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Speedlink Xeox Pro
The Speedlink Xeox Pro looks and feels a lot like the original Xbox 360 Controller. It has the same shape, the same element placements and naming (face buttons, D-Pad below left analog stick, shoulder bumpers and triggers). The D-Pad is the type that pivots around a single point, not the floating type with four small buttons underneath it; the analog sticks have concave shape to nest your thumbs; the triggers are soft, responsive (perhaps even a tad too soft). All of these are ways in which the Xeox Pro resembles Microsoft’s controller and differs from Logitech’s offerings. Even the “Xeox” logo on the home button looks almost identical to the original (not 360) “Xbox” logo; so much, that it would not surprise me to learn that the new, redesigned logo was released due to kind requests from someone’s legal department to avoid brand confusion.
The Xeox Pro is one of Speedlink‘s most prominent, longest-running controllers, with several variants. All of them are called Xeox by Speedlink, so if you want one, better check carefully which one you get. There was the original PC wired version (SL-6555-SBK), which, despite the Xbox 360 design, and the colored face buttons, only supported DirectInput (and had 1-2-3-4 on the buttons). It was discontinued and replaced with the current DInput/XInput-switchable line – the wired SL-6556-BK (my version) and the wireless SL-6566-BK; this one has the A-B-X-Y on the buttons, but lost the traditional Xbox color scheme in favor of a more subtle-looking gray/black. Finally, there is also the PlayStation 3 wireless version SL-4446-BK, which is distinguished by the PlayStation “square-cross-circle-triangle” button markings. This one works on the PC and PlayStation 3, whereas the other one does not work with an Xbox 360. As if the customers were not confused enough.
The Xeox Pro is a very pleasant controller to hold – it has a nice rubberized finish all around. I can hope that it lasts better than the one on the Logitech F510, so far it seems fine. The shape of the controller is spot-on for the average gamer, and I like it better than the Logitech offerings in this regard.
The analog sticks feel responsive and sturdy. The placement of the left one above the D-Pad contributes to more natural grip in games primarily utilizing the left stick + buttons, like Outrun 2006. The dead zone of the sticks sits somewhere between the Logitech Dual Action and the Logitech F310, and I believe most gamers would be quite comfortable with the Xeox Pro in this sense. The D-Pad performance, though, left some to be desired – it feels solid and behaves well in calibration tests, but in actual fast-paced gameplay, I found that its response to diagonal moves is worse that of the Logitech D-Pad. It may be on par with the Xbox 360 Controller D-Pad, which is not held in high esteem at all (the Xeox D-Pad feels a little less mushy, but I did not get to compare its actual performance to that of the 360 Controller). I have no complaints about the face or shoulder buttons. The standard dual rumble motors are also present; there is no hardware switch to turn them off, but the intensity can be adjusted in software all the way down to zero.
Like the Logitech F-series, the Xeox Pro has a D/X hardware switch on the back. In XInput mode, 4 red LEDs light up around the “Xeox” button, and it functions as the “home” button, bringing up GFWL, Steam, Game bar, or whatever was programmed.
More interesting is how the “Xeox” button behaves in DirectInput mode. Here, it toggles between two states – the normal state (indicated by two lit LEDs) has all components functioning as you would expect – D-Pad, sticks and buttons; Speedlink refers to it as “Coolie-hat mode”, named after the hat that was often placed on top of joysticks. The other state (no LEDs lit) masquerades the controller as a “analog-free” pad (similar to the Logitech Precision) – the D-Pad duplicates the left analog stick (they are not swapped – the stick does not act like a D-Pad), and the right analog stick duplicates the four face buttons, with each direction corresponding to one of the buttons (and diagonals are like holding down two at once). This is a rather bizarre feature – the purpose may be to allow its use in games that do not recognize the second analog stick (as far as such games exist). Personally, I prefer the simple D-Pad/left stick switch mode of the Logitech pads. Furthermore, unlike with the Logitech F-series, the switching is not available in XInput mode.
