I must confess though, I find the keyboard-and-mouse system of control a bit trying at times. No matter how I configure the controls, there's always something that's inconvenient to trigger, whether it's a flashlight, a grenade, or the Quicksave. Belkin has solved the problem with the Nostromo SpeedPad n52 in Figure A.

FIGURE A

The Nostromo SpeedPad n52 game controller from Belkin. Click picture for a larger image.

The n52 is actually the second incarnation of the SpeedPad, following the n50 with more buttons and features, all designed to replace the keyboard portion of the mouse-and-keyboard control combination.

Programming your game play
In essence, the Nostromo SpeedPad allows you to program your most frequently used keys, or any keys actually, to sixteen different buttons, a wheel, and a directional pad. Its ergonomic design puts all of these literally at your fingertips; the only trick is remembering what you've programmed to each button.

To completely customize your game play, the SpeedPad comes with a configuration utility, shown in Figure B

FIGURE B

The Nostromo configuration utility allows you to program any button to any function. Click picture for a larger image.

The great thing about the utility is that you can program a general configuration, or one specific to whatever game you're playing. The Loadout Manager in Figure C loads at Startup, residing in the tray so it can detect whenever a game is started and load the appropriate configuration for that game.

FIGURE C

The Loadout Manager will load a game-specific configuration. Click picture for a larger image.

When using the standard keyboard for my game play, I've always thought the R-key was little out of the way to reload my weapon. So I programmed the 0-key as my reload, putting it right next to the cursor keys I use for directional control. Belkin has taken this concept and incorporated it right into the SpeedPad, note the large black button by the D-pad. You know, right where your thumb rests.

The orange button next to the D-pad is prime for use as my alternate weapon, just like I programmed the R-CTRL button when I used the keyboard. Everything about the Nostromo SpeedPad was clearly designed with making everything as easy to use and thought-free as possible.

I had a learning curve of about an hour of extremely slow and cautious game play before I was used to it and remembered what functions I had programmed to which keys. Eventually, it made things much easier and really sped up my reaction time, as I didn't have to take my eyes off the screen to find the L-key to turn a flashlight, but rather just automatically hit the right key on the SpeedPad.

I honestly can't think of a single thing Belkin needs to improve on the Nostromo SpeedPad n52 [Actually one frustration has been that it can't import or export key definitions so other programs can work with them. For example, we wanted to export key definitions so we can automatically generate nice keymap graphics using FileMaker Pro. -- DG]. It has turned my game play around. And it's not just for FPS games either; I see amazing potential for those RTS (Real-Time Simulation) gamers out there too. For putting all the gaming controls right at your fingertips in an easy-to-use, ergonomic device, I give the Nostromo SpeedPad n52 from Belkin 5 out of 5.

OUR RATING: 5 of 5

James Booth is Editor-at-Large at ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and handheld specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.