The Nintendo Wavebird is the Official wireless controller for the Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo are known for their controller innovations and they are the first manufacturer to come out with their own wireless controller.

Look
The Wavebird controller is a dull grey colour, and is not available in any of the Gamecube console colours. Slightly disappointing but it does go with the grey coloured controller port plate on the front of the console. Compared with the official wired controller it is slightly bigger, it sticks out where the analogue stick and D pad are, this leaves slightly less room for your fingers. If you have larger hands you may hate the Wavebird! The controller is also quite light but once you have placed batteries into it, the weight is good and is comparable to the Wired controller.

You also get a receiver unit with the Wavebird, this little device is also a grey colour, it has a light on it which will illuminate green when the controller is being used. On the back of the receiver you have a controller port plug, this plugs into the front of your Gamecube console. Overall its quite a good looking pad, it's just a shame they didn't make it in black, platinum or yes, even purple!

Using your Wavebird
To get started with your Wavebird controller, plug the receiver into the Gamecube console. Then insert the batteries into your Wavebird, flick the switch on the Wavebird so it's on. You will then have to adjust the controller until it works with your console, underneath the receiver and on the bottom of the controller you have a little scroll wheel which you must turn until the green light on the receiver lights up when you press a button on the controller. This process is slightly aggravating and may take you a few minutes but once it is done you won't ever need to do it again!

The Wavebird controller is as good as a regular Gamecube controller to use, there is no wireless lag and all button presses are registered. The layout of the pad is identical to the wired version so you will have nothing new to get to grips with, it has great triggers on the back, four face buttons A, B, X, Y, dual analogue sticks, a D-pad, Start/Pause button and as it is wireless you have an On/off switch which is vital for when you are not using it. It is also super comfortable to hold, apart from if you have larger hands!

The only thing the Wavebird hasn't got is rumble, this was probably to save weight and improve battery life, having said that the battery life is very good. The included pair of AA batteries will last you months of playtime, as long as you remember to switch the controller off after you have used it! The lack of rumble is slightly annoying as actions such as firing a gun, charging a powerful attack seem dulled down slightly by the lack of the controller fiercely jolting around. Another issue is the C-stick, when used in First Person shooters, the stick is far too small and the game seems awkward, the controller has one less button than the PS2 and Xbox controllers so multiplatform games sometimes have strange controls.

Price & Conclusion
The Nintendo Wavebird controller had an RRP of around 30, prices now are still relatively high as they are out of production, no doubt because you can use the controller with your Nintendo Wii. The price on amazon is 28 for a used controller and 30 for a new one. If you hate the clutter and tangle of cables and don't have huge hands, the Nintendo Wavebird controller is a great choice. The layout is slightly awkward for multiplatform games and FPS, though you probably will spend most of your time playing Nintendo's own games which all control well. 4/5

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