Gunshot Joystick

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Accuracy 7/10

Ergonomics 7/10

Strength 8/10

Overall 7/10

STICKY FINGERS Silence in court. The Joystick Jury has assembled again to sit in judgement on the latest batch of these essential game playing aides. There's been a whole lot of powerful pulverising going on as the joysticks have been subjected to trial by terror and torture. The jury is about to return its verdicts... SPEED KING MACHINES: Spectrum, Spectrum Plus, CBM 64, Vic 20, C16 and Plus 4, Atari, BBC, Electron, Dragon, MSX, Amstrad, Oric MAKER: Konix Computer Products, [redacted] PRICE: £12.99 for most machines, £14.99 for BBC, C16/Plus4 and Dragon. This is the joystick that's hot at the moment. If you believe the makers and PR hype, it's selling faster than the speed of light. It's designed to be hand held. There's no base or suckers so you can't stick it to the table. It fits snuggly into the left hand, forefinger curling under to hit the fire button. The stick itself is operated by the right hand. If you're left-handed, forget it it's almost impossible to hold, and you'll stand no chance in a high speed zap session. The shaft looks fairly fragile but is very responsive and looks a lot tougher than it appears. All in all the Speed King is a nice little performer. But you'd better try it out for size before parting with your hard earned cash. MAGNUM MACHINES: All major home computers, C16 and Plus 4 and Sinclair Plus 2 needs adaptor. MAKER: Mastertronic, [redacted] PRICE: £12.50 The Magnum, Mastertronics first foray into the world of joysticks, is another hand-held model. At least this time its ambidextrous design should present no problems to left-handed players. As the name suggests, this joystick is gun-shaped, with the fire button falling under the thumb and the shaft on top. It fits nicely in hand and a prolonged playing stint produces no really bad side-effects on the hand. Both fire button and shaft perform well, responding instantly to action. The one drawback is that it doesn't feel too sturdy and you get the impression it may not be able to stand up to month after month of zapping. It also comes with six foot of cable. Mastertronic claims this is more than with any other joystick. This, of course, enables you to stand or sit a long way from the computer screen. Which is fine if you have the eyesight of an eagle and can still see what's happening on screen. PRO ACE MACHINES: All major makes. MAKER: Euromax, [redacted] PRICE: £11.95 For some strange reason the Pro Ace is very pleasing to look at. I just happen to like the black matt finish set off by the rather big red (no pun intended) fire button. But that's about all there is really. The whole thing is sturdily built and will no doubt last but was almost immobile, making response time quite slow. The whole thing was also a little uncomfortable to hold in the hand, all angular edges jutting into the palm. A miss with the jury. GUN SHOT MAKER: Vulcan Electronics, [redacted] PRICE: £8.95 Pretty much a standard looking joystick, with four suckered feet for firm anchoring to the table for all those important moments. It has two fire buttons, one on top of the stalk and the other on the base. It also has autofire option if you really want your enemies to bite on a stream of bullets. The stalk is smooth, so if your hands tend to become a little sticky then there's a chance it could slip. Overall, the joystick performs well and has the mark of durability about it. ELITE MACHINES: Atari, Commodore, Amstrad, MSX and Spectrum, BBC and Electron (with interfaces) MAKER: Euromax, [redacted] PRICE: £15.95 Odd shaped and sturdy looking, the Elite is a disappointment when you get grips with it. The shape makes it very uncomfortable to hold and the auto-fire button has to be held down all the time. We even bound it up with sticky tape to keep it blasting away. It does. however, respond well and has the feel of something lasting a long while. We feel it's a little bit of a let down when you consider the quality of past Euromax joysticks. Overpriced as well.

Christmas is a time of peace, goodwill and joy(sticks) for all arcade players. Others on the market at the moment: Check out Cheetah's 125+ at £8.95. It features two base fire buttons and a third situated at the top of the stick. A fourth fire button is on the front of the stick, lying under the forefinger. Slightly more expensive for Cheetah at £14.95 is the Match I+. It's compatible with all major computer makes. Britannia Software is also marketing a new hand-held stick called the Phasor One. It looks similar to Mastertronic's Magnum stick, vaguely gun-shaped with the shaft on top of a pistol grip. It costs £8.95.

