PC gamepad

[DarkAmeba]

I recently got my Dad hooked on Call of Duty. This is good except for one thing: he never plays PC FPSs because his left middle finger was cut off when he was a kid. Needless to say, this makes the keyboard/mouse combo a bit difficult for him. He asked me today to recommend a gamepad for him to use for CoD. I'm not a sports gamer, so i've never been intrested in a PC gamepad before. Can someone help me out and recommend a good gamepad for him?

Here's what he wants in his pad: He loves the Xbox controller so he'd prefer something with a similar feel to it. Heres the kicker: he loves halo, and he wants to map the controller so it plays like Halo controls would. CoD does not support gamepads, so this means he'll need keyboard/mouse emulation. Ideally, he would want the mouse movements (view controls) mapped to the right joystick and the "w a s d" keyboard movement controls mapped to the left joystick (Halo controls). I don't know if this is possible, but if someone could recommend a pad that comes close or meets those requirements, it'd be awesome.

 

[ulty]

I don't have an Xbox, or ever play Halo, but I have seen the controllers, what do you think about this one?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=26-127-203&depa=0

or one of these?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=26-127-206&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=26-127-502&depa=0

 

[DarkAmeba]

Those both look like a good xbox-like pad. I'm assuming those are good controllers? I'm llooking around for info in joystick mapping now....,

 

[Shivatron]

Just a word of advice: you get what you pay for, so don't buy a cheapie gamepad. I have one of the lower-end Logitechs, and the thing is a piece of crap. The potentiometers (the variable resistors that detect the motion of the joysticks) are of very poor quality, and the device has the annoying habit of coming uncalibrated during the middle of a game, causing my character to start spinning in one direction uncontrollably.

I have a friend with a force feedback Thrustmaster pad, it seems to be constructed my more solidly. I might have to pick one up myself...

 

[DarkAmeba]

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=590,CONTENTID=5022

I'm thinking this logitech "rumblepad" might just do the trick. You guys think it'll work??

 

[Chronoshock]

Another alternative is to buy a console controller -> usb adaptor. I use the EMS2 USB adaptor for playstation 2/1 controllers (and dance pads for ddr!) and it works great for emulators and the like. I'm not sure if you can map the controls to the controller though as I've only used it for emus where they're designed to take in a controller and stepmania which uses a dance pad that has distinct buttons. I'm aware of gamecube and ps2 controller converters, not sure about xbox controllers though.

 

[ulty]

How about this as a converter...

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-70-252-4-1-71-6m.html

 

[slipONflange]

I don't like to use controllers for FPS but for GTA VC I have this conntroller. I like it because it has the same layout as my PS2 pad. I have had it for 6 months and no probs so far. I did not like how this one felt in my hand in Best Buy, seemed too big.

 

[Chronoshock]

Originally posted by: ulty
How about this as a converter...

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-70-252-4-1-71-6m.html

Some guy mentioned using this for EQ and FFXI (meaning the keys bind to comp games fine) so this should be perfect for the OP's dad

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: DarkAmeba
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=590,CONTENTID=5022

I'm thinking this logitech "rumblepad" might just do the trick. You guys think it'll work??

I use that gamepad and love it although I don't use it for FPS games.

 

[tweeve2002]

you can also mod a Xbox controller to work with a PC....My brother has done three of them, Its really not that hard after the first one. As for getting good drivers that will work, I dont know, I havent used a modded xbox controller in awhile.