I love old school games, particularly the original Street Fighter II. While consoles these days are arguably even more powerful than their arcade counterparts, there really is no replacement for the experience of doing a quarter circle forward on a real arcade joystick, bashing away at real arcade buttons, and beating the bloody pulp out of your best friend with a thunderous Sonic Boom. Blanka didn’t even know what hit him. Obviously the people from X-Arcade know what I’m talking about.
For the absolute best arcade experience from the comfort of your own home, it doesn’t get much better than the X-Arcade TankStick. This thing is built like a friggin’ tank — hence its name — and it’ll be able to suffer the worst of beatings just like its sibling, the X-Arcade Trackball Mouse Controller. Yes, even when you play a hardcore button mashing game like Metal Slug or an intense fighting game like Mortal Kombat, the TankStick will not only hold its own… it’ll take the beating and it’ll like it. In the company’s own words, “the X-Arcade TankStick is a true arcade console built to last.”
Big and Beefy…The Tankstick That is…
It is not an exaggeration when I say that the X-Arcade TankStick is absolutely breathtakingly amazing. I’ve fiddled with arcade joysticks designed for use with home consoles and computers before, but nothing has come even close to the rock solid build quality of this machine. The TankStick most certainly is not for the faint of heart.
It measures 30 inches long and weighs a very hefty 20 pounds. You will not want to play with this on your lap, because it will surely get uncomfortable. Find yourself a sturdy table and get a comfortable chair, because if you’re anything like me, you will not want to leave the TankStick. I was planning on just playing a quick session of Capcom vs. SNK 2 on my GameCube to test out this joystick, but I ended up playing for hours just because it brought back so many nostalgic memories.
When I hooked up the TankStick with my PC, I got hooked on playing MAME games all over again. While we certainly do not condone you playing any illegal ROMs, enjoying classic arcade games on the TankStick is nothing short of heaven. From WWF WrestleFest to Final Fight, button mashing never felt so good. As I said, this is no exaggeration.
You get extra thick particle board, authentic arcade components, and plenty of weight. This “bullet-proof physique” is backed up by a lifetime warranty. It will not break, even if you try.
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Core Features
The X-Arcade TankStick is actually the combination of two existing devices available through the same company. You get the X-Arcade Dual Joystick and the Real Arcade Trackball in one complete package. The Trackball can be used with any computer game that uses a mouse — classic Breakout action is pretty fun — whereas the dual joysticks can be mapped to whatever keys you need in MAME. The buttons are basically a mapping of your keyboard, so whatever you can play on your keyboard, you can play on the TankStick. I wouldn’t recommend using this for World of Warcraft, Command and Conquer, or anything like that though. That’s not what the TankStick was designed for; you’ll want it for crazy arcade action and in this respect, it delivers in spades.
Each player gets treated to a high quality joystick, a set of eight action buttons, a start button, and two modifier buttons mounted on either side of the TankStick. They say that these buttons can be used with pinball games.
I found that the execution of a fireball or uppercut in Street Fighter was a mixed bag. When using a MAME ROM, the response was very poor. It was difficult to perform any special move with any sort of consistency. By contrast, when connected to a home console like the GameCube or Wii, the response was phenomenal and felt just like playing the game in a real arcade. The key difference, of course, is that you don’t need a roll of quarters to enjoy the TankStick. Based on this comparison, I’d conclude that the poor Street Fighter performance on my PC was largely the fault of MAME and not the X-Arcade.
Compatibility
When you order the X-Arcade TankStick, it comes pre-bundled with all the cables you’ll need to connect it to your computer. Also in the bundle are 18 full version arcade games that you can enjoy on your PC, including 12 Atari Classics and 6 Midway titles. You’ll get games like Centipede, Missile Command, Gauntlet, and Rampage. Connection can be done via PS/2 or USB.
In order to get the TankStick to work with your video game system, you’ll need to purchase an additional adapter cable. Cables are available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Dreamcast, Wii, and PlayStation 3. Note that with the Wii, the TankStick will only work with legacy GameCube games and certain Virtual Console titles. The TankStick is also compatible with Apple Computers and can be configured for use with GameTap.
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Too Much Fun! How’s That for a Conclusion?
It’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun. The X-Arcade TankStick truly recreates the arcade experience to a tee and I would highly recommend it to anyone with retro inclinations. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to play through classic NES and SNES games using the Wii Virtual Console paired with this machine? Can you imagine revisiting all those MAME arcade classics with a real arcade controller? The Tankstick truly performs and you’ll need to pry it out of my cold dead hands. It’s mine!
While the cable for connecting the Tankstick to your PC is very long, it’s strange that the Wii adapter cable was so short. It measured only about six feet long, so you may want to invest in some extension cables (available on eBay for less than ten bucks). The feel of the surface on the Tankstick is slightly textured, but overall this is a no frills joystick that will not disappoint. Highly recommended and Editor’s Choice material for sure!
Pros
- Exceptional build quality
- Real arcade components
- Great weight and size
- Recreates arcade experience perfectly
- So much fun
Cons
- Cumbersome cable connections
- Will eat up your time
- Particle board feels a little cheap
Overall Rating: 9.5 / 10.0
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