XFX XGear Gamepads

XFX are a brand well known for their Nvidia graphics cards, but with a name in gaming hardware, they're now looking to move into new areas. Behold, then, the XFX XGear Controllers.

The controllers are standard USB gamepads, featuring dual analogue sticks, a standard four-button face arrangement and 4 shoulder triggers. They support macro recording of keypresses, as well as the ever-present 'Turbo' mode, which I don't think has been used since the days of Sonic on the MegaDrive.

The controllers come in both corded and cordless versions, the latter having a USB dongle to connect to, and featuring switches for vibration control and power on the back of the unit (both to save power).

The corded version costs around £9.99, with the cordless at £19.99, with roughly £/$ 1:1 pricing in the States. They're not on the virtual shelves yet, but they will be with your favourite XFX e-tailer in days!

The wireless controller comes with the receiver dongle and four AAs to power it, as well as a manual and CD of drivers. Unfortunately, the CD is a mini one, meaning instant spinning death to slot-loading users.

The front right has a diamond-style configuration. Rather than go for any kind of fancy button design, XFX have kept it simple and gone for a simple 1-8 numbering system. This makes life a lot easier, since games that assign a function to 'Button 1' don't leave you guessing as to whether that's the red one, or the green one, or whatever.

The two triggers are different sizes, unlike PS2 buttons. You can also see here the wireless control buttons.

Rather funkily, the dongle lights up an XFX logo when it's connected - the button on top syncs it with the controller. You can see on the right that the D-pad has rather a lot of play. This will come as something of an oddity to those used to the small amount of travel in the PS2 Dual-Shock pad.