controllers

I have tried all three of the "tremor" packs for the Dreamcast and of the three, the InterAct Tremor Pak finishes in a solid...SECOND place. Here are my impressions of all three devices for the Dreamcast:

InterAct Tremor Pak: Best priced ($10); shakes a ton (sometimes too hard compared to what's actually happening on the screen); very noisy (loud, loud, loud); well made (just as good as the Sega); fits pretty well into the "rumble" slot.

Sega Jump Pack: Overpriced ($25); takes a lot of action to make it shake (in playing Soul Calibur with it, it barely shook at all); seems to be the best quality; and fits into the "jump pack" slot in the controller easier than the other two.

Mad Catz Force Pack: Moderate pricing ($15); shakes what seems to be the right amount in most cases; quiter than the InterAct but louder than the Sega (probably because the Sega hardly ever rumbles); a little harder to get in the "rumble" slot than the other two; has a red light that goes off when it shakes (some say it makes it look cheap; personally it doesn't bother me because I'm usually looking at the game, not the pack) - it does make it look a little less well made than the other two.

Putting them in order of which I feel they are the best: #1) Mad Catz Force Pack: moderate price and seems to rumble the appropriate amount. #2) InterAct Tremor Pak: excellent price but rumbles too hard sometimes. #3) Sega Jump Pack: overpriced and doesn't rumble much (much less "jump")

While I haven't yet had the opportunity to test out the Sega and Mad Katz packs, at half the price of the Sega Force Pack, this unit is an excellent buy. (But one for all four controllers and save enough for another game!) I found that the Tremor Pak worked quite well and the noise mentioned in other reviews was not significant. One thing that can be said about force feedback in general is that it has a startling effect at first, but then your mind becomes conditioned to it (just like with all those fancy explosions and sounds that the game emits both visually and audibly), and focuses back on the gameplay. You're not missing as much as you might think by not having force feedback, but once you have it, it makes an incredible addition to the overall gameplay which you can no longer go without. Try out a force feedback unit with Slave Zero for a rocking good time!

As usual Interact accessories dissapoint. This Tremor Pak jumps too hard for what is taking place on screen and absolutely sucks. The slightest action on screen and it wants to jump out of you hand....not good at all. Instead of adding realism to a game it proves to ba an annoyance!

AVOID AT ALL COST. Get the official Sega Jump pak instead