Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 with Vibration Feedback (Black)
by Logitech
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Our Price: $39.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 with Vibration Feedback (Black)
Customer Review: With battery charger you have a pseudo-PS3 type wireless Controller!
Summary: 5 Stars
The downside first - unlike the MX1000 wireless mouse, this Rumblepad II gamepad does not come with a receiver/charger combo (receiver only) and so runs using two AA batteries instead. This means you will want to get a charger with at least 4 AA rechargable batteries so that you can swap them around. To be honest 2 AA batteries give you over 100 hours of power (5 solid days running!) so recharging and swapping is not something that will happen too often. Another downside is that 2 AA batteries add some extra weight to the controller which is already about twice the weight of a PS2 controller. It has two extra buttons on the front panel above where the start buttons are on the PS2 controller, so it has 10 buttons in total, along with two thumbsticks and one directional controller. The quality of the plastic feels more like advanced graphite material, making it more durable than a PS2 controller. As for the receiver, a very small fit-in-your-palm black box, it has a button at the front that can be pressed to try and reboot the signal if it is lost (only had to do this once at the start during install) and plugs into a USB socket as normal, however I have noticed that because the base-station is light it sometimes tends to tilt a tiny bit because of the weight of the wire coming from the back of it. As for gaming, well the bottom line is that I can now sit across the room with a range of up to 9 meters. The gamepad looks best when it is just cast aside next to the PC and sits there cordless and looking like it is from outer space. As for gaming adaptability - while playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas I did not have to even program the gamepad controls. I just switched from using keyboard to gamepad and it retained almost the exact same controller assignment as the PS2 version of the game except for assigning some movements to keys 9 and 10 at the front. There is also a mode switch on the controller for swapping controller type. It comes bundled with software for programming the controller if you want (a notification area icon). Anyway if you can get over the fact that it needs two AA batteries you will have the first wireless cordless gamepad even before the PS3 or XBOX 360 is released. HOOT!
Pros:
- Wireless Gamepad.
- Very nice black graphite.
- Already a standard for new games.
- Small receiver.
- Comes with controller programmable software (hardly needed though).
Cons:
- No base-station type receiver/recharger.
- Not as heavy as an Xbox controller but 2 AA adds weight.
Customer Review: Comfortable and responsive; by far the best controller I've used
Summary: 5 Stars
Aside from the convenience of cordless (I'm now trying to kick the habit of constantly moving the now non-existent cord out of the way), there are other reasons to like this controller. Some complain about the weight, but it doesn't seem too heavy to me. With the batteries installed, it has just the right amount of heft, making it feel solid and well-built. The controls are smooth, accurate, and well-placed for my thumbs (I have somewhat large hands). There is no cheap plastic feel, and the slightly textured plastic case is pleasing to the touch. The rubbery tops of the thumbsticks provide a secure grip for your thumbs.
With wireless, I was worried about lag, but there is none perceivable. Action games play fine where timing is critical. A nice touch is the ability to quickly swap the D-pad and left analog stick via a toggle button right between them (with corresponding indicator light). That makes it easy to go exactly straight forward when you need to. Because although there are slight centering guides to keep the thumbsticks centered horizontally and vertically, it is still very easy to move off to the side. That's not a complaint, as I think analog controls should allow you to move in any direction easily.
Only two complaints:
1. When releasing the thumbstick quickly, its self-centering action will often overshoot to the opposite direction for a split second before settling in the center. It is enough to turn the game character around. I've had to get used to releasing the stick more gently to avoid this.
2. Macintosh software is not included nor available from Logitech's web site for customizing buttons. The included software is Windows-only. I was disappointed when the D-pad was not automatically recognized in certain games. I figured I could just configure the game's controls to perform the appropriate actions, but the D-pad is not treated as buttons and not recognized at all. However, I was able to solve this by using the shareware "GamePad Companion" to assign keystrokes to the D-pad.
Pros:
Solid feel
Smooth action
Wireless
Analog <-> D-pad toggle
Thumbsticks act as two more buttons
Excellent battery life (seems to be true to the advertising claim of 100 hours with vibration off)
Cons:
Thumbstick overshoot
No Mac software
Customer Review: These are truly the best gamepads for the PC, >EVER<
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very skeptical about these at first. They looked cheap and I was not sure how long it was going to last. Let me tell you, they are great!