Unlike the Logitech F-series, the Xeox Pro has consistent 1-2-3-4 button ordering in both D/X modes – Bottom-Right-Left-Top (A-B-X-Y). An interesting addition is the “Rapid” button. Holding it down, then pressing any other button while it is held, cycles them between 3 different modes: normal, “turbo” (holding down the button sends repeated taps), and “auto” (pressing the button once starts sending taps repeatedly, until the button is pressed again). This works for all buttons except ‘Back’ and ‘Start’, and in both XInput and DirectInput modes. When any button is in ‘Rapid’ mode, the “Xeox” center button flashes every time that button is pressed, so you know you’re in that mode and are not surprised by the behavior.
I would say that the weakest spot of the Speedlink Xeox Pro is the D-Pad. It just was not cutting it in Street Fighter, and even Mortal Kombat, which is much more tap-based, was not fun; it may be OK for games that do not require fast and accurate directional movements. Thus, I’d prefer the Xeox for games that primarily use the analog sticks, and the Logitech offerings for D-Pad-oriented games (also due to the placement).
Speedlink Strike FX
As I was generally quite happy with Xeox Pro, I wanted to try another Speedlink pad, hoping to address the main deficiency of the Xeox (D-Pad performance), and also experiment with a different shape and layout. The Strike FX follows the design and shape of the PlayStation Dualshock, meaning the joysticks are next to each other and the D-Pad is above the left stick, and is styled to appear as four separate buttons rather than a single piece. It is slightly smaller than the Xeox and the Logitech controllers.
At the time of the purchase, the Strike FX series had been discontinued by Speedlink and replaced with Strike NX series; I was apprehensive about some reports of the analog triggers on the NX breaking after a few months of use, and the shape of the controller also seemed a little weird.
Upon receiving the Strike FX, I was immediately disappointed to learn, that despite the appearance, the D-Pad is actually not 4 separate buttons (like on the Logitech), but is the single-piece pivot type, as the Xeox. Doing diagonals, even though it feels as if you are pressing two separate buttons, you are actually just pivoting around a center point.
The entire D-Pad has concave shape, so you can try simply keeping the thumb in the center and pivoting, rather than moving it around, to reduce fatigue. This did not work so well in practice – hitting multiple directions fast and accurately was quite difficult. The performance of the D-Pad for circular or Z-type moves in Street Fighter was lackluster, probably the worst of all controllers I tested – the fake gap between the D-Pad buttons actually made it harder to hit the diagonals. In Mortal Kombat it was mostly fine, as the game actually does not require diagonals for its special moves.
Another rather unusual thing is that the shoulder triggers (marked as LT/RT) are buttons, not triggers. However, they are analog – in XInput mode the reported value depends on the strength of the button press, and they take quite a bit of force to reach the maximum value, which may not be comfortable for games that utilize extreme LT/RT values. In DirectInput mode, they may actually feel more natural as buttons.
The Strike FX has no physical switch for switching between D and X – it is done by holding down the “Mode” button for 3-4 seconds. In XInput mode the LED is green. In DirectInput mode, the LED is either red (normal mode) or off (D-Pad acts like the left analog stick). Unlike on the Xeox, this mode does not change the right analog stick function; however, the other limitations still apply – the left analog does not act like the D-Pad, and the swap is not available when the controller is in XInput mode.
The analog sticks have good texture and range (I felt they were a bit too sensitive at times, but it can be adjusted by most games); the buttons feel good (except the Start/Back/Mode buttons which are rubbery and mushy, but they are not frequently used); the force feedback works well (again, requires software to configure).
Like with the Xeox, there exist several versions of this gamepad – the original wired version, called just “Strike” (SL-6535) had only DirectInput support and numbered buttons + D-Pad mode switch button. It came in solid black or white+black colors. My variant – Strike FX (SL-6537-BK) added the XInput support, changed the button naming convention, but retained the unusual button shape for the shoulder triggers. The wireless version (SL-6567-BK) changed them to actual triggers. The controller also exists in PC/PS3-compatible versions – wired SL-4442-SBK (black) and wireless SL-4443 (various colors). It has PlayStation-style button markings and actual shoulder triggers. but no XInput support. Finally, the Strike FX-6 (SL-4445-BK) is available (supporting PlayStation 3 only), with Bluetooth, a rapid fire button, and a slightly modified body. The entire line has been discontinued and is no longer available from Speedlink.
