Gamepads for PC.. whaddya think?

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Ironic Pirate

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May 21, 2009
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Does anyone know if Hitman on PC has a Gamepad option? I want to buy the Hitman collection, but I also don't like keyboards for third person shooters or stealth games...
 

Cogwheel

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Apr 3, 2010
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Might be nice for hack and slash games, I suppose. And I use a gamepad for fighting games... that's about it, though.


Also, my gamepads are dirt cheap and I don't even remember what they're called. I mean, aside from the token wired 360 one I got for BlazBlue.
 

Vampire cat

Apocalypse Meow
Apr 21, 2010
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How do you HATE the xbox Oo. Did it violate you when you were younger? I can get "don't care for / don't like, but HATE?... Strong words at the wrong time =p.

I'm STILL going to recommend the xbox controller. It IS the most comfortable and practical controller that can easily connect to a PC. I myself have only ever owned a PS2 and most of my friends have PS3s, but the xbox controller just IS more comfortable than the PS ones... They even make PS controllers that are set up like the xbox ones now Oo. I personally have an xbox controller for my PC, and it's nice having it when games like GTA IV and Assassins Creed come about, so much more comfortable than mouse/keyboard for games that are made for console but ported to PC =p.

Saying you won't use it because you HATE xbox seems silly. If you just don't like how it feels, then that's OK, can't hold that against you =p. But give it another shot (hold it at a friends or something...), for me Oo.
 

Vonnis

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Feb 18, 2011
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I have a very cheap dual shock rip-off made by speedlink, only use it for a handful of games (anything run through an emulator, fighting games when I play them, and silent hill). It's not great, but adequate considering it doesn't get that much use anyway as there's only a few types of games where I prefer a gamepad over mouse and keyboard.
 

Wintermoot

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Aug 20, 2009
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you can hookup a PS3 controller with a mini USB cable (you get the with ALLOT of devices)
you can also hookup a 360 controller with some kind of BT adapter.
I use a Logitech gamepad (modeled after a PS one controller), I mainly use it for stuff like emulation on my laptop (since lugging around a SNES is pretty annoying) I also use it for TouHou project.
 

loc978

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Sep 18, 2010
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I mostly use one of
for emulators and platformers. I've had it for a good decade, and it still got me through Super Meat Boy.

I also have two of
The Madman said:
that I use for multiplayer fighting games.

...highly recommended. There's really nothing you can do with a modern console controller that you can't do with that Logitech gamepad... except for motion controls. But sixaxis is terrible anyway.
 

GrizzlerBorno

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Sep 2, 2010
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If you can afford a PS3 definitely just get that. There is ABSOLUTELY no point in getting an Xbox if you've got a decent build after all.

Just do that, and play all third person games on that instead. That's what I intend to do once I can round up a job sometime in the far distant future.....
 

viranimus

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Nov 20, 2009
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Standard 360 gamepad. Has by far the most adaptability of any controller thanks to the native support.

Its also supported by more games than any other single gamepad.

Plus the proper layout of the analog sticks is in my estimation superior to most of the Playstation emulated layouts most PC controllers have.

Nyko makes a few decent ones like the airflow, but I still find the 360 pad superior.

And for ANY games that the 360 pad isnt supported, youve got options like keytojoy and xpadder to fill in the blanks.

Hell, half the time I use the 360 control pad + xpadder to act as a mouse replacement all together for things like windows navi, web browsing, etc.
 

Continuity

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May 20, 2010
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figday said:
I'm a dyed in the wool PC gamer and love the M&KB but I do have an xbox controller to, there are just some games that need a controller and 90% of them on the PC not only support the xbox controller right off the bat but were in fact developed with it in mind as the primary controller.

Examples of games that i've played with the xbox controller are:

Psychonaughts
Batman Arkham asylum
need for speed most wanted
super meat boy
Race 07

and probably 1 or 2 others. OK so thats not many when you consider that I have over 200 games but for those games having a controller makes a big difference. PLus of course we're getting more and more ports/multiplatform games so I can only imagine that the xbox controller will continue to get stronger, though for most of those titles I still use M&KB for preference.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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figday said:
The ones that has one, what're the pros and cons? Whats a good gamepad?
Just get a wired Xbox 360 controller and plug it in. If it doesn't auto detect you can get the drivers for free (and legally) off the web. You'll not get anything better from a 'dedicated' PC controller.

As for whether you should buy a pad for PC games, that's entirely up to you.
 

Feylynn

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Feb 16, 2010
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I have a gamepad but ultimately there is really nothing I use it for. I was using it with Final Fantasy 14 because the keyboard controls were unusable but since I got my WoW Cata mouse I've been able to macro all the stupidly placed hotkeys right to my mouse.
I have a snes emulator I used to use it for as well but keyboard works just as well for that to and has a better 'd-pad'.

