In order to put the
GM2 to a test, I tried it with
EverQuest. Anyone familiar with
EverQuest knows that Verant has programmed is so that it is ornery. What does that mean? Well, in the case of hardware, it means that it doesn?t support ANY joystick, is designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse only, and basically uses your computer as a dumb terminal/rendering engine while you?re playing. It doesn?t like multitasking and it?s impossible to ?Alt-Tab? out and return.
At any rate, if a controller can work with EverQuest, it can work with just about any game. I had to fiddle around with the Saitek ?G.E.? software a bit and had to activate the configuration before launching EverQuest, but what I got was crisp response and added control which allowed me to keep my focus on the game and not the keyboard. I could initiate, fight and end battles, and then collect any loot items and continue on without EVER touching the keyboard. The GM2 single-handedly changed my gameplay from a maximum of two minutes without using the keyboard to a routine 15 minutes without needing the keyboard. Essentially, the only time I had any reason to use the keyboard was for communicating with other characters in depth. (Even some exchanges could be handled with the GM2?s Action Pad by saving text in the game?s macros and programming the pad?s buttons to those macros. The difference was unbelievable.
The GM2 Action Pad is a unique controller. It provides a ?rest? for your left palm and places a slew of controls within easy reach. Although it is unlike any other types of controllers, this ?ergonomic? layout makes for a short, easy learning period. Learning to use the Saitek ?Gaming Extensions? software to program the GM2 takes a little more playing around with it to get it down, but in both cases, the advantages FAR outweigh the effort required.
Software:
The GM2 is one of Saitek?s controllers that works with their new Saitek ?Gaming Extensions? software. These ?Extensions? allow you to completely program every aspect of the GM2 and save the configuration for different games in a file. In addition, Saitek ?G.E.? can be set to automatically detect when you start a game and turn on the appropriate configuration file.
As for the actual process of programming the controller configuration itself, the gaming extensions are accessed as a ?special folder? in Windows 98. This folder has a directory tree on the left hand side and has a large right hand side field which is used to display a 3D model of the controller(s). Choosing a button, switch, or throttle to program is as easy as clicking on the appropriate button on the model of the controller and then changing its assignment. Can?t see the button very well? No problem! The 3D model is ACTUALLY a 3D model and can be spun around to allow access to any part of the controller. Does it work? Yes. Well? Extremely well.
