Have you guys ever played NFSU 2 on keyboard and mouse? Wow, what a pain. Driving games and basketball games must use a gamepad. It just feels so right. The analog joystick helps the car steer tons better than using the directional buttons on the keyboard and for the NBA Live 08, it helps player movement a lot smoother.
Maybe simulation type games are better with a game controller than the actual keyboard/mouse combo.