Manufactured By:  Gravis

Retail Price:      $69.99

Review Date:  11-05-99

OK, the 3D designation on game controllers has been worn out.  Its been applied to specialty controllers, joysticks and the like without much regard for what kind of control it actually allows you.  Here's the new term- "Dual".  Microsoft released their 3D controller the Sidewinder Dual Strike and Gravis now has the Xterminator Dual Control Joystick.  The term is actually borrowed from the console market.  They have dual analog joysticks and gamepads.  So what's all of this duality about...

Imagine driving in your car (its not that difficult).  You are controlling the motion of the car AND looking around as you do so.  You are controlling two things at once- the movement and the view.  The Xterminator Dual Control allows you to do it all- control your player or vehicle while freely looking and aiming at the same time.

The Dual Control is not just a gimmick controller.  It is very well laid out and functions fine as a general joystick.   The layout of the controller utilizes 8 of your 10 fingers.  On your left hand your pinky controls a single button and your second and middle finger each control 2 buttons each.  Your left index finger controls the throttle and  you thumb controls the proportional d-pad.  On your right hand your pinky, index and middle fingers go unused (button wise), you index finger controls the trigger and your thumb gets a workout with an 8 way hat-switch, a single button and a rocker button.

If your coordinated enough to do multiple things at one you can really take advantage of this setup.  It is more intuitive than some other 3D controllers.  Once you get setup you should be able to jump right into play.  However setup posed a bit of a challenge to me.

No fault to Gravis, but I had some difficulties setting up the controller properly.  Right out of the chute I tried to install it as a USB device (that's easier right?).  My system was recently updated with DirectX 7.  For some unknown reason DirectX 7 has difficulty with some controllers (add the Dual Control in USB mode to the list).  It identified 3 Xterminator Dual Controls on my system- 2 as OK and one as "not connected".  They wouldn't manually delete from the menu and I was stuck.  I reverted to the old reliable gameport connection for testing.  Like I said, no fault of Gravis, many USB controllers are having the same problem.

• 8 way proportional d-pad
• Throttle wheel
• 7 programmable buttons (one can function as a shift button doubling your button options)
• 2 position rocker switch
• 8 way hat switch
• USB or gameport interface

• First-Person-Shooters (Quake II, III, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life, etc.)
• Flight Sims (MS FlightSim 98, CombatSim, Fly, etc.)
• Racing Games (Need For Speed, Powerslide, Midtown Madness, etc.)
• Space Sims (Descent Freespace, Forsaken, Mechwarrior III, Incoming, etc.)

As a standard joystick the Dual Control is a very nice joystick.  The only thing missing is rudder control.  I worked around this by using 2 of the buttons on the left portion of the stick for rudder control.  Not as accurate or easy to use as true rudder control but it functioned well.  I used the Dual Control for a variety of flying, driving and mech games.  Thanks to its layout it is very comfortable even after hours of use.  It is also well laid out making any action easy to perform.  

It played well as a typical joystick... but its not a typical joystick.  When the Xterminator Dual Control is used to its fullest potential you have a powerful control tool at hand.  Like any other good thing you have to work for it.  I found that every first-person-shooter ran with the Dual Control in standard mode and the d-pad set to function as mouse.  I activated the joystick and programmed the button actions in the games (Quake II and III, Unreal, Half-Life and Sin).  Each also required considerable tweaking.

I needed to decrease the sensitivity of the d-pad in the Xperience setup and fiddle with the mouse (actually the d-pads action) sensitivity setting in the games.  I also needed to assign 2 buttons to strafing or turning since there is not enough axis's to handle all of the needed functions.  Once the right balance was achieved I was buzzing down passage ways sliding, circle strafing, picking ghouls off balconies and other impressive moves I don't know the names for.  The setup time to get it right was made up for by the level of control you can achieve with the Dual Control.

The last part of testing put the Dual Control in d-pad mode.  The d-pad on the base was used as the primary controller and the buttons throughout the unit were used for different functions.  I did not use the throttle for any of the games I tried but it could easily be integrated into any game where it would be necessary.  I played games like Star Wars: Phantom Menace, FIFA 99 and NHL 99 with this configuration.  

The selection of buttons allowed me to easily control all of the functions of the games I tried in this mode.  The d-pad is proportional meaning it senses how far you have the pad in a particular direction; not reading extremes of the pad like other controllers.  This gives you a more accurate control.

Overall, the performance of the Dual Control is better than average.  Its a highly comfortable and versatile controller.

Setup 92% -
Setup for all practical purposes was problem free (see my note above about DirectX 7).  Its easy too!  You have the option to setup the controller as either a USB or gameport device.  If you choose the gameport connect it while the system is off and fire up your machine.  Insert the driver and utility CD and proceed through the automatic setup process.

If you opt for the USB setup (either without DirectX 7 or some fix implemented) you can plug the controller into you system with it on, let Windows recognize it and insert the CD.

Once the software is installed put it through a quick calibration and test and you're set to play with the advanced settings of the Dual Control.  You can create a variety of settings and save them for use.  

The drivers install easily and the Xperience software is very nice to use.  I'd almost go as far to say its easy.  It is very intuitive to use; I didn't have to refer to the manual or help files to figure it out.  It did take me a while to figure out that it ships without any game profiles though.  

The Xperience also offers comprehensive on-line help files.  They go into specific details on setting up, saving, exporting and using specific game profiles.  The Gravis website offers few details on this new controller but historically they have given good support.  Hopefully they will offer a profile download section as more are created.

Because the controller is so versatile The Control Center recommends the Dual Control without hesitation.  Its a wonderful all-in-one solution offering either a USB or gameport connection that will suit all your control needs.

• USB or serial port connection
• Numerous buttons 
• Nice ergonomics
• Good 3D control
• Versatile

• 3D use requires user tweaking for optimal performance
• Lack of a rudder axis

1 Stick  - Not Recommended
2 Sticks - Functional            
3 Sticks - Recommended with some issues 
4 Sticks - Recommended
5 Sticks - Highly Recommended!

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