THE RATINGS EXPLAINED In accordance with normal C+VG practice, all the joysticks featured here have been graded on a scale of 1-10. For those of you who insist on percentage marks, just add a zero to the score. The categories investigated are as follows: Accuracy: Does the joystick fire when you want it to or does it have a mind of its own? A vital rating, we think. After all, who wants to move right when you intended to go left? Ergonomics: Never use a simple word when a more obscure one will do. This category looks at design. Does the joystick look and feel right? Strength: Otherwise known as the Big Red wrench test. Is the joystick likely to fall part with the least provocation or melt in your hot, sweaty hands in the white heat of battle? Overall: Is this the biz or not? Does it do its job properly. The Game:To try and introduce some consistent standard to the tests all the joysticks were used on Ikari Warriors. We were going to use Sanxion but we lost our copy of the game.

Sinclair User

Overall 65%

Graham Taylor 65%

ONE JOYSTICK'S THE SAME AS ANOTHER ISN'T IT? NO. WHY? BECAUSE GRAHAM TAYLOR SAYS THAT'S THE WAY IT IS! Well you just yank it don' you, I mean sometimes you stab it wiv your fumb as well but das about it reely. Is there such a thing as a cool joystick? What particular piece of plastic will most perfectly set off your Georgio Armani lime green California casuals. If Crockett and Tubbs bust aliens instead of cars what would be the piece of plastic for them? When it comes to joysticks there are as many opinions as there are frazzled aliens. Ain't nobody gonna be damn fool enough to pretend that it's possible to do some sort of definitive/objective analysis. So what we have here is a mixture of fact and faction. Actually reading between the lines will probably reveal some deep-seated and dodgy details about the reviewer. THE RATING SYSTEM KILL FACTOR: A general purpose term implying how responsive the joystick is to your slightest movement. Responsive equals alien deaths. DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS: Can the thing take the strain? Is it going to fall apart in five minutes if the going gets rough? LOOKS CAM KILL: Is it stylish? Is it easy to grip? If it were a car would it be Ferrari Daytona or a dumper truck? This section is almost totally biased. OVERALL COOL: The lot totalled up, fiddled with, adjusted and generally mutated to give a definitive overall impression of the total joystick concept. GUN SHOT 2 Two fire buttons, standard joystick with sucker feet and a fire button option. Lever style. KILL FACTOR Good response times surprisingly and an autofire that lets out a never-ending stream of bullets (photon torpedoes or whatever). DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS Yeah well, its leaf-switched innit, which is not too great. On the other hand it's rigidly constructed, so I'd give it medium durability points. LOOKS CAN KILL Black and red, dull and boring. Smooth handgrip makes your hand slip, no bonus points here. OVERALL COOL Responsive, quite strong. Boring to look at and the grip is naff. PRICE: £8.95

Your Computer

Anthony Thompson

GIVING IT SOME STICK A good joystick is key to success in many shoot-'em-up type games. Anthony Thompson reviews some top models from Vulcan. Joysticks are the first line of defence in the game-players' battle to outwit the computer. The joystick used can seriously affect the way the game is played and many joysticks are available for various types of game. For quick action shoot-em-up games, a large robust stick with a conveniently-placed firing button is a good choice. For arcade games requiring a softer touch, a microswitch joystick which has greater sensitivity should be considered. AUTO GUNSHOTS Vulcan manufactures the popular Gunshot 1 and 2 joysticks. They feature sturdy designs with four suction cups attached to the base, permitting you to fix the stick on a firm base for one-handed control. Unless you have sufficient room on your table or desk to accommodate both keyboard and this space-consuming peripheral, however, it is scarcely a feature worth buying. Both joysticks have two firing buttons, one on the left-hand side of the base and the other on top of the pistol grip. Both buttons have a slight tendency to stick as they are pressed, which could slow you in games which demand rapid bursts of gunfire. The second fire button is designed to allow the joystick to be held in the hand if no space is available to mount it. When it is used in that way the four suction cups make it slightly uncomfortable. The Gunshot 2 model is identical to the Gunshot 1 but it has the additional feature of an auto-fire button. That can be useful in some games where you have to shoot aliens while flying round obstacles but it can be a real disadvantage. Most games allow bullets to be fired only at set intervals and that is the rate dispersed in the auto-fire mode. If you miss a shot through concentrating on your movement, you may lose a life waiting to fire again. The Gunshot 1 costs £7.95 and the Gunshot 2 with auto-fire £9.95.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Accuracy 6/10

