Best Thrustmaster GPX LightBack Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

The Thrustmaster GPX LightBack joystick is available in a “Black Edition” and a “Ferrari F1 Edition” version. Only the design changes since the latter is in Ferrari colors with the brand’s official license.

In order to offer a certain added value compared to the excellent official controller of the XBOX 360, the manufacturers of game controllers compete in ingenuity to add little extras and seduce the players. This is the case of Thrustmaster which offers its GPX LightBack, equipped with a backlighting system, more precise analog sticks and control diodes associated with analog triggers. Gadgets or real improvements?

Best Thrustmaster GPX LightBack Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

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4. GPX LightBack Ferrari F1 Edition Gamepad for Xbox 360 and PC

5. GPX LightBack Ferrari F1 Edition Gamepad for Xbox 360? and PC

Wired and light

The GPX LightBack from Thrustmaster is a wired controller and therefore wants to be quite light, despite its two vibration motors. An asset for long gaming sessions. However, its 2.5m cable can quickly prove too short in large salons.

Its ergonomics is close to the official controller, which ensures a good grip, especially as the manufacturing quality is there, with good quality plastics. Only the upper part is wider, which spreads the triggers a few millimeters (photo below).

The location of the buttons and their shapes is also similar to what can be seen on the XBOX 360 controller. However, the directional cross differs significantly in its shape, with much more marked directions. This is good news as the cross of the official controller is decried. More precise, it is however quite hard and wide, which does not make it pleasant to use for fighting games. In practice, we also criticize him for his lack of sensitivity which means that he has to press the directions well so that the command is taken into account.

Conversely, we liked the good precision of the analog sticks, appreciable in FPS type games.

The kingdom of LED

As its name suggests, the GPX LightBack incorporates a backlight for analog sticks. Unlike competing controllers that offer a similar lighting system, the Thrustmaster controller uses technology that reacts to game events. The LEDs therefore light up during fire exchanges, for example. Funny but relatively gimmicky anyway.

Another innovation, a speed gauge system allows, according to the manufacturer, to better control acceleration and braking in racing games. For this, two sets of four diodes, present on the upper part of the joystick, are associated with the analog triggers, so as to display the pressure exerted on the latter. A system whose interest escapes us, since it is more relevant to look at its screen rather than its controller, especially in a racing game.

STRONG POINTS

  • Good build quality.
  • Precision of analog sticks.
  • Ergonomics.

WEAK POINTS

  • Rigid and insensitive directional cross.
  • Speed ​​gauges with very questionable interest.
  • Cable too short for large living rooms.

CONCLUSION

Close to the official controller for its handling and good manufacturing quality, the GPX LightBack is pleasant to use. However, at the time of choice, its additional functions lack interest and do not constitute real added value.

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