F E E L
It melts into your hands perfectly; it doesn't rest in them like all the other controllers do. Everything is made to fit the curves of your hand - even the shoulder (L & R) buttons. The Digital Click feature on the L & R buttons is great -- that means you can vary your speed, for instance, in a racing game, much more easily. The other buttons have a good feel when you click them, too. You can feel when you've pushed a button, which is a good thing. The left joystick feels great too. There's the right amount of feedback from it and you can control what you need to acurately.

L A Y O U T
I couldn't see how this layout could be any better. Within15 seconds of starting to play the GameCube, I knew where all the buttons were - I never had to look down at it again. After playing Xbox for over an hour straight, I still got Y and B and black and white mixed up. On the GameCube controller, you have to move your all fingers minimal amounts, because all buttons are easily within reach. Having those 3 buttons - Y, X, & B - centered around the A button makes everything so much easier. The one oddity is the Z button, and they could have put an equivalent button on the other side ('C'?), but it would probably not be used much.

D U R A B I L I T Y
This is one well constructed controller. I have dropped it from about four feet up onto a thin rug numerous times and it's still as good as new. I regret paying $8 for insurance for it - I won't ever need to replace it. Damn those Best Buy salespeople. They can sell you anything if you don't need it.

I N - B R I E F

Overall - 10
Feel - 10
Layout - 9.9
Durability - 10