Manufactured By:  Gravis

Retail Price:      $39.99 (US)

Review Date:  03-16-01

The stick has a unique look to it and is well padded on the stick for a decent grip.  Rubber padding is also used in the center of the hat switch for better control.  The outer ring of the hat switch is lit- offering no real benefit but it sure looks cool.  Every button is labeled making creating profiles easier.  The trigger is not simply a trigger button but a true trigger.  Everything about the stick is interesting and it is obvious that serious consideration went into the design and layout of the Precision Pro.

• 7 buttons (1 trigger, 4 head and 2 base buttons)
• Precision button (lighted)
• Throttle
• Weapon scroll wheel
• Lockable twist rudder action
• 8 way hat switch
• USB or gameport connection
• Powerful Xperience profile software

• Sports games (NHL, NFL, Baseball series games)
• Flight Sims/Arcade (MS FlightSim, CombatSim, Crimson Skies etc.)
• Racing Games (Need For Speed, Powerslide, Midtown Madness, etc.)
• Space Sims (Descent Freespace, Forsaken, Mechwarrior III, Incoming, etc.)

The stick was setup without issue and profiles were used along with in-game programming.  I prefer to use the in-game programming where possible and leaving the profile option set to DirectX inputs.  The full axis control of this stick makes it a great choice for flight sims where you can get throttle and rudder control from a single device.  You can also lock the rudder axis into place to prevent the stick from twisting in games such as racing sims where the extra axis in not needed.  

The stick rocked in flight sims including MS FlightSim 2000, the included Fly2K, Crimson Skies and MS Combat Sim 2.  Coordinated rudder was disabled and the twist rudder was used for rudder control.  With the exception of helicopter control the rudder provided more than adequate control.  For helicopter control the full throw of add-on rudder pedals is needed and no type of stick controls will substitute.  The unique weapons scroll wheel is best for advanced fighter sims.  MS Combat Sim 2 does not require elaborate weapons control and the buttons serve well enough for selection.  Still, the inclusion of this feature is nice and can be used for other selections besides weapon selection and control.

I of course played the collection of race and space games I own too.  The throttle lever became an important control surface in these types of games.  The only thing missing that would be beneficial is a center detent on the throttle lever.  Its easy enough to judge the center position visually but something that could provide another indicator would have been nice.  The bevy of buttons was sufficient for all I played.  The weapons scroll wheel was a great addition with Mechwarrior type games- I overheated much less; being able to select the weapon I wanted to use with ease.

I really enjoyed using this stick.  It offers usability for a variety of games and it seems nothing is left out of its feature list.  A force feedback version of this stick would be great!

Setup -
Setup was problem free.  Its easy too!  With the USB setup you can plug the controller into you system with it on, let Windows recognize it and insert the CD.  A purple haired maven congratulates you on your controller selection and helps you with the process.  The only thing you will need to do on your own is determine which controller series you have.  For the Eliminator Precision select the Eliminator option and the proper drivers and profiles will be setup.

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 stick.  You can create a variety of settings and save them for use.  

The other CDs are the full version of the stellar flight sim Fly2K from terminal Reality.  Note that all Precision Pro's do not come with the Fly2K package and you must look for the bundle.  The Fly2K box is shrink-wrapped to the controller box.  There is no mistaking whether it is there or not.  Fly2K is a great flightsim.  I won't go into its particulars of the sim (I don't review software) beyond saying its a nice addition to the package making it a great value.

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 and historically they have given good support.  Hopefully they will create a profile download section for this and their other controllers.

The Control Center highly recommends the Eliminator Precision Pro.  It connects using either the gameport or USB making it versatile, it has superb features and a wonderful, cool design.  Not enough can be said about this device...

• Precise and stable USB or gameport connection
• Numerous buttons 
• Powerful profiler/setup utility
• Unique weapons wheel

• No force-feedback

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

Buy the Gravis Eliminator Precision Pro Joystick