While I've spent more hours gaming with a keyboard and mouse than any other input devices, some genres are just too awkward for me to play without a controller. I'm lousy at driving and platforming titles to begin with, but especially so if I'm trying to WASD my way through levels. However inept I may be at keyboard racing, my hands go from willing to weary in zero seconds flat if I pick up a gamepad.
It's almost like we weren't meant to maintain an iron grip on plastic all day, but maybe I'm just a wimp. I haven't used a comfortable controller since the Dreamcast's cheesy third-party AstroPad, though Microsoft seems to have found a happy medium with its Xbox offerings, even if I wish they were a little bigger. Do you have a favorite gamepad and would you change anything about today's designs?