After taking the PS5 out of the box and thinking the expected "wow, it's really big" (as opposed to the corny scene in the adult movie about the broken water heater and the towel not staying in place), my eyes fell on the DualSense controller

Although I was unsure about the two-tone color scheme, I liked the feel of the new controller Everything was solid, yet tactile I like the look of the transparent buttons I also like the clicky feel of the touch bar I also liked the addition of the microphone mute button

I actually used the DualSense controller in Astro's Playroom, which is included with the PS5 and is designed to showcase the haptic features of the new controller, which was very impressive

The haptic feedback was a great touch, with clever switching between levels of haptic feedback that allowed Astro to tell the difference between the surfaces he was walking on Another cliché is that you can really feel the difference between walking on sand and walking on hard metal

The dual-sense controller has a mechanism that allows you to adjust the resistance of each trigger to somewhat replicate the direct force required to pull the trigger of a real gun Alternatively, it can reproduce the crunching tension of the spring as it is pushed down and then released

It is up to the developer to take full advantage of dual-sense haptics But it remains a very impressive way to make a game feel more tactile

However, the more I used DualSense, the more I lost my initial positive impression of it Before I go any further, let me say that I really like the DualSense controller and think it is probably the best controller Sony has ever made

However, while the DualShock 4 may have been a bit small for my taste, the DualSense is a bit too big The arm/wing/hand rest fills the palm of the hand nicely, allowing for a firm grip on the controller, but it feels a bit unwieldy when actually operating it

Over time, I found the extra bulk made it a little tiring to use Reaching for everything felt more than a little daunting In a game like Demon's Souls, where you need to tap buttons with precise movements and timing, this is not ideal [Of course, I prefer asymmetrical joysticks, so I may be a bit biased on this point

In a way, using the DualSense is like sitting on a plush couch in a fancy hotel This makes it a bit difficult to master the controller during long gaming sessions

This became clear when playing "Hitman 3 The final installment in the rebooted "Hitman" trilogy is packed with excellent environments and level design, so much so that you spend a disproportionate amount of time wandering around mission areas rather than creatively assassinating targets

But while I could play an open-world game like "Red Dead Redemption 2" for hours on the Xbox wireless controller, after playing a long mission of "Hitman 3" on the PS5, I had no desire to move on It was because the dual-sense controller was a little difficult to get used to, not because of the game

Perhaps I need more time to master the controller After all, the PS5 has only been on the market for three months And with no large amount of truly exclusive games available to play at this stage, I find myself bouncing back and forth between the PS5 and various other gaming platforms

But there is the pesky problem of the advanced haptics of DualSense It is very clever, but a bit distracting

My colleague and gaming guru Marshall Onoroff mentioned this when PS5 launched last November I initially thought he was a bit picky, being an avid gamer compared to me, a filthy casual gamer However, "Hitman 3" shattered his critique of dual sense

In "Hitman 3," when things go wrong, such as the failure to stun a guard in order to literally steal the clothes off his back, they go wrong big time In other words, the game of hiding in plain sight turns into a chaotic firefight in which large numbers of heavily armed guards attack ill-equipped assassins

Now, "Hitman 3" is not designed for fast-paced third-person shooters However, it still uses dual-sense haptics and resists the right-hand trigger when trying to fire a gun In this case, unlike other controllers, pulling the trigger does not immediately fire a bullet Rather, there is a slight tension and the activation point must be pressed for Agent 47 to start flying lead

This is a smart and very cool feature, adding a bit of realism to a game about cloned death agents However, it is fundamentally different from the precise and simple haptics of the Xbox Wireless controller, which got me thinking about the feedback being applied rather than immersing myself in the action

Coupled with Agent 47's soupy feel of movement and aiming, it was difficult to make accurate headshots under pressure

I'm not much of a gamer in general; just ask audio editor James Archer, who was literally yelled at for his poor work on Apex Legends One time, however, I emptied the magazine of my submachine gun at an alert guard and missed: every single time One shot One shot

I'm a terrible shot, but not that terrible I blame the dual-sense trigger tension for distracting me and ruining my already shoddy aim

Pulling the dual-sense trigger in "Hitman 3" causes a very distinct stutter step in my head The controller does not operate as smoothly as it once did, and the tension is suddenly pushed back financially, causing me to leave the game and basically return to my cold apartment I am no longer an elite-approved killer, but a slightly overweight man wrapped in a blanket

By the time my mind returns to the game, I have overcompensated for my aim and within seconds I am covered in enemy bullets

After a while, I got used to this and the advanced haptics felt good without taking away my attention However, when I started using a different controller, I had to relearn to effectively use this DualSense feature So, while I like the DualSense controller very much, I don't love it, at least not yet

Now, this could all be my fault, and those of you lucky enough to have found a place to buy a PS5 may be in love with the DualSense

I for one am excited that Sony has done something new with the PS5 controller The Xbox Series X wireless controller, on the other hand, is merely a tweak and definitely a bit boring

But while familiarity may breed contempt in other aspects of life, when it comes to gaming, the wonderfully familiar and comfortable feeling of using an Xbox wireless controller cannot be ignored

Thanks for being boring, Microsoft Sony, let's see what you can do with the PS5 Pro