Battlefield 2 : Experience - Saitek X-52 joystick review

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Dec 23, 2009, 12:51am

Battlefield 2 : Experience :: Everything else :: Hardware & Software :: Saitek X-52 joystick review

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Topic: Saitek X-52 joystick review (Read 146 times)

Jammydodger
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Saitek X-52 joystick review
« Thread Started on Aug 7, 2005, 9:26pm »

Introduction:
For those of us who are hardcore into flying games and simulators you're going to want a controller with the most authentic feel you can get to add to the overall effect. Individual joystick units with a small slider for the throttle aren't much like a real airplane is it? Saitek has come out with what they call their "X52 Flight Control System" Just the name hints it's going to be something big! How does separate joystick and throttle units with a small display screen on the throttle sound? Oh, did I mention there's an uncountable number of programmable buttons and illumination on some of the keys to add to the effect? This is shaping up to be one heck of a controller, read on my friends!

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At the very bottom where the stick makes contact with the base they have what the manual defines as the "Precision centering mechanism" This is made of of a spring that pushes from the joystick down to a plate that holds it firmly upward on the base. The spring is set just right so that there isn't too much free travel when you don't want movement but it's also not impossible by any means to move the joystick. Slightly up from that on the bottom side of the stick you'll see a gray piece labeled RLOCK, when pulled out it will disable the twist action of the joystick. At the lower area of the stick where your hand rests in there is a very cool pinkie switch which can be used as an actual button or assigned a shift function to allow you to double up on the things each button can do.
The pinkie trigger is on a rubber covered rest that wraps around the base of the joystick to rest your hand upon. The hand rest is also adjustable in height for those with smaller or larger hands. At the very top of the inner part of the stick there is a two stage metal trigger. This can be depressed half way for one function and fully for another.

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Now onto the front of the joystick that faces you. There are two 8-way hat switches, 3 fire buttons which are backlit, a mode selector dial with an LED that changes colour for each mode and finally one of my favorites, a missile launcher button which is under a flip up spring-loaded cover!

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As well, on the part of the base that faces toward you, there are 3 toggle switches which move both up and down, so that makes a total of 6 functions that can be assigned to them. I like flaps and landing gears up/down to be two of these uses in my games.

Now on to the throttle unit. The biggest feature of this part of the system is obviously the very large throttle handle itself. It features adjustable tension so you can make it very smooth sliding or make it a little tougher to move if you want it comparable to that of a real plane. The majority of the buttons on the throttle unit are housed somewhere on the throttle handle. On the back of the handle you'll feel the scroll wheel, this also pushes in as a button to function as Mouse Button 2, and an 8-way hat switch. On the top there are two fire buttons, two rotaries (best used for pitch, trim and yaw adjustments).
the mouse controller mini-stick, mouse button 1 and a smooth action thumb slider. You heard me mention the mouse mini-stick, and what that does is allows you to fully control you mouse movement and clicking all from the throttle unit. I found this extremely handy while flying in FS2004 because I was easily able to flick buttons in my thingypit without having to take my hands off the controls to reach for my mouse.

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As well, on the base of the throttle you'll see a nice large display. This shows you the current mode of the X52, the current profile, the time (Zulu time unless otherwise programmed), the date (follows the time zone you're in) and a stopwatch. The entire screen is illuminated in the same blue that most of the buttons are.
This allows for very easy visibility no matter what the lighting conditions are. Under the screen there are three more buttons. One switches into stopwatch mode, and when in that mode the other two buttons function as start/stop and reset. When the stopwatch button is pressed again it goes into regular time mode, and when in that mode the other two buttons switch between up to 3 loaded profiles.

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Testing:
To test the Saitek X52 Flight Control system I used Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. When flying and setting up the controls in the game it is very clear that Saitek gives you more than enough buttons. I was able to assign all my major commands as well as some extras to all the buttons and HAT switches on the X52 unit. While flying, the mouse mini-stick is very handy have because as I mentioned before I could easily press buttons and switches in my airplanes thingypit without having to take my hands off the controls to reach for my mouse. It also works great for navigation around the Windows environment for those who love the X52 so much that they don't want to let go even after their gaming is finished!

As I mentioned, the X52 allows you to create profiles to use in your games, or download ready made profiles off the Saitek site. I decided to check out their profile for Flight Sim 2004 which was my testing game of choice. The profile they have available for the game is very logically laid out button wise and I found it nicer than what the controller defaults to for that game. They also had profiles for tons of other games available to download.

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Conclusion:
Overall the Saitek X52 flight control system blew me away. It is absolutely feature packed, from illuminated buttons, the screen on the throttle, tons of hats, switches and buttons to the separate throttle handle which I loved. There isn't really anything bad I can say about this device, except that force feedback would be a nice feature but not necessary.

Pros:
Individual Joystick + Throttle = sweet!
Display on throttle control
LOTS of programmable buttons!
Button and screen illumination
Stylish looks
Profiles

Cons:
Force Feedback would be nice

Rating: 10/10

« Last Edit: Aug 7, 2005, 9:27pm by Jammydodger »

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