PC video game controllers/gamepads
I am interested in having a discussion about gamepads for PC.
First, I'm curious as to what type of controller (besides keyboard + mouse) that most of you use for PC gaming.
Secondly, I use an off-brand 360 controller for various PC games and said games recognize it as such. As a result, they display face button assignments with the corresponding controller in mind (A,B,X,Y). As I do not have a PS3 controller nor a USB adapter for my PS2 controller, I would like to know, if one were to use some form of Playstation controller, games would instead display face button assignments as circle, square, x and triangle.
Third, I'm considering giving LEGO Batman for Steam to my nephew for his birthday but I don't know if his family has a PC controller, so I would like to know which controller for PC you all think would be best for the money.
First, I'm curious as to what type of controller (besides keyboard + mouse) that most of you use for PC gaming.
Secondly, I use an off-brand 360 controller for various PC games and said games recognize it as such. As a result, they display face button assignments with the corresponding controller in mind (A,B,X,Y). As I do not have a PS3 controller nor a USB adapter for my PS2 controller, I would like to know, if one were to use some form of Playstation controller, games would instead display face button assignments as circle, square, x and triangle.
Third, I'm considering giving LEGO Batman for Steam to my nephew for his birthday but I don't know if his family has a PC controller, so I would like to know which controller for PC you all think would be best for the money.
Sign in to comment in this discussion.
Comments
Xbox 360 controllers are the best in terms of software support. Most games made now support them, and when they have deeper integration it's a better experience than other controllers(with support for things like displaying the face buttons and activating rumble).
For the actual controller...what are you trying to play? For something like LEGO Batman, you're best with a 360 controller. Wireless costs a LOT more, and there is a LOT less in the PC wireless category there. If you want to play something that requires precision and would work most nicely with a D-Pad, the 360 controllers have terrible D-pads with awkward placement(this is largely not a problem with modern games as they're designed with this setup in mind, but playing anything from the 80s/early 90s consoles shows how shitty these things are).
I personally own a wired 360 controller, a wired Mortal Kombat fight stick, and a couple Logitech controllers I bought for $5 total from a Goodwill. I've been meaning to buy USB adapters that get other(older) controllers like the NES, SNES, Genesis, etc controllers to work. There is software that tricks computers into thinking a PS3 controller connected with a wire is a 360 controller, but the setup is fussy and I wouldn't suggest it for a small kid.
Regarding the games that I play, my 360 controller works well for the various games I currently use it for such as Just Cause 2 and The Force Unleashed. The original reason why I bought it was for my copy of LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4, because my SNES controller (connectable via Super SmartJoy) didn't have enough assignable buttons. I use my keyboard and mouse for adventure games. Once upon a time, I did have a Logitech Wingman Extreme for flight games, but I haven't had need of it for so long that I'm not even sure where it is now.
The reason why I dared to buy an off-brand controller for my PC (which I would flat out refuse to do for a console) is because it was significantly cheaper.
I got it about 5 or 6 years ago, worried I'd only play one or two games with it. I've ended up at least a dozen. A partial list includes: Psychonauts, Braid, Limbo, Darksiders, Overlord, Bastion, Trine 1 & 2, Costume Quest, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, Cave Story and The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom.
Oh, and interesting thing about Xbox 360 controllers on the PC that I learned a while back: They have a USB audio device built-in. Just plug in a headset (any cheap one meant to work with cordless phones will do) and Windows should recognize it. You can set things up to just use it as a microphone, or use it as sound output as well.
(other than the better graphics. And the faster load times. And the mods. And the ability to fix things using the console. And being able to hold a Skype/Steam Voice/Google Voice call at the same time.)
Right, it's fine because they were designed for it, they're console ports. Same with the LEGO games. If it was designed primarily for a 360 or multiplatform experience, the 360 controller will do you fine 99 out of 100 cases.
What do you consider "significantly"?
The official Xbox 360 headset works too, just FYI.
I've done the PS3 controller thing before and couldn't stand it. I'd have to move the files back to the system folder every now and then and every time I unplugged it, it would turn on my PS3 -.- ...I guess the latter wouldn't be a problem if you didn't own a PS3.
(mind you, that's if you use the USB chord. I don't have a Bluetooth device on my system so I'm not sure how it'd work wirelessly, but I expect the same)
I got an attachment that lets me use a PS2 controller on my Xbox 360, but after I got used to the 360 controller, I started using the device on my PC instead and it works great.
The only downside is that the device also needs a wired 360 controller to work (I'm not entirely certain why. Something about tricking the system into thinking you're using it, I think) and as a result I have to turn rumble off, otherwise I hear a loud rattling every time something hits me in a game and the other controller buzzes away.
But no, the face buttons won't display the triangle, etc. Either 360 buttons or generic numbers.
Before that it was a modified Xbox Controller S.
Before that it was a cheap logitek controller that broke. (It sucked balls!)
I tried using a Wii controller. Bad idea.
Wiimites just love to randomly disconnect all the time, and are a bugger to set up in the firstplace.
PS3 controllers are a little better, but my older brother uses those. (He plays the PS3 a lot!)
Xbox 360 controller + Xpadder = Godlike usefulness!
Since Christmas I'm using a Logitech F310. It's a clear improvement in ergonomics and responsiveness, and the buttons have the letters and colors of corresponding Xbox controller buttons - quite nice as games tend to go with these.
The PS3 one is incredibly fiddly and requires a bluetooth adapter. Probably not worth it.
Give him the official one. The off-brand one isn't that bad, is it?
It's not really that. It's just...
First, he's 9 years old, so I'm not sure he'd care.
Second, he and his older brother are not nice to their stuff. For example, my brother-in-law has said that they have already broken more than one Wii Nunchuk by dropping them hard on the new hardwood flooring that their family has had for only about a year. They also leave several bare game CDs laying about outside their cases right next to where the boxes for said games are. Also, their parents had a Majora's Mask strategy guide, and I once did quite a lot of research to figure out what was the best Ocarina of Time guide to buy for the kids--but I've been told that either through negligence or just being mean to their stuff, both strategy guides have basically been ruined/torn up.
I take care of my video game/electronics stuff. I always have taken care of my video game/electronics stuff. I'm not sure I want to give them the nicer brand new one only to learn about it getting broken.
Plus, I'm a bit selfish and the first-party controller really does feel more comfortable.
[EDIT:] Why didn't I just buy a new off-brand controller for them? Because, at least at Amazon, the pricing for either is about the same. Also, if I were to buy it from GameStop, there is the option to buy a previously-owned controller from them (I'm not going to buy a used controller online). The difference here is that I know who the previous owner was (ie. me) and so I know it has been well taken care of. The reason why I bought the off-brand controller for myself in the first place was because I got a $20 gift card to GameStop as a birthday present last year, and I knew I needed a controller for my PC at the time.
I'm sorry, are you actually asking whether you should buy a new off-brand controller for your Nephew? You've phrased that paragraph slightly awkwardly. And I should know about phrasing stuff awkwardly, I'm the video reviewer guy.
Which comes bundled in the package if it's the wireless controller "for Windows" version.
I'm not asking if I should buy one. I'm justifying the lack of buying one in case someone wonders why I didn't.