Great mid-level pad

PC controllers are fairly expensive, and you're not always sure what you're going to get -- there are so many of them, and they all seem so similar. The Gravis Gamepad Pro USB is an excellent no-frills pad that will please any basic gamer.

The controller has a Playstation sort of layout, without the dual analog sticks. The D-pad is on the left (with a screwhole in the center for the removable, and fully useless, joystick). A select and start button are in the middle, and four thumb buttons arranged in a standard layout. The rear of the controller has four shoulder buttons. In total, there are ten buttons (aside from the D-pad) -- enough for the majority of games. Buttons press easily and quietly, but "click" enough to let your fingers register the impact. And the D-pad has a decent throw to it, so those fighting quarter-circle moves will feel right. The controller itself is light, and very similar to the PSX "handlebar" layout. I'm admittedly not fond of this style, since I've always felt the handlebars were too small to serve any good use (I like the bulkier Dreamcast/XBox style pads... go figure), but it works fine here. The triggers, especially, are well-placed, and you should have no trouble landing them when needed.

The pad is particularly ideal for emulation (naughty naughty). I have found it compatible with all my emulator programs, including MAME, WinGens, and SNES9x. It has enough buttons to handle any games I've come across, and can be configured to behave like the proper controllers for each of the major systems/arcade games.

The pad is less usefull for more modern games that probably require analog support. Most 3-D games require something more than basic 8-way movement and on/off buttons. But the USB capabilities make it easy to switch between different controllers for different games (especially if you have a front-mounted port, like my computer -- great idea).

There is optional software included. At the present, this software only works on operating systems through Win98. My computer running XP was unable to run this software, but a compatible version will be available from the Gravis homepage for those who want it. Currently, the beta version can be obtained. This software allows you to record macros to various buttons (i.e. program sequences of keys and buttons to individual buttons), which may be useful to some gamers (although I think it's cheating, and probably not terribly useful).

This pad has all the features I wanted in a very cheap package. I was looking for something I could use for emulation, and this fits the bill wonderfully. I had previously been using the standard Gravis Gamepad (D-pad, four buttons). This is a great improvement, owing to the extra buttons (a must for SNES or arcade games), USB port, and better button design (the buttons on the old pad were recessed, making it very very difficult to hit two or more buttons simultaneously -- a no-no in action games).

A solid and worthwhile purchase for the emulation enthusiast.