Speedlink Strike NX
Eventually I bit the bullet and caught the Strike NX on sale, despite the long-term durability concerns. Time will tell if they have been addressed in the recent production runs. Despite a strange shape, it is more comfortable to hold than the FX – slightly bigger, but noticeably flatter and sits better in my hands. It is not as light as the FX, but it is comfortable. The body is plastic, not rubbery, which may become slippery due to sweat, but at least it won’t deteriorate like some rubber coating often does.
The D-Pad is once again a simple pivot disguised as separate buttons, but at least they gave up on the concave design of the FX D-Pad, which is good – the contact surface of the buttons is larger and they feel better. The analog sticks, on the other hand, are concave, which is better for grip. The center face buttons (Start, Back, Mode) are of better quality. Overall, it feels quite solid, except the triggers: due to the thin frame of the controller, only part of the trigger pushes into the body, and the extended portion is quite thin plastic. It feels like if you apply too much force there, it really could snap. I don’t know if this is the problem some users experienced, but this is the only controller in my round-up that gave me this slightly uneasy feeling.
The controller uses a nice red-and-black theme, with the new Speedlink logo on top, a “speedlink” brand on the left grip, alternating red/black pattern for the A/B/X/Y buttons, and red mounts for the black analog sticks. It seems that the red paint is not of high quality, and may fade / peel after prolonged use. I already see early effects of that on the X and B buttons.
The D/X switching is implemented like on the Strike FX – via a long press of the “Mode” button. XInput is the default mode every time the pad is connected. A short press of the button brings up Game Bar in XInput mode, whereas in DirectInput it switches between normal and swap mode. In swap mode, the D-Pad and left stick are swapped, and the right stick mimics the 4 action buttons above it. The current active mode is denoted by a red LED between the analog sticks being either lit or not; in XInput mode it is always lit (swap mode is not available). The 1-2-3-4 face button order differ in the two modes – in DirectInput it does not follow A-B-X-Y, but rather Y-B-A-X (clockwise from the top).
Performance of the Strike NX was a mixed bag. Analog sticks are good and precise, with no extensive dead zones. The D-Pad was so-so – adequate in Mortal Kombat, but no more than that, but for the diagonals of Street Fighter it really does not cut it, in my opinion – I missed moves too frequently. It is better than the Strike FX, but not as good as the other gamepads; seems like this idea of presenting a pivot D-Pad as 4 separate buttons is more trouble that it is worth.
Another unpleasant thing was lack of sensitivity of the shoulder triggers – they seem to have a very small active area, and jump from zero to full almost instantaneously. The left trigger was especially bad, and calibration via the control panel applet achieved only minimal improvement. This is a downside for games relying on analog action of the triggers (although many games don’t).
As is common with Speedlink‘s portfolio – the Strike NX comes in a few flavors – the basic wired version SL-650000-BK and the wireless PC SL-650100-BK version are compatible with both PC (XInput/DirectInput) and PlayStation 3. The older wired SL-440400-BK and wireless SL-440401 models have the PlayStation 3 symbols on the buttons, only the wired version is PC-compatible, and does not support XInput. The old variants are no longer sold by Speedlink.
Speedlink Thunderstrike
The Thunderstrike is another long-running model by Speedlink, aimed at the entry-level segment, and designed to be as cheap as possible, while still offering a full set of controls – a standard combination of 2 analog sticks and 12 buttons (4 primary face buttons, 4 shoulder buttons, 2 small face buttons and the sticks themselves). Gone are the rumble motors, the analog function of the secondary shoulder buttons and the XInput mode. However, there are “Rapid” and “Auto” buttons which can assign these modes to any of the control buttons. A “Clear” button, strangely positioned at the bottom of the controller is used to reset the behavior of a specific button to the default. A similar feature exists on the Xeox Pro, but there a single button is used to cycle between each of the three modes.
