There was a time seven or eight years ago, when PC gaming occupied most of my leisure time. Windows ME was new, USB controllers were taking over from game port ones and optical mice were replacing ball. All in all it was a great period for PC gaming technology as precision and accuracy was better than ever.
During those early years of the Millennium, the rigorous demands of the games I had played, in particular
Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, killed many joysticks from many different brands. It seemed like every month I was returning a broken stick back to the store I bought it from. I always took good care of them but they just couldn't take the hard use. Plastic buttons snapping, broken levers, sometimes the drivers just simply sucked. It was a widespread problem that was quite common for players of that particular game. My favored tool of attrition at the time being the
Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 and the
Logitech Wingman Extreme series.
Then one day as I was returning yet another broken stick, a
shiny gold and black monster was sitting on the shelf in the Saitek selection, catching my eye and begging to be held. I had never really seriously looked at a
Saitek before and that should speak volumes for it's first impressions.
Now let's just get one thing straight. This wasn't just any old stick, it was the
Cadillac of sticks in it's price range. Three axis, 10 buttons plus a hat switch and USB connectivity all in a digital stick. If that wasn't enough, it is customizable for left or right handed players, height adjustable wrist rest, the thumb buttons mounted on a pivoting head that could be adjusted to lean left or right as well as the up and down angle and the throttle lever could be mounted on either side. The Allen key used for these adjustments was mounted to the front of the stick for easy access at any time. Metal parts, rubber-like grip surfaces and ergonomically designed buttons made me feel like I just found another
F-16 Combatstick or
Thrustmaster Top Gun but built for a new age of gaming.
At a time when joysticks were fairly basic and non-customizable, this was big. Even having USB was a big step up. Needless to say it found it's way into my car and followed me home. Unfortunately for me however, the game it was intended for, didn't seem to co-operate with this stick's driver, or perhaps it was the OS I can't really remember anymore. USB support was still a new thing and it had it's share of hurdles. Win98 anyone? It was like I had this great sports car, that was too wide for my parking space and I couldn't find a station that sold 91 octane. Ah it was a fine stick though, handled like a dream, lightning fast response from the buttons and axis, built to last. The software it came with was superb and the game profiling and programmable options were unmatched by any other maker. Even so I had to return it for yet another Logitech Wingman to suit my needs but I never forgot it or the bar that was raised that day in how I looked at gaming peripherals.
So here I am many years later. A trip to a thrift store, a lucky find and for $3.99, I score myself another one of these golden monsters once again. This time however, things have changed. The OS automatically detected the stick which means no driver to think about. The game has been patched, but I no longer play as much of that game as I used to. Well I guess that could be said for PC gaming in general. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy putting it through it's paces. It may be an older
Cadillac, but it's a
Cadillac from a time when that still meant something. The sense of appreciation for a quality peripheral still strong, the kid in the candy store as far as "fancy" gaming hardware still within me.
