Nostromo N30 N50 Review

Nostromo N30 & N50 Setup

PC Hardware Review Category Controller Review Date 10/01 Publisher Belkin Minimum System Requirements Available USB ports Win98, 2000, ME or XP CD-Romor DVD drive 200MHz PII or better 25MB hard drive space DirectX compatible video card

by Shawn Sanders

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Yes I'm free, to do what I want...

The gaming hardware and peripheral arena is home to some of the world's most imaginative mad scientists. Many of these frazzled and disheveled tinkerers practice their own brand of high-tech alchemy, tucked away on remote mountain tops in the Himalayas or submerged hundred of miles below sea level in domed aquatic laboratories. But their goal is the same no matter the location: To rule the world with their army of geeky gadgets.

Wanting to get in on the trendy world domination craze, Belkin, known for their various lines of hubs, keyboards and other computer accessories, has just revealed their new line of Nostromo gaming peripherals. Here we take a look at their Nostromo N30 Immersion TouchSense mouse and Nostromo N50 Speedpad.

N30 TouchSense Mouse

Together, they function essentially the same as the Saitek GM2 we enjoyed last year. However, a more comfortable design with a familiar button layout gives the N30/N50 setup a bit more appeal than the GM2. Plus, this baby has a sleek, stylish, futuristic motif because 'you never get a second chance to make a first impression.' This thing looks way cool.

The N30/N50 combo is built to make first-person shooting games easier, with all the essential buttons at your fingertips plus a couple extras that the lab guys at Belkin thought would be of help. So considerate.

The N30 Immersion TouchSense mouse has great vibrating technology, the same used in Logitech's iFeel mouse. So you get all those cool vibrating options with more to download at the official Immersion site. However, the N30 mouse, unlike the iFeel mouse, is not optical (insert sad gamer face here). This means that there is an old-fashioned ball in the bottom of the mouse instead of the miniature camera. The camera takes several pictures per second, which gives a much quicker response time than most ball mice, including the Nostromo N30. But outside of Razor's Boomslang mouse, this is one of the best ball mice you can find.

The N30 comes equipped with the standard left and right mouse buttons as well as a scroll wheel. But Belkin went one better and included a right thumb button like that found on the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. This works great for actions like quickly dropping weapons in Counter-Strike or as a 'back' button while browsing the Internet. Pretty handy!

But if you're at all like us, you'll still want to use an optical mouse for your gaming. Thankfully, Belkin has recognized this by allowing the use of different mice. Just plug in your rodent du jour and you're set to go. The N50 Speedpad has no special allegiance to its fellow N30, so any mouse will work..

Still fumbling around with that accursed W-A-S-D keyboard control? FPS fans who want to rid themselves of all those unnecessary keyboard buttons will find the Nostromo N50 Speedpad very appealing. Designed like a miniature keyboard, this thing is made for simplified and familiar use. Ten easy-to-reach buttons (two rows of five keys) line the top of the N50. Below that is a small throttle very similar to the one we saw on the GM2. And to the far right of that, exactly where your left thumb rests, you'll find the ubiquitous eight-directional D-pad. Easy to reach and easy to use.

N50 Speedpad

All of these buttons can be programmed using the Nostromo Array Programming Software. Just highlight the button you want to change and press the keyboard command that you would like to change it to. Voila! Specific compatibility is not required and that rocks, especially for older games. You can also search the included disc or the Nostromo website for ready-made game profiles, which configure your Speedpad automatically for the selected game. Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life and many others have files ready to be used with no manual programming necessary.

This is a great peripheral setup, most notably the Speedpad. The lack of an optical mouse is something of a letdown, however, and the price tag is a bit steep. The N30 mouse costs $39.99 and the N50 Speedpad rings in at $29.99 - over 70 bucks after tax, which is $20 more than the GM2. Of course, you could always opt for just the Speedpad and use your own mouse. At any rate, you get a lifetime warranty and I've been told that it may be possible in the foreseeable future for consumers to buy both the N30 and N50 in a bundle for a slightly discounted price.

If you have the clam($), this is a great gaming solution for the keyboard-challenged gamer. Belkin is offering easier, more precise gameplay in a very familiar format with little to no learning curve. Now if they could just make this setup compatible with current and future home consoles, they'd have an incredible seller on their hands.