Ergonomics 7/10

Strength 6/10

Overall 7.5/10

Jim Douglas 7.5/10

JIM'S JOYSTICK JURY! "PROBABLY THE MOST INTERESTING JOYSTICK ARTICLE... IN THE WORLD!!" For most games players, the most important piece of extra equipment they will buy for their micro will be a joystick. In his search for the ultimate joysticks, C+VG's JIM DOUGLAS locked himself in a small, dark room with Uridium and Winter Games. This is his story... KEMPSTON PRO 5000 The Kempston has reigned as the top games-players' joystick since it first emerged from Coin Controls Limited all those years ago. Despite various gimmicks employed by other firms to make their sticks seem superior, the 5000 seems to have fought off all competition without much bother. Evdn with few alterations over its relatively long life span the Kempston still remains a favourite with most gamers. Performance on Uridium: It performed almost perfectly! The rapid fire needed in the game was admirably supported by the twin fire buttons, neither of which "stuck" or missed a shot. Although there is no definite "switch"ing sound when changing from one direction to another, no problems with accuracy arose at all, Performance on Winter Games: Owing to the lack of audible switching some events became more difficult. In the figure and free skating for example, it is necessary to make a move with extreme precision. The "click" which some sticks produce makes this easier; although it's very easy to correct an error with the Pro 5000. It's also very easy to make a slip. EUROMAX PRO ACE The Pro Ace looks utterly tremendous - all black, with a bright red fire button and direction indicators - but it's awkward to hold, unresponsive and a rather poor show overall! Performance on Uridium: I skimmed over the first Dreadnought's surface, unsuccessfully struggling to hold the blasted thing without partially paralyzing my hand. Firing is very hard work. You've got to push the button firmly home before you get any response. It's very strong - but that's really all I could say for it. Performance on Winter Games: This stick seems to perform best when only minor accuracy is required. On the long events. such as speed skating, it works quite well, although hard work, owing to the power of the sell-centring mechanism. The fire-button was barely adequate. EUROMAX MICRO ACE Doesn't this look frightfully similar to the Pro Ace? Hang on! This has got a RED handle, and WHITE directional arrows! It has also got micro switches, which make life a whole lot easier. Performance on Uridium: It's still a hit of a nightmare to hold, but is better than the Pro Ace. The switches make play more accurate, end less tiring. Firing is still pretty awful, causing terminal cramp in the reviewer's thumb! Performance on Winter Games: Well, it's a bit of an improvement! Movement is easier, and more precise. The firing lets the stick down. On long events, the shape causes considerable discomfort. VULCAN ELECTRONICS' GUNSHOT The Gunshot looks like yet another variation on Spectravideo's Quickshot range. It has the same design style, with one fire button positioned on the base, and another on the shaft. Here, though, the latter sits on top of the handle. Although it offers an effective autofire option, the stick feels a little top-heavy and the rubber feet aren't any real use. Performance on Uridium: The autofire option really comes into its own in the game! it will produce a continual stream of fire while you deal with the tricky aspect of steering. Unfortunately, the stick doesn't really have the necessary accuracy to avoid all the meteor shields. Performance on Winter Games: The grip is very comfortable, especially when working your way through the tough Biathlon event. The firing wasn't particularly sensitive. It has smooth movement, though, making the long-distance events such as speed-skating quite easy. I'm not ease how much it would stand, before the switches became bent away from their contacts. EUROMAX WIZ CARD "Pah", thinks the standard reviewer as this little monstrosity falls from the packet. Well, yah-boo sucks to "standard" reviewers, 'cos this is one of the best "sticks" in the entire universe. So there! It's around the size of an individual Fruit 'n' Nut choc-bar, allowing - obviously - some extra size for the two fire buttons and directional thingy on lop. Performance on Uridium: It's wonderfully accurate, and easy to operate. The only problem with using the Wiz Card (so-called because it's a bit like a card, and a "wiz" to use - geddit?) is if you've got used to a standard joystick. Once you've got the hang of the movement, it's a dream to use. You don't need to exert any force to change direction, and it fits easily into the hand. It's really quite good. Performance on Winter Games: Wonderful! This one worked with hardly any problems at all. Firing was responsive and trouble-free. Direction changes were precise, too. The only problem arose on long events, where continual direction changes are necessary, it was quite hard to get a comfortable grip. You can't really use one thumb, as you've got to press on different areas of the pivoting button. Using the digits though, is rather awkward! QUICKSHOT 1 Many regard the Quickshot 1 as the turning point in joystick manufacture. It's cheap, simple to use and versatile. Unfortunately it's also a pretty awful joystick. Performance on Uridium: Direction changes are ghastly. Firing is cumbersome and stiff. To get any response you need to use a good deal of force. Quite unbearable. Ugh! Take it away! Performance on Winter Games: You can hardly call it "performance". It's horrible. QUICKSHOT 2 Umpteen games players still swear by the Quickshot 2. It's lightweight and efficient. It fits well into the hand, and is comfortable for long-term use. Performance on Uridium: This is a bit of an improvement! It's a lot better than the Q.Shot 1. The autofire works well, giving a nice, healthy stream of bullets. Movement is still a little on the unresponsive side, causing the user to exert more force than is actually necessary on the stick. Its possible to be accurate enough to achieve a reasonable score. Performance on Winter Games: It's certainly of a higher quality than the Quickshot 1. It's easier to use, and the firing is more accurate. Movement isn't much cop, and when you need speed and precision you may as well forget it. CHEETAH 125 Yet another Quickshot clone! It's black, with red buttons, rubber feet and a rather dodgy switch system. This stick has got fire buttons all over it! There are two on the base, a trigger, one on the very top of the shaft and an autofire. It's reasonably strong, but is very Light, and feels as if it's suffering under the strain of multi-directional zapping! Performance on Uridium: Urgh! These base-mounted buttons are dreadful! Let's try the trigger; not much use either. Now about autofire? Oh. That doesn't work either. Not doing very well so far, is it, folks? Playing a passive game of Uridium isn't the easiest - or most sensible thing in the world. Still, the movement is pretty good. There isn't much resistance to direction-changes, and it's not too hard to avoid the dreadnought's static defences. Performance on Winter Games: Still rather awful. The firing was slow and inaccurate, and movement followed suit. It felt strong, though, and held up reasonably well under prolonged play. QUICKSHOT 7 "THE JOYCARD" Yah! Right on! This is the business! Not only do you get a dead swish black card-like object, with an immensely smooth direction-disc in the middle and two fire buttons. BUT... Da-daa! Two red lights to show you when you're firing! More of these little wonders are appearing on the market all the time, and if this one is anything to go by, they could soon be taking business away from conventional sticks. Performance on Uridium: You can hold the button down for autofire, or set it as a normal button. And just watch those red bights go! Movement takes a while to get used to, but is responsive, slick and requires minimal user strength! The design means you con use it with one hand, leaving the other free for slurping coffee etc.

