Inspired by Mortal Kombat and designed for Mortal Kombat fans.

"You know what's wrong with game controllers?" I posed this question over coffee and donuts while pummeling away at Mortal Kombat: Deception. Those of us who didn't drink coffee were chugging hot chocolate, including myself who, after burning my upper lip, caused it to swell like the head of someone on the receiving end of Kabal's inflation fatality.

"They're not gruesome enough."

"You said it Lou," my friend remarked. "It'd be so tight if mine was dripping with blood. That's the force feedback we'll be experiencing in twenty years!"

I wasn't content to wait though. "Twenty years is a long time. It's possible that we'll see Halo 3 before then."

"Tell me about it."

I had an idea. Not a brilliant idea, but an idea nonetheless. "Let's design our own controller."

"Yeah!"

"Count me in!"

"Don't leave me out!"

We were all set to design the perfect controller. Then we started writing the game plan...

"So like, how do we actually go about designing a controller?"

"Uhh..."

"Dunno."

"I think I saw Microsoft do it with a piece of wood. It could've been clay, I'm not sure."

Realizing that we knew nothing about controller design, and having no luck in our search for a game-controller design school (we thought there'd be one by now), we gave up on our dream of having a violently exquisite, ferociously appropriate Mortal Kombat controller.

Months later I awoke with an image in my head, an image of a Mortal Kombat controller. Controller wasn't spelled with a C though, but rather it was spelled with a K. It seemed like nothing - I had dreamed of videogames before (who needs visions of sugar plums when you could have visions of giant mushrooms and shiny stars?).

Later that day I discovered that my dream was real. Not merely a fuzzy vision – it was a premonition! Nuby was coming out with a line of Mortal Kombat Fatality Kontrollers (spelled with a K just like the dream said).

Painted with Mortal Kombat colors (gold in the case of the Scorpion Kontroller) and fatal imagery, the Mortal Kombat Fatality Kontroller is intended to be your weapon of choice when playing the game. The M-rating logo blocks the controller's image, but once the box is open you'll see a picture of Scorpion ripping the head off his arch nemesis. Oooooh, bloody! His neck is gushing with blood, but it's hard to tell with the oval-shaped Mode button that sits on top. The button glows red whenever force feedback occurs in a game. Doing something as simple as running in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will cause it to glow.

Press the button and it'll cause the force feedback to increase, eventually reaching the point where it seems to shake harder than the Dual-Shock 2. That's pretty impressive, though not many games make use of force feedback anymore. The first Metal Gear Solid did some cool things with it, as did Star Fox 64. Other than that I can't think of too many games that took advantage of the ability to put a little more interactivity in a gamer's hands.

Going by that alone you might say, "What's the point? Since when do gamers buy designer controllers?" Personally I don't, but what I've found is that these designer controllers are generally better than the third-party controllers that try to mimic the original first-party pads.

That's definitely the case here. I've used a lot of third-party controllers and I always go back to the one that came with the system. I probably will do the same after I've used the Mortal Kombat Fatality Kontroller for a while.

The difference here is that if I need an extra controller I'm not opposed to using this controller. I'm not at a disadvantage if all my friends take the first-party controllers and I'm stuck with this one. I'm not "stuck" at all.

It looks bulky which triggers memories of uncomfortable gameplay, but that's one of the best things about the controller. It fits in your hands without locking into them. It's not loose, so I don't feel like I've got to grip harder or move my thumbs in an awkward position, nor does it fill out my hands to the point where I've got to adjust frequently to hit all the buttons. I was able to just pick it up and start playing. Within five minutes I had forgotten all about what I was using. That's the sign of a very good controller.

The thumbsticks are a bit looser than the sticks on the Dual-Shock 2, and they're a lot looser than the joysticks used in Mortal Kombat arcade machines. This is a bit odd considering the target market. Most people stick with the d-pad so you probably won't think much about it until you play other types of games. The sticks are fine for racing – you'll adjust quickly. Action games are a whole other story. It's harder to make subtle movements than it is with the Dual-Shock 2, making this the wrong controller to use with games like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Making up for this flaw is the sturdy, arcade-like buttons. They have that great, tap-'em-really-fast feel. They depress very easily, rapidly moving back into their original position. This is extremely ideal for fighting games where fast button taps are needed to enter all those complex combos without failure. The buttons are just the right length apart from each other, making it easy to execute special moves without having to utter the words, "Square, not X! I meant to hit square!"

Pros:

• Easy to hold – feels good in your hands

• Reliable buttons

• Great for collectors

• Sturdy base – this thing is built to last

• Decent Mortal Kombat-inspired design

Cons:

• Slightly bigger than the Dual-Shock 2 (comfortable for me, but gamers with smaller hands might disagree)

• Loose analog sticks make it difficult to use with action games

• No programmable features

Overall: 8.5

Need a second controller? Don't want the same old Dual-Shock 2 replacement? Nuby's Mortal Kombat Fatality Kontrollers are a great variation. I've never used a third-party controller that I liked better than the first-party original, but Nuby has done a good job of creating a colorful substitute. The fancy box and included comic book help make this a great collector's item for diehard Mortal Kombat fans. If you're not a collector and you don't need another controller, there's no reason to buy this one. But if you didn't need a new controller, you probably wouldn't have bothered to read this review.