If you’ve ever tried to play a flight simulator game without the use of a joystick, instead relying on your keyboard and mouse then you’ll know how hard it can be to play effectively. Joysticks have been around almost since video games have been around and indeed, the control systems of early Atari consoles were essentially just very basic joysticks.
Nowadays, however, joysticks have come a long way but while they’ll never be completely innovative in terms of ground-breaking enhancements or new features they have in recent times become a much more important part of the overall gaming experience. Joysticks are no longer only used in flight simulator games; with other titles such as Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2 having introduced flight capability into the game, having a joystick to hand can often be beneficial and make for a much more enjoyable experience than fighting for control of an aircraft using a keyboard and mouse.
This review will look at the Logitech Force 3D Pro Joystick, which is just one of many games controllers available on the market. Logitech have an enviable record of producing top quality gaming peripherals, including gaming mice and keyboards. So, does the Force 3D Pro stack up?
The box features a picture of the joystick on all four faces and top of the box, and the views correspond with the joystick. The stick itself feels sturdily built and has a reasonable footprint size – 20cm x 20 cm.
The Force 3D Pro is a force-feedback joystick and requires a USB-connector. It is compatible with both PC and MAC operating systems and features 12 buttons and an 8-way hat switch and trigger. It also requires an external power supply due to the stick’s internal workings.
Also in the box are a user manual, driver CD and the necessary power supply. The power supply is both big and heavy as the transformer has been built into the socket connector, rather than a separate power brick further along the cable. This could cause problems for those who are short on available power outlets as it is recommended to leave a socket free on either side of the adapter on your strip to accommodate its large size.
The stick has been designed for right-handed users, and the buttons situated on the base of the joystick are fixed on the left side of the base. The joystick throttle paddle is located on the base near to the rear of the joystick and is a rotating throttle with a barrel-fin for easier grip. On the top of the joystick are a further four buttons and the 8-way hat switch, while a button also resides where your thumb would sit be in a traditional rest position – this button is recessed slightly into the shaft of the stick, making it harder to accidentally trigger while the main trigger is located in the standard trigger position, in the front of the stick just beneath the joystick’s head.
Aside from the issue of having to make space on my power strip for the oversized power supply, installation of the Force 3D Pro was easy and involved simply plugging the joystick into a free USB port and installing the driver from the supplied CD. However, my PC did require a reboot in order to complete the installation process but overall the procedure was pretty painless.