Recently Logitech released the Rumblepad 2, a surpisingly good PC dual analog rumble-enable gamepad for $30. I just picked one up yesterday after reading a couple of perfect reviews and it absolutely amazing for a gamepad not named S, DualShock 2, or Wavebird. So far it's worked perfectly with GBA, Genesis, and SNES emulators (I haven't tried N64 yet...). It also works perfectly for Need for Speed Underground, which automatically detected the gamepad, enabled rumble, and automatically assigned the perfect button scheme (I assume the button config from the PS2 version). It works perfectly in Vice City, makes driving a lot easier although after beating the game 2 or 3 times I am a master with driving and flying using the keyboard. One cool thing is Vice City allows you to use the gamepad and the keyboard/mouse at the same time, so I just keep the gamepad in my lap and use the keyboard/mouse for on-foot controls and as soon as I enter a vehicle I use my gamepad. Vice City also automatically enable dual analog on foot controls so I can control Tommy on foot with the two analog sticks just like a console FPS instead of the crappy targeting system used on the PS2 version. Why didn't they let you do this on the original? It's like playing Max Payne now.
There is also a wireless version of this same controller available for 10 dollars more. It's identical except it's pure black instead of black and blue and doesn't have rubber grips for some reason. The box in the store said it has the same rumble as in the corded one and it gets 100 hours off of two AA's. I'm not sure if that's accurate but I don't see why not since my Wavebird is only on its second set of AA batteries since June 2002 when I got it, and I have like 300+ hours on SSBM alone. However if you are using the rumble a lot it probably won't be 100 hours I'm guessing but you can turn off rumble by pressing a button under the start/select buttons.
Anyway before this controller was released the only way to get a really good gamepad on PC for your emulators or gamepad-necessary games like Prince of Persia or sports games was to get USB adaptors for your N64, PS2, Dreamcast, or GCN pads. There is one USB adaptor you can get on lik-sang which can convert PS2, Dreamcast, or GCN pads to PC pads. There is the adaptoid which is a adaptor for N64 pads, even works with rumble and lets you upload saves to your hard drive. Not sure if there are Xbox ones but I'm actually surprised Microsoft hasn't released a USB version of the Xbox S for PC. There is a good GCN adaptor (forgot the company but the adaptor is blue) that comes with drivers that enable all the features and buttons on the cube controller like the dual-analogs, rumble, analog triggers, etc. Sadly none of the GCN adaptors I've seen are compatible with the Wavebird which is the only reason I didn't get any of them (my only corded controller is the one that came with the system back in 2001 and the analog stick is loose and the B button dying...).
Anyway anyone needs a good PC gamepad and doesn't want to order a console to USB adaptor from Hong Kong, I recommend the Rumblepad 2 from Logitech! Oh and I forgot to even describe the controller. The corded version is black on the bottom and metallic blue on the face (like the two tone GCN controllers sorta) with black buttons and sticks and black rubber on the handles which feels great. The analog sticks are basically identically to the PS2's which means compared to the GCN's they are smoother and looser...ultimately not as good as GCN's but better than all the other crap from third parties. It's shape and layout is exactly like the Sony Dualshock 2 except it's slightly curvier, more ergonomic, and just more comfortable overall. But side by side with my PS2 controller it's basically identical. It has the clickable analog sticks like the PS2 and Xbox. There is a mode button that switches the axes to the dpad instead of the left analog. However this is useless since you never need to do this. All the games I've tried either have the dpad and left analog share control mappings or assign each of the dpad directions as buttons so you can just enter the controls onto the dpad from the game options if you want. Next there is a vibration button to turn on and off the rumble. Finally the only thing different from the PS2 pad is that the dpad is copied off the Xbox S. Either way it is by far the best Dpad on any PC pad I've tried but not quite as good as the Dreamcast or SNES/N64 dpads. Worked perfect in Donkey Kong Country, Secret of Mana, Mario World, Mario Kart....However in Street Fighter 2 and Killer Instinct it worked "almost perfect" meaning it still worked fine but just a tad under the SNES dpad which I'm used too. But I've only had 5 minutes worth of time with it....
The pad is of very high quality and finish. High quality sturdy plastic, high quality rubber on the grips and analog sticks. Thankfully the rubber grips are placed smartly and not too much unlike some of those other third party pads where the whole thing is coated in rubber and then your hands get sweaty and it all turns nasty....Unfortunately the analog sticks are smooth on top instead of the ringed style on the GCN pads but oh well...The only thing that concerns me is that the four face buttons have the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 written on them (as opposed to being carved into them like the shoulder buttons)..hopefully they will not rub off.
The cord could be a little longer though...it's closer to the GCN one in length than the Xbox ones...but there is a wireless one for 10 bucks more as I said before.
There is also a non-rumble version for 10 bucks less which looks the same to me except the dpad looks crappy and there are no rubber grips. However it was released a long time ago so even though the shape is the same looking it might not be as good.
Here is the offical US page for the pad if anyone is interested (PS the dpad in the pic looks like it is sticking out of the pad a lot but it's not actually like that):
Rumblepad 2Cordless Rumblepad 2BTW these are way better than the crap original rumblepads.
PS In retaliation Thrustmaster is releasing it's "dual trigger" series of gamepads for PC which have analog triggers like the GCN and Xbox. The press released also seemed to imply that there will be buttons under the triggers like the GCN. No pictures have been released yet. They will come out later this month. They will probably be pretty good. The current Thrustmaster Firestorm dual analog gamepads are probably the second best after the logitech ones.
Topic: There's hope for PC gamepads after all (Read 5013 times)
