Date: March 1, 2005 - Author: Rob Williams - Editor: Rob Williams
Logitech has always been known for making great computer peripherals. They are the world leader in Webcams, and make great Keyboards, Mice, Speakers and tons more. But how about their gamepads? PC gamepads are incredibly difficult to get right, especially for a gamer who is expecting console equivalent feel and design. Read on to see how their RumblePad 2 controller fares in our review.
I have been looking for the perfect PC gamepad forever, and have easily gone through at least 5 different ones over the past few years. When I received this controller for review, I was skeptical. It's rare to find a controller that works great, and feels great. After taking the controller out of the package, however, I was immediately impressed.
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At first glance, you will immediately notice how similar in design it is to the Playstation 2 controller. It even feels near identical to the PS2 Controller, except for the addition of rubber hand grips on the each side of the Gamepad. No more awkward controller to hold on to.. this one fits your hands perfectly. The Gamepad comes with a total of 12 programmable buttons, even though the tech sheet states there are only 10. On top of the controller are the four shoulder buttons. On the front are the normal four main buttons (A,B,X,Y or Square, Triangle, Circle, X). There are two front buttons in the center of the controller that can be programmed to be Select and Start buttons, which I personally did. In addition, the two analog sticks push in, for another two programmable buttons. Depending on what you prefer, you can use the normal D-Pad for movement, or the Analog sticks. For most games, I personally prefer the D-pad, as I find I have better control. However, your opinion may vary, and it could really depend on the game you are playing.
Here is a picture of what you can expect to be bundled on the CD-Rom. You don't need to install anything other than the drivers, and you can even skip those if you have Windows XP.
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Installing the drivers will also install the Logitech Game Profiler, which allows you to create various profiles for all the games you play. Not to say the Profiler is not good software, but I definitely prefer to set up all my profiles in each individual game. What the Profiler is good for though, are games that do not offer Gamepad support, but you want it. You can configure every button on the Gamepad to act however you want it to. In the game I tested it with, for instance, I configured a key to do a ALT+X, so it would bring up the in-game menu. It worked well, but one thing you should know: If the game you are playing doesn't have Gamepad support, it's probably because the game is clunky with it. However, if you are desperate to use your pad with the game, definitely give the Profiler a try.
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Not only is this a great looking Gamepad.. it also has rumble features! If the game you are playing supports it, you will get rumble action, just like on the consoles. The controller allows for two intensities for the Rumble, so you have a choice of how rough you like it! Both games I tested, Need for Speed: Underground 2 and Tony Hawk's: Underground 2 both support the rumble, and supported it perfectly. I am sure a lot of games are still out there that do not support the rumble feature, but most of the newer games likely do.
The configuration on the left, is what you can expect if you do not install the drivers that come on the CD. If you have Windows XP, the Gamepad should work fine without installing the drivers, so it's up to you if you want to install them, if you have XP. If you do install the drivers off the CD, you get the configuration on the right. To test the buttons, you click them on the controller and they light up in the config. Installation was very easy, and it worked off the get go. It helps since it's USB based, and nothing else. One thing I recommend though, is to not lose the CD-Rom. At the time of writing, you couldn't easily get the drivers off the official site.
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To thoroughly test the gamepad, I played a heavy amount of Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and Need For Speed: Underground 2. These games are both available on all the mainstream consoles, and I have played them both on the Xbox console, so I can give an accurate view of how the controller performs.
Need For Speed: Underground 2
Alright, I'm in my Honda Civic and seat belt on. I'm ready race! The ingame configuration allowed for perfect control over what the buttons do, so I could mimic the real PS2 or Xbox control scheme. Within seconds, I was ready to go in and race.
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How to describe the initial feel and control of the gamepad.. Wow! The control was tight and allowed for perfect racing. Not once did I blame a crash on the gamepad! I was going around corners with ease, and felt every bump along the way, thanks to the built in Rumble. There was no configuration to get the rumble to work for the game, it was set automatically.
As I already noted, I prefer to play games with the D-Pad, rather than the Analog sticks, but I did test both ways. Either way, the control was very tight, and allowed for accurate play. Setting the two center buttons on the controller as Select and Start, really makes it feel like you are playing a console.. but only with amped up graphics. All in all, I really enjoyed using this gamepad for the game.. it worked perfectly.
Tony Hawk: Underground 2
Skateboard? Check. Crazy levels? Check. RumblePad 2? Check. Alright, ready to grind up a storm. Now, unlike NFS: U2, TH: U2 is nowhere as refined and polished for PC play. The game overall feels somewhat bulky, and the graphics are not as clean and crisp as the console counterparts. At any rate, I once again set up the RumblePad 2 to the same configuration as the game has for the PlayStation 2.
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Even with the clunky design of the game, the controller still acted as it should. The character was easy to control, and the tricks were performed smoothly. The control was not as smooth as NFS: U2 for instance, but I believe that to be because of the clunkiness of the game. However, if you do own this game for the PC, this gamepad will not let you down. The vibration definitely added to the experience as well.
If you play a lot of games on your PC that are better played on a Gamepad, without a doubt, get this one. I'm certainly not easily impressed with any peripherals, especially Gamepads. This one however, easily won me over with it's ease of use, and perfect design. With the Rumble feature added in there, there's no reason to not own this Gamepad. The first night I used it, I was so impressed, I went online and ordered a second one! Definitely give this one a go. Thanks to Pamela at Logitech for allowing us to review their gamepad!
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