I purchased two of them to play the new Lego Star Wars with my son and I am utterly blown-away as to how much more relaxed we are when we play. No more cords!!!! Its been over 9+ weeks of use at nearly every day and neither sets of batteries has died yet, and thats using the cheap-O's included with the pads!
I did get hung-up trying to configure them at first. PLease understand that their software works great and you need it for the rumble effect, *HOWEVER* the software was designed with the assumption that you only have ONE gamepad. It is next to impossible to configure two gamepads using their software. I finally figured it out by uninstalling their software and simply letting Windows XP discover the devices and going to the game(s) and configuring the pads there. Most games allow you to do this by simply changing the keyboard layout from a certain set of keys to whatever you input. So if a game is set to use "W" as its up key, simply press enter and the game waits for you to press any key that will represent the new layout. So go to your gamepad and press the UP stick. Windows will auto-populate the field with the proper settings. Very nice!
I highly recommend this device. Its VERY durable and cleans well (sticky fingers) not to mention it is GREAT to play a two player game from over 10 feet away in bean-bags as opposed to stiff chairs bound by cords! Buy this product now!
Update: 9/2008 : It's been 2 years since I've had these. Well: I STILL HAVE THEM! Did I mention I have TWO boys? They work these things HARD and they still operate as expected. Logitech made a VERY reliable controller. They still sell em so it's a good thing. YAY!
Customer Review: The UBEREST Gamepad Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I've only encountered two things that might be issues for other users. And if you already UNDERSTAND how Wireless stuff for a computer works, SKIP the numbered section and resume at the astrick for battery info.
1.) I have encountered a couple of video games for the PC where the gamepad would get confused with another of its kind & the signals would 'bleed' - although I think it could be due to the absence of two seperate, co-related, drivers on that person's machine. Pushing the 'signal' button, did not correct the problem. This occurred in Ultimate Alliance once, and then went away - with no apparant change, and seemed to be the norm in Midway Arcade Treasures.
2.) The gamepad doesn't have a giant file of 'thrustmapping' updates released every so often, like certain (corded) gamepads of previous years. Until it does, dont expect that your wireless, properly ergonomic, non-rediculous, Logitech gamepad, will vibrate constantly throughout every single game - I'm almost sure that's intentional as an energy saving feature, and I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find a wireless that was any different.
*And remember, it also requires batteries to use a wireless. Rechargables are a good idea, if you have two sets & keep your alternates in the charger. The pad requires two AA size. Standard batteries are fine, but are going to cost you more over time - than rechargables will.
Beyond that, I'm not going to make this a giant thing. This gamepad is perfect, outside of those two points. It's wireless, it's durable, it's not over priced, it feels great in the hands, the analog sticks have textured grip, and the buttons actually have numbers on them. Excellent product, and that's all I've got to say about that.
Customer Review: Great controller!
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros:
This a great controller its made from tough quality plastic, not cheap stuff that I've seen other controllers made from. It has good weight to it, its not to heavy but not to light. The battery life it great, I've had this for 10days now and I use it every day for about an hour at least and its still going strong with the battery's that came with it. Range wise its perfect I haven't experienced any type of lag or anything and I'm able to go to the other end of my apartment and it still works perfecty. It can be made to work with any game with the software that it uses.
Cons:
Uses battery's. The vibration doesn't work on games that don't support controllers and even on some that do. The dpad seams cheaper than the rest of the controller. The software that is used to make the controller work with non-supporting games it a a big pain since you have to program every action in the game to one on the controller manually.
Other thoughts:
I got this to use on racing games and any button mashing type games like devil may cry 4 and I'm very satisfied with it. You dont have to worry about computability with this controller, new games like assassins creed, dmc4, and flatout uc all work with this automatically and if a game doesn't support controllers you use the software that comes with it(get the latest drivers at the site though) The oldest game that I have that I tested was max Payne 2 and it worked perfectly. I highly recommended this product to everyone looking for a quality controller.