Fusion Pro 3 Wired Controller Review – Admirable Attempt

Fusion Pro 3 Wired Controller Review

PowerA has become synonymous with 3rd party accessories for your favourite game consoles. This time around, we’ve got a brand-new wired controller for the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC. The Fusion Pro 3 Wired Controller is designed to give gamers a pro-style controller at an affordable price. I’m quite familiar with the Fusion Pro line as I’ve previously reviewed the Fusion Pro and the Fusion Pro 2. Does the Fusion Pro 3 offer enough new innovations to warrant a purchase? Let’s find out.

Stunning Controller

First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way, the Fusion Pro 3 is absolutely stunning. The version I reviewed was the special edition Midnight Shadow. This version features a slick black-on-black design with only the face buttons offering a pop of colour. However, the trade off is the lack of rubberized grips available in the standard Fusion Pro 3 version. The Midnight Shadow version provides a finish not unlike the standard Xbox Series X controller, which I personally prefer over the rubberized grips – so I was happy with this particular version. But if you’re in need of some rubberized grips, you’ll want to opt for the standard Fusion Pro 3.

The Fusion Pro 3 offers many of the same features we received with the Fusion Pro 2, such as a detachable faceplate, 4 different thumbsticks, trigger locks, and four “advanced gaming buttons” at the rear of the controller. The four different thumbsticks include two standard sized thumbsticks, a tall convex thumbstick and a tall concave thumbstick. The tall concave thumbstick is ideal for first-person shooters as it provides a bit better precision when used on the right thumbstick. To be honest, I’m not sure what the tall concave thumbstick would be good for – maybe it just feels better on the thumbs for some gamers.

Useful Trigger Locks

The trigger locks are incredibly easy to engage, offering three different lock levels. The idea behind the trigger locks is to reduce the distance for depressing the button down – offering faster trigger execution in games like first person shooters. The difference isn’t significant, but it is there. The biggest change in the Fusion Pro 3 is the four “advanced gaming buttons” at the rear of the controller. The Fusion Pro 2 offered 4 detachable buttons, whereas the Fusion Pro 3 has embedded the buttons into the controller – they are not removable. For me, I love the top two rear buttons, as they’re perfectly placed for my middle fingers to engage. But the bottom two buttons aren’t something I would have a use for. So, instead of allowing my fingers to rest on the back of the controller, they hover over the buttons, and I never really feel comfortable.

Like the Fusion Pro 2, the Fusion Pro 3 features both the Share button and the Xbox button – both of which function as the standard Xbox Series X controllers would require. The volume dial also returns for folks who still use wired 3.55mm headsets – since I don’t, it was a feature I didn’t test out.

Swappable Thumbsticks

Since the Fusion Pro 3 has a detachable faceplate – which is awesome and makes swapping thumbsticks a breeze – I was hoping for an extra faceplate to offer some aesthetic variety. The Fusion Pro 2 had two faceplates in the box – so I’m not sure why PowerA decided to cheap out this time around. I do love the Midnight Shadow design, but a couple options would have been better!

So, how does the controller perform? Well, it’s pretty good – but not perfect, and likely won’t replace my standard Xbox Series X controller. The main issue I had was when playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Pressing the Left Thumbstick down causes the player to run. Double-tapping/holding the left thumbstick down causes the player to sprint – however, the Fusion Pro 3 had a difficult time registering the double-tap. It worked sometimes, other times, not so much. The inconsistency was a bummer. Aside from that, the rest of the controller functions as needed and I was pretty happy with it.

The only other criticism I could offer was the included USB-C cable. It continues the wired controller trend of being 10 feet long. For many gamers, this won’t be an issue. For those of us with large living rooms and very big TVs, we could have used an extra couple feet. My finger’s are crossed that the Fusion Pro 4 has a slightly longer cable.

Admirable Attempt

The Fusion Pro 3 is an admirable attempt at bridging the gap between pro-controller features and consumer-friendly pricing. As a wired controller, there is no worry about replacing batteries. I really wish they would extend that 10′ cord by an extra couple feet for those of us with larger gaming rooms. The four pro-buttons on the back are easy enough to program, but I’m still not sure what I would use them all for. In addition, the bottom 2 pro-buttons make it difficult to really feel comfortable. On the Fusion Pro 2, at least I could just remove the bottom 2 buttons – not so with the Fusion Pro 3. Also, the issue with double-tapping the thumbstick and it not always registering is disappointing. PowerA has a good controller here, but it’s just a few tweaks from absolutely greatness. Hopefully the eventual Fusion Pro 4 will really take these PowerA controllers to the next level.

***Fusion Pro 3 controller provided by the manufacturer.***