Tactical Assault Commander PRO (Type M2) Review

There comes a time in every gamer’s life when they realise their joints are getting a little older, and they realise control pads SUCK for precision aiming. Hori has also realised this and the solution it has come up with for the PC and PlayStation peeps out there is the Tactical Assault Commander PRO M2.

This wonderful little gadget is a gaming mouse and keypad for use on PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Connected either by USB or Bluetooth and set up using an optional iPhone or Android App, you can bind differing inputs to the bank of 20 backlit mechanically switched keys or just leave it on the FPS centric default.

Added to this is a thumbstick that will be familiar to users of a console controller, a touchpad that duplicates the one on a DualShock 4, DPI adjustment, headset input, buttons for "snipe" and "walk" and even a button to switch the thumbstick to D-pad input momentarily for quick switching of items and the like. It's found a lot of use in World of Warships: Legends allowing me to quickly drop a smoke-screen and leg it away from angry Yamatos and the like.

Different profiles can be set for each game or console and switched on the fly using the device manager app. A profile notifier LED makes it easy to check whether you're trying to play World of Warcraft using your PlayStation profile you set for Dead to Rights: Retribution.

After spending a couple of months with one of these my wife now refuses to go back to keyboard and mouse because it's eased the pain in her wrists, and I was so impressed I bought one for myself.

It's not cheap, and there are better mice out there (I've gone back to my Roccat Kova), but the added utility of the gamepad more than makes up for it and it's always handy to have a spare lying about for when a pet chews a cable.

The lack of a lightbar or motion-sensing SixAxis wizardry could be an issue for some games, I can think of a couple of PlayStation 3 titles that will mess up royally without it, but it's not a massive problem as this is an additional control method and not a replacement to the traditional controllers. I wouldn't want to play a beat-em-up on a gamepad over a controller.

On PC such things are moot. In VR I can see this being useful in games like Elite: Dangerous and once the keybinds are set the way you want almost every game will allow you to change the controls to your preference. Muscle memory will have you wondering why you bothered with the old keyboard and mouse combo in the first place.

If you're looking for something that's multiplatform, or you're like me and your wrists and fingers are showing their age, then the ergonomics of the Tactical Assault Commander PRO M2 will be a veritable Godsend in most applications, and even at just over a hundred pounds is worth the money. It gets a thumbs up from me, with the caveat that the mouse is merely average rather than it being top end kit.