THE RATINGS EXPLAINED The sticks featured here have all been graded on a scale of 1-10 in the following categories: Ergonomics: Design to you, stupid! Does the stick stay firmly in your hand, or does it wrench itself from your grip at the first sign of an approaching nasty? Do those buttons take the superhuman hammering dealt out when you're dealing with a squadron of Uridium fighters? Strength: At the end of your record-breaking effort, is the machinery still in working order? Accuracy: A pretty vital rating this. The last thing you want to happen as you try to match the rotation of the Elite space-stations is for your joystick to decide it only wants to turn one way, and fire at will! Overall: Does the stick do the job?

Your Sinclair

Overall 6.9/10

Darren Stephens

Martin Covill

Noel Wallace

Peter Shaw

[ZXSR: The overall scores are an average of the marks given individually by the three reviewers over the three games tested (Daley Thompson's Supertest, Wanted: Monty Mole and The Way of The Exploding Fist). The actual reviewer scores are included in the review text.] IT'S A STICK UP! Are you still scraping by using a keyboard on the latest arcade games - and scraping the skin off the ends of your fingers into the bargain? What you need's a 'stick to bring the joy back to your gamesplaying. To help you choose the right one for the job, we asked three YS readers to take a grip of themselves and review the top ten. Peter Shaw joined them and came in for some stick! How d'you go about choosing a joystick? We're all guilty of believing that a joystick is a joystick is a joystick - so why not plump for the cheapest. After all, they all work in the same way, don't they? No, they jolly well don't. Even leaving aside an obvious novelty like the Suncom Joysensor, you'll find that each 'stick has its own feel, almost its own personality. (What is yours called? Ed). There are big 'uns and little 'uns, some with flexible shafts, others stiff. You'll come across some real neat ones and some that are just plain ugly. And, to make things even more complicated, you'll soon suss out that a joystick that hits the heights on one game is of no earthly use on another. In an ideal world, you'd have a different joystick for every game in your collection - but then in an ideal world we'd be picking pound notes off the pavement! So, if you play more than one game, you're now faced with a very tricky bit of decision making. Do you pick a joystick that'll allow you to excel on your fave rave but only lets you plod along with pedestrian scores on the rest - or do you choose an all-rounder that'll give you better than average scores on a variety of games? But then you'll have to resign yourself to the fact that you may never receive the ultimate accolade of being chosen as one of Hex's Heroes. Of course, for most of us, our minds are made up by the weight of our wallets. (What's a wallet? Ed). But whichever way you want to choose a joystick, you'll find all the information you need in our comprehensive review of the top ten. Each 'stick; has been thoroughly put through its paces by three great games players who've been hand picked from Hex's Heroes. And then they did the rough stuff on three very different types of game - a platform, Monty On The Run, a hand-to-hand combat, Way Of The Exploding Fist and a joystick waggler, Daley Thompson's Supertest. So, if you're in the market for a new 'stick, turn the page and get stuck into the full reviews from our team of joyriders. HIT & MISS STICKS DALEY THOMPSON'S SUPERTEST - OCEAN This is the ultimate game that'll push any joystick to its limits. If a 'stick can cope with a day's pounding from DT then you can be sure it's tough. And it's not just the shaft - The fire buttons need to be good too - easily accessible and very responsive for that last minute press before taking a penalty or diving from the spring board. Quickshot II Martin: I like the reactions with this one an' it's got some of the best positioned fire buttons of all the sticks. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: I don't think this joystick wanted to co-operate and building up speed was tricky. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Noel: The length of the shaft tires your arm out too quickly with all that waggling. Not keen on this one at all. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Quite a good design but not as good as most joysticks. I don't think the omission of rapid fire matters. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Darren: Not exactly a special joystick - very standard 8-directional. Still I did get some good scores with it. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Noel: Looks too much like the Quickshot for my liking, and I don't reckon it'll take the strain of Supertest On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: A good joystick with a good reaction time. The fire buttons are also well positioned. Where can I find fault? On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: It's a good joystick - what else can I say? The colour's a bit garish but that doesn't bother me. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: Oh dear, this one's deafening me! The reaction's OK, but the size of the shaft made my arm ache. On The Stickometer: /810 HIT Formula II Martin: Wonderful design job and a really good response to back it up. This has it all apart for big buttons. On The Stickometer: 8/ HIT10 Darren: Great stick. Well designed, good response and above all, the fire buttons are in the right place! On The Stickometer: 9/10 Noel: This one's too flimsy. I prefer a good stiff stem, and this joystick definitely hasn't got what it takes. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Kraft Martin: Don't think much of this one. The design's too fragile and it just ain't good with Supertest. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Darren: I reckon it's good. I prefer the small 'sticks as long as the control's still in there. