And that option is this. We're talking about the Cordless Rumblepad 2, which is the first such pad this reviewer has used that's worked (nearly) without fault.

As with all wireless pads, it's relatively heavy - which takes into account the weight of a couple of batteries - but aside from that it's a very strong device (it works on the 2.4GHz frequency, incidentally). It's a breeze to set up, with a receiver connecting to your USB port, and we had it running in a matter of minutes.

There was one side effect we weren't expecting though, and that's that our wireless keyboard stopped working as a result. It's probably due to some kind of wireless interference, but it's an annoying thing to happen, particularly if you want to use the keyboard and pad at the same time, as you will with many games.

However, if you can stand that and the slightly extra bulk, it's a good investment.