Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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

This controller works ok, the throw on the triggers is still to short and not adjustable to make delicate throttle and brake adjustments during driving, the triggers might as well be digital. The little thumb wheel once calibrated was ok. I can't recommend. No where as good as the UltraRacer for the PS1. Playstation UltraRacer Handheld Controller

Pros:
** it comes with a small disc for drivers for the pc (site has new ones for 11/2008)
** it works with vista (NFS Most Watned)
** it worked for the ps2 w/burnout dominate
** can be mapped using xpadder for flash games that use the keyboard only
** optical controller has normal & high sensitivity & nice to see car move like real rather then jerky joystick movements

Cons
** didn't work/no led on ps2 until plugged it into pc (though didn't have to install drivers
** even with my small hands, I felt a bit of a cramping pretty fast, using the optical hurt even after only a few minutes
** 4 buttons on the right are hard plastic & make a loud clicking noise
** joysticks feel spongy & not precise
** optical is way too tight, so spring-loaded, you can use it as a high velocity sling shot
** VERY poor placement of optical control, you can't use the trigger/shoulder buttons with their nice soft feel & ability to use like real pedals
** on the pc, the trigger/shoulder buttons only act like up/down axis, not buttons
** tabs on optical feel weird way to control better mod on youtube: youtube com/ watch?v=p_hRUvs8Y0M
** even w/o drivers installed, will conflict with a simple taito 80s/90s game collection on cd & the game will not load that works flawlessly with logitech gamepad, etc.

test:
using xpadder, I spontaneously tested it & played the new 3d mall cop movie flash game on shockwave. I used the optical to drive, but soon dropped that to use the joystick. I couldn't drive straight, getting trapped by benches, hitting walls & couldn't fix/turn myself w/o horrendous effort & hitting people like as if there was a magnet to them, though the stick was better. just for kicks, I used a cheap logitech dual action (no rumble) controller. holy ... it was like going from a b&w 13" tv to a 52" hdtv. I had no problem turning corners, driving straight & racing around people & benches was a breeze. my score went up more then 60% in one game by switching & then I actually found the game an amusing diversion rather then frustration finally.
I also tested this on NFS most wanted - the difference wasn't as dramatic, but it was the still the same results.

another extensive review: digitalversus. com/article-476-3747-125. html
Videos: 7 on youtube under "Thrustmaster Run n Drive"

I had bought this hoping to save space rather then buying a wheel & pedals. I think they just needed to make it bigger & less springy with either no joysticks or better ones. I finally returned this after buying the thrustmaster 5-in-1 wheel since even the box is 30-40% smaller then other wheels. crossing fingers on this, so far works MUCH better, even the gamepad/buttons in the wheel work better.

I didn't have much fun with this controller for several reasons. 1)It's small and accommodating my big hands into this controller is just impossible. 2)Some of the capabilities of the controller is just too difficult to use. 3)The D-pad and the analogs are hard to adjust to. In some games, they are too sensitive, while non-responsive with my other games. Recommend getting the controllers offered by Alienware.

Thumb joysticks weak. crack and keep falling off.



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

I bought this gamepad to use with Madden'08 for PC, but EA's software doesn't recognize the right stick, which you need for kicking, etc. I like the physical configuration of the buttons, and can see how awesome it would be IF IT WORKED with the game--very frustrating. Despite the flexibility with configuration that Thrustmaster provides, there is no way (that I've been able to find) to redefine the right stick to work with this game. Perhaps EA will make the '09 version compatible, because they have coordinated with Thrustmaster in the past. On the other hand, EA doesn't tend to fix software problems very quickly... I'd love to know from other folks which games DO work well with this controller on a PC.

THIS CONTROLLER DID NOT WORK WITH MY COMPUTER. MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MY FAULT. IT JUST WOULD NOT WORK.