Thrustmaster Firestorm Digital Gamepad

Rating:
Summary: Versatile...
Review: As is the case with the majority of today's high-end gamepads, the Firestorm is a two-handed boomerang-shaped rig with thick handles that droop down from either end. It is very comfortable, with a chunky stature that fits perfectly in your hands, a thin rubber coating for extra cushiness, and sensibly arranged controls that keep everything directly beneath your fingers. With two force feedback motors, the unit certainly weighs more than its non-force feedback sibling, the Firestorm Dual Analog Gamepad, yet Thrustmaster has positioned those motors inside each handle and thus created a perfectly balanced unit. And because several of the controls are either camouflaged or hidden from view, the Firestorm looks far less gaudy than most of its competitors.

Sporting four action buttons and a miniature analog stick on the right, an eight-way digital directional pad and another analog stick on the left, and one more button in the middle, the topside of the unit alone packs enough controls for most games. But when you consider that the underside houses a total of six more buttons, two for each index finger and one more for each middle finger, the Firestorm really begins to seem like something special. Each thumb-operated rotating stick also serves as an additional button (by pressing down upon it), and that brings the total button count to a spectacular 13, which should be sufficient for virtually any task.

Rating:
Summary: Clumsy
Review: This is a very clumsy controller. Although it comes at a very appetizing price, the quality reflects that low price. The wing controls often get in the way because they are so thick and the buttons don't always respond well because there's too much space between the control board inside and where the buttons are. Got with teh Wingman Gamepad instead, it's a bit more expensive, but the quality is 100x better.

Rating:
Summary: Clumsy
Review: This is a very clumsy controller. Although it comes at a very appetizing price, the quality reflects that low price. The wing controls often get in the way because they are so thick and the buttons don't always respond well because there's too much space between the control board inside and where the buttons are. Got with teh Wingman Gamepad instead, it's a bit more expensive, but the quality is 100x better.