It's like a Playstation PC with the GamePad Pro!

What do I do when I have time to burn? I don't have much but when I do I just can't wait to hook up a video game of some sort and go a few rounds against the artificial intelligence. Whether it's one of the three incarnations of Playstation, a PC game, or an old Nintendo game I'm always ready for the challenge.

Recently I discovered MAME on the internet. This emulator allows me to play thousands of coin op games from the arcades of the 1980s and 1990s right on my computer! You can imagine that, as an 80's baby, I was hooked right away. The only flaw was using my keyboard to control the action. That's where the Gamepad comes in.

I went to my local PC store searching for a controller that would be cheap, easy to install, and comfortable. I chose the Gamepad Pro because it looked and felt just like a Playstation controller...even the button layout was the same! Also, in the middle of the directional pad (D-pad) there was a threaded hole that I could insert a small joystick (included with the controller) into if I wanted a joystick experience for games like Pacman. What could be better than that????

The install
As a Windows Vista user I expected trouble with this portion. None came my way though, I simply plugged this into the USB port on the front of my Dell tower and I was on my way! Within three minutes the controller was ready for use without my downloading anything or installing anything from a CD. It was just as easy as plugging in and waiting a few moments for Vista to do it's thing.

The exprience
I logged thousands of games on this controller and have loved it. Hundreds of games within MAME have worked just fine with it and it has also proven a great controller for the PC version of Madden 02 (a popular football game).

Wear and tear seem to mean nothing to this controller. It just keeps playing today the same as it did yesterday. I can even tell which button is which because instead of labeling them with shapes they simply made each button a different color base material so the label CAN'T wear off!

The flaws
There are only a couple of flaws but they are there. First and foremost is the hole that the joystick goes in. When you aren't using the joystick this hole is right where your thumb needs to be and it has made my thumb SO sore! I have earned a callous from fighting the thing and there is no way around it. Too pad there isn't a cover I could put over it to make the surface smooth when the joystick isn't in.

Analog controls are nifty on the Playstation but they don't exist on this controller. I haven't needed them yet on the PC but if I did I guess I'd be controller shopping again. Something to think about before you buy I guess...

Overall
The fact is, I like it. I'm glad I picked it up and I think you should to at the price I got mine for ($15.00). Download MAME and buy a GamePad Pro this weekend!