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: This joystick is just right for Supertest. A short shaft means less work for me and it's tough enough. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Micro Stick Martin: Not much cop for this sort of game. The rotation of the shaft makes it pretty awkward to use. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Don't really like this one - the fire button is much too stiff to be of any use in this game. On The Stickometer: 7/10 MISS Noel: Well it's very nice but it tires your arm out after only a few waggles of the shaft. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It's got nice fire buttons and a good reaction but it doesn't seem to work with Supertest too well. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Well it's easy to grip and easy to fire. I quite like the stylish design too. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Noel: It's got very quick reactions and an excellent grip. I'll go for this one any day. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: Oh it's so easy to win on Supertest - you only have to shake the joystick vigorously! On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Darren: Excellent joystick to use with Supertest - I've got my best score ever on nearly all the games. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: Ideal for this game, you only need to wiggle the joystick - it's that simple! On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Command Control Martin: Well it's a good joystick and it's got a decent sized base to grab hold of. Bigger is better, eh? On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: I don't think the vigorous action of Supertest is going to do this one any favours! On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Brilliant joystick to use with Supertest - very sturdy and reactions are fast. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: Ugh. It's terrible. Too much like using a ZX81 keyboard. There's no real control at all. On The Stickometer: 1/10 MISS Darren: It's really useless for this game - how can you do left/right quickly on a membrane? On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Noel: It reacted well but took the skin off the end of me finger while rubbing. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS MONTY ON THE RUN - GREMLIN GRAPHICS For a platform game like this, a joystick's gonna need pinpoint accuracy so you can get as close to the edge as possible. And as you'll expect to spend a fair dew hours meeting Monty's goal, you don;t want a grip that'll leave you with sweaty palms and a slippery shaft. And the button had better be big so a thumb can easily be dumped on it for those long jumps. Quickshot II Martin: This joystick definitely works well with platform games. It's nice and accurate with a well-designed shaft. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: This is the one I've got at home, and I'm used to the action but that's not to say it's the best there is. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: OK, so it's not bad at coping with platform games, but I still reckon that the shaft is too flimsy. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Quite a good joystick to use on the old platforms - everything seems easy to control. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: It's got an average response and all-in-all it's a pretty average joystick. Nothing to write home about. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Stem seems to spindly and the grip gets as sweaty as Bumpry's armpit. Not for me this one. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: Very easy to get used to. I like the design and its accuracy overwhelmed me. I'll take one! On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: Nice shaft though it could be longer and the reaction is OK. The overall effect is good. On The Stickometer: 5/10 HIT Noel: This one went very well with Monty. Its reaction is very fast - not bad at all. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Formula II Martin:Very good. The fire buttons react very well. Overall, perfect for this kind of game. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: It's very similar to the Gunshot. I like it, the design's very hi-tech and the reaction's fast. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: It's still too flimsy for my liking but it works well with Monty though. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Kraft Martin: I don't rate this joystick at all. the response is OK but I find it too fragile for the game. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: It's a good joystick. I like this design more than most and the shaft's very comfortable. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: Oh, it's horrible - Monty, just doesn't work with it. I'd get more response from a garden gnome. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Micro Stick Martin: It's too stiffm very slow and unresponsive. But the design is quite good so I'll be gentle. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: Better in this game, possibly because everything doesn't go so fast. Still not impressed. On The Stickometer: 7/10 MISS Noel: It's quite good. It's got fast action and a good grip design. I like it even if they don't. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It's very pretty but I don't think much of the overall effect. The controls seem a bit dodgy. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Darren: It's a smooth joystick, but I don't reckon it works to well with this game. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Noel: It's the best desiigned joystick of the pack and to top that the reaction speed is fast too. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: It's a lot of hard work stopping Monty running into things when you haven't got a leg to stand on. