The last time I tried gaming on the Mac was about two years ago. But, when “Star Wars : Battlefront” came out, I decided to give a shot again (where else can you drive your own AT-AT to crush your Mac buddies?).
I got “BattleFront” and tried to use my trusty xBox controller with modified USB cable and the xBox HID Driver. With much sadness, I discovered that the driver doesn’t work in Tiger. I can’t stand using my keyboard and mouse to play “Battlefont” or any other game for that matter. I guess I’m spoiled from too much console gaming. So, I had to find another good controller and fast (the Empire desperately needed my help). Read More…
The last time I tried gaming on the Mac was about two years ago. But, when “Star Wars : Battlefront” came out, I decided to give a shot again (where else can you drive your own AT-AT to crush your Mac buddies?).
I got “BattleFront” and tried to use my trusty xBox controller with modified USB cable and the xBox HID Driver. With much sadness, I discovered that the driver doesn’t work in Tiger. I can’t stand using my keyboard and mouse to play “Battlefont” or any other game for that matter. I guess I’m spoiled from too much console gaming. So, I had to find another good controller and fast (the Empire desperately needed my help).
I bought the Logitech Wireless Rumble Pad 2 from Amazon for around $30. And, I am glad to say, it’s possibly the best gamepad / controller I’ve ever used on the Macintosh.
It appears that Logitech did it right. The gamepad requires no drivers to be installed and is immediately recognized by any game that supports the HID interface. It closely resembles a PlayStation 2 controller in both look and feel. I was able to assign every function needed for serious “Battlefront” gameplay onto the gamepad. And, it works perfectly with MacMAME to boot (for you old schoolers like me).
On to the wireless, the gamepad will operate on two ‘AA’ batteries for 100 hours! Also, it will work in a completely wireless environment. I use it on my iMac G5 in conjunction with a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, Apple Bluetooth mouse, and Airport Express with no discernible interference problems. You will have to attach the wired USB transmitter to your Mac. But, it’s rather small and can be tucked away neatly.
The only drawback that I’ve encountered so far is the rumble function doesn’t work on the Mac. I can live with that. I find force feedback to be annoyingly gimmicky (anyway, rumble drops the battery life down to 50 hours).
I’ve used many gamepads and joysticks in the course of my 17 year Macintosh love affair. None have worked as effortlessly and flawlessly as the “Wireless Rumblepad 2.” The Emperor should be pleased with my performance…
