A casual gamer looks at Logitech's Extreme 3D Pro Joystick

As personal computers become more powerful with better processors and more complex operating systems, game designers keep creating equally more advanced games and simulations that require controllers (joysticks and similar hardware) that are more complicated than the once-standard two-button joysticks from the late 1980s to mid-1990s.

As a casual gamer and fan of such flight simulations as the now vanished Microprose Labs’ F-15 Strike Eagle series, I’ve seen the gradual evolution of the basic joystick from a cube-based, X-Y, Y-Z axis lever, Buttons 1 and 2 standard layout to more realistic (and more complicated) controllers with large twist handles, triggers, “pickle” and “hat” buttons that mimic those on real fighter planes such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-22 Raptor. As early as 1992, the Users’ Manual to F-15 Strike Eagle III recommended the advanced Thrustmaster or Sidewinders, even though the software was still flexible enough for PC gamers to use simpler joysticks, keyboard-only mode, or a combination of both.

Now, of course, PC games and simulations tend to be very complex. Whereas one could once play Star Wars: X-Wing with a simple joystick or keyboard commands, the first thing that Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter will ask for during the installation/setup process is “joystick calibration.” If the program doesn’t detect a joystick with multiple buttons, gamers will find themselves SOL (a military term that I’ll define here as “Soldier Outta Luck”) because the game simply will not run without one.

Logitech’s Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is the second joystick of this “more advanced” type that I’ve owned. The first was a Microsoft Sidewinder USB model that I hadn’t planned on getting until a friend of mine gave me a copy of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter for Christmas in 2002. (That’s how I found out that lots of games require multi-button joysticks….) And although the Sidewinder was relatively easy to install and use, it didn’t last long: four months after I had bought it at the Dolphin Mall in Miami, a lightning bolt struck nearby and the resulting surge fried my eMachines’ CPU, the modem and all the attached peripherals.

For nearly three years, I resisted the urge to install any games or simulations that required a replacement joystick. I wasn’t so much into gaming that much at the time, and my budgetary priorities didn’t include buying new games or unnecessary peripherals. I played (when I had time, that is) non-joystick-required games such as Sid Meier’s Civilization II and Star Wars: Rebellion while my two Combat Flight Simulators gathered dust on their jewel cases.

That changed in December of 2006 when, after the PC I now use was up and running, I decided I’d install at least two flight simulations for casual gaming.

The one I settled on – after about an hour’s worth of browsing at Amazon – was the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick, partly because I couldn’t find a Microsoft Sidewinder model at a price I could afford, but mostly because I needed a joystick with a heavier base that offered stability and wouldn’t jerk around too much on my desktop in “the heat of combat.”

As on my first USB joystick, the Extreme 3D Pro has almost all the functions and buttons a gamer needs in order to “fly” planes, drive tanks, or go into deep space on various starfighters or starships.

At the center, obviously, there’s an ergonomic twist handle that looks as though it belongs on a modern jet fighter. Designed to emulate the Hands On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) systems on the F-15/F-16/F-22, the handle is designed in such a way that it has the flexibility to move almost in a 360-degree circle without breaking. It also has a “trigger” in the top-front part, and five different buttons that act as missile launch, bomb release, “padlock view” and tracking activators. These vary from game to game, of course, so what serves as, say, “lock target” in Microsoft’s Combat Flight Simulator will shift cockpit views in Electronic Arts’ Jane’s F-15 game.

Along the left side of the silver-black base are six more
buttons; each one performs specific functions (send radio messages or orders a wingman to do something, say) that, again, vary from game to game. The location of the buttons is well-thought out, but it’s important to look at the numbers on them and memorize them so it becomes second nature to use them “in combat.”

Behind and a bit off-center there is a short little black lever that serves as the throttle. Pushing it forward either gradually or full-on, and whatever one is flying/driving goes forward and speeds up. Pull it back gradually, and the plane/starship/car/tank slows down. Pull it back all the way, and whatever the game is simulating stops or loses power.

Setting up the Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is relatively easy. Because it’s a USB peripheral, it only requires a USB port to be connected to; one doesn’t have to be worrying about having to tighten the connection screws to the input/output jacks on the back of the PC.

In addition, the Extreme 3D Pro Joystick comes with installation software on a CD-ROM; this requires 20 MB of hard drive space and 64 MB of Random Access Memory, but it provides users with the drivers and calibrates the joystick by giving one very specific instructions to move the handle one way, then the next.

As far as performance goes, the Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is top-notch. One can make planes (or space craft, or cars) go through their paces easily without having to handle it too roughly, and maneuvering and shooting weapons in a “furball” or dogfight merely requires a light grip and gentle touch on the trigger or buttons. Of course, how a specific type of plane responds to the joystick depends on the reality settings a player selects; some simulations have flight models so realistic that a plane feels sluggish at first because it is fully fueled and armed, but planes “set” on casual game play models will bank, climb and dive very easily without “forcing” the Extreme 3D Pro Joystick. (The only thing that is missing from this Logitech product is what is offered in the more expensive Microsoft Sidewinder models: force feedback, which causes the joystick to vibrate in a player’s hand when a plane or space ship is hit by enemy fire or when firing/launching missiles.)

Games I’ve used this joystick with include:
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater
Electronic Arts: Jane’s F-15

Product Features: (From the Logitech Website)

• Stable, weighted base helps keep joystick from moving
• Quick and easy access to fire weapons
• Twist handle provides rudder control, direction control, and view changes
• Rapid-fire trigger allows shots in quick succession
• 8-way rubberized hat switch; select from 8 points of view

Technical Details


• Controls: 12 customizable buttons, eight-way rubberized hat switch, rapid fire trigger
• Macintosh requirements: USB port, Mac OS X,
• PC requirements: Pentium processor, 64 MB RAM, 20 MB hard disk space, CD-ROM drive, USB port, Windows 98, 2000, Me or XP
• Width: Base 8.3"
• Height: 10.3"
• Length: Base 8.7"
• Weight: Shipping weight 3 lbs
• Warranty, parts: One year
• Warranty, labor: One year
• In the box: Joystick with USB cable, CD-ROM with gaming software, setup guide, warranty and registration card