Thrustmaster Hotas Cougar PC Flight Stick Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been using the Cougar for over a year now and have concluded that it is a combination of the best and the worst in consumer products. In the end analysis it is ok for someone who doesn't mind tinkering, modifying and repairing. If it wasn't for the online community I would have thrown my Cougar away a long time ago. These guys are the BEST thing going for the Cougar. Support from the manufacturer is far from acceptable. Now for the good and the bad.
This product has a great feel about it. Largely because it's all metal, heavy and seems durable. The metal, however, is very soft and, consequently, easy to strip threads. The switches and pots are low quality. Replacement pots are only available through the manufacturer as they were specially made. (I think by CTS) The Throttle Quadrant has a speed brake switch which is on in the forward position, off in the middle position and momentary on in the back position. The switch itself is the toggle variety. It is guided by a plastic guide that works well when properly aligned but there is nothing designed into the product to insure alignment. You'll have to fix this yourself or the guide is likely to break. Fortunately the procedure is detailed in Frugals World Cougar forum.
Programmability is a big plus with the Cougar. Again, if you are not up to tinkering and just want to plug and play, look for something else. If you don't mind spending some time with your face in the manual and working through a profile or two you will have incredible flexibility.
The throttle itself is rather sticky through its range of motion and there are two detents for idle and afterburner. All in all it is clunky and I opted to remove the detents. As far as the sticky motion is concerned I have yet to find a way to fix it.
The Cougar is not really a desktop item. Sure it's heavy and you would think it would stay put but it doesn't. It is a lot more enjoyable when anchored to a platform. If you are contemplating this purchase I suggest that you go to and get familiar with http://cougar.frugalsworld.com/. They will be your primary support group and you can get some insight to the problems and soulutions that the rest of us are working through.
Pay special attention to the instructions when loading the software. There seems to be a problem with version 2.04 that damages the throttle pot.

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Product Description:
The most realistic flight simulation controller is here: the HOTAS Cougar, lifelike in design, lifelike in performance. This is truly "Hands on Throttle and Stick" gameplay. Based on the actual controller found in F-16 fighter aircraft, the HOTAS transports you to the furthest reaches of flight-simulation technology.From the second you grab hold of both the stick and the throttle, you notice the difference. All metal, black, and ready for business--that is the HOTAS. This controller offers up to 28 programmable buttons, multiple programmable hat switches, and adjustable resistance for the throttle, afterburner, and idle detent. These are just a few of the many features of this revolutionary stick and throttle combo. Without question, the HOTAS Cougar is the controller for true flight enthusiasts.

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Sports Champions Review

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(More customer reviews)The long wait is over and the verdict is in: Sports Champions for Sony Move is a winner.

Sports Champions can either be purchased separately or bundled with the Playstation Eye and Move Controller. (I've left my thoughts on the Move under my review for the Playstation Move Starter Bundle)

I suspect that, as with Wii Sports, most people who get a Move will get it as part of the Starter Kit. But for those who are purchasing it separately, here's everything you need to know about the game.

Before you start up the game, the system will calibrate the Move controller. You'll see an image of your room on the screen, and using augmented reality it'll draw a box around a region which you'll need to stand in throughout gameplay. The system will ask you to move your controller to your shoulders, to your side, and to your belt buckle.

There are six sports to choose from. With each, you can select a tutorial (highly recommended) that talks you through how to play each game.

Disc Golf: Here, you compete against each other or the CPU throwing a frisbee on a golf course trying to get to the target. The scenery is breathtaking. You'll stand on mountaintops, contend with lush forests, and more. Like a real frisbee, you can throw with as much or as little force as you need. You pick up the frisbee by holding the "T" button, and when you release the button it releases the frisbee. The controls are remarkably accurate, although it will take getting used to throwing without having the resistance of a real frisbee.

Gladiator Duel: This is a game where you can choose to use one or two Move controllers. It's a heck of a lot more fun with two, as you can hold your sword in one hand and your shield in the other and control them independently (with one controller, you have to choose either the sword or the shield by pressing and holding the trigger button). Each time you block a move, it'll fill up a power meter that'll let you perform a combo attack. Again, the realism is phenomenal. As you fight your opponents, you'll see damage caused to their shelds and the surrounding arena (don't worry though, it's still rated E for everyone). You'll get a great full body workout from this one.

