(Still) Touched by the hand of Sega (Sega Dreamcast Controller Pad)

Member Name: MR.COATES

Product:	Sega Dreamcast Controller Pad
Date:	29/01/01 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant design, very responsive.

Disadvantages: Lead is a little short.

If you’ve got a Dreamcast there is probably very little that I can tell you about its wonderful controller that you don’t already know.

Of course if you don’t own a Dreamcast yet then the words that follow will without a doubt be of some interest to you.

By the way, now that it's £99 you would really be mad not to get one - forget the 'Dreamcast is finished' rubbish.

Anyway, when you open your Dreamcast box you’ll be greeted by just one controller but that’s a pretty standard thing nowadays. I’m sure that there are plenty of people out there who don’t have ANY friends and NEVER play a multi player game.


Oh, wait a sec, I’ve had a major sarcasm attack!


Multiplayer gaming is becoming the single biggest development in the console gaming world.

OK, there’s nothing new about multiplayer gaming as such but with online console gaming well underway thanks to the Dreamcast things are only going to get bigger in that particular department.

For now though playing games with your friends at home is still a very popular activity (and of course much cheaper by avoiding nasty phone bills!).

This does mean that you’re going to need more controllers and at £19.99 (or less) you may be wondering about paying out for another Dreamcast controller.

Let me put your fears at rest my fellow Dooyoo friend.

If you’ve ever seen one (or own one for that matter) it looks like a bit of an odd affair.
It’s got pistol-like triggers, a small joystick as well as a D-pad (Directional Pad) four action buttons and the usual start button.

To top it all off there’s a hole in the front of it and you can plug extra accessories in to it.

Sounds like a complete mess and something I’ve made up?

Well, I’m afraid not.

When the N64 controller was launched there were fears th
at you could actually use it as a deadly weapon – it was so completely different to any other controller.

It rapidly became a VERY popular controller and even today is a major achievement in innovation to a product which has been around for years.


The Dreamcast controller makes similar advances in development.


The N64 controller allowed you to plug in memory cards in to the controller rather than the machine but the Dreamcast goes one further and allows the insertion of two items - either a memory card, a rumble accessory, a microphone (oh yes!) or even two memory cards.

If you buy the official VMU (Visual Memory Unit) from Sega you will see why there is a hole in the front of the controller – you plug the VMU in and you can see a small LCD (liquid crystal display) screen through the hole.

This lets you see logos and files.
You don’t have to get a VMU, you can get memory cards without the screen for much less but the whole point behind the hole is to be able to see the screen.

On top of this you can plug in a second accessory (such as mentioned above) but for most this will be a rumble pack of some sorts.


Properties:
The whole thing feels very comfortable in the hand with the buttons/stick being placed quite cleverly. When you look at the controller you would think that having the stick AND the D-pad on the same side would be annoying but it only takes a small movement to swap between the two different methods of control.

It’s above average in weight – heavier than a playstation controller is and about the same as an N64 one. When you plug in the memory card and/or rumble unit it will increase the weight a fair amount but overall it’s still not exactly excessive.
The controller lead is approximately 1.5 metres in length which will be long enough for most people but I found that this is still a little short and I have invested in a c
ontroller extension lead.


Performance:
I’m pretty impressed with it.
Regardless of which game you’re playing, it can deal with them all.
A game like Soul Calibur is best suited to the D-pad and the main four buttons and your character reacts quickly and precisely.
Take F355 Challenge and you’ll need to use the analogue triggers and analogue joystick to get the most from the game – again, the performance is wonderfully precise as every movement (no matter how small) is translated perfectly when controlling the sensitive cars.

You’ll find there are a few games like Virtua Tennis where you can choose whether to use the analogue stick or the D-pad and they both work fine – it’s just a question of preference.


Durability:
Only time can tell this one but so far so good.
My guess is that the first thing to go would have to be the analogue stick but so far I have not noticed anything wrong at all and believe me – mine have had some use!!
The analogue triggers seem pretty well protected and as for the D-pad and other buttons, well, they should be fine unless you’re really giving them some grief.


Options:
Options you say?
Yes, well, you have a choice of colours anyway.
The typical supplied controller is ‘Dreamcast’ white but you can also get orange, blue, green and yellow (and they’re transparent).
I’ve only seen these on the official Dreamcast site though so you may have to get them there. Good news is that they’re £19.99 including postage so they won’t cost you any more.
See www.dreamcast-europe.com for more details.

As far as controllers go this is one of the best available.
In fact, blow it, it’s the BEST you can buy at the moment.

The only one on the horizon that can beat this is the new Xbox controller and that’s providing they sort out those stupid
ly tall analogue sticks.

Imagine a Dreamcast controller, add two more buttons and an extra analogue stick and you’ve got it.
Sounds even more ridiculous doesn't it but we’ll save that for another review.

Summary: