Thursday, January 27, 2011

Frisby Dual-Shock PC Gamepad



Today I'm going to review the Frisby Dual-Shock PC USB Gamepad. Anyone who is into emulated games (i.e. NES, SNES, Genesis, etc) probably knows that most PC gamepads today don't have a d-pad that's worth a crap. Most d-pads today are analog instead of digital and/or have poor direction separation. The Frisby Dual-Shock PC USB Gamepad, however, is one of the few that does it right. The directional buttons on this gamepad are separate digital buttons. There's no more struggling with trying to pull off special moves in games like Mortal Kombat or Street fighter 2.

Though this pad is almost perfect, there are a few problems. First, the buttons, especially the dpad are a bit stiff. This isn't a bad thing compared to almost all other PC gamepads in existence and can easily be gotten used to. Also, the buttons in general are a bit sharp and square. As for the final problem: The driver CD (only needed for rumble effects) that came with my unit seems to be a blank rewritable DVD. I was unable to find drivers on the company's site either. I'm not sure if they are there or not since the site is in Turkish.

Good:
- d-pad with separate directional buttons
- cord isn't too long

Bad:
- Doesn't feel as good as a PS2 Dual-Shock
- Driver DVD was blank?!

In summary, I would suggest this to anyone who either doesn't have a few actual PS2 dual-shock controllers lying around, or to anyone who doesn't want the 30ft of cable that comes with a PS2 dual-shock + a PS2 to USB adapter.

Anyone else have suggestions for good PC gamepads, especially ones that work well with emulated games?

7 comments:

  1. I might pick that up, good review.

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  2. Looks cool for playing some classic roms on your pc

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  3. ah, i need a good gamepad. (too much time has been spent trying to get my arduino to talk like one.)

    do you think that the "stiffness" will go away with wear? (or did you get it used/etc)

    following,
    balmfooey.blogspot.com

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  4. Might check it out thx for the review

    followed

    blundersfrom6foot2.blogspot.com

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  5. It sounds nice. You know, minus the fact that you were without a driver. But definitely something to check out.

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  6. I lold at the blank driver dvd. Great job on that one.

    Follow: My blog

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  7. thats a nice piece of hardware. followed.

    http://underratedfilms.blogspot.com/

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