Archery: This is another game where I'd say you need two Move controllers, so you can use one hand to hold the bow and the other to draw the arrow back (similar to Wii Sports Resort). With one Move controller, you're basically pointing and shooting, which is hardly realistic. Again, graphics are great--you feel like you're in the middle of Sherwood Forest.

Beach Volleyball: Unlike the similar activity on EA Sports Active, this plays like actual volleyball. You have the option of using one or two Move controllers. The attention to detail is impressive. The system will move your player around the court, but for your part you have to us timing and technique to serve (underhand or overhand), bump, set, and spike. The tutorial is highly recommended, as you can learn how advanced techniques like tipping,group blocking, and digging. Again, attention to detail is great with the blue ocean and the sound of the waves in the background.

Bocce: If you don't know what Bocce is, think of the last time you watched Olympic curling. The rules are very similar. You throw a small ball (called a jack or a pallino) to set the target. Then, two players (or teams) compete to see who can throw their larger cannonball-sized balls closest to the jack (knocking opponent's balls away is possible). The game has been around since ancient times. The realism on the game too is astounding. You can play on different surfaces (on soil, on a pier, or on asphalt, with a beautiful city skyline in the background), and the balls react accordingly. To throw the ball, you hold down the Trigger and throw using an underarm motion just like you would the real thing. Letting go of the trigger releases the ball. By adjusting your wrist motion, you can even add spin to the ball.

Table Tennis: I love playing ping-pong in real life, and I enjoyed playing it on Wii Sports Resort with the MotionPlus. But while playing it on the Wii was a lot of fun, I found that it wasn't the most realistic nor accurate game. I could easily beat the system by making exaggerated movements that didn't reflect real life, and the on-screen paddle didn't always mirror my real-life movements. With the Sony Move, you move the controller in your hand, and you see the exact same movement of your paddle on screen. You can use real-life movements to add topspin, backspin, and sidespin.

The details of the game are amazing, and the game developers have a great sense of humor (One of the trophies you earn after playing Bocce is called "I Have Heard of Bocce". And there's a neat surprise waiting for you after you win your first Bronze Cup in the different events--I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say it's a nice look into the "augmented reality" that the Move is ushering in).

Games have levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. But unlike other games, playing on the beginner level is definitely challenging and satisfying. Unlike other video games, the controls themselves are not "dumbed down" at beginner levels. Rather, the controls are the same at every level--it's just that at the beginner level you get more visual "hints" on how to perform your best and the opponents skills are also at a beginner level. So the game won't get old quickly, because as soon as you master the techniques and dominate at the beginner levels, you get to move on to stronger and stronger opponents and the visual hints start disappearing as you no longer need them.

You might notice the word I keep repeating is "realism". One thing I appreciate is that Sony didn't just ape the Wii by copying its cartoony look and feel. Instead, the graphics are photorealistic and really show off the advanced graphics capabilities of the PS3. And while I was initially blown away by the "coolness" factor of the Move Controller, I quickly forgot about that as I immersed myself into actually playing the game--which is a good sign that Sony did its job. None of the games are exactly like the real thing, of course, but they all come closer than any other video game experience before.

It's a great first effort for Sony, and hopefully indicative of things to come.

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Product Description:
Sports Champions is anaction-sports game for PlayStation 3 that combines the strengths ofthe PlayStation Move motion controller and the PlayStation Eye peripheral*to provide gamers with true 1:1 motion controlled sports related gamingaction. Designed with both casual and hard-core players in mind, SportsChampions features six events ranging from table tennis, to gladiatorialcombat, and contains three varied gameplay modes and 10 playable charactersto assume as the player and up to three friends battle for the gloryof capturing the in-game Champions Cup. Additional features includethe ability to utilize two Move controllers simultaneously in events,720p video output, PlayStation Network support and more.

