Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro
by Microsoft

Our Price: $27.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details

• 16-bit on-stick processor
• Multilayered forces
• Infrared beam signals your every move
• Built-in digital-optical "camera" reads your exact position
• Dependable solid-circuit board with a minimal number of connectors

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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

Customer Review: Compatability
Summary: 5 Stars

Description of Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro

The Force Feedback Pro is one of the more expensive sticks out there, but Microsoft helps make up for it here by including the full version of MechWarrior 3. The well-built stick features a large base, which takes up some desktop space, but also offers a solid foundation for gaming. The stick itself sports an eight-way point-of-view hat, as well as three action buttons and a fire button. Your left hand rests on the side of the base and has access to four programmable action buttons, a shift button, and a throttle. The shift button provides secondary output for each of the action buttons, and the swiveling stick can also handle rudder control. The SideWinder software makes it easy to customize all the stick's buttons; you can even assign a series of keystrokes (such as a rocket jump in a first-person shooter) to a single button.

The Force Feedback effects are some of the best around, bolstered by on-stick sensors that react to your subtlest moves. The Force Feedback RAM, built into the stick, stores and calculates different forces, and the Force Feedback Pro's 16-bit processor communicates commands between the stick and your games. All of this feedback comes with a minor tradeoff: the cooling fan built into the base can get a bit annoying during gameplay.

Even with MechWarrior 3, the Force Feedback Pro will cost you plenty. There are other joysticks out there that dutifully serve their purpose in flight sims and action games, but none that really provides the all-around feature set and extras that the Force Feedback Pro gives gamers.

Pros:

• Great force-feedback effects
• Bundled with full version of MechWarrior 3

Cons:

• Fairly expensive
• Heavy
• Takes up desk space

Features also include a digital-optical camera built into Force Feedback Pro, providing pinpoint accuracy, optimal speed, and no drift. Digital overdrive helps the Force Feedback Pro communicate more quickly with your PC. Finally, the ergonomic design ensures you'll play in comfort for hours, no matter the size or shape of your hands.

Installation is easy with a single port connector, and the solid circuit board with a minimal number of connectors provides dependability.