Nuggets: Lara would love Microsoft joystick...
SideWinder steers Lara... Ooooer!
A couple of new game pads from Microsoft to look out for in the coming months, both part of the SideWinder line. The Dual Strike is a 3D-character gamepad with a rotating pod to help you steer Lara and friends around. The Dual Strike FX mode offers customisation for gameplay. Free-look type moves can be enhanced and sensitivity and acceleration settings will mean you'll be able to customise how you aim the cursor or crosshair.
Microsoft has touched up its original SideWinder and called it the SideWinder Game Pad Pro. Reason for the promotion was the addition of proportional and digital control. Proportional control gives the sort of continuous movement you get with joysticks, and digital offers more exact, speedy responses. SideWinder software lets you customise six action buttons and two triggers, giving a total of 16 programmable functions.
Microsoft didn't have any prices when we called. Perhaps they will when the U.S. wakes up. We'll let you know.