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Saitek Cyborg Command Unit by Saitek
Digital Photo Product DetailsManufacturer: Saitek Audio: German (Subtitled); German (Manual) Format: CD Platform: Windows XP Model: PZ31A Product features: - Saitek PZ31A Pro Gamer Command
Accessories:
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Saitek Cyborg Command UnitCustomer Review: The best gamepad to complement my mouse Summary: 5 Stars
My history with these gaming keypads began when I was frustrated and fed up with losing in various PC games, especially first person shooters. My deaths have been facilitated for my opponents due to a syndrome I labeled "command paralysis." Command paralysis is when a player (1) presses too many keys on his keyboard, thus jamming the keyboard, (2) has too many fingers locked down on many vital keys and is unable to sacrifice one more finger to complete the sequence of actions that will save the player from humiliating death, or (3) has several fingers occupied with one section of the keyboard and cannot press keys to activate commands located on the other side.
I credit the main cause of command paralysis to the WASD control scheme. Because WASD dictates orthogonal directions, at least four separate buttons/keys are required to control the movements of an in-game character. Too many fingers can get tied up when pressing these keys, limiting the number of actions per time unit while in motion. I'm of the strong opinion that the keyboard is best used for typing, not gaming.
In order to find a gaming device to wholly replace my keyboard, I had purchased a Belkin n52 Nostromo. It's a fairly competent device. It had increased my survivability rates in various competitive multiplayer titles. However, the controller's D-pad was inadequate as a WASD replacement. It required a rather excessive firm grip to use it consistently and effectively for movement commands. Still, it certainly was better than using a keyboard.
Not sufficiently satisfied, I purchased a Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit to compare and contrast with my n52 Nostromo. I must say that after trying out the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit, I immediately placed my old Belkin N52 Nostromo up for auction on eBay. This thing blows the n52 out of the water based on its analog stick design alone. I mapped the stick to WASD-movement commands in all my favorite first person shooters and now instead of tying three separate fingers to dictate four keys, I just have to use a single thumb to operate a single stick. It feels incredibly natural and intuitive when using this device. The amount of available fingers I now have when playing games make me feel absolutely unrestricted.
The only fault with the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit was its quantity of shift states and the method of switching between them. The n52 supports three different shift states and the user can define which keys can toggle between these shift states. The Saitek PGCU, however, was only limited to one immutable shift button, plus these "modes" which can only be accessed using an awkward and unintuitive sliding switch. However, with Saitek's release of new drivers (now Vista-compatible), users can now define as many shift states as they desire and can define their own shift button toggles.
The Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit is highly recommended to anyone who is looking for different but equally effective replacement for the keyboard. It is quite simply the best gaming keypad out on the market. It's unfathomable that no one else has thought about designing gaming keypads like it.
Description of Saitek Cyborg Command UnitMODEL- PZ31A VENDOR- SAITEK FEATURES- PZ31A Pro Gamer Command Unit Control unit for keyboard-oriented games! Pro Gamer Command Pad combines the controls essential to First Person Shooter and Strategy games in one unit making them fast and easy to reach in the heat of battle. * Backlit device for First Person Shooter (FPS) & Real Time Strategy (RTS) gaming.* Ergonomic keypad with laser etched keys so characters are visible in any lighting environment; ideal for late night gaming session and LAN parties.* 4-way analog hat switch * 20 buttons including space shift function and 3 mode states for up to 144 programmable commands.* Adjustable thumb control area has 2 way tilt mechanism slides forwards and backwards pivots up and down.
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