Adrenalin Stick Score: 75% Developer: Saitek

Function: The Adrenalin Stick from Saitek was built with one game in mind -- Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, a flight sim. That makes three games on the Xbox that have their own controller built specifically for one game (Steel Battalion and DDR: Ultramix would be the others). However, unlike Steel Battalion's giant control, this stick can be used for other games -- provided there's an option in the game to customize buttons and you're comfortable with the using the stick. So is it worth it?

Performance: The Adrenalin Stick is built like your standard flight stick for the PC. The stick is mounted on a broad, weighted base. The stick can be twisted from left to right, which will cause your plane to roll. The A button has been placed in the trigger position of the stick, while the B, X and Y occupy spots on the 'hat' (the top part) of the stick. The L and R buttons, as well as the Black, White, Start and Back buttons are all on the base. The entire flight stick is fairly well built. It never feels like it will break, but it certainly doesn't have a 'solid' feel to it either. This is especially noticeable in the trigger and X button on the 'hat'. The handling is great -- it's responsive and easy to play with. I had a blast playing Crimson Skies with the game and found some improvement in my performance since I was playing a flight game with a flight stick, something I've been doing for years on the PC. The stick also features rumble support.

Features: Built for Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge 3D Twist for Plane Rolls 8-Way Hat Switch Easy to Reach Buttons Dual Motors for Greater Rumble Feedback Designed for Left or Right Handed Use

Drawbacks & Problems:: Although the game was made for Crimson Skies (a task it does an excellent job at), I wanted to test it out on other games. This is mainly because I'm not one to want to drop money on a controller that's just for one game (unless it comes packaged with the game -- such as in the case of DDR or Steel Battalion). Sadly, this isn't a controller many people are going to get use out of beyond Crimson Skies. I first tried the stick with Secret Weapons Over Normandy -- which is the only other flight sim on the console. The results were less than what I hoped. This can't be completely attributed to Saitek since it probably would have worked if the game had the option to customize the button configuration. I then tried out a few other racing, platform and action games. Though the stick certainly got along with these games, it wasn't the best merger possible. It's doable, but just because I can doesn't mean I will. The Adrenalin Stick features two major design flaws. For one, the base of the stick is too flat, making it hard (or at least uncomfortable) to sit on your lap while playing. This is forgivable. The second isn't. One of the hallmarks -- hell, it's a cornerstone -- of Xbox Live is the ability to use the Xbox Communicator when playing online. Despite what some people may think, this goes beyond just chatting with people and has become a vital part in gameplay. Without it, how can you strategize with your teammates? The Adrenalin Stick completely overlooks the communicator and doesn't feature a port for it. If you're planning on taking the game online with the stick, prepare to participate in team competitions 'deaf' or look like the unsociable asshole. I probably could have been a little more lenient on this lack of communicator support, but then I received a DDR pad that not only had a two ports (like on the Xbox controller), but also came with an extension cord for the communicator wire. As a flight stick, the Adrenalin Stick is very good. It's responsive and works well with the game it's meant to be played with. But as a purchase, it's probably something you want to really contemplate on since you're only likely to use it for one game. This is only recommended for hardcore Crimson Skies players who don't mind playing online without voice.

-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker