Bargain gamepad for the budget-minded

First off: I prefer using Keyboard and Trackball for most of my PC Gaming. Nothing beats the pointing precision I can achieve with my trusty Logitech Marble Mouse.

http://www99.epinions.com/content_70805786244

But some games just don't work with Keyboard and 'mouse' so I need to use a gamepad.

The Saitek p990 is a well-made hunk of plastic, which plugs right into your USB port. Win XP (SP1 and above) recognizes it and it is ready to go. (If you have an older OS you might need to visit Saitek's website to download drivers. There is no software included with the gamepad. If you don't have Internet access.... well then you can't be reading this, eh?)

It has the typical 8-way d-pad, 2 analog (and switchable to digital) direction joysticks, 6 buttons, 4 fire buttons plus an analog/digital toggle button and a FPS (First-Person-shooter) button for a quick optimized setup for FPS games.

The grips have soft plastic inserts for comfort and better grip, and there is nice blue accent glow that is just enough to be nice without being overly geeky.

If you use the FPS button it lights up red.

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Playtime
It works. Aim, jump, hop, etc. slashing your way through dungeons or laser-blasting your way across the galaxy.

The soft-touch grips and controls limit fatigue, allowing a nice long session.

A drawback is the button labeling (simple numbers) make it tricky sometimes to remember which button triggers which attack. This usually clears up in an hour or two of playing as my fingers learn the combinations.

But wait, there's More
Visit the Saitek website and download updated drivers and some handy enhancement software, including a profile editor for setting up and manageing custom button layouts for various games, you can also download custom game profiles that have been set up by others.
http://www.saitek.com/