Using a Controller with PC?

I personally use an xbox controller for a lot of my PC games I am trying to get away from using it as much if you don't play a lot of FPS or MMO's then I think you will be fine using a controller especially if you play racing games it's almost impossible controlling cars with a keyboard and mouse.

 

I actually find it really easy to control a car with my keyboard and mouse. You just have to get used to the controls of the game.

PC will always be ahead of console games because it is evolving regularly.

 

The 360 controller is generally regarded as the number one option for console ports or whatever supporting controller input on a PC. If a game supports controllers, chances are the 360 is going to work. You can also use something like xpadder to manually bind the input to keyboard keys (e.g., the analogue sticks to function as the arrow keys or WASD, and the d-pad to control various hotbar shortcuts), thereby essentially "forcing" the game to accept your controller as an input device.

If you're just looking to buy something, I'd heavily advise buying a wired 360 pad, as it requires the least amount of effort or configuration on your part. You just plug it in, and it works with about 99% of games. Something like a DualShock 3 is also an option if you like it over the 360 pad, but keep in mind that you'll end up having to manually assign keys or mess around with third party programs sometimes. And avoid buying 10$ plastic Logitech gamepads or any brandless ones, the drivers are usually terrible.

 

Oh, it's also worth noting that buying a wireless controller is a bad idea. You'll likely need a separate receiver or a bluetooth dongle, and it isn't powered from USB so you'll end up wasting batteries. The wired Xbox controller I have came with a HUMONGOUS cable length (seriously, the thing reaches across the living room at least two times), so portability shouldn't be an issue either.

If you buy the wireless one, you'll need a separate dongle from Microsoft, since it doesn't work with standard receivers.

 

Yeah the XBOX controller is great for PC. A lot of games recognise the controller and automatically change buttons in the game to the XBOX ones. So when the game says "Press E to open" or whatever it instead shows "Press X to open". Only works on select games but still pretty cool.

 

Usually I use my logitech controller and use the my 360 pad when that doesn't work. I prefer the PS2 style layout on my logitech but once I get the money for it, i'll probably pick up one of those new logitech controllers that can put out a 360 controller signal so I can use it instead.

 

I occasionally connect my PS3 controller to my laptop, but I rarely do it while playing any online games; it's just too slow. Dealing with a keyboard is surprisingly faster and more accurate than a controller, and I have yet to find a game where a controller can cope with the keyboard's speed.

 

Depends on the game. For racing games and platformers I love using the PS3 controller. For FPSs, RPGs, RTSs, etc, the mouse and keyboard are the best. Not only are they more precise but they also allow you to customize the controls they way you want.

 

Any game can use a controller if you use a third party program to allow the game to detect the different buttons on the controller. The only games that can't do this are ones that don't allow you to re-map the keys, which is rare on PC.

How well a game works with a controller is up to the game.

Some games like the terrible PC port of Dark Souls pretty much force you to use one because the keyboard+mouse experience is so horrible. The buttons aren't even re-labeled with keyboard keys so you have to memorize which key is for which Xbox 360 controller button.

 

Some games are just meant for keyboard controls. Such as the Assassins Creed series and the aforementioned dark souls and do not translate well to the keyboard and mouse. Whereas others are console first and play great with that setup it really just depends on the games programming and what it was originally designed for in terms of control.

 

To be honest, both of those games/series would work fine on mouse+keyboard if the developers would just put the effort into making proper ports that functioned properly on computers. They are just taking controller optimized games and slapping them onto PC without tweaking anything, so of course they won't work properly.

 

From what I know 360 controllers work just fine foe single player games, but if you use a PS2 controller sometimes you get lag which is annoying on certain games.

 

Which is why I bought a controller that is just SHAPED like a PS2 controller. The logitech controllers are on average 24 bucks and can run in both 360 controller emu mode and old school signal mode so it will work with ANY game you throw at it. I have an older logitech controller so I can't do that but I'm looking into picking one of the fancy ones up quite soon.

 

Most games support the Xbox 360 controller without any configuration. Even if a game does not support a 360 control natively, you can use xpadder to map you controls buttons emulate your mouse and keyboard.

 

I sometimes use a controller with my computer for better gaming experience. In some games when you need to push several buttons at a time a controller is really useful. However, occasionally I play with a keyboard and a mouse.

 

I have a wired XBox-clone controller. It's a pain in the butt to make it work with some games, so I use a D-Pad emulator but that still doesn't work for many games. Investing in a real XBox controller is something I am looking into in the future. Also, I suggest a wired one over a wireless one. Wireless ones can become unresponsive in the PC gaming environment, especially if the wireless pad requires batteries and you forgot to charge it before playing.

 

I use an Xbox controller as well. I had a nice Playstation look alike controller that worked good. I think Logitech made it. I also have a joystick controller that I never use, its way to bulky