" I’ve used some force sticks that were the equivalent of arm wrestling Bill Gates. What you have here is a match with Mr. T. "

   Title: Logitech WingMan Force 3D

   Format: PC Force Feedback Joystick

   Reviewing Monkey: The Goodyear Chimp

   The Hype: : "Feel what you’ve been missing." Just don’t feel me up; I’m not into that, dude.

      What This Monkey Thought...

   Ergonomics: I’m not shitting you when I say that this stick sat on my desk for a week before I had time to hook it up and there wasn’t a single day that I didn’t play with it [Editor's Note: We are currently helping Goodyear get help for his "idle stick playing" habbits]. Speaking for every guy with small hands and pudgy digits, I’m a little wary of non-adjustable, molded plastic joysticks. I just know that my thumb is going to end up five feet from the hat switch because Dumb Ass Input Co. used a cast of Andre the Giant’s hand to get their proportions. Not so with the WingMan Force, my short-fat-fingered friends. While it’s no Cyborg 3D (see the GameMonkeys review), this one-size-fits-most design actually manages to fit many. The buttons are all in logical, easy to reach locations. I have only one gripe and, because I’m a hard ass, the stick loses one point for not having a pinky trigger. 4 out of 5

   Features:
   Pointless—can someone explain why you’d need a screw to lock out the handle twist? (This was probably a suggestion from the division who developed the force feedback mouse.)
   Not So Nice—where is my pinky button?
   Nice—seven programmable buttons, three axes (complete with a ‘profiler’ program that allows you to swap them around), one smooth ass throttle, an eight-way hat switch, and a fairly sturdy base.
   Excellent—mighty force feedback. 4 out of 5

   Performance: With the possible exception of those thumb-operated trackballs (stupid) and the incomprehensible force feedback mouse (rock stupid), Logitech knows what they’re doing in the field of input. Everything about the WingMan stick screams responsiveness. The hat actually moves in eight directions (unlike some sticks I could mention), the throttle control is smooth, and neither of those is the best part. Logitech cooked the force feedback till it was extra feisty. So snappy was the spring force during the inaugural hook up that it rattled the table whenever I let go. Once again though, I have to bitch about the minor things. There’s this dead zone in the center that’s nearly a mile across where the joystick absolutely refuses to provide any tension whatsoever. You spend so much time with the feedback whipping you about that it’s hardly noticeable except when you’re working on precise movements. Overall, it’s not a big enough drawback to warrant anything less than 4 out of 5

   Installation: The installation was excellently guided and USB-riffic. It took longer to install than I had hoped (probably due to loading a program instead of just a driver) but the wait wasn’t intolerable. I would like to lodge one formal complaint. The "Profiler" software that I mentioned earlier happily nestles itself into your system tray and refuses to allow function without sucking up it’s bit o’ RAM. While this may be necessary to ensure proper force functionality, does it need to masquerade as a start center for all your feedback enabled games? Could it be just as effective at half the size? Complaint lodged. 3 out of 5

   System Compatibility: Is it wise to forsake the gameport and make a USB only joystick? The engineers at Logitech must think so. I’m pleased but I don’t know how many of those guys barely scraping by the Pentium 166 MHz system requirement are going to take it. Installation didn’t eat up any of my other installed joy devices, so I’ll have to go with 4 out of 5

   How it Compares: I can’t think of another joystick on the market that offers a screw lock for the handle twist. Brilliant, simply brilliant. All sarcasm aside, I’ve used some force sticks that were the equivalent of arm wrestling Bill Gates. What you have here is a match with Mr. T. 4 out of 5

   The Verdict:

   The Good: The can of whupass that is the force motor in the unit and the price.

   The Bad: Where’s my pinky button? Goddamn Profiler software!

   The Overall Ugly: Uhm, feel what you’ve been missing? Well, feel it for less than Microsoft asks for theirs.

   What it's Worth: They’ll charge you $60 (shhhh—I saw one for $45) and you’ll be getting your peso’s worth.