SlikStik Review
Appearance
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This is one slick stick. From the silky smooth black laminate surface to the solid construction of the box and the surface, this controller has all of the bells and whistles and looks very nice putting it all together.
The professionalism of this construction is noteworthy as well. All of the construction looks like it was done by a seasoned carpenter. The box below the surface was constructed with dove-tail corners and a slim cover at the bottom easily removed by screws and giving easy access to the under belly of this 37 lb monster.
The only area of improvement on this controller is the possible upgrade of graphics and control panel art. With the black laminate, applying custom art is not easily accomplished leaving the user with a purely black controller with multi-color buttons. This might not be a problem for many others as this black looks sleek as ever.
8 out of 10
Installation
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Because I have the MameStation (http://www.leafstation.com), I was able to easily remove my controller and place this one in the vacant spot. The fit was nice as this is a very comfortable size for many of the standard
Also, the cables all come out of the back of the controller and have nicely labeled cables that have a home in most standard PCs (as long as you have a USB slot as you could potentially need 3 PS2 slots for the keyboard, and two mouse devices – the trackball and the spinner).
While plugging the cables in and booting my Windows 2000 Professional Mame computer, everything was detected with the exception of the Betson Imperial Trackball. Now as this was a free unit, I did not get any accompanying documentation and, as this is my first chance to sit down and type, I did not reach out to the technical support group. I am sure they can help me with using the correct driver, but at the time of testing, I could not get the trackball to work as a mouse.
With the inclusion of Ultimarc’s I-Pac, all of the buttons worked as expected. Each of the buttons were mapped to the default I-Pac installation and can easily be changed to you r preference with Ultimarc’s programmable interface.
The OSCAR spinner also worked without a hitch as it had the USB interface and generic mouse driver capabilities out of the gate.
Overall, installation was a piece of cake and, with future models, the inclusion of the Happ Controls trackball with USB connector will certainly eliminate any installation problems you may have with default drivers.
NOTE: My installation of this stick was only tested with Windows 2000 Professional. Others may not experience my issues with the trackball. Also, my
original controller with the 3” Happ Controls trackball interfaces with Ultimarc’s OptiPac and goes to a serial interface on my PC. I had to change the mouse drivers in my PC from serial to PS2 to get another PS2 mouse to work.
10 out of 10
UPDATE: Turns out that the problem was a faulty trackball cable. The trackball was replaced by their OUTSTANDING customer servive department and I now working smooth as butter. The score has been corrected! Way to go SlikStik!
Durability
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This baby is as solid as they come. Not an ounce of flimsy to this thing. All of the joysticks and buttons are standard Happ Controls Ultimate sticks and buttons and have the look and feel of the most professional arcade application. This stick was meant for some serious gaming.
10 out of 10
Layout/Comfort
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I combined these categories because they are one in the same. The layout is as standard as they come…straight down to the horizontal 6-button layout of all of your favorite Capcom and SNK fighters. This is a preference of mine, and again, may be at the discretion of the end user…but that is nice.
There is plenty of arm room below the sticks and buttons to allow a comfortable experience without bumping into another controller or button or trackball.
Even the location of the 4-direction stick is well-placed. With the trackball and spinner being skewed slightly toward player one, the arm and wrist rest nicely around the buttons and give easy access to the 4-direction stick.
Also, another fine notable is how far apart player one and two controls are. They are a perfect distance apart allowing each player to have sufficient room to game in peace. I actually think this is much better than some of the actual arcade applications I have seen in the local malls, etc.
If symmetry is a preference, you may not like the placement of the spinner and trackball. Both of them are offset left to make room for the 4-direction stick and the 3 mouse buttons (to be used with the trackball). This is a minor aesthetic concern that only the reviewer may find to be a minor flaw…but you will see where the layout of these devices makes functionality an
absolute winner!
9 out of 10
Functionality
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Considering there are now well over 3,000 MAME games, it is hard for one controller to be everything to everyone. This stick does the majority a major benefit with the functional layout and the ease of use. This stick is nothing but functional.
10 out of 10
Price
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It is hard for me to comment on pricing because I have made a majority of my controllers, and was forced to when I saw the prices of some of the stalwarts out there like Hanaho and others. The $420 price tag for the deluxe model may look a little steep, but the price of the individual components and the professional construction make this a nice buy for the buck. Though not a perfect price in today’s “down turned” economy, you definitely see and feel the value when you get this stick in your hands and plugged in.
8 out of 10
Overall
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It is bit difficult for me not to be a bit biased about this controller as I won it in the contest to rename the company from RomBoxx to SlikStik, but I think I was fair about this one. I have never used a competing stick, such as the X-Arcade or the Hot Rod, but, as this is my first and I am an experienced controller maker, many things were exactly as I would have constructed in this and done as if it were my own.
This stick adds a lot of functionality to appeal to the classic gaming we all remember from the good-ole days. With the reviewers preference for symmetry and with some of the issues the reviewer had with the installation, my overall score may not reflect another user’s preference or experience with the installation. As always, this is to be taken with a grain of salt. Also, the price, albeit it the right price, could be a bit high for today's market conditions.
9.2 out of 10
Pictures will follow shortly.
Chuck