{fh400BB45GamesPad Pro
{fb1000000Although I have an A3010 I have never owned a joystick and I don't plan to. "Why?" I hear you ask. Well, I grew up using the keyboard on my old 48k Spectrum and have never liked the feel, so when I got hold of a JoyPad to review I was a little bit sceptical. The first thing you notice when you get hold of the pad and software is that it is all incredibly simple to use. The JoyPad fits into the parallel port of the computer and then all you have to do is to load in the driver software. You can go about setting up the JoyPad in two ways. The first is to create an obey file which would include lines which look something like this:

GamesPadKeys 0 11
GamesPadKeys 1 11
GamesPadKeys 2 9
GamesPadKeys 3 9

But this is not the only method of setting it up, the second method is much more simpler, the JoyPad contains software which creates the obey files via a simple to use interface. All the action revolves around one singe window; it contains a graphical representation of the joypad with spaces at the fire buttons and directions. From here you can assign keys to the directions or any of the 6 fire buttons. You also have a 'Select' and a 'Start' button and these can be assigned functions such as pause or quit.

The JoyPad itself takes some getting used to, but you have mastered the control and have got to know the layout it soon becomes second nature. Other features included on the pad are auto-fire and turbo. The later is a form of auto fire which is triggered by the fire button and is not constantly on. This is a welcome relief for shooting games as you don't have to press the fire button every tenth of a second. In all the pad is comfortable to use. The only fault is that you can't assign the shift key to a direction or fire button, hopefully this will be sorted in a later version of the software. If you are a games player and have always wanted to play games like your SNES and Megadrive owning friends then this is the product for you.  

A few weeks after writing this review my mouse had an accident and was killed. Luckily the software allowed for mouse emulation and it was simple to set a boot disc containing the driver module and the obey file containing the information to allow the mouse to be used. If I hadn't of had this piece of kit I would have been in dire trouble, so there you go; it is not just for games but can also be used as a replacement mouse. So what are the advantages of using the Pad as a mouse? The biggest advantage is that it is much more accurate and allows you to do pixel perfect operations with the greatest of ease.

So what's the catch? There is one major bug with the driver module (or there was in the version I had), you couldn't assign the 'Shift' key as a fire button. This can be got round be redefining the keys (where possible) but this some what defeats the point of the pad. The only other problem which I had was due to the way my modem lead has been bodged together it makes it impossible for me to have them both plugged in together. There is also a problem with it using the printer port, as you have to keep swapping the printer leads (or sampler etc.) for the games pad. One way to get around this is invest in a splitter, but this is sometimes expensive (shop around), although word has it that a version will be produced with a built in splitter.

There are two version of the JoyPad, the normal version is a more cutdown version which lacks the auto and turbo fire switches. Most of the above comments apply for this version of the JoyPad.

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Product: GamesPad
Price: Single 25.99, Dual 35.99
Availability: All Acorn 32-bit machines

Product: GamesPad Pro
Price: Single 29.99, Dual 39.99
Availability: All Acorn 32-bit machines

Contact: Gamesware (01703) 456523

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