason to pick up The Avenger Elite. While a child can install it with great ease, I don't see anyone who has small hands or hands that don't function at 100% gaining much benefit from this. Outside of having mini-competitions to see who can play better with The Avenger Elite attached to the controller, most of us will feel like we wasted out money until we have kids or have hardships with our hand motor functions.

The Avenger Elite is an external adapter that houses the existing Sony PS3®/Xbox 360® controller, helping to improve your situational awareness, accuracy, agility, and reaction time. A unit was provided by the vendor for review purposes.