Unfortunately, because of the fact that the
Panther is a non-standard controller, very few games support the enhanced mode. I don't own any that do, although the upcoming titles
Half-Life and
Unreal Tournament are both supposed to support the trackball-and-flightstick combination. When I get my hands on a game that uses the 'ball, I'll update this review. Until then, I can comment on what -does- work in other titles.
[As a side note, when you toggle the switch to the Panther mode, a really cool light shines through the translucent trackball. Nice effect.]
The Panther is a flightstick, and a solid one at that. I use it almost exclusively when I play StarLancer, which is one of the games that it touts supporting. Of course, that's really a misnomer -- the game doesn't support the Panther mode, and you simply use the standard mode of the controller.
This is where you'll come into the first problem with the controller. While for the most part, the button mappings are extremely intelligent -- trigger fires, secondary trigger fires missiles -- a few things, like bringing up one of the menus in StarLancer, are extremely inconvenient. The buttons near the trackball are mapped to the triggers again and one of the X/Y buttons. I think that this double-mapping of triggers is unnecessary, as it's easy enough to hit them with your right hand. This made a few things more difficult than they should have been. I realize that this isn't any real fault of MadCatz, since games use their own key mappings (which can often be changed), but it's something to be aware of.
The replacement shoulder buttons, which are where your right thumb will rest, take a little getting used to as well. They're certainly usable, but they take some practice to get to where you're comfortable with using them.
There are a few things that bothered me, though. The non-flightstick buttons felt a little flaky, especially the start button. They barely depress, and I have a feeling that a little too much use and they'll stop registering much of anything. I just didn't like the 'feel' of them. And the fact that the controller has only one VMU-style port is a glaring oversight. Almost every game made nowadays supports the VMU and the Jump Pack, and when you have to choose between one and the other, you'll have to go with the VMU. This is an irritatant.
The controller is also supposed to be comfortable on your lap, but you may find that after extended play-sessions, it just doesn't sit right. Of course, other people's laps may vary.
That's not to say that this is a bad controller. It's a bit imprecise, but so is every flightstick. It does what it's meant to do, though, and it does it quite well.
