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Archived from The Control Center, 1999. Hardware, prices and links are historical.

Thrustmaster Fusion Digital Gamepad

Originally published on joy-stick.net, 14 April 19994/5 sticks

Fusion Digital Gamepad

Manufactured By: Thrustmaster

Retail Price: $24.95

Review Date: 4-14-99

For years Thrustmaster has been associated with quality sticks, throttles, rudders and wheels. In recent times they have expanded their product line to include entry level controllers that still hold the reputation they have built among serious gamers. One of their recent entries is the the Thrustmaster Fusion Digital Gamepad, an inexpensive gamepad that offers USB or gamepad connection, button programmability, digital interface and comfort. Its also one of the most wildly colored controllers available!

There are very few USB gamepads currently available. The Fusion offers both gamepad and USB connections. To do this there is an included adapter that plugs onto the gameport connector with a USB "tab'. I did not see any performance difference between the two although I tested the Fusion connected in each available way. the advantage to USB of course is hot-plug connection without a restart in-between and the ability to add more devices. the Fusion can also be used as a laptop controller thanks to its USB interface. To use it as a USB device it is strongly recommended you have Windows 98 although the documentation claims "if your current Windows 95 system supports USB this device is compatible". In other words you can run it in Windows 95 ORS2 with the proper patch updates.

Features 75%-

  • digital interface
  • 10 programmable buttons (2 triggers)
  • 8 way D-pad
  • USB or gameport connection

Appropriate For-

  • Sport Sims (NHL 99, FIFA 99)
  • First Person Shooters (South Park, Half-Life)
  • Action/Arcade Games (Tomb Raider, Incoming)

System Requirements-

USB- IBM PC, USB Port, P133 or higher, Windows 98

Gameport- 486-100MHz or greater, PC gameport, Windows 95/98

Price -

The MSRP is $24.95 but this controller can be found through on-line suppliers for as little as $14. At its low find price the Fusion is a decent deal but at full retail the price is a bit much for what you get.

Warranty-

Full one year warranty.

Performance 87%-

The Fusion Digital gamepad was run through the gauntlet of games I typically use with a gamepad. First-person-shooters (FPS) didn't fair well with the Fusion. To often action was happening above or below me and I could not accurately target it even with the trigger buttons programmed to adjust the view pitch. I also found the non-proportional d-pad like thumb controller to lack the accuracy needed for a FPS. The only FPS I found the Fusion useful with was South Park because of the large targets throughout the game. The number and placement of the buttons played well but couldn't make up for the accuracy issues.

If you strictly play sport sims you'll be pleased with the Fusion. I used it for NHL 98, NHL 99 and World Cup 98. I managed to take my soccer team all the way to the world cup on my first attempt with the Fusion although I lost the final match to the US team. In hockey the Fusion also worked quite well.

Action games such as Incoming and Tomb Raider took a bit of getting used to but I quickly picked it up and the outcome was typical of play with other controllers. I tried the Fusion with Motocross Madness, need For Speed III and Motoracer 2. I wasn't overly impressed with the play but these games lend themselves to stick or wheel controllers.

Even with extended playtime, the Fusion was comfortable to use. The shape and layout should be