Taking a Look at the Microsoft Strategic Commander

While this device is a few years old now, I find that I see inquiries about it fairly regularly among gamers. At first glance, it seems to offer a combination of movement axes that would not normally all be available all at the same time. I know that I recently gave it a try in World of Warcraft in the hopes that it would give me more maneuverability for PvP encounters (when it is vitally important to be able to strafe and turn in tandem in order to try and stay behind your target while keeping him in front of you). In theory, it looked like a great tool - in practice, things were less wonderful.

The Device

For those who are not familiar with this device, it is a USB interface device that has a large comfortable grip on the top that slides on the base, allowing for up-down and left-right axes as well as a twisting motion. Along the top, where your fingers rest, there are 6 programmable buttons. Just to the right of the 5 and 6 buttons is a pair of buttons labeled with '+' and '-', which were undoubtedly originally intended for zooming (though they can be custom programmed as well). Furthermore, within easy reach of your thumb are three 'shift' buttons that allow you to provide additional programs to the 6 programmable buttons - netting 24 possible assignments (4 for each button), or 26 if you include the zoom buttons. All of this is capped off by a thee position switch on the base that allows you to have three different profiles loaded at any time, with the switch controlling which one is active. Finally, there is also a 'record' button on the base that will allow you to modify the active profile while in the game environment. All in all, it can provide enough programmable functions to allow you to put you keyboard aside if you can train yourself to use the Strategic Commander instead. The accompanying software will let you create, save, and load profiles, so you don't have to reprogram the device every time you change game. There are a variety of profiles that come included in the software bundle, and even more can be found on the Internet.

Cons