Kensington/Gravis Gamepad Pro (USB) - 42111

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 2.5 x 6.8 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K4TQ
• Item model number: G42111
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  #3 in	Video Games > Mac Games > Hardware > Controllers > Gamepads
  #42 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Game Hardware > Controllers > Gamepads

• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 18, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The USB version of Gravis's GamePad Pro makes for an extremely simple setup--in Windows 98, all you need to do is plug it in and start playing. Mac setup is almost as simple and involves an additional software installation with the provided software.

The GamePad Pro's long 8-foot connecting cable gives you plenty of room to take a step or two back from your PC while gaming. The gamepad also features hot swapping so you can plug and unplug various USB peripherals without having to reboot or turn off your machine. In Windows 98, the gamepad uses the driver for an "HID Compliant Game Controller," so you can start playing right after installation, without having to calibrate the pad. Upon installation, you can also immediately access the Test area of the Game Controllers function to make sure the gamepad is connected properly.

The GamePad Pro's basic layout should be familiar to anyone who's ever played a console game (in fact, it closely resembles the standard PlayStation controller). It has a thumb-controlled directional pad on the left for movement, four action buttons on the right, and four flipper buttons on the top of the pad to handle additional game controls. If you're one of those folks who'd rather manage movement with a stick, the GamePad Pro also features an attachable joystick that screws into the middle of the D-pad. However, the pad can feel a bit small for users with sizable hands.

The GamePad Pro works well for sports games (it was perfect for NFL Blitz 2000) and action games, but is limited by the number of buttons for more involved games, such as first-person shooters.

In addition to quick installation, the GamePad Pro also boasts a nice sticker price. If you're looking for an easy-to-use gamepad to handle basic controls in your games, the GamePad Pro should do the trick. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• Easy to set up and use
• Nicely priced

Cons:

• A little small for larger hands
• Very basic

Product Description

The games today pose much more of a challenge and that's where the excitement lies. Be prepared for this challenge with the highly functional and easy to manipulate GamePad Pro USB. With the GamePad Pro USB, you get a quick setup and then you're ready for endless hours of play. The buttons and dials are so strategically placed that you'll never have to think about them. The great thing about USB technology is that you get instant Plug & Play action because no configuration is needed! A button for every occasion is standard with the GamePad Pro USB. There are 10 action buttons in all - 4 primary, 4 flippers, start, and select. There is even a digital directional pad with a detachable joystick handle. The whole device is 100 percent digital so you get the quickest and most accurate response.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product, December 7, 1999

By	A. Alkins - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before I commend Gravis, I must thank sony for making such a great playstation controller. And thank you gravis for making the same controller for the pc. Although the controller is small, it fits perfectly in my hand. The is an 8 Axis control pad on the left, select and start buttons in the middle and 4 buttons on the right. At the top there are 4 more button. Another great thing about the controller is that the buttons are not mushy. You can press the easily not like the real playstation controller. The manual has instructions and troubleshooting techniques for installing in different languages. The keyset program, Xperience is bundled on the CD with documentation for that software on the CD. Although a little tricky to program, the keyset software works great. So if you have a playstation or you play alot of playstation games and you need a pad for the PC, this is definitaly for you. For everyone else, its a great cost effective pad. Also, some games like Fifa 2000 would us the same button setup like on the playstation if you use this pad.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great controller (Mac user), April 13, 2000

By	"aquinaswi" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

The Gamepad Pro works smoothly with the Macintosh, and is a breeze to set up and configure with games. Anyone familiar with the Playstation controller will be perfectly comfortable with this one. For sports games like Madden 2000, it's a must. And certainly it goes hand in hand with the Playstation emulator Virtual Game Station. It's design is sturdy and the software is seamless. And for its price, you really can't go wrong.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tolerable, unspectacular PlayStation work-alike, August 20, 2000

By	Chris Adamson "invalidname" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With a form-factor nearly identical to the original PlayStation controllers (but minus the analog sticks of the "Dual Shock" controller), this controller's obvious benefit is to owners of "Connectix Virtual Game Station", the PlayStaiton-on-Macintosh emulator. It's also handy for arcade-y titles and MacMAME, the emulator of classic arcade video games.

The one place Gravis makes a change is very much for the worse -- the four separate directional buttons are replaced by a single pivoting directional-pad. As too often happens with designs like this, the D-pad pushes two switches at once, and ALWAYS comes through as a diagonal (eg, right + up, when you thought you were just pushing right). The frequent inability to enter a true right, left, up, or down is annoying in some games, particularly in navigating the menus of an RPG, and deadly in others (PSX "Asteroids" is unplayable when rotating your ship sometimes inadvertantly puts you into hyperspace, since that's what "up" does).

Also of note is the fact that this controller works only with games written to use Apple's "InputSprockets". That's true of most late 90's / early 2000's games, but not of some earlier titles ("Descent", which used to be bundled with Mac Performas, comes to mind), and it's not clear if Sprockets will be supported in the upcoming Mac OS X.

That said, driver installation is easy and has been hassle-free on my two iMacs and my iBook. USB plug-and-play almost always works without a snap, though I've found it's better to plug it in once the Finder is up instead of during the boot cycle.

If you play lots of Mac games (and by the way... HOW?!), this is better than relying on mouse/keyboard alone, but the D-pad problems are a major aggrivation.