Does A Programmable Wireless Xbox 360 Controller Count As Cheating?S

Datel's completely unauthorized TurboFire2 wireless Xbox 360 controller not only directly connects to the Xbox 360 without a dongle, you can connect it to your PC to apply "custom controller enhancements." Microsoft should sue! Oh wait.

Microsoft filed a lawsuit against British peripheral manufacturer Datel back in April of this year, claiming the company "illegally copied" technology from the official Xbox 360 controller. Since the TurboFire2 here is an unofficial product that syncs to the Xbox 360 wirelessly without using a dongle, it's easy to see why.

But that doesn't stop Datel from introducing new features to a controller that's already traversing shadowy territory.

Using a USB cable, players can connect the controller to any PC and use Datel's Customizer application to download custom controller profiles. With it players can, say, remap Halo: Reach's controls to mimic Call of Duty: Black Ops, which seems innocent enough.

They can also adjust the rate of the turbo fire, set up a special Sniper Mode, or limit the recoil they normally get while firing a weapon. Players can even set up macros for special moves. The video on the Datel website shows Super Street Fighter IV as an example.

It's no more cheating than tweaking your PC controls, but Xbox Live is normally a more controlled environment. If another player came at me with his service pistol firing like a machine gun, I would probably lose it.

The TurboFire2 is available at the Code Junkies website for $44.99, so not only is it more flexible, it's also a little cheaper than Microsoft's standard controller.

Pick one up at your own risk. With the recent PlayStation 3 firmware update blocking out unofficial third-party controllers, I don't see why Microsoft couldn't do the same.