PS2/PS3/PC Run N Drive 3-in-1 Rumble Force 7-Axis Gamepad

by Thrustmaster

Product Features

• Ultra precise control. Use the optical wheel to steer in racing games, act as rudder in flight sims, to strike the ball in ball games, lock on to enemy targets in sniper games and much more
• 90° rotation angle (mini sticks only have = 40°) &which is conveniently located on the D Pad for easy access
• All buttons, mini-stick directions and D-Pad directions can be reassigned to players¿ specifications
• 2 progressive & programmable Triggers which are 4mm deep which is x 4 deeper than standard buttons (EXCLUSIVE TO Thrustmaster)
• Perfectly balanced, simultaneous and independent braking & acceleration, ultra-precise zoom for sniper

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000Q4UJ74
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 8 x 3 inches ; 9.6 ounces
• Media: Electronics
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,942 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #62 in Video Games > PC Games > PC Game Hardware > Controllers > Gamepads

Product Description

Thrustmaster Run N Drive 3-in-1 Rumble Force 7-Axis Gamepad for PS2/PS3/PC. Groundbreaking Controller with "7 PROGRESSIVE AXES." This unique product has no competition in the market. Players take control and gain competitive advantage in all gaming genres. Optical Wheel with Self Centring System. Ultra precise control. Use the optical wheel to steer in racing games, act as rudder in flight sims, to strike the ball in ball games, lock on to an enemy target in sniper games and much more! 90° rotation angle (mini sticks only have = 40°) which is conveniently located on the D Pad for easy access. Automatic Centring System. Unique Fully Programmable Buttons. All buttons, mini-stick directions and D-Pad directions can be reassigned to players¿ specifications. Dual Trigger features 2 progressive & programmable triggers 4mm deep which is 4X deeper than standard buttons (EXCLUSIVE to Thrustmaster). Perfectly balanced, simultaneous and independent braking & acceleration, ultra-precise zoom for sniper. 3 in 1 Controller, use for 3 different gaming devices: PC + PlayStation®2 + PlayStation®3. On Playstation®3 does not feature a motion sensor and only supports ¿Playstation®3¿ games (not PS2 games played on P3). Unique mapping, preset functions. Map and save 2 types of controller configuration on the Internal Memory (settings stored even when pad is switched off). Designed For maximum comfort even during lengthy bouts of game play and convenient access to all functions buttons. 2 vibration motors. Vibration on Playstation 2 Only. Internal Memory (Unique for all platforms). Saves your programs even when unplugged.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas, bad implementation, February 25, 2008

By 

Eaes (NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PS2/PS3/PC Run N Drive 3-in-1 Rumble Force 7-Axis Gamepad (Electronics)

If you are buying this for PC, you may beware as the other two reviews seem to suggest it doesn't work. However, it's not a problem with USB functionality, as it works perfectly with the PS3.

I bought this because I primarily play shooters, which have an option to either invert the y-axis (so that down looks up and up looks down) or not. My friends are split about fifty fifty on which they use. So having a controller which could switch between the two configurations at the press of a button seemed an ideal solution. Well, it's not.

One of the major downfalls of the controller (which cost it at least a star) is that it's not wireless. The cord is conveniently whited out in the product picture, which is very misleading. Of course, it doesn't say anywhere on the product description that it's wireless, but as I have a few other controllers with a USB wireless dongle, I just assumed. My mistake. Not a big deal since I have a USB extension cord. The cord with the controller is around 6 ft by itself, and that's too close for comfort for me. I prefer wireless and I really think, at the price I bought it, it should be.

The second downfall is that there are not 2 programmable modes as the description says. There is ONE programmable mode for each setting (4 axes mode used with PS3, 5 axes and 7 axes which can only be used with PC) What this means is you cannot program 2 different modes and switch between them at will while playing a game on PS3. You can switch between your SINGLE programmed mode, and the default mode. Now, this would be okay, except for the triggers.

The two programmable triggers are placed where the R2/L2 buttons are on the official gamepad, and those two buttons are moved to the back of the gamepad. This would be fine, except that, by default, the triggers do not function as R2/L2 but as Up on the right analog and Down on the right analog. What this means is, in default mode, you have to use the back of the gamepad for R2/L2. If you've been playing with the playstation model controller for years, it takes some getting used to. If the shooter doesn't use R2/L2 for much, it'll probably be okay. But some use those as the actual gun trigger/grenades/etc., and it's a lot simpler to have the action in a reflexive position. I don't know why they didn't make them emulate R2/L2 by default. That's just shortsighted. I guess it was to help with vehicle control, but it would've been smarter to let people program that in, and leave the default as the original control scheme.

Other than that, it functions great. The Optical wheel is MUCH more precise than an analog or mini-stick. It's really great for zooming in, or for precise steering. Being fully programmable is also fairly awesome. I'll probably just write down set-ups for every game so I can quickly switch between them. The programming itself is a breeze. You press preset button, press the mapping button, press the button you want to move, and then press the button you want to use. Done. The triggers are also much more precise than the originals, so throttling and braking is much smoother and more controlled. I'm pretty happy with it, all in all, but being wired and badly preprogrammed took some points off.

Should probably check the tags for this product and make sure there are no "wireless controller" or "ps3 wireless controller" tags, as I'm pretty sure that's what I searched when I got this, and it certainly isn't wireless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars P.O.S., January 15, 2010

By 

Joseph T. Rogers "daboyz1208" (Lewisberry, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: PS2/PS3/PC Run N Drive 3-in-1 Rumble Force 7-Axis Gamepad (Electronics)

This Thrustmaster Run'N'Drive Wireless 3 in 1 is the biggest Piece of S___ that I have ever used on the PS3 or the PC. The first time that I used it BOTH thumb controller pads came off during game play. I super glued them back on and that lasted for about 3 days. They continue to come off even after repeated gluing. Also, the force feedback never worked on any game. I will pay extra for the Sony controllers from now on.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly adequate, October 29, 2009

By 

Tom Hansen "Tom" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PS2/PS3/PC Run N Drive 3-in-1 Rumble Force 7-Axis Gamepad (Electronics)

My PC has no problems recognizing this gamepad and works fine from XP. I've mostly used this with motorcycle racing games (motogp and sbk). The game MotoGP 08 has poorly implemented controller input and so I had to rely on this gamepads remap ability to get the just the setup I wanted. Originally I didn't care about this but it saved the day but just barely. Note that the remapping only really lets you swap two inputs rather than make arbitrary or multiple assignments of axes to input. Still it was enough to make up for a bad game. The biggest downside are the joystick caps quickly worked loose and fell off and also cracked. The stem of the joystick is a smooth metal shaft with plastic cap friction fitted. They should have serrated or burred the metal and used epoxy to fasten the cap. You may want to do this yourself when you first get this rather than wait for them to wallow and develop play in the fitting. The joysticks and indeed all the other buttons seem sturdy otherwise.
The resolution of the analog controls seems lacking. Using the Windows game controller calibration tool, shows the analog triggers and left wheel to clearly move in discrete steps rather than continuous motion. My suspicion is that the potentiometers used in this device are low grade. I've adjusted to this but if you need the highest level of precision this might not suit you. It seems like the designers intended this to be used with button mashing rather than smooth subtle movements. And other than the joystick cap falling off this gamepad serves that purpose.

Pro:
input remapping useful if your software has limitations with controllers
wheel is excellent for steering if a bit limited in physical range

Con:
faulty joystick caps fall off or break
analog resolution and precision questionable but usable