Since the dawn of time the question of console vs PC has raged and burned stronger than any of the stars that grace our beautiful sky. A major factor of this argument deals with the relative lack of precision available on a console with analog sticks (and previously, digital pad input) for first person shooter titles. With titles such as Halo receiving critical acclaim, this argument has been revived with people insisting that the PC/keyboard combo is, despite the critical console success of such titles, still one hundred times better.

However, SmartJoy has seen fit to capitalize on this potential market share with a keyboard/mouse adapter for both the Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, the SmartJoy FRAG. The quality of this device is through the roof. For what it is, there's really nothing better that SmartJoy could have conceivably done to improve it, aside from maybe adding a bit of an extension cord. As it is, on the Playstation 2 model, it hooks directly in to your system, causing some inconvenience. The Xbox version, on the other hand, features support of memory card/voice chat and a (slightly) extended cable.

As far as actual usability and accessibility is concerned, the SmartJoy FRAG works like a dream. It's a pure plug and play fantasy, the only real downfall being lack of USB support, but adapters are fairly cheap and easily attained. The real issue comes from a problem SmartJoy has no control over: most console setups are not placed in such a way that a keyboard/mouse setup would work ergonomically. I was able to get by just fine (and fairly comfortably) using a stool for the mouse with the keyboard on my lap, but this issue may differ from user to user.

Trivial problems aside, the FRAG functions excellently once in-game. FRAG comes with a pre-set default for several popular game titles, such as SOCOM II, TimeSplitters 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and so forth for a total of 8 pre-set configurations. For flexibility and versatility, SmartJoy FRAG has easily customizable configurations. To make a custom configuration simply hold the ESC key and start toggling! That's right, changing a key's assigned function is as simple as holding the ESC key, pressing the current key, and pressing the new key. With that in mind, it takes mere moments to configure a setting that will compliment any given title with little hassle.

Unfortunately, the only way to save these is to overwrite the original presets that come with the hardware. This isn't a big loss, as a lot of shooters can be used successfully with a generic setup. If you feel you've entirely screwed up, there's even a factory default restore function. The only way it could be easier is an on-screen GUI, and that's being a bit eccentric.

The only situation in which the SmartJoy FRAG truly fails isn't directly related to the hardware at all - your experience with it can be altered drastically depending on the title being played. Many consoles will have a different level of movement speed for the separate axes, which causes problems when using a mouse (where the axes are, ideally, the same). You may find it exceedingly easy to look upward or downward, but left or right leaves something to be desired, as it's lacking in adequate speed and so forth. Some games this isn't an issue - some it is. Likewise, some actually allow you to adjust both the Y and X axis separately (such as EA's recent GoldenEye: Rogue Agent).

To counter-act this, Smart Joy features an adjustment of the "dead zone". The dead zone refers to the zone in which the analog stick can be jittered without effecting the player's movement on screen. The FRAG allows settings from 10-90, using the numbers above the letter keys (in conjunction with ESC). This is a useful feature for fine-tuning it to specific games, but takes a bit of tweaking to land it correctly.

The FRAG is a fantastic device that's only held back by the individual software and casual setup of most consoles. If one were desiring the ultimate keyboard/mouse experience on console, a FRAG in conjunction with a VGA adapter is highly recommended. As a stand alone product, the FRAG is still highly recommended and is the absolute best alternative one will find when searching for the PC experience on console FPS titles.

[Editor's Note: Gamenikki gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Lik-Sang in the publication of this hardware review. If you found this article helpful, and the SmartJoy FRAG appeals to you, why not order it fron Lik-Sang, and help us bring you more hardware reviews in the future?]