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Darren: It's much too awkward to use in this game - you really can't control what's happening. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Ooops - no good for Monty as he keeps running off the end of all the platforms. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Command Control Martin: Directional control on this joystick is quite good. Unfortunately the top button lets it down. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Darren: The shaft's the right size, it's the right shape and offers good control. Just right for platforms. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: Well apart from getting a little too sweaty in my paw, this one works really well. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: Even worse than with Supertest. The movement control is absolutely tosh. Double ugh! On The Stickometer: 1/10 MISS Darren: It's not quite right for platforms somehow, but it was great fun trying! On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Noel: It's useless with platforms as you can't change direction accurately enough. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS WAY OF THE EXPLODING FIST - MELBOURNE HOUSE If you're ready to face the karate challenge, your joystick will need the combined powers of both shaft and button. If the shaft won't react quickly enough, or its directional flexibility is dodgy, then a joystick can be considered worthless with a game like this. Plus you'll need a fire button that's easily accessible and very responsive - or it's the chop for you, matey! Quickshot II Martin: Hmmm, it;s realy easy to use with Fist, The reaction is good and the buttons are just right. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: Can't say I like this combination. Maybe it's me but it sure seems a bit unresponsive. On The Stickometer: 3.5/10 MISS Noel: It's got a well designed grip and fire button positioning, but the movement feels too limp and flimsy. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Gunshot 1 Martin: Nothing special, but the reactions are fast enough to keep up with Fist and fire buttons are OK. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Darren: Well I like it. I found it very co-operative an' I'd be quite happy having one on my Speccy. So there! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: The shaft's too spindly and I reckon it'll break if you sneeze on it. Please take it away! On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Formula 1 Martin: Not so good for use with Fist. The size of the shaft seems a disadvantage. Fire buttons are nice though. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Darren: I think it gives you a lot of control. The fire buttons are in exactly the right position and they're BIG! On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Reacts quite well and the size of the fire buttons are a big plus in this joystick's favour. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Formula II Martin: This one seems made for Fist, the reaction time is good - control is easy and the fire buttons are fab. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Darren: It's great. The case design is very smart and the reaction time is good too - I'm tempted to get one. On The Stickometer: 10/10 HIT Noel: It's really too flimsy. I know I keep going on about it but I rather hold a piece of raw liver than this joystick. On The Stickometer: 6/10 MISS Kraft Martin: Reactions are quick enough but the shaft's too small. You won't find me buying one. On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Darren: Pretty good - it responds well with this game. I like the four-way, eight-way feature. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Shock, horror - it reacts quite well with Fist. You wouldn't think it was the same joystick. On The Stickometer: 6/10 HIT Micro Stick Martin: Don't like it a great deal, it's a bit too stiff. You get massacred using this one for Fist. On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Darren: Oh dear... maybe the fire button has actually packed up. Not a good mark in my book. On The Stickometer: 5/10 MISS Noel: Quite a good joystick (The fire button must still have been working! Ed). Good response. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT The Champion Martin: It''s a pretty design but being left handed I find it quite awkward to use. On The Stickometer: 5/10 HIT Darren: Another one of the joysticks has packed up on me this time the directional controls are up the spout! On The Stickometer: 3/10 MISS Noel: It's got quite good reactions and responsive diagonal controls. Good joystick. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Le Stick Martin: Terrible! Very hard to judge where it is and diagonals are nigh-on impossible to achieve. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: I think it's quite good but if you get too excited then you might lose track of where you are. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Very slow reacting - I reckon it's a miss for Fist. (More, Adrian Mole poetry huh? Ed.) On The Stickometer: 4/10 MISS Command Control Martin: A good stick with an easy-to-handle shaft but the choice of etierh top or bottom fire button is naff. On The Stickometer: 7/10 HIT Darren: The buttons are good although I'd have preferred to use both. Works well with Fist though. On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Noel: You can really kick the proverbial out of the other player with this stick. Very responsive! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT Suncom Joysensor Martin: It's not really very practical. As joysticks go, this one's more of a novelty than anything. On The Stickometer: 2/10 MISS Darren: Seems to work better with Fist than with any of the other games. Quite a good sore with this one. On The Stickometer: 8/10 HIT Noel: Reacts really well. I've just beaten my all-time high score. I might even buy one! On The Stickometer: 9/10 HIT

