Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
A perfect replica of the A-10C’s controls
Price: $421
One of the hardest things about flying DCS
A-10C is mapping the myriad of controls to your individual HOTAS system. Thrustmaster
solves that problem entirely with the HOTAS Warthog. It’s a perfect replica of
the joystick and throttle used in the real A-10C, and is designed to work
perfectly with the game. Rather than spend ten hours tweaking controls, you
simply plug this stick in, and fly away. Well, until you realize you forgot to
turn the pilot tube heating on, and crash into a mountain.
Thrustmaster
HOTAS Warthog
Built from durable steel and aluminum, this
kit feels like it’s built to withstand a SAM hit, which makes the flaky hat
switches all the more disappointing. Our review sample had a dead heat switch
out of the box. Thankfully, Thrustmaster offers to fix this problem free of
charge, and once it’s resolved there’s simply no better way to fly you’re a-10C
simulator. It’s a perfect match for any modern fighter or attack aircraft, as
the numerous buttons, switches, triggers and analogue sticks means it’s got
more than enough controls to handle even the most complex cockpit. Sadly, it
also lacks any form of force feedback.
If you’re serious about playing DCS A-10C,
the Warthog controller is your only option. It’s not cheap, but by simming
standards it’s also not that expensive, especially for something so masterfully
constricted. If only the hat switches didn’t have reliability issues, this
would be the perfect modern combat HOTAS system.
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A perfect recreation of the original Solid metal
construction
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Flaky hat switches
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No force feedback
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No pedals or rubber controls
Verdict: 7/10
It doesn’t get any more realistic than
this, but a couple of flaws hold it back from perfection.
Thrustemaster TH8 RS Gear Shifter
Shift your simming up a gear
Price: $180
Sometimes a piece of simming hardware makes
the challenge ever greater by making the game even more realistic, and that’s
just the way serious simmers like it. Take this gear shifter, for example.
Using the shift paddles on your wheel is unquestionably faster and simpler.
Reaching down to this gear shifter takes more time, and also means you have to
take your hands off the wheel.
But it also means you get to feel the
satisfying clunk as this beefy piece of hardware shifts into gear, reminding
you how great the included desk clamp is that keeps it rock solid still on your
racing cockpit. With seven gears, plus reverse, it’ll handle any road or racing
car in the world, and when you want to switch to sequential it’s a simple
matter of replacing the face plate and shoving it into first.
Thrustemaster
TH8 RS Gear Shifter
The complex calibration software allows you
to use it as a stick pointing to one of eight digital buttons, or to map the
movement in an analogue nature, turning it into a clever hand brake substitute
for rally drivers. No matter how you choose to drive it, the heavy metal and
advanced, contact-less construction means it’ll last for years.
Some might say a simming gear shifter at
this price is excessive. We tell them to go back to their automatic hatchbacks,
and let us drive our virtual Dodge Challenger – in manual – to our heart’s
content.
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8 speed
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Does sequential and H-shifting
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Rugged construction
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Pricey for a gear shifter
Verdict: 9/10
If you’re a simming racer with everything
else, the TH8 RS is the final cherry on the top for your racing rig.
ButtKicker Gamer 2
No, it’s not a porno prop
Price: $249
Now that you’ve stopped sniggering at the
name, know that the ButtKicker is a device that does exactly what its name
implies – it kicks you in the bum. Designed to go under your racing cockpit or
driving chair, it’s basically a very low frequency speaker that pumps out
masses of bass.
This means it’s actually nearly silent, as
the frequencies are too low to hear. They can be felt though, making your chair
rumble and shake. The effect is too much for a gamer like Battlefield 3, where
the constant explosions will see you bouncing around on your seat like an
epileptic on ice, but it’s perfect for flight sims or racing sims. It connects
to the part of your amplifier that pumps out audio to your amplifier that pumps
out audio to your sub, so it’s only activated when there’s a bass signal. In
sims, this typically means when you drive over rumble strips, fire your
aircraft’s cannons or crash into a heap; all perfect moments for a bit of seat
shaking.
ButtKicker
Gamer 2
The ButtKicker Gamer 2 is basically the poor
man’s replacement for a motion platform for your rig, with the only issue being
that very few games natively support it through a dedicated LFE track. Instead,
you’ll need to tune it to work with your favorite titles, a process that is
thankfully rather easy. Non-simmers won’t understand the appeal of this
whatsoever, but we know that anything that brings us one step closer to
actually being in our sims is worth it, whatever the cost may be. That cost
includes the public humiliation you’ll feel when you tell your friends about
the awesome ButtKicker experience you had last night.
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It shakes your seat!
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Like a vibrating controller for your whole body
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Ridiculous name
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Noisy games are too over the top with it
Verdict: 8/10
How much butt does ButtKicker kick? Plenty
enough to make this a must for your simming cockpit
