KontrolFreek Call of Duty: WWII for Xbox One – Accessory Review
Leveling the playing field can be difficult to achieve when there are so many accessories available. It becomes even harder when you love to switch things up every once in a while and grow tired of the design or the color combination that you’re rocking on your controller. Those fully customizable controllers can be quite expensive but there are other means to reach your goal and that is why we are looking at the KontrolFreek Call of Duty: WWII thumbsticks.
The KontrolFreek Call of Duty: WWII thumbsticks are designed with the Infantry Division patch in mind, a division featured in the multiplayer of Call of Duty: WWII and thus not an actual icon during this era. The Infantry Division is “equipped for mid to long range rifle engagements and up-close-and-personal bayonet charges”, keep this in mind as we look at the design itself. Both sticks features two rifles crossing each other in the typical form of a patch, staying true to the actual patch in-game. This could hint towards more designs coming in the future as there are four more divisions in the game, each with their own patch, but this is pure speculation. One can only hope, right?
Steering ourselves back on track now, aside from the Infantry Division emblem on top in a deep crimson red (still true to the in-game patch), the edges of the sticks resemble a heavy-duty tire or even a crosshair with some imagination. It’s actually difficult to tell what the rest of the design is supposed to be but we can only assume it’s a further ode to the game. Either way, the higher lying ridges provide a much better friction.
Surprisingly enough there’s a free bonus when you buy these sticks; an exclusive unlock code can be found on the back of the insert – so don’t throw yours away – that will yield you an Infantry Division calling card in the Call of Duty WWII game. We are unsure if you can redeem the code on either of the three available platforms but we reckon it’s a reasonable possibility. Regardless, this is a nice bonus for actual players but not so much for those who buy the sticks for the design and not the game.
The pack comes with two high-rise sticks, raising the height of your analog stick with a stellar 12.2 mm at the highest point. The second highest stick we’ve encountered, after the KontrolFreek FPS Freek Snipr, which raised the playing field with a whopping 13.9 mm. If you are not used to stick extenders or have small hands, we would recommend mid-rise sticks. Despite having small hands myself, these high-rise sticks were extremely comfortable. In all honesty, I had even forgotten I was using high-rise sticks during my game sessions with these bad boys. It simply felt so naturally.
At first glance, the sticks feel softer and quite smooth despite the obvious pattern and depth in the design. This evoked the same feeling as the Destiny 2 sticks and we feared the grip would be less sturdy but the concave design of the sticks are superior to the hybrid design and slippage was out of the question.
Installing the thumbsticks or stick extenders (tomato, tomato) is once again incredibly easy. These sticks “slide” over the original analog sticks without chafing the surface of the original sticks. As usual, the sticks grip onto the analog stick with three clips, almost like a claw gripping tightly but not too tight. Unlike the KontrolFreek Destiny 2: Ghost thumbsticks, these did not twirl as much but enough for you to align the design perfectly with your controller. We did notice that during extensive gameplay the design ended up being crooked, so we are positive that they do twirl during gameplay sessions but it certainly will not hurt your accuracy.
The KontrolFreek Call of Duty: WWII sticks are designed to work well in first person shooters, especially the newest installment in the Call of Duty franchise. It’s a given that these sticks will perform well in games such as Overwatch, Destiny 2 and even Lawbreakers. But as always, we tested these babies out in other types of games to see how well they would perform and we concluded that they are excellent in any type of game; even racing games!
Conclusion
Initially we feared that the high-rise would be too high to be comfortable but that feeling vanished as soon as we began our session. We can safely say that these sticks are very comfortable while they increase your accuracy without any slippage, despite the silicone feeling smooth. These Call of Duty themed thumbsticks come highly recommended and can be used for any type of game, plus the free bonus is a very nice touch.
KontrolFreek Call of Duty: WWII for Xbox One - Accessory Review,
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