GETTING SOME STICK Joystick Name: Quickkshot II Price: £10.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Spectravideo Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: Gunshot 1 Price: £7.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Vulcan Electronics. [redacted] Joystick Name: Kraft Price: From £12.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Vulcan Electronics. [redacted] Joystick Name: Formula I Price: £16.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Kempston Micro. [redacted] Joystick Name: Formula II Price: £11.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Kempston Micro. [redacted] Joystick Name: Micro Stick Price: £ Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Datex Ltd. Joystick Name: The Champion Price: £11.99 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: CGL Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: Command Control Price: £27.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: CGL Ltd. [redacted] Joystick Name: LeStick Price: £12.99 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Lightwave Leisure. No number available. Joystick Name: Joysensor Price: £19.95 Manufacturers Name and Phone Number: Consumer Electronics. [redacted]

GIVE 'EM STICK Talk about too much of a good thing! Even with all the reviews in front of you, it's still tricky choosing the right one for you. One way is to add up all the scores, of course. But if you're really clever, you'll use Chris Somerville's program, Second Opinion that appeared in YS 19. We tried it and came up with some very interesting results. Le Stick got into the quarter finals before being toppled and the Quickshot II and Formula II tied until reaching the final. Just take a look at our top five raves after they'd come through the mincer. 1st - Command Control, Wico/CGL; Formula II, Kempston 3rd - Quickshot, Spectravideo 4th - Le Stick, Lightwave Leisure 5th - Micro Stick, Datex

Yikes - here's the poor YS readers who're in for some stick. There's Martin Covill, a 15- year-old self-confessed Madonna fan (OK you can turn the tap off and take the matchsticks out now) who hails from Canterbury. In the middle is Darren Stephens who's 13 and brought his whole family plus pets to see the YS office. Finally, meet Noel Wallace who lives a 55p bus ride away - so, we made him walk home, and before you tell us, we know that Noel sometimes gets hold of the wrong end of the stick. After all, anyone who needs two hands to pull on a Quickshot and can injure himself on a Joysensor is brilliant enough to replace Troubleshootin' Pete!

ZX Computing

From Vulcan Electronics comes a sturdy pistol grip style joystick. Joysticks tend to be a matter of personal preference but if you like this type which essentially needs a fair bit of wrist action then you could do worse than look at this one. It has a nice solid feel, even though it appears to be made of ABS plastic, and movement is firm and positive. There are two fire buttons, one on the base and one on the top of the pistol grip stick. These fire quickly and with a definite "click" which I liked. A set of rubber suction caps are fitted to the base, so it can be stuck to a table or desk for added control. I tried it with a selection of games and found it made a noticeable improvement in my playing, on Moon Cresta my score went from four figures to five on the first play and I even beat the built in high score! I found that after about an hour playing (don't we suffer in our efforts to review for you!) that my wrist and thumb ached, but I suppose with constant use this would cease to be a problem, anyway there is an auto fire feature on the next model up in the range. Priced at £8.95 it is one of the best of its type, but I wouldn't like to play Decathlon with it (or any other joystick for that matter).