Gameplay
Sports Champions lets you and your friends physically engagein an array of competitive sporting activities from the comfort ofyour home. Every event brings its own unique twist to the controls.Use your PlayStation Move motion controller and PlayStation Eye cameracombination to mimic a paddle in table tennis as you conduct highspeed rapid exchanges against your challenger while you employ a varietyof strategies and tactics to win; or ignite the arena as you imitatethe the angle of a slashing sword and swing your arm forward to blastyour opponent right out of the ring. With the easy-to-use PlayStationMove motion controller and PlayStation Eye anyone can crush, spikeand smoke the competition in six challenging events that deliversthe ultimate sports showdown.

Win the Champions Cup in the UltimateSports Challenge using the PlayStation Move controller.
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NBA 2K11 Review

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(More customer reviews)You may consider this a premature review, but I thought I would share my initial feelings about the game anyways.It really doesn't matter the company, whether 2K or EA, but whenever the yearly edition of your favorite sports game is released, it's painfully obvious that the transition between one year to the next is subtle at best.Thankfully 2K doesn't simply add a new feature and highlight it as EA does year in and out with their games.For NBA 2K11, 2K knew it could not let down the legions of Jordan fanboys and fanatics worldwide by pushing out an inferior product and let me tell you, 2K11 has NOT disappointed me thus far.I received this game approximately 4 hours ago, THANK YOU UPS GUY, and after 4 hours of non-stop play, I am VERY satisfied.I'll attempt to break down what I've seen.

Pros:
1) Michael FREAKING Jordan.His presence is already the showstopper part of the game, but 2K does not simply include him in a "Legendary" team and call it quits.No, Sir.As you've already read, they include him on 10 of his legendary Bulls teams whether to relive his classic moments or to use them against current teams.Another cool feature is the ability to unlock all his Jordan brand shoes where upon wearing them, your player will gain specific stat boosts.

2) Inclusion of other legendary teams.They didn't have to, but they so kindly did.

3) Improved AI.Every year 2K and EA claim they have more life-like AI, this year is different.Basically once you pop the game in the disk you're already playing as a Jordan-led team and the difficulty was on Pro.I noticed immediately that the same passes to cutters will not fly.I played 2K10 on Hall of Fame and those passes were money.Well, not anymore. It takes a lot more know-how and timing to get things right and I couldn't be happier.

4) Buttons and moves.By this I mean 2K tweaked the buttons slightly and it's made things easier in my estimation.Circle no longer sets your picks (rather it is the "fake pass" button), as it's now L1.Pushing L1 calls your screener to get into position and releasing it tells him to roll.Rather than allowing the AI to determine when they should roll allows the player to better gauge what the best play will be.You can call a quick screen so that he simply slows the guy guarding you down and allow you to blow by for a layup or dunk, or you can set an adequate pick-and-roll (that would make Stockton and Malone happy) by allowing your screener to have a head full of steam before getting the ball.Performing moves is a lot easier for me this time around, it's hard to get into detail so you'll have to see for yourself.I say moves are a positive this time around because of the newly added animations allow for more variation when trying to break your defender down.

5) Clear difference between Stars and nobodies.When you're using a superior player and an inferior player guards you, performing moves will easily allow you to "brush your shoulder" of the guy.For instance, if you're using Derrick Rose and Robin Lopez switches to guard you, he's basically screwed.Higher ball skill ratings vs. lower speed means when you do a move against him, he'll be left in the dust.Also, star players definitely shine in this game.If you're using MJ or Kobe, being guarded perfectly doesn't mean your shot will clank.Everybody knows these two make/made impossible shots, as ridiculous as it looks/seems, they did it for real and you can do it in the game.Using Kobe in 2K10 was semi-frustrating because it would've been nice if I could've made some of those difficult shots that he makes in reality, now I can see them drop more often that not.Just my preference that I'd like to see some contested shots go down since some guys can pull it off. Again, you need to see for yourself how clear the difference is now.

6) Improved layout & presentation.You could do without this, but it does look nicer. Presentation looks especially cool, what you'd expect if you were watching a game on ESPN or any other live TV station.Massive improvement here that wasn't necessary but is absolutely a pleasure to have.

