Logitech Wingman
Strike Force 3D
by Logitech
The latest Logitech joystick is the WingMan Strike Force 3D, a full-featured peripheral that’s easy to set up and use despite the plethora of jam-packed controls. It’s the additional options (and a slightly higher price tag) that sets the Strike Force 3D from the Force 3D introduced some weeks earlier.
The Strike Force 3D looks similar to it’s predecessor and while there may be the same number of buttons as on the previous stick, it’s the little extras that Logitech tweaked that makes this joystick a control freak’s dream come true. First, there are two hats—one is a squashed cone shape, the other a more traditional concave one and, unlike the hats on many other joysticks, they both give a satisfyingly responsive click when you move it in any direction. The base has a pair of buttons that flank a scroll wheel, similar to those found on mice. The wheel itself is a clickable button, and scrolling it up or down triggers a DirectX button press with each tick. The wheel is handy for scrolling through weapons, inventory items, MFD displays, or anything else that requires repeated button presses. Like other joysticks in the WingMan “3D” line, the Strike Force also has a wonderful throttle and a “twist” axis that can be locked with a flathead screwdriver.
As the Strike Force 3D uses cables rather than gears (as it did in the regular Wingman Force 3D) the forces can be much more powerful if you whack the strength setting to full. They feel smoother as the force feedback movements don’t grind slightly like they did with the Wingman Force 3D. Being as we’re fans of force feedback effects, the Strike Force didn’t disappoint. Furthermore, the Strike Force 3D is fitted with a hand sensor, which allows the stick to shut down its force-feedback motors automatically when it’s not being gripped for extensive periods of time.
Logitech’s premium force feedback joystick lets you feel powerful weapon recoils, missile launches, collisions, and more and the unique wheel button lets you select and fire weapons quickly. Overall, the Strike Force 3D performed beautifully, with impressive fidelity and action so smooth it felt almost completely natural. Its control set is elegant and easy to program through the included WingMan software and its forces feel as responsive as any other current force-feedback joystick. With two hat switches, nine programmable buttons, and high-precision throttle, it will rock your world.
Al