Saitek has been one of our favorite controller manufacturers ever since I have been in the business of reviewing PC hardware. With some of the most outrageous, while still functional controllers on the market, Saitek’s products offer uncompromising value and performance found nowhere else. The latest in the lineup is the massive X-52 HOTAS. Replacing the X-45 as the flagship HOTAS in the Saitek product line, the X-52 has once again raised the bar when it comes to desktop controllers.
There are literally dozens of options for the desktop pilot, with prices ranging from $10 to $500 for a feature packed HOTAS and pedal setup. For the average gamer, $500 is an outrageous sum for occasional flying. The average gamer wants good controls, lots of buttons, and accuracy, at a price that doesn’t exceed that of a high end video card. Forget the replica F-16 grip and the details of button placement to match DOD specs. Give us a controller that is covered in buttons and works well. And make it affordable.
Enter the X-52. A massive stick and throttle combination bristling with buttons, dials, sliders, and even an LCD screen and blue LED lights. Starting with the X-36, Saitek has continuously improved on the HOTAS, and the X-52 represents the latest incarnation of this incredible series. Priced at around $120 USD, the X-52 simply cannot be beat in terms of features versus price. Nothing on the market even comes close.
Enough with the praise, lets get down to business.
The premise of a HOTAS is simple. Hands On Throttle And Stick. No need to take your hands off the controls, just fly and fight, with no searching for buttons on a keyboard (or actual cockpit controls for that matter). The X-52 stick is a massive controller, one of the largest sticks I have ever used. The base is wide, and somewhat tall, giving the stick a good deal of height. The design of the X-52 is straight out of a sci-fi movie, sporting a nice silver and black color scheme accented with backlit blue buttons. The gripping surface of the stick is covered in a rubber material that provides a solid, no-slip surface. Buttons….yes there are a lot of them. The X-52 stick is literally covered in buttons and hat switches. The primary button, the trigger, is a new metal unit that has two stages. Pull slightly, and you get button one, pull the trigger in completely and you depress button two. The two stages have a solid ‘click’ between them, so there is no chance of accidentally firing stage two. The top of the stick houses two 8-position hat switches and four additional fire buttons, one of which is shrouded with the flip-up safety cover. Sticking out from the right top corner is a three position rotary selector for changing modes of the controller, giving each button essentially three different functions. Different colored LEDs indicate which mode is selected, a thoughtful feature. Along the bottom edge of the base are three toggle-style switches, adding six more buttons to the already packed stick.
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