Tired of getting wasted by evil aliens? Are you getting keyboard cramps in your hands? Are you a pouty, bored or vacant gamer? Then it's time to get PowerRamp or RUN HOME TO MOMMA! |
Loud pitch which is featured on the loud box art...
PowerRamp, $40 by ACT Labs (Canada)
See end for ordering information
The PowerRamp is easy to set up and has lots of buttons. There's eight big buttons, each with a rapidfire option (though rapidfire doesn't work with MAME). There are four small buttons to the top of these. There's two more on the left. All fourteen of these buttons can easily be assigned to any keyboard key. If you feel like it, any of the eight directions on the joystick can be changed too. You can play with the default button arrangement, or choose from four of your own configurations with a flick of a switch.
The stick is very comfortable and rests nicely on my desktop or lap. There is one problem I have with the PowerRamp, and that is the stick itself. The stick is not like one you'd find in an arcade. It "clicks" into each of its eight positions. I feel like I'm playing with a delicate pointing device instead of a sturdy joystick. The click-control also doesn't work that well with some games.
For example, Mr. Do! does not work well at all with the PowerRamp. I keep veering off in the wrong direction, especially when taking a twisty path. When I try to climb the ladder in Bagman my guy sometimes falls off. Dig Dug has similar problems moving the right direction.
Nibbler is another game where you need to twist around, but I was surprised that I had no trouble with control. Another problem did surface, though. I was forced to use my left hand. I tried switching over to my right hand but kept moving the wrong direction.
Shooting games such as Time Pilot or Starforce work great. Tapper also controls excellently. I didn't have any problems with Ghosts and Goblins or Commando either. Kung Fu Master controls better than with a regular joystick. I can actually shake the goons off when they grab me, though diagonal jumps are difficult to pull off.
Tron worked well - X and Z control the dial, which can be mapped to two of the buttons on the PowerRamp. I do often move diagonally on the light cycles when I mean to move straight to the left or right. Mad Planets is another game that uses both a dial and joystick, and it also works well with the PowerRamp.
Spy Hunter has separate buttons for machine guns, oil slick, smokescreen, missiles, turbo engine, and van call. No problem for the PowerRamp. The many-buttoned Stargate works well too. If you're open-minded, two-joystick games like Robotron also work halfway decently using the PowerRamp. Q*Bert did not work well at all, even with the joystick rotated.
Overall, the PowerRamp is a good joystick if you accept its click-clicking joystick. With the PowerRamp, you also need to play with a delicate touch. The left hand also must control the joystick and right hand control the buttons. Sorry lefties!
The PowerRamp can be ordered for $40 from Net Promotions. They have a fast turnaround time, I used the secure online order form on Friday and had the joystick on Wednesday. Net Promotions also carries the other controllers of ACT Labs.
There are some pictures and product description at the ACT Labs page.
- btribble
15 October 1997