Playstation

DOCS Wireless Controllers Set: When you’re not concerned with analog controls you might want to consider goin’ wireless. The DOCS Wireless works like a champ. They have good range & a wide angle of transmission (as long as you don’t point the thing at the floor in the heat of play). The controllers also feature turbo-fire programming and a slow function (for gettin’ through those tricky levels). For a long time, these were my primary controllers.

Hip rating: ****

Sony Dualshock: Most of you out there are already very familiar with this solid player. If you have never gotten an analog controller for your older playstation or when you did, you opted for another brand, I must say that this is a quality controller. It is precise and works well as a primary controller. On the down side, the Sony Dualshock is a very spartan controller. There are no turbo fire programming (although I seldom use’em, but they’re still nice to have around) and no crossover functionality for the thumbsticks.

Hip rating: ***

If you’re looking for more power in controller, may I suggest the:

Mad Catz Dual Force Controller for Sony Playstation. Now let me say that my first attempt at owning Mad Catz saw a foul ball. I plopped down my hard-earned bucks (as well as cash for some AAA batteries for the thing) at the local wally-world and toted home my first analog controller. I plugged it in with Twisted Metal 3 & with in seconds I realized that I had a defective controller! Pissed, I returned to wally, swapped for a Sony Dualshock and went for to repair my now fragile emotional state by blowin’ Sweet Tooth to hell. Well time goes by and one day, I find myself in wally’s again with a bit a cash & I spy a Mad Catz & notice a few minor changes and that in fact, the controller had been re-designed. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had problems with one. Curiosity peaked, I purchased my second analog controller. Not only did this one work (& without batteries I might add), it almost instantly became my controller of choice. First off, it comes with turbo- fire programming, an after-market standard. Where the controller really kicks ass though is it’s two analog sticks. These babies smoke. When you set the controller to dualshock, it works basically like a Sony Dualshock. However, if you leave it controller in digital mode, the thumbsticks still function, they simple emulate the d-pad buttons. I myself usually use the left for my directional control & stick with the buttons with my right thumb. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the Mad Catz’ comes with a third configuration that allows you to set the controller’s thumbsticks to emulate a steering wheel controller for the playstation. This function is EXTREMELY handy in drivin’ sims. The left thumbstick emulates the wheel, while the right emulates the gas and brake pedals. I wouldn’t play Gran Turismo without it!

Hip rating: *****

PC

Controllers

 

 

InterAct Makopad PC Digital/Analog Gamepad: Most of you are familiar with gamepads & joysticks, but the Mako is hailed as the first gamepad that is both. You can configure the controller as a six button D-pad controller or as four-button joystick with throttle. This is of course is attractive for game play and economic reasons. The sweet thing is that you can mix and match the modes! You can use your d-pad with four buttons and the throttle or you can use the joystick with the six buttons. You can even switch from the d-pad to the joystick or vise versa during game play in most games. The controller comes with a driver diskette & is easy to install. On the downside, the joystick is a little bumpy at it's extreme range. The controller is designed to work well for those with small or big hands, making it a very versatile controller indeed.

Hip rating: *****

 

Saitek Cyborg 3D Digital/Analog Joystick: Now before I settled on the Cyborg 3D, I tried several other models first. That is to say I tried to try several other sticks. First up was the Gravis' Blackhawk Digital Joystick. It was reasonably priced and many nice features as well, so I bought the thing. I get home, plug it in, load the drivers & …..nothing! The stick checked out on the control panel tests, but when you tried to play a game, the stick simply didn't work. I even tried to download more drivers from Gravis' website & still nothing. It turned out that my new DirectX 7 drivers & the Gravis drivers didn't play nice together. I tried e-mailing Gravis about the problem. It took five days to get a response. Their response was to use the old drivers (which I already knew didn't work). So back to the store I went. At this time, my intent was to bag the Cyborg, but alas as I was in store, I saw Microsoft's Digital Sidewinder. Figuring that Microsoft's own stick would work with my DirectX 7 drivers & being seduced by the darkside of their $20 rebate, I purchased it. I traveled home & once again found that my new toy had left me in the cold again. The Sidewinder fared no better than the Blackhawk. Highly pissed by now, I trekked back to the store of purchase. By this point, I'm starting to wonder if any digital stick would work with DirectX 7 drivers. Then I remembered one of the features of Cyborg was the fact it had a straight up analog mode. The path was now clear. Shrugging off rebate promises, hype & glitz, I seized the Cyborg & made my swap. I figured that even if the digital output of the stick didn't work, the analog would. And that would do until more updated digital or DirectX drivers were released. Well, to my infinite pleasure, not only did it work in analog, but it worked in digital as well. There was a left-drift problem, but a quick trip to the Saitek web site for a driver patch and she worked just fine. Now let's look at what makes this joystick so great. First off is the feel. Both The Blackhawk & the Sidewinder, while seemingly well constructed, felt very toy-ish & fragile with loose throttles, not the Cyborg 3D however. The Cyborg's feel is solid. Some joysticks' action are soft and loose, but the Cyborg's is tighter & stiffer, but in no way too stiff. This is thanks to Saitek's tension spring design, which keeps all slack out of the stick. Also, the throttle is nice & firm as well, with smooth action. To adjust the Cyborg to fit any hand, Saitek did an outstanding job. With the help of hand adjustment tool, the Cyborg can be configured to fit left or right hands of any size. Even the throttle can be re-configured for lefties. Next is the versatility. The Cyborg 3D comes with Saitek's Command center for programming the controllers' ten fire buttons, four on the stick, four on the rear of the base & two shift keys on base sides. When you use the shift keys for the shift function, you can configure up with eight on the stick & eight on the rear of the base, for a total of sixteen. There is also an 8-way hat and the stick features a twist action to emulate rudder pedals, eliminating the need and cost of actual rudder pedals. All of these functions work smoothly. Another interesting feature I liked are the screw holes located underneath the base for mounting the Cyborg 3D to a desk or any other surface. Any of you out there who have lost or been killed in game because of joystick's suction pads gave way in the heat of battle will appreciate this feature as much as I do. Also on the underside of the stick is the previously mentioned analog/digital switch. This switch allows the stick to be compatible with older game titles (& finicky drivers!). You don't even have to have special drivers, any generic standard four-button driver will work. The downside of the analog function is the loss of programmability and the loss of the eight-way hat. The Cyborg 3D now functions as a standard four-button with throttle. The last cool feature of the Cyborg is the look. This thing looks like it may have been the Borg Queen's favorite toy. No we all know that the way a controller looks has little to do with way it performs, but let's face it, a Pinto will get down the road as well as a 'Vette, but would you rather be in the 'Vette? Besides, it's cool when your friends come over and see it & go, "Whoa, now that's a joystick!"

hip63@oocities.com

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