In order to test the force feedback function, I tried it out with some flight simulator games. Believe me, folks, you’ll never regret buying this at $ 99.95 as it has a great deal to offer. You just fire up the engines of your aircraft and you’ll feel the stick starting to vibrate. Take your aircraft into a steep vertical climb and you will feel the G force pulling you back. Fire a missile, feel the recoil and finally know how it feels to be on the right end of a missile launcher. Does this sound great or what? This is definitely one step closer to the ultimate gaming experience. It adds to realism and believability, and makes for a level of total immersion in the game that was previously impossible, no matter how advanced the graphics and the sound are. It adds a sense of the physical, allowing for gut-level reaction rather than cold, cerebral gameplay. 

Since the force feedback function works only with games that support DirectInput 5.0 via DirectX 5.0, Microsoft has added a software bundle in case someone who doesn’t have any games that support DirectX 5.0 wants to have a first-hand experience. The software bundle includes a full version of Interstate ’76, MDK: Mission Laguna Beach and Shadows of the Empire: Battle for Hoth. Two demos of Trophy Bass 2 and Tiger Shark have also been included.

I tested the Force Feedback Pro by playing these games, and the experience was pretty much the same. When playing Interstate ’76, in particular,  the Force Feedback Pro produced some very impressive effects- especially the flat tire. 

Unfortunately, there seems to be a certain lack of consistency in these effects. Since games that don’t support DirectX 5.0 don’t support force feedback either, there’s no real way to tell at this moment in time just how well the Force Feedback Pro will perform. Only time will tell us that.