As for PS3, if you have the money to spare I still find Folklore to be one of my favorite games of this generation.
Can't go wrong with Valkyria Chronicles in my opinion either.
But I d'know your preference in games.
I don't play mine much anymore but I'm obligated to finish FF13 at some point, and every now and then I still enjoy a spot of BlazBlue or SoulCalibur.

Another option to consider is that there exists drivers you can download to use the PS3 controller on the PC, though in some cases it takes some work.
I've always preferred the PS3 controller, xBox is fine if you are used to it I guess but I've been holding a dualshock for at least 10 years, xbox tilted the hand grips outward, made the triggers sit awkward and switched where my bloody analog is. D=
 

DirgeNovak

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Jul 23, 2008
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I would recommend the Logitech F310:

It's probably the best since your can switch it to emulate the 360 controller (for games that obnoxiously support only the 360 controller) or act like a more standard Logitech controller, which allows for more flexibility with the triggers counting as buttons, so they can be used in older games that don't support triggers. All that and it only costs 20 bucks. D-Pad sucks, but it sucks on every controller I've tried except the PS controllers.
 

TrevHead

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Apr 10, 2011
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There are many types of PC controllers which is kinda good for us gamers as we can use the best pad that suits us. The worst aspect is the way M$ try to force PC gamers into using 360 control pads and the way many games dont allow your to re-configure the buttons. Luckly PC gamers can use 360 pad emulators and Xpadder to bypass / fix all that :D

As for what pad you want to use, its really up to what games you play. If you play 3D games then many analog pads are fine. The problem arises when you want to play 2D games and make use of the d-pad as so many modern analog pads have shockinly bad and unusable d-pads (eg ps2 clones from logitech or saitek) . It's like everyone has forgotton about the d-pad as everyone has gotten used to using their analog sticks to play 2D games like super meat boy or retro games.

However as any 2D game fan who has a decent d-pad (or an arcade stick) will tell you, 2D games arnt ment to be played with an analog stick its like using an decoration paint brush for fine art. (just try playing contra or a bullet hell shmup). Unfortunatly so many modern gamers are so used to their analog sticks that they'll stick with it and it doesnt help when so many modern pads have substandard d-pads.

Ild recommend gamers buy an analog stick for 3D games and also buy another pad thats designed for 2D games like that SFiV pad ^^ or the modern 2D figher pads or my personal choice an sega saturn reproduction pad as the saturn / MD d-pad is widly accepted as the best there ever was.

The current pad im using is a GameWare PC pad. Its a ps2 clone with a decent d-pad plus built in auto fire. I did have an Sega Saturn USB pad I bought off ebay shipped from China and would replace it if the price hadnt jumped from £12 right up to £50 now these are becomming rare and everybody knows they are so bloody good.

I might get those new US saturn repro pads for around £15 but I hear the build quality is shite compared to the Chinese version (crazy isnt it)

I might get one of those Marvel Vs fighting pad instead as it has mechanical switches instead of those cheap and nasty rubber ones with the thin coating of metal that wear away quickly if you button mash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyxVRTCVjVo

Heres a picture of my Gameware pc pad with the decent d-pad http://www.gametechreview.com/compare/pc/hardware/332015/gameware-pc-rf-control-pad.html
I have the wired version though. I prefer wired pads as wireless adds lag which is a bad thing for fast arcade games
 

AnAngryMoose

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Nov 12, 2009
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I've only recently played games on my PC and up until now I've used (and still use) my 360 for years, so I just picked up a wired 260 controller and love it. The only game I don't use it for is Minecraft because the mousepad on my laptop works better than the controller.
 

Sampler

He who is not known
May 5, 2008
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I got a crossfire dongle so I could use one of my wireless 360 pads with the PC, only game I've played with it so far is a free copy of Burnout Paradise (which I also have on the PS3 as it came with it) but it worked well - the game recognised when using the pad and gave instructions with the corresponding button (such as press A) or when using the keyboard (press enter) which I thought was a nice touch.

It's not that I haven't used it because I dislike it but I tend to do FPSRPG or RTS so keyboard and mouse are naturally better, games where the pad is suitable I would use it.

I prefer 360 pads over PS pads as I have large hands and it helps my RSI a little having to reach more.

I also have a PS1/2 & N64 to usb adaptor which I used to use with ROM's on the laptop at work (I had a hard job ;) ) but not used that for some time.

So if a PS pad is your preference go with that, I believe the PS3 pads will run directly with a USB connection but require some fiddling with drivers that put me off bothering.
 

figday

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Mar 22, 2011
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WOW GUYS THANKS!
thats a hell lot of inputs!
so now i guess ill be choosing between the 360 and rumblepads (has to be wireless tho :p)

anyways thanks again for all giving their insights and advices :)
have a nice day fellas