Sinclair User

STICK FOR TOUGH GUYS Arcade freaks who wear out joysticks at a rate of knots and are looking for a cheap replacement should look at the new Gunshot from Vulcan. Unlike most low cost joysticks, such as the Quickshot, it uses leaf spring switches and so should last a little longer. It has the standard features of two fire buttons, one on the stick and the other on the base, rubber suckers to hold it on the table and a moulded grip. The feel of a joystick is a matter of personal taste. You have to move the Gunshot stick a long way before it registers and some might prefer a more delicate touch. With the joystick Vulcan is marketing a Kempston compatible interface, priced £11.50. The Gunshot, priced £8.95, is available from high street stores.

Sinclair Programs

VULCAN HAS LANDED Vulcan Electronics Limited are producing a joystick and interface compatible with both the Spectrum and the Spectrum Plus. Formerly a distribution company , they have decided to move into the market with some reasonably priced add-ons for the Sinclair machines. At £8.95 the Gunshot Joystick has suction pads, moulded grip handle, and there is a rapid fire version available at £11.95. The Spectrum interface is compatible with the Kempston and Gunshot joysticks. It costs £11.50. Vulcan can be contacted at: [redacted].

Crash

Franco Frey

GUNLAW - THE GREATEST GUNSHOT IN THE WEST VULCAN, who have been distributing amongst other things the SPECTRA VIDEO QUICKSHOT 1 and QUICKSHOT 2, have now released the GUNSHOT joystick, which seems to be a synthesis between the two QUICKSHOTS. The marked difference lies in the cream and grey colour of the unit, which is either to distinguish it from the other two offerings or to give it a MSX or Commodore family resemblance. Eenie, meenie, minie mo, which one to choose from? CONSTRUCTION GUNSHOT seems at first to come out of the same moulds as the QUICKSHOT 1, but there are quite a few differences. On the inside can be found the usual star contact arrangement which is activated by the plastic actuator ring integral to the plastic shaft. A marked difference lies in the fact that the ring is not made to flex as usual with this type of design, so a more solid feel should be noted on actuation. The plastic shaft is suspended by a spherical support in the top moulding and by a stiff spring protruding from the lever shaft which acts as a flexible bearing shaft, all very similar to the QUICKSHOT 2. The common star makes contact with four nickel-plated screwheads, which are mounted on turrets and hold the solder tags fitted to the wire ends of the cable. The lever handle incorporates a moulded grip and looks like an inverted QUICKSHOT 1 lever. A round thumb-activated fire button is positioned in such a way that the palm of the hand comes to rest on the joystick enclosure, stabilising the joystick for one-hand operation. A further round fire button is available at 10 o'clock in the main body of the unit and is for right-handers only. Both fire buttons actuate dome switches mounted on small pcb's. The body-mounted fire button pcb has provision for an AUTOFIRE option, but the review model (CL-123)did not have this feature and the switch opening is covered by the manufacturer's label. The cable is the usual unit incorporating an integrally molded D connector (ATARI-compatible pinout) and retaining grommet. Four large suction cups provide stability for one hand operation (provided there are no crumbs on the table!). IN ACTION The stick action is what one has come to expect with this type of construction. There is a fairly short and loose travel with poor centering action, but this allows on the other hand for pretty fast 'edging' on some games. With the combination of short throw and poor centering it is quite easy to do diagonal moves by mistake. The GUNSHOT isn't ideal for handheld use due to its great width but it comes into its own when 'suctioned to the table. The unit is solidly constructed and withstands the usual vandalism when playing DECATHLON type games. CONCLUSION GUNSHOT fits into the lowest price category of joysticks and feels like an improved and certainly more rugged version of the QUICKSHOT 1 joystick. It does not have the trigger fire action of the QUICKSHOT 2 and obviously does not include the AUTOFIRE facility as standard. The familiarity of the design is apparent and given the kind of technique used the quality of action is pretty much the same compared to its competition. At £7.95 this is obviously a good first buy.