Customer Reviews

Saitek PP34 Cyborg Rumble Pad for use with PC or Xbox 360 Game Console

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

 

 

Out of the box, this controller feels really smooth. It's not hard and textured like the actual 360 controllers.

It's a really smoothed out controller. It's shape is different from the original 360 controllers because it seems to be less bent in. Which kinda makes it more ideal for big hands.

The buttons, bumpers, and triggers all work well, just as well as the 360 controllers. Though the buttons will sometimes seem really loud, especially when I'm sitting here just pressing them for fun. During a game, it will be less noticeable.

One good thing about this is the D-Pad is much better! They feel like a Microsoft controller but more defined and pushable, you can press the diagonal buttons, and will be my main controller for when playing Street Fighter IV.

The coolest feature of all that everyone is amazed by is literally the cyborg module which allows the user to flip between the xbox layout or the playstation layout of the left hand. I found FPS games should use the original xbox controller. But when playing games such as Geometry Wars or Bomberman Arcade, flipping is better.

The controller is technically an Xbox 360 controller, which happens to come with drivers to make it and only it run on Windows. This means that Playstation 3 will not be able to use this controller as a generic controller. Neither can a Mac unless you edit the tattiebogle drivers.


Here are my downsides to it:

The analog sticks are not the best. They do fine when they're just being used to maneuver. The issue comes when using them as buttons. One of the first difficulties is that you cannot simply push down on the button while pointing in a direction. This was problematic when first playing CoD4 and not being able to run. However, I figured out that the key to using this was to push it down perpendicular to the position of the thumb. This means if you're pointing the stick up and you need to run, you'll need to push it down at an angle towards the down direction. This is because if you hold down on the joystick button and then push it to the maximums of the stick, the button will become "unpressed". So when you are running in CoD4 and need to push down the button, you'll have to pull it back a little bit. It takes a while to get used to.

One minor problem is that the cyborg module could sometimes not be pushed it all the way. Which causes the buttons to become unresponsive. Saitek did add two LED lights to indicate if you're securely in or not, which will let you know if you initially pushed it in far enoguh. Otherwise, the remedy is to just push the module in more and it should work fine. An annoying part of the module sometimes is the ability to rapidly change in game without any issue. However, when the module is removed, it will treat the analog stick as going towards the bottom left. This may bug some people, even though it usually only lasts a second for you to reverse the module and stick it back in tightly.

So overall, it's a great controller if you can handle the oddity of the analog sticks. The feel, the size, and the cyborg module is great enough that it makes the gamepad worth it. The cable is also really long and should not be a problem unless you have an issue with cables.

--EDIT--

After using the software, I've concluded that it is really indeed difficult to use and completely a turn-off. I suggest using software such as XPadder or Pinnacle Game Profiler if you plan on mapping any buttons.

The analog sticks are also grooved in a style similar to the original xbox. With the right analog stick having a smaller groove than the left one, this is of course subjective as some people may like it. It bugged me when playing Geometry Wars as the two analog sticks felt different. So if I could edit the rating, I may put it down to a 4.

I bought the FPS pad when I should have bought this instead. This pad's cable has the extra length, works with most games without addition configuration. Compatible with xbox 360 right out the box. I've tested it with xbox 360, Assassin's Creed (PC), Prototype (PC) and Tomb Raider Legends (PC). It's worked flawlessly. I've also used the Saitek software to play counter-strike and Panya! Golf.

If you're a PC game using 3rd party software to use you're 360 with unsupported PC games, this pad solves most of those problems. Some PC games are just more fun with a pad. This pad can be used for any PC/xbox game. If the PC games doesn't support gamepads, just use the saitek profiler software. It's stable on my vista 32-bit sp2 (and no sp before that), 4gb memory (2 before that) system.

The product works exactly as described, and functions well. It is built sturdily and the rubberized gripping is comfortable. The control sticks are a bit wonky, however. They feel stiff and are hard to press down.

I've got two of these controllers and they work great, as-advertised. My only complaints are about tactile feel: the analog sticks are in a square-shaped frame cutout rather than circular like the Microsoft Xbox 360 controllers, which can lead to an odd, clunky, feel in some games rather than a smooth circular motion. Feel-wise, there is more tactile directional feedback in the analog stick than the digital pad, which is reversed from what I would personally prefer.

The Cyborg feature is great, flipping the d-pad and analog stick positions back and forth.

My other complaints are more about Windows than this controller itself... I can't fault Saitek for that.

The controller has a nice feel to it. I'm not sure what the plastic is but its smooth and soft,(doesn't feel "plasticy") feels real nice and well made. The buttons are a little bit smaller than the 360 controller and have more of a flat surface where as the 360 controller's buttons have a more rounded surface. The buttons and triggers have a nice responsive feel to them and are not mushy at all. The ability to switch around the dpad sold me on this controller. It's easy to do and works nice for FPS and fighters.

Now the not so great things.

The 360 controller has more curves to it, this controller is bulkier and more box-like. The analog sticks require more strength to push in and when your playing a game like Lost Planet, you need to click the right analog stick in the direction your running in to roll. It seems to "unclick" unless you press it while it's neutral, hope that makes sense. My biggest annoyance with this controller is the dpad..holy crap is it annoying in street fighter. The dpad has more room around it making it feel more responsive than the 360 controller. However, the plastic that it's made of it really smooth while the surface has a huge dip in it and it requires more force to move. This is bad! There's no grip on the dpad and it's harder to move (think of trying to play with a dpad that has Vaseline on it)I even have trouble jumping. I've always been good with the 360's dpad so I went back to using my 360 wired controller. The mic port at the bottom of the controller is incomplete so your 360 mic will not work. What the hell Saitek?

I do not recommend this controller, the dpad and analog problems are too much for me to be satisfied.

After waiting for 6 weeks (ordered for Christmas), I finally received my Cyborg Rumble Pad for PC/XBOX 360 the third week of February. What a disappointment. After working for 6 hours, I could not get the drivers to install on my Windows XP system. Every attempt ends with the plug-n-play message "Found New Hardware - A problem occured during hardware installation. Your new hardware might not function properly." Never a truer word has been spoken.

[.........]

By the way, plug-n-play was effortless on Vista. Don't buy this for XP. I don't have any games on my Vista system, so I still have never used this device.

I only give this 1 star because the review submission will not allow me to give it the zero stars that it deserves.

don't buy it.

i was so happy when I found this since I really just wanted to reverse the d-pad position on my 360 controller. (I prefer the PS3 controller best) (I have both the Xbox 360 and a PS3).

this saitek controller is poorly produced. the analog sticks get stuck in place, the d-pad doesn't work half the time unless you press really hard and it gets stuck sometimes too, so for example when you press up... it keeps going up until you unstick the button.

I had bought a saitek keyboard a while ago that was awful too. I should have known better then to bother with a saitek product. Oh well :-/

The only good thing about the controller is the textured surface is easier to hold... its not slippery but the shape is a little weird to... its almost a little boxy.

oh and it is a *wired* controller, just to be clear.

save your money and don't buy this controller. it doesn't work right anyway.