My next game was
D-Day. Initially, I didn’t do any
specific programming of the Command Unit. I merely switched it to RTS
mode, and relied on the pre-programmed functionality. I soon found that
I was encountering the same issues I had originally found with
D-Day,
selecting and grouping the various units was taking more time than I
wanted, and made it difficult to keep track of my units. By adding
grouping and “go to” shortcuts to the Command Unit, I found I was able
to reduce startup time at the beginning of each mission.
Finally, I played
Star Wars: Galaxies. This was the one area
where the Command Unit wasn’t really useful. Sure, I programmed it with
a couple dozen shortcuts to make changing weapons, entering and exiting
vehicles, etc. easier, but unless I was on a solo mission I found I had
to continually switch back and forth between the Command Unit and the
keyboard due to the social aspects of online gaming. I have to say I
wouldn’t recommend the Command Unit to gamers heavily into MMORPG’s,
simply because they would likely find it of limited usability.
While overall the Command Unit performed very well, I must mention that
programming before each game takes time, and even after programming is
initially complete, I found myself tinkering with the layout of the
keys I had assigned specific presets. Also, as my review unit of the
Command Unit was Saitek’s actual demonstration unit, the top row of
function keys would not light up. I was informed of this ahead of time,
and that this issue would not be present on retail units.
In conclusion, The Pro Gamer Command Unit is extremely useful for solo
play or local LAN FPS or RTS gaming, or for those gamers who spend
little or no time socializing.
B | Extensive programmability and good design will make the Command Unit definitely compete with the N52 Nostromo SpeedPad to replace the standard keyboard for hardcore FPS and RTS gamers. Not recommended for social or MMORPG gamers |
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