The first thing you notice about the Logitech Attack3 joystick is its shape – it’s very stylish and looks just like what you’d expect to by inside the cockpit of an F19 (or whatever). The handle leans forward and it fits very comfortably and naturally into the hand, with the main fire button positioned beautifully.

The second thing you notice is that, when you plug it in (this is on Windows XP, anyway), the install runs automatically and you are ready to go in literally seconds. Calibration is fairly straightforward from Windows, but most games have their own calibration routines any.

The joystick is equipped with no less than 11 fully programmable fire buttons (main fire button, three at the top, two each side and two at the back) – though in all honesty I try to avoid games where I need more than 4 buttons – I tend to forget what does what, and while I’m trying to remember I get killed… But if you need plenty of buttons, they’re here.

There is also a Z axis – this is the only slight disappointment I had with the whole joystick – instead of a proper “throttle” like my old joystick had, there’s a rotating lever at the back. This only really makes a difference with flight simulation games but is a little fiddly to get to if you need it. However this is a minor quibble.

The unit itself is solidly built and very responsive. Unlike most joysticks it doesn’t seem to be geared to a particular type of game – I’ve played racing games, sport simulation, 3D / 2D shoot-em-ups, and other basically unclassifiable games with it and they’ve all felt comfortable. And no, I’ve not even used fire buttons 6-11 yet… The only thing that people may be disappointed with is the lack of a HAT, though you could program some of the buttons to act like one if you really wanted.

Many peoples’ prayers may have been answered because this joystick has no suction pads! (damn things never worked properly anyway). Instead, it has four small rubber “feet” that simply rest on whatever surface you have it on without trying to cling to it. After some usage, I’ve found that these do actually work quite well as “shock absorbers” and, while not exactly perfect (more frenzied games still result in the joystick sliding around madly if you’re not careful) it’s a good overall solution.

Overall, this joystick is excellent value for money. If you’re looking for a stylish, sturdy, reliable, responsive, and versatile joystick that won’t break the bank, then this is an excellent choice. If you only tend to play one sort of game, you may be better off getting a joystick designed specifically for that type of game.

(Oh, just one other tiny thing. The price should have given it away, but there’s no force feedback on this baby.)

Right, off to waste some more of my life playing games! J …

Update 27.02.04

You may have noticed someone else saying that there's a problem with the X-axis of this joystick. After a few weeks I seemed to have encountered the same problem. But I found that simply re-callibrating the joystick from Windows solved the problem, and I have not encountered it again.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 25