M-Tech joystick Gamepad Review & How To Configure With Steam| Tech Review

While usually I post tech content on Monday, this time I am a little bit early. Today I’ll be sharing a review of a product from M-tech, a joystick/gamepad that is on the mid- to lower ranged price.

I’ve been on the market for a gamepad since the last few weeks. I wanted to finish my Tomb Raider + bully game on steam. Playing those two games with keyboard and mouse were quite challenging and I have the need to actually order a joystick. But I wasn’t quite sure what to expect playing with PC compatible joysticks these days. The last time I was using these types of gaming accessories was back in high school. At the same time, I didn’t want to waste more than $60 on a gamepad that I am using for trial and see what actually is compatible and convenient.

The games I mentioned are PS2 based. Using a joystick made a lot more sense than playing it with keyboard and mouse. Perhaps, since both are nostalgic to me, it’s why I associate playing them with a joystick.

Just a few days ago, it was a random usual night, I ended up checking out a computer store. They sell mid to lower range accessories and M-tech dominates their shelves. Since they have a few colors and options including single/multiplayer, I ended up choosing the single joystick.

This M-tech MT-8400 has three colors; white, blue and red. I ended up choosing red because it looks the most appealing to me. It is plug and play and has quite decent cable length. Unfortunately, they have the old configuration button of PS2. Instead of using A, B,X, and Y which are mostly Xbox, they use triangle, circle, cross, and square.

As seen above, they have a few more buttons such as select, start, turbo and auto (I don’t know the usage of those two). After purchasing them, I went home and tested them. I met with a few problems because while it is mentioned to be plug and play, apparently on STEAM, it needs a little tweak.

How To Configure Your Controller on STEAM

On your steam page go to settings and make sure that it’s discoverable. Click on enable steam inputs for the type of controllers that you have. If you have generic then enable it but if you have PS2, you should enable that part.

Now, even after configuring the game itself, you still have to do one more finish. Let’s say you want to play tomb raider.

Before playing Tomb Raider with your newest joystick, you have to go to the main page of the game such as below, and go to the settings and make sure to enable the STEAM input and the type of controllers that you have. Then, restart the game and voila! Now you can play with this joystick.

My Verdict!

I think it is better to buy a joystick with Xbox and Nintendo friendly configuration. When I was playing Tomb Raider, instead of triangle & circle configuration, I had to convert those buttons to A, X, Y, B. Then the L1, R2 could be quite a chore. So, after this, I am going to add side to side buttons that is their equivalent on Xbox since it’s going to be convenient to have them instead thinking on the game while being attacked on what to push :D

However, I can see why this joystick is seemingly popular. It’s because it’s cheap and has a decent aesthetic that for the price offered, it isn’t that bad. If you come across this product, make sure to think twice especially on games that you’re playing and whether it is compatible with them.