Well done, Microsoft. (god did I just say that?)
Pros:
Amazing precision, no drift, excellent features
Cons:
A little pricey, some systems don't like it
The Bottom Line:
The Sidewinder Pro is comfortable, accurate, smooth, driftless, and full featured; a true improvement to any flight game.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I hate Microsoft. I hate their operating systems, I hate (most) of their programs, and I hate their technical support. They don't think through their documentation, they make sure that everything that works well must be customized to do so and that everything that works really poorly cannot be customized at all. They charge way too much for their lame products and their operation as a whole offends me.
That being said, this is one hell of a piece of hardware.
I almost want to take it all back when my palm melds to the contours of this joystick, as I rest some of the weight of my arm on it without skewing the cockpit of my F22 all over the sky due to the strong, smooth suspension, as I take out that MiG effortlessly with a twist of the wrist and a few clicks on the well placed buttons.
Yeah, I hate to admit it but the MS Sidewinder Precision Pro is probably the nicest joystick I have ever used. Although some folks claim trouble installing (and rightfully so I imagine, I'm certain that all the tech support would do would be to tell you to unplug it, turn off your machine, plug it back in...) I had no difficulty, and I was up and running in less than five minutes. It integrated seamlessly with my newer flight sims as well as the older ones (anyone remember X-wing vs. Tie fighter? hell yeah!), and I haven't had a bit of trouble with it as far as technical fuctionality.
On to the good part - Have you ever used a joystick with a z-axis before? It's like having rudder pedals, but SO much easier (and you don't have to buy rudder pedals, they're rather expensive). No more pitching to the starboard and hauling back on the stick; if you want to make a snap turn to the right you simply give the Sidewinder a twist. If you've not tried this before, I urge you, do so! And when you realize you must have it, know also that the Sidewinder has the best implementation of it of any joystick I have tried.
That's about all there is to say, if you can shell out $50US and you play flight sims then you probably *need* this joystick (if you don't have one, which you obviously should). It is comfortable, accurate, smooth, driftless, and full featured; a true improvement to any flight game.
- Meepstah