7) My Player.A lot of the things here will seem familiar to you, but 2K did add nice features here and there and allow for a more variation when developing your player.The combinations of shots, moves, etc. are endless. This feature was already solid in 2K10, but 2K added some nice little features here and there.

8) Graphics.I think the graphics this year around are fairly crisp and to anybody griping about looks, have you ever considered that maybe companies have already maxed out on how great these games can look?1080p is basically the standard and if it doesn't look as good as you think it should be, try getting an LED tv and then get back to me.

Cons:
1) Same announcers, but they did add some new one liners.Either way, playing two games successively means you hear them rant about the same things.I don't think any game developer is willing to pay two new guys to announce their games every year.

2) I have not encountered any bugs thus far, but I suppose with more playing I'll see something? (SEE UPDATE)

Conclusion:
I think when word got out how amazing 2K11 was, EA finally accepted what they already knew.They were pushing out an inferior product year after year.It's never been more obvious this year as EA delayed their interpretation of basketball by 5 (FIVE!) months.If anybody even tried their demo, I don't blame them.Frankly, I'd get this game just for the Jordan factor... but I thank 2K Sports for merely letting his presence be an attention grabber while letting their actual game do the talking.Whether you're a 2K or Live/Elite fanboy, you really owe it to yourself to get this game.2K didn't have to add a lot of the stuff that they did, but they did so anyways because they really wanted to prove to people that they've mastering their craft with dedication and thought.I hope that anybody who reads this review got something out of it because ever since popping the game in, I really felt the need for everyone else out there to see what I saw.If you have any questions or think I'm talking out of my ass, please let me know!And in the future, don't let EA sell you on their Great Balls of Fire (NBA JAM) to buy their games!Quality will always win out against HYPE!

UPDATE 9/10/10
The more and more I play this game, the more I am impressed.The emphasis this year around was actually SIMULATION of basketball.This is why so many casual gamers are upset, because they can't simply pick up the controller and score 50 with any star player as they'd hope.As good as those players are in real life, it's still insanely hard to pull it off on any given night, as it is in the game as well.
Year in and year out, the AI is ALWAYS a big issue. Game reviewers and connoisseurs, like myself and I'm sure many of you, always complain about the simpleton computer.Hall of Fame is NEVER a challenge....... until NOW.I read a review somewhere else on Amazon, complaining about how hard it was to score and how 2K made the game worse.These complaints are RIDICULOUS because the guy clearly didn't know what this game's about.

However, I've seen a few things that annoyed me.
1) Throwing hail mary passes don't work when you're doing them, but the computer can underhand a hail mary pass directly the guy down court.
2) Where are the Kobe shoes?
3) The new dunk contest.I preferred last year's version, though I'm glad that Sprite guy who announces it is gone.

These little things bug me, but the game is otherwise flawless.Game play is authentic and the animations are amazing.
My advice to anybody in the market for a basketball game is that, know what you're purchasing before you buy it.If you want some fantasy game where you can do whatever the hell you like and score a million points, you can purchase a copy of Live 2001-forseeable future or even a pre NBA 2K-11 2K game.This is the finest sports SIMULATION game ever and with that said, you cannot seriously expect to have things be handed to you when playing this.NBA 2K11 is meant for basketball purists who want the most authentic experience playing their favorite sport in virtual reality.Performing moves, running plays, making shots, etc.everything requires attention to detail and an ability to survey the situation at hand... as your favorite baller would in real life.

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Product Description:
When you're the #1 selling NBA videogame two years in a row, the #1 rated NBA videogame 10 years in a row, and havecollaborated with back-to-back NBA champions, Kevin Garnett (2K9) and Kobe Bryant (2K10) - what is NBA 2K11 to do for the next act? Simple: Michael Jordan. The greatest basketball player of all time debuts for the first time in this hardware generation and brings his passion for the game to NBA 2K11 with an all new Jordan Challenge mode, historic Bulls teams, and even a MJ: Creating a Legend mode offering gamers the chance to be a rookie Michael and craft a new career for him. This is on top of improvements to core gameplay elements - including an all-new IsoMotion dribbling controls, deeper My Player mode with new My Career feature, all-new breathtaking visuals, and much more. This year BECOME THE GREATEST with NBA 2K11.

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