Thrustmaster Elite Rudder Pedals Review
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Thrustmaster Elite Rudder Pedals Feature
- Rudder pedals provide realistic fore and aft movement
- Provides 4 inches of movement
- Spring-loaded pivot action
- Large, stable base won't slide or tip during use
- For use with any PC with a game port
Complete a realistic cockpit for flight sim games with Thrustmaster's Elite Rudder Pedals. Add a separate joystick and throttle, and you can perform complicated air maneuvers with spring-loaded pivot control rudders. The large stable base is designed to stay in place during gameplay. Elite Rudder Pedals are for use with all game port-equipped PCs and are covered by a one-year warranty.
Many joysticks these days let players twist the stick to control rudder movements, but the feature just can't compare to a good set of dedicated rudder pedals. Dedicated pedals allow for more precise control due to their extreme range of travel (compared to the miniscule travel of a twist stick), and they make flying games much more realistic. The Thrustmaster Elite rudder pedals aren't the most versatile set we've ever used, but for the money you get a solidly built unit that literally adds an extra dimension of control to games that support pedals.
The pedals consist of a wide, stable base unit with large pedals mounted on either side. They move back and forth (like real airplane rudder controls) instead of up and down like a car's accelerator and gas pedals. The pedals have catches on the back for your heels, making it possible to move them by pushing backward instead of forward. They are also linked, so when one pedal is pushed forward the other is pushed back. This seemed awkward at first, but the fact that the pedal not being used goes back means your leg is always positioned perfectly to kick it forward quickly should the need arise.
Not that any force is required to move the pedals back to center. The unit is self-centering, and the cables used to provide resistance and snap the pedals to neutral are strong. In fact, they're almost too strong, as the unit tends to slide around a lot when placed on hard surfaces; the smooth rubber feet on the bottom of the base just don't hold well. If you don't have carpet, you'll need to find some method of securing the unit in one spot (we can only hope your solution is more elegant than ours, which involved driving nails into the floor).
The pedals move about four inches forward and the same distance aft, which doesn't seem like much, but in actual use is generous. Precise rudder control is possible and was immediately missed when we removed the pedals from our system. Games like Flight Simulator 2000 became much more involved and fun once we hooked up the pedals and disabled the default settings that link the rudder to the ailerons. Rudder controls are rarely used in jet simulators, so pedals are overkill if you like those types of games, but WWI and WWII flight-sim fans will be in heaven.
If you've ever installed a joystick you should have no trouble setting up this device. It plugs directly into the game port on your sound card (or a dedicated game port if you have one), and your joystick attaches to a pass-through cable that splits off from the main rudder-pedal cable. There's no power supply to worry about, and the pedals should work with any joystick as long as you follow the instructions for setting it up. You'll also have to make sure the pedals are enabled in each flight sim you play, but other than that, the setup is fairly straightforward.
Good as these pedals are for flight simulators, that's the strict limit of their usefulness (aside from providing a comfortable footrest). They can't be used for driving games, which is a shame. That, coupled with their tendency to slide, means they aren't for everyone, but if you have the right floor and play a lot of simulations featuring prop planes, the Thrustmaster Elite rudder pedals can be a lot of fun. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- Well constructed
- Movement is more realistic than some competing designs
Cons:
- Limited applications, can't be used for racing games
- Rather stiff
- Unit slides too much on hard surfaces
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