" During testing Dungapult, the ass, checked to see if punching me in the gut would affect performance. What the hell!?!? "

      Title: P3000 Wireless Pad by Saitek

      Format: PC Controller

      Reviewing Monkey: Mojo Jojo

      The Hype: For those of us who don't want to foray into the console market pads for your PC are a must. There are a number of games that you don't want to control with a stick or keyboard and mouse, like sports titles and motorcycle games, and pads fill the void nicely. So here, to try and meet your hand held controlling needs, is the P3000 wireless pad from Saitek. Will it give you hours of self-playing enjoyment or leave you angry at your little thumb sticks? Read on, my monkeys, read on.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Features: Saitek has always favored the bigger pawed monkeys and that, in this ape's opinion, is a good thing. Not too big for younger, smaller, or more wimpy players but decidedly more so for adult monkeys, the P3000 feels good in the paws. With logically placed buttons and sticks (very similar to the Playstation's "Dual Shock" controller) the P3000 is a very easy pick up and play pad and won't have you spending a lot of time looking for your buttons. 4.5 out of 5

      Performance: With two analog sticks, a D-pad, 6 buttons, and 2 shoulder triggers, the P3000 should have enough buttons to keep you happy for quite some time. A shift button lets you double assign your buttons for those times you never want to be troubled with the keyboard and the and the logical layout makes everything easy to find. Also included in the features list is RF driven wireless technology and a receiver that doubles as a charging station both for the pad and the extra NiHM battery it comes with. 4.5 out of 5

      How it Compares: Of course, far more important than the features overview is the wireless capability, and certainly the biggest question on my mind when this pad came in was "will it perform". I think we've all been burned at one time or another by promises of solid wireless play and so it was with great trepidation that I picked up the P3000 for the first time. Surprisingly, the wireless not only worked but ended up being a real pleasure to use. The RF technology, which uses radio waves instead of lasers, means the signal is almost unblockable and works regardless of what direction your controller's pointing in. The 2 easy to change out rechargeable batteries mean that you've always got a fresh charge waiting for you, and in case you're worried only one charged battery won't be enough the cradle also charges the pad so each day you come in to play you'll start with 2 full batteries.
          Response was perfect and we never documented a single problem in over 20 hours of play. Really the only hassle was trying to come up with knew reasons to need wireless (since most of us have our computers on or right under our desks), until we discovered the true use for wireless technology. That being, programming standard Windows function keys (like "close" and "delete") to the controller buttons, hooking the pad up to your roommate's computer, and then hiding in his closet and screwing with him while he's trying to write his mid-term. 5 out of 5

      The Verdict:

All in all, the P3000 performed fantastically and is now my new pad of choice. It has the buttons I need, the best wireless functionality I've seen, and works bloody well. Genius.

      The Good: Using this controller to screw with your roommate.

      The Bad: During testing Dungapult, the ass, checked to see if punching me in the gut would affect performance. What the hell!?!?

      The Overall Ugly: Good controller, no question about it.

      What it's Worth: Market