Finally, the Thunderstrike has a “Mode” button, and yet again implements it in a way that slightly differs from the other Speedlink gamepads. With the red light on, all controls function as designated. When the light is off (default mode when the controllers is first plugged), the right stick duplicates the 1-2-3-4 face buttons, and both left stick and D-Pad control the primary X/Y axes, but without any analog precision. Yes – in the swap mode, the analog stick only works “digitally”.
The D-Pad is one piece, and instead of being recessed and separated by the plastic into “fake” four buttons (like on the FX and NX) it sits above the face of the controller. Despite the appearance, it is not a “floating” D-Pad like on the Logitech controllers, but a standard pivot implementation (you can even see the pivot stick). It is concave and rather big, enough to accommodate large thumbs, and the shape lends to changing directions by sliding the thumb around, without lifting it, which can reduce fatigue, but doesn’t work so well for fast motions. There were no surprises in performance – it is good in most games that don’t require accurate diagonals, but in those that do, like Street Fighter series – it fares rather poorly, although somewhat better than the FX and NX, if only for the convenience of being one piece. The other controls – both analog sticks and all buttons – feel reasonable solid and perform as expected. I experienced no issues with analog sensitivity, and the textured shape of the sticks prevents thumbs from sliding off.
The Thunderstrike is shaped like a Strike FX, but noticeably larger and with longer grips, which I found more comfortable.
Speedlink Rait
Some time after the initial publication of this article, Speedlink discontinued the Xeox series, and roughly at the same time, the successors where announced – the Torid gamepad (wireless only) and the Rait (wired and wireless versions). Like the Xeox, these use the Xbox layout, and offer a similar feature set – DirectInput/XInput dual modes, Rapid/Turbo button, vibration. While the Torid features a black/red color scheme, similar to the Strike NX, the Rait stays true to the Xeox‘s more subtle black/gray. It is slightly smaller but thicker, more “rounded”, compared to the “flatter” Xeox.
Overall in physical feel, the Rait improves upon the Xeox in a few aspects: the face buttons are of slightly higher quality; the resistance of the triggers is a bit higher, and feels “just right”: not too loose like on the Xeox, not too stiff like on the Logitech pads.
The switch between DirectInput and XInput is achieved by holding the “Mode” button for a few seconds, as opposed to a hardware switch at the back on the Xeox. In XInput mode, the top half of the red circle around the button is lit; in DirectInput mode it is the left half. The 1-2-3-4 face button order differ in the two modes – in DirectInput it does not follow A-B-X-Y, but rather Y-B-A-X (clockwise from the top). This is unlike the Xeox, but the same as the Strike NX.
The Rait is missing one feature that was present on every other Speedlink pad I tested – there is no switch between the left analog stick and the D-Pad. This may be minor for most players, but a disadvantage nonetheless.
Performance of the Rait was very similar to the Xeox Pro: great analog sticks and triggers, but lackluster D-Pad. If anything I felt it was even a bit worse in diagonals – possibly because of its shape – the cardinal directions are noticeably raised, making them easier to hit, while making the diagonals harder to hit. As a result, I found myself frequently doing a vertical jump when I wanted a diagonal.
I wish I could have said the Rait improves upon the Xeox Pro in every way, but this is not the case. Although the analog triggers are better, the D-Pad may be slightly worse, and the lack of D-Pad / left analog swap make it less versatile. Time will tell whether the texture and coating are more durable. Personally, I feel the Xeox holds a slight edge, and even though Speedlink no longer sells it, new units are still available through resellers.
One advantage of the Rait is Nintendo Switch compatibility. To use it, you need to enable “Pro Controller Wired Communication” in the console’s system settings. When used with a Switch, the X/Y/A/B button functions match the expected positions on a standard Switch controller. Compared to the markings, A/B are swapped, and so are X/Y (for example to get the ‘A’ function on a Switch, you press the right button, which would be marked ‘A’ on an official Switch controller, although on the Rait it is marked ‘B’). I think it is the better approach, since players most likely play by touch and not by looking at the buttons.
Cloaked Thargoid 
