Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar review

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Verdict:

Review Date: 22 Jun 2007

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Seth Barton

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Thrustmaster's Cougar is a replica of the F-16 fighter's joystick and throttle, and its all-metal construction makes it feel like Thrustmaster has ripped it from a cockpit.

The array of controls is absolutely mind-blowing, with more switches, buttons and knobs than anything we've ever seen. Even more intimidating is the supplied software for customising your control setup. This includes a powerful scripting language, complete with its own 184-page manual. Fortunately, there's a simple setup tool as well, and you can download pre-made custom control scripts for most flight simulators from fan websites.

There's no rudder control, as a set of rudder pedals is sold separately, but you can map the rudder to one of the controls on the throttle for the time being.

The Cougar will divide people into two camps: some will think it's ludicrously over the top, and others will be amazed. If you fall into the latter camp, and you clock up lots of virtual flight hours, it might be worth forking out for.

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