Some might say that Logic 3's Storm Pad is a thunderingly good peripheral. Others might say that isn't so, and it's all a bit of a Storm in a D-pad. Still others might be shouting at their monitors for us to get on with the review and stop piddling around trying to concoct lame puns. So onwards we will forge.

But not before we talk about the USB Storm Pad's colour schemes. It comes with a choice of two, silver or red, both of which look quite fetching. Perhaps the idea is the two choices represent the silver clouds of heaven and the red depths of hell, and you take your pick according to whether you play nasty or nice, foul or fair. Or then again, maybe we think too much. At any rate, we received the silver - or rather titanium - version. So was it a heavenly joypad?

In terms of design it's based along the lines of the PS3 controller, with the D-pad on the far left, the main bank of buttons on the far right and the dual analogue sticks just underneath these on each side, reasonably close together. The four primary buttons are even labelled with stylised triangle, squares and circles. We're used to an X360 pad and while we found the layout a touch off-putting initially, it isn't a big deal to acclimatise to it.

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The Storm Pad fitted neatly into our slightly larger than average hands, and it didn't slip out of our slightly sweatier than average hands after a frenetic 90-minute workout on Pro Evolution Soccer. The pad's grip handles are quite long and a rubber-like compound is present on the back of them, ensuring a more secure grip.

The overall feel and layout is good, aside from the two front buttons. While the two trigger buttons are large and well placed, the pair of front buttons above them are set a touch higher and further forward than we'd have ideally liked, making them a bit of a reach. It's not a major problem, more of a slight niggle.

In action, the Storm Pad acquits itself admirably. The analogue sticks perhaps feel a touch loose, but they still offer a precise enough level of control. The joypad also has vibration feedback, with two different strengths to select from. Once the drivers have been installed you can set up macros on the pad, so multiple button presses for combo moves can be keyed into one button. This is a pretty impressive feature set for £15.

The Storm Pad is well designed, despite some minor flaws, and the inclusion of rumble feedback and a macro system is very welcome in a peripheral at this price point. Good value for money overall.