Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Playstation 2 Game Pads - Where do I get them?

I played Burnout: Revenge on the PS2 with a gamepad covered with drool several nights ago. My dog was in the living room and immediately took a liking to the almost brand new gamepad (I hardly used it since last year).

Drool aside, the gamepad that I'm using is actually a replica of the Dual Shock 2. Don't get it? Well, try "knock-off". It looks the part, feels the part and in my opinion, almost indistinguishable from the real thing and it costs less than RM 30.

But before you jump off your seat and head off to the nearest video games shop (or stall for that matter), most shops carry two types of knock-offs. The first type, is probably the worse but cheapest of the two. With analog buttons as stiff as rusty bicycle chains and buttons with the response times of bricks, you would be better off getting the second type, which I'm using.

But of course, knock-offs do come with general drawbacks. They kaput faster, buttons wear off faster and the response times can be a little suspect. The one that I was using previously had its R1 and R2 buttons stuck. I'm guessing too much SSX.


Original Dual Shock 2 gamepads come with a price variance that is bound to boggle the mind. It retails at RM 95.00 on the Sony website. Too expensive? Play-Asia sells the same thing for just USD 16.90 (RM 54) and the site stocks a variety of colours too.

I would probably go for the traditional black, or perhaps the Slate Gray, but the Emerald does exude some "Master Chief" glow.. So what about you? :)