Computer games are getting awfully complex these days. There are MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, intense first-person shooters like Bioshock, and RTS titles like Command and Conquer 3. These games are complicated and come with a very steep learning curve. While newbies can attempt to make their way into offerings like these, chances are that they are going to get slaughtered by veterans. You wouldn’t last 10 seconds in a Quake 4 arena with Johnathan “Fata1ty” Wendel. So, where does that leave the rest of us?
Let’s go back. Let’s go back to when anyone could pick up and play any given video game, regardless of whether they were 8 or 80. Let’s go back to the sweat-filled arcades of the 80s, venturing into a world where a line of cabinets would swallow up your roll of quarters before you even realized it. But you’d be smiling the entire time, because these games were fun and instantly gratifying. The 1980s were a golden age for arcade games and now you can relive that entire generation with the X-Arcade Trackball. Like everything else that X-Arcade produces, this thing is built like a tank and feels very arcade authentic. It’s like you standing in front of an ancient Missile Command machine all over again.
The Ultimate Arcade Gaming Experience
Unlike other controllers that have been built for computers, the X-Arcade Trackball contains “authentic arcade parts ripped from a real arcade machine.” There’s no cheap imitation here. This product feels like the real thing, because it actually is the real thing. Everything from the rugged exterior casing to the shiny white trackball look and feel exactly like what you’d find at your local arcade.
The quality is absolutely astounding and believe them when they say that it’s “built like a friggin’ tank.” It really is. They claim that it’s “indestructible” and I’m inclined to agree. This thing weighs 15 freaking pounds! With such tough construction, it should come as little surprise that it comes backed with a lifetime warranty.
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Universal Compatibility
Because of the relatively simple nature of this gaming controller, it’s great to hear that it’s also universally compatible with all computers, regardless of whether you have a Mac or a Windows-based PC. The X-Arcade Trackball is 100% plug-and-play, requiring absolutely no drivers or installation of any kind. You see, your computer is recognize it as a generic three-button mouse.
You can connect the controller to your computer either via USB or PS/2 using the provided 10-foot cable. Yes… TEN FOOT Cable…
The trackball is mapped to your regular mouse movements, whereas the three buttons correspond to the three buttons on a standard mouse. Button 1 and 2 correspond to left click and right click, respectively, whereas button 3 is the center click.
Although you probably wouldn’t want to do this, you could use the X-Arcade Trackball as a mouse for surfing the Internet or editing Word documents. Because of this standard point-and-click functionality, the X-Arcade Trackball is perfect anyone who wants to create a homemade MAME arcade cabinet. Just click and go!
Free Authentic Atari Arcade Games
Obviously, they don’t want to condone the illegal downloading of ROMS, so X-Arcade has gladly included a CD in the box that gives you 12 free authentic Atari classic arcade games.
You can either play these directly from the CD or have the dozen games installed onto your hard drive. They recommend the latter, but I found that performance was perfectly acceptable following the former.
Missile Command and Breakout brought back a lot of nostalgic memories for me, but playing Asteroids was slightly more frustrating, because the trackball wasn’t quite fast enough to keep up with the movements I wanted it to do. This is the first sticking point for this product; the trackball itself has a little too much weight to it, making quick movements difficult.
Pinball Too? Sweet!
If you were a pinball junkie growing up — who wasn’t? — then the X-Arcade Trackball could be for you too. On either side, you’ll find a basic arcade button, giving a near authentic pinball experience. The unfortunate thing for Windows XP users, unfortunately, is that because the X-Arcade is recognized as a generic mouse, the buttons cannot be mapped to standard keyboard keys. When you look at the pull-down menu for controls in 3D Pinball for Windows, there is no option to assign the left flipper to the left mouse button, no ability to map the right flipper to the right mouse button. Aftermarket third-party pinball games may provide this functionality, however.
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Conclusion
Built like a tank and providing a truly authentic arcade experience, the X-Arcade Trackball is quite simply the best arcade-style trackball you’ll find for your computer. Add to this that it can be had for $49.95 after a $20 mail-in rebate and you’ll find exceptional value as well. The build quality is exceptionally good and getting setup couldn’t be easier. I didn’t have a chance to try the Trackball with a golf game like Golden Tee, but I’d imagine that would be an absolutely blast too. This thing is so much fun, it’s not even funny. Editor’s Choice!
Pros
- Rock solid construction using authentic arcade parts
- Universally recognized as standard 3-button mouse
- Free Atari games included in package
- Left and right-handed support
- Way too much fun!
Cons
- Trackball is slightly too heavy and slow
- No ability to map buttons to keyboard keys
Overall Rating: 9.0 /10.0
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