Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

If you need a flight stick this is a great choice. Compatible with the best Flight Simulators like Microsoft Flight Simulator or First Person Shooters with Air vehicles as in Battlefield 2, this stick will do the job.

Featuring 12 fully programmable buttons, throttle toggle, and 3d Hat this joystick is one of the most versital on the market. A great feature that puts this joystick above most is the ability to turn on the z-axis (left and right). Keep in midn this joystick is a right handed sticka nd i am unsure if they make a lefty one. The hand rest on the right side allows the user to relax a little while gripping the stick.

When flying in a jet, in most games, it is required to pitch, turn, and roll. With this stick you can do them all. Setting the x-axis to roll, y-axis to pitch, and the z-axis to turn is the best setup for this joystick. This has been tested in the game Battlefield 2. The responsiveness of this joystick is outstanding. The trottle key on the other hand can be a little to responsive sometimes.

If you play the Mechwarrior series, this is a must have joystick. Why?, you may ask. The 3d Hat view button allows you to play this game and not require other keys to have your mechwarrior to move his head. An example would be: Say you are in a battle against 2 other mechs one is to your left one is in front. You are shooting the one in front while strafing to the left. While being turned to the front mech you are attacking, you can use the 3D Hat to make your pilot turn his head and look in any direction with out disengaging the enemy!

This joystick connects via a USB port. There is a sister version of this joystick. A wireless version with a smaller base. I just wanted to mention that but not touch on that topic.

On some systems, the logitech drivers are not the best to use. Allowing the system to use the drivers it has (as in Windows XP) is sometimes your best bet. After calibration, if you see problems; then use the provided driver cd.

On pitfall of this joystick is the protective dust cover over the yolk. This cover can cause calibration issues. In time if you find your joystick is pulling in a direction and the calibration software can't get it right, the yolk dust cover is probably the issue. If the stick is out of warrenty, before trashing the stick take a screw driver to the bottom screws and unscrew the bottom. This will allow you to pop the top cover up. Pull the yolk cover out of the top plate, put the top plate back on and rescrew it down. calibrate and try it. This has solved the calibration issue i have found in one of the ones that I have used.

All around this joystick is a good buy for the money. With a price range of 15-30$ it is well within the budget of the casual gamer.

hope this guide was useful. Take care.