Dual Strike Sidewinder

****

Microsoft

PC

Review: Peter Eley

Game controllers are a personal thing. Top-of-the-line joysticks can cost hundreds, yet some expert players swear by the humble mouse or quick fingers and the keyboard.

Of course, different games require different controllers. A good flight sim needs a joystick, while most real-time strategy games are best played with the mouse and keyboard.

Modern action games, such as Unreal Tournament, Half Life and Quake Arena fall into a sort of halfway house. Keyboard commands are great if you've got the coordination of a concert pianist. But using the left hand on the keyboard and the right on the mouse can be hard for the average player, resulting in confusion and disaster at crucial moments.

Microsoft's Dual Strike Sidewinder is aimed at action/first-person game players. In many ways it's like a two-handed console controller, with a left thumbpad for movement and index finger triggers.

It has one really neat feature - the right-hand side of the controller swivels to give you panning 3D perspective and firing, while the left hand controls movement.

Together they make for a much more intuitive experience. For example, looking up or down follows the movement of the right hand, doing away with the need to have specific keys.

Aiming and firing are much easier, too although coordination of the perspective control and thumbpad takes a bit of getting used to.

The Dual Strike Sidewinder has pre-configured controls for 16 popular games, including Quake, Unreal, Half Life and Tomb Raider.

Peter Eley e-mail: peter_eley@herald.co.nz