Attack Throttle

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Review: Attack Throttle

Although I've resisted peripheral creep for many years, I've finally been won over to the concept that one joystick cannot and does not fit all. Part of that realization is that a throttle lever on a joystick, even if it's a good one, doesn't cut it. If you're going to hop into a flight sim or even some auto-racing games, a separate throttle is the way to go. If you're a first-time buyer, ThrustMaster's Attack Throttle is a good place to start.

This compact design is modeled after the real thing in the USAF's F-15E fighter. A short, squat wedge, the Attack Throttle places its four buttons in easy reach of fingers on the front of the throttle lever. There's a thumb-actuated three-way switch that gives gamers the option of two extra button-sets.

The Attack is a digital design. Knowing that a large number of gamers in the product's target audience probably own older analog joysticks, ThrustMaster designed the throttle to convert the analog inputs to digital and stream them with its own signals. The result: your old stick becomes somewhat more responsive when plugged into the Attack Throttle. I tested this feature with both ThrustMaster's Top Gun stick and Logitech's no-frills Wingman Light. In both cases, responsiveness seemed better, but not that much better.

In both X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Flying Corps Gold, the throttle was comfortable to use, and the four buttons were very welcome in handling the many combat options in X-Wing vs. TIE. The one real negative is that the Attack's slide resistance is quite loose-encouraging full-throttle acceleration curves. If you prefer a more gradual curve, this may annoy you.

On the plus side, ThrustMaster has learned its lesson regarding software drivers. The programming tool that comes with the Attack is easy to use, and it works.

Although the Attack Throttle isn't cheap at $55, high-end throttles usually cost closer to $100, making this a good first buy for someone just getting into flight sims.-- George Chronis / GamePro