Competition Pro 5000 Joystic.
As promised here is a short(ish) review of the joystick.
(I have taken the afternoon off work in the hope that it would be here when I got in and it was :) )
First off, the packaging. Once the Amazon box was opened I pulled the inner card out of the box and there it was. I haven't seen one of these in over 15 years. Just to see it again made me go all dewy eyed!!
It is packaged in one of those terrible 'blister pack' box things. You know the ones; you have to take a pair of scissors to it. It's thick plastic. It can't be recycled and you just know it's going to take 150 years for it to bio degrade!
Once I wrestled with the box and opened it I was able to get to the joystick. It is identical in every way to the old 500! It looks fantastic and feels just how I remember it. The 5000 fits in your hand perfectly. The joystick is fully micro-switched and all the buttons and the stick feel nice and sturdy. No cheaply made components just to cash in on retro gamers. It is a well-made joystick.
It has 4 fire buttons and a 'turbo switch' (?). It has the usual USB plug on the end of it. I plugged it into a USB port on the back of my computer and it was instantly recognised by Windows XP. I launched Spin. What to try it with first? It HAD to be Jet Pac! I loaded it up and chose 'Kempston Joystick' from the options. I started playing and in a very loud voice I said 'WOW'!!
The stick is incredible. It is SO responsive and works like a dream. The fire buttons are spot on and I got the best score on Jet Pac that I have had for a very long time!
I then tried it with 'Manic Miner' and 'Jet Set Willy' as I wanted to see how precise it could be. It is VERY accurate. With just one click of the stick Miner Willy moves just one pixel along the screen.
I then tried it with Spectaculator. Again, it was recognised instantly and works like a dream on this emulator, too.
To sum up - this is a fantastic joystick. I bought it mainly because I used to have one back in the '80's and '90's and it looks, feels, and plays exactly the same as the original Competition Pro 5000 did/does.
I bought it from Amazon and including postage I paid just over ?10 for it. That's incredibly cheep for such a well-made joystick. It's even cheaper for a wonderfully made retro joystick like this!!
Do yourselves a massive favour and buy one of these. You won't regret it and your (emulated) speccy will love you for the rest of your life!
(I have taken the afternoon off work in the hope that it would be here when I got in and it was :) )
First off, the packaging. Once the Amazon box was opened I pulled the inner card out of the box and there it was. I haven't seen one of these in over 15 years. Just to see it again made me go all dewy eyed!!
It is packaged in one of those terrible 'blister pack' box things. You know the ones; you have to take a pair of scissors to it. It's thick plastic. It can't be recycled and you just know it's going to take 150 years for it to bio degrade!
Once I wrestled with the box and opened it I was able to get to the joystick. It is identical in every way to the old 500! It looks fantastic and feels just how I remember it. The 5000 fits in your hand perfectly. The joystick is fully micro-switched and all the buttons and the stick feel nice and sturdy. No cheaply made components just to cash in on retro gamers. It is a well-made joystick.
It has 4 fire buttons and a 'turbo switch' (?). It has the usual USB plug on the end of it. I plugged it into a USB port on the back of my computer and it was instantly recognised by Windows XP. I launched Spin. What to try it with first? It HAD to be Jet Pac! I loaded it up and chose 'Kempston Joystick' from the options. I started playing and in a very loud voice I said 'WOW'!!
The stick is incredible. It is SO responsive and works like a dream. The fire buttons are spot on and I got the best score on Jet Pac that I have had for a very long time!
I then tried it with 'Manic Miner' and 'Jet Set Willy' as I wanted to see how precise it could be. It is VERY accurate. With just one click of the stick Miner Willy moves just one pixel along the screen.
I then tried it with Spectaculator. Again, it was recognised instantly and works like a dream on this emulator, too.
To sum up - this is a fantastic joystick. I bought it mainly because I used to have one back in the '80's and '90's and it looks, feels, and plays exactly the same as the original Competition Pro 5000 did/does.
I bought it from Amazon and including postage I paid just over ?10 for it. That's incredibly cheep for such a well-made joystick. It's even cheaper for a wonderfully made retro joystick like this!!
Do yourselves a massive favour and buy one of these. You won't regret it and your (emulated) speccy will love you for the rest of your life!