Game pad for games?

Hey all

I have been thinking about getting the Microsoft Xbox 360 wired game pad for my computer as I havent got any and some games I have and plan to get would play better with one.

My question is, is it worth paying extra for it (I do have a 360 as well so it could be a back up for that) and are there any better models out there for near the same price or cheaper? Does the gamepad work with all recent games or are there some problems with some models?

Thanks

That depends what kind of games you're playing. Most FPS games are better with a keyboard and mouse, as it is much easier to aim with a mouse.

If you do end up buying the 360 controller, visit: http://www.switchbladegaming.com.

Copied from their site: "SwitchBlade™ Pro maps all the functions of a mouse and keyboard to your controller and provides THE console gaming experience for the gamer looking for a new way to play the most popular online PC games."

Basically they just provide pre-mapped control layouts for alot of popular games.

From my experience, getting most PC games to work correctly with a gamepad is just a huge headache and not worth the time.

A lot of games do have gamepad support (which tends to be iffy and sometimes not even completely supported)...but far more don't. Fiddling around with keyboard mapping software never seems to ever quite work out well either.

The new "games for windows" games offer easy support with a 360 controller... but from what I've heard, it's not perfect.

Your best bet would be to buy a new comfortable keyboard and gaming mouse. No fiddling around required. Install your game and it's ready to play.

It's nice to have a gamepad of course, for racers and platfromers. So... as long as you don't expect too much (like getting the controller to work nicely in COD4 or something)... then get it.

Well if you have a 360 just buy the wireless windows receiver for your pc. And then you can connect the controller you have already to your home pc.

Xbox360 controller is currently the best controller for the pc. It works almost flawlessly with 360 ports. One example is DMC4. The game plays exactly the same as the 360 version. The rumble works and it's responsive. And you don't have to mess around with button configurations as it uses the xbox 360 console button mapping. For beat up games, and driving games you need a controller and the 360 controller is the one to go for 100%.

I know what you mean with some games but games like GTR can not be played I feel with my keyboard as it needs the ability to have pressure buttons so you can lightly accelerate, steer a bit or full lock etc rather than your wheel is right/left/straight and thats it, nothing inbetween for moving accross the track or slight corners etc. For other games I agree Keyboard and Mouse is best.

I looked into the wireless reciever but for 2 pounds ($3 US) more I could get a new pad, which would mean a back up for the 360 which can also be used on the 360?