Home :: Computers :: Components :: Game Hardware  

Gamepads
Joysticks
Steering Wheels
Microsoft Sidewinder Plug and Play Gamepad (USB)

Microsoft Sidewinder Plug and Play Gamepad (USB)

List Price: $14.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Liars!!!
Review: DON'T BELIEVE in the 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars reviews! This gamepad is one of the worst ever! Even Atari's could be better.

Why? Why would you buy a gamepad that has a D-pad that DOESN'T work and ONLY 4 buttons?

DO NOT BUY IT! AND I MEAN IT!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back
Review: Go to Best Buy or some other electronics store and feel this gamepad in your hands - it's the best review you could ever get.

PROS-

- still the best feeling pad in the industry - for many full-sized Americans, this gamepad is heaven on your hands.

- USB (Win98, ME, or 2000 required)

- NO SOFTWARE REQUIRED. You plug this bad boy in, and its ready to go. No downloading updates, no installation wait, no conflicts with other software, guaranteed to work with any game that supports a gamepad.

CONS-

- 4 buttons and 2 triggers. That's it, and its not a lot. If you plan on playing console ports, especially playstation games, you will need to use the keyboard as well. Know what games you will use it with beforehand, and what their requirements are.

- the stiffest D-pad I've ever used. My thumb gets tired after 2 hours. (maybe that's a good thing :) Some people report that buttons stick, but that is a one-time fluke, from what I've seen

- because of the 2 reasons above, not a good reason to trade in your original Sidewinder. In fact, I would recommend getting the original sidewinder instead of this one, if you can find it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great D-pad
Review: I bought this along with the basic Logitech Precision game pad, a more feature-rich Logitech RumblePad, and a Saitek P150. The basic Logitech unit and the P150 were the cheapest, while this Sidewinder P&P and the RumblePad (with rebate) were the same price.

I was hoping to like the Logitech RumblePad the most, since it was the best deal. It had the most buttons plus 2 analog joysticks, and, of course, the force feedback. But its buttons were definitely inferior to the Saitek and MS P&P. Also, the D-pad wasn't the best either.

The Saitek P150 was nice, with the D-pad that also takes a stick. It also has 6 buttons + 2 triggers. But its D-pad was also inferior to the MS P&P's. The buttons were better than Logitech's, but not as nice as MS's P&P.

In the end, I kept the MS P&P because of the superior D-pad and buttons, albeit it needs more. Who knows, I'll probably regret it when I get a game that needs more buttons, but for now, I'll go with the gamepad that gave me the best scores. YMMV.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: From Good To Bad
Review: I bought this controller with high hopes it would solve some of my PC gaming problems. I was looking for an inexpensive, reliable gaming device to use with my racing games. I know I probably would have been better off buying a racing wheel setup in the first place, and now it looks as if I am going to have to. When I first plugged it in, it worked great. I'm used to this type of controller with racing games, so that didn't bother me. However, it did not want to run with my new NASCAR Racing 4 game, no matter what I tried. I couldn't get it to to work with Tomb Raider either, but I figured it wasn't the best controller out there for [theprice]. I was satisfied with it until the day it quit working. I don't know if I dropped it, or if it has a self-destruct mechanism that goes off after 6 months of being used. My PC won't detect it, and I know my USB ports are working. All in all, this is a good controller when it is working. The controls are smooth, and the set up is real easy, ... .

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Microsoft just got worse....
Review: I hate the stupid piece of junk.... when I play Tetris, I try and hit left, and the piece shoots down, on Fighting games, I CAN'T JUMP! And when I do, it always jumps forward... I like my Gravis better, by far

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Better than their Gamepad Pro, worse than the original
Review: I have mixed feelings regarding this controller. To Microsoft's credit, it is better (and cheaper!) than the SideWinder Game Pad Pro USB (which looks cheap and has an awful D-pad), however they haven't recaptured the magic from the original MS Gamepad. I'd really like to see the orignal MS gamepad with a USB connector -- is that too much to ask?

The feel isn't too bad, but as a personal preference, I do *not* like the D-pad orientation. It's slightly rotated to the right, whereas the original Gamepad has the D-pad's UP position facing directly up rather than rotated.

Also -- this Gamepad has only *4* buttons (see the picture of it above, it reminds me of a PlayStation controller), not 6 like the orignal Gamepad or the Gamepad pro USB.

This Gamepad truly is plug-and-play if you're using Windows 98 or Windows 2000, since the drivers are pre-loaded on those operating systems. You simply plug it in and it works; just open the "Game Controllers" Control Panel and make sure your system sees it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as bad as some say
Review: I just recently bought this controller with my Gravis Destroyer Tilt controller for my computer. While this controller isn't as good as it could be it is still a great buy especially at it's price for what it is. Installtion is a breeze as most Plug&Play hardware is. It definitely can get the job done and has a nice, smooth feel and respone when using it but the reaction you expect from the controller is a bit iffy.

The main problem witht eh controller is it's design. Boomerang shaped much likes it's predecessor this is also horizontally angled. This mean the positioning of the D-Pad and the Buttons are off creating certain probems. Another is how microsoft programmed the triggers, while they do work properly MOST of the time as many have stated, it does go the wrong way when you want to go left. Also another problem I had found is that the 6 buttons were set up differently than most gamepads (not physically but through the wiring).

All in all though it is a good controller for it's price and will get the job done if you don'y plan on hardcore, regular gaming with it. And it is defientely not as bad as many say, although it still is a bit on the iffy side of the gampad fence. I now will list what I found as pros and cons to this gamepad:

Pros:
Easy Installation (Plug&Play)
Smooth controls

Cons:
Angling of gamepad can throw you off
D-Pad doesn't like to listen to the master
strange wiring for buttons

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An item for a gamer that is bored of the keyboard.
Review: I was impressed when I plugged the GamePad USB into my computer. It proved not only to be versatile but it also proved to be impressive with it's broad capability with games aswell as some software. If it allows a reprogramming of the keys it will work with this controller.

The downside to this, is that the controller only has 6 buttons. But for most games or software preferences you have, that is all you'll need.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: JUNK
Review: Not only was this gamepad unresponsive, it actually had a mind of its own at times (would sometimes make wild moves when the directional pad was pressed "up" or "down"). Made game play so frustrating, I took a pair of scissors and cut the cord.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: sooo sad, such a hi-tech looking controller...
Review: Okay, it looks pretty.. and the bottons are all glossy.. and it's really really easy to install (just plug it in). but, UMMM.. the buttons get stuck! Mario ran off the cliff about 5 times without me even doing anything! and the running button wouldn't get unstuck when i pressed other buttons, so all i could do is watch Mario commit suicide, which made me very upset. Also, the directional pad is extremely difficult to use, and for some reason, the down button keeps getting pressed when i try to go forward. In other words, i'm returning this controller tomorrow morning. =)


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates