Features & Specifications
When you first see the Thrustmaster Run'N' Drive 3 in 1 in the package the thing that stands out the most is the fact that this one controller will work with PC, PS2 and PS3. The next thing you notice is the large, black rotating wheel that is around the traditional D-pad. Using an optical sensor more like a mouse than something normally seen on a gamepad the optical wheel is intended to be used in situations like racing games, zooming in fps titles and more. Self-centering makes it good for these tasks, but it takes getting used to.

Up front near where the cable connects to the controller are two triggers that console gamers will recognize immediately. While the top right and left triggers are for the normal R1 and L1 buttons the set directly below is not the L2 and R2 triggers but rather analog triggers that you can program to emulate other functions on the controller. Personally I would program them to emulate the R2 and L2 buttons as I could never get used to their strange positioning on the bottom of the controller. While the R2 and L2 buttons on the bottom of the Thrustmaster Run'N' Drive 3 in 1 are easy enough to reach too may years of gaming with them under the L1 and R1 buttons did me in, I simply couldn’t get used to the modified position of the buttons.

Other than the optical wheel and the different button placement for R2 and L2 the Thrustmaster Run'N' Drive 3 in 1 is pretty much a normal gamepad. It does have on-board memory so it can save your mappings, which is a nice touch. The D-pad works just as you expect, the two analog sticks work well and click for R3 and L3 and the other four buttons are numbered and have the familiar shapes for Playstation gamers. If you are gaming on a PS2 the Thrustmaster Run'N' Drive 3 in 1 even has rumble for your games as well. The controller is not supported for PS2 game son PS3 though.

Gaming Tests
I played lots of PS3 games while testing the Thrustmaster Run'N' Drive 3 in 1 and found it to work pretty well. The design was a bit slim for my tastes; I prefer a more tactile and slightly bulkier feel to my controllers. I didn’t really like to use the optical wheel, not because it didn’t work well, especially in driving games, but because I simply prefer the analog sticks. I would very much prefer to see the R2 and L2 buttons where they belong in my opinion, right below the L1 and R1 buttons but you can reprogram the controller. All in all the only real change that I would like to see is a wireless version or at least a much longer cord. The six feet of cable is not enough for most living rooms, assuming you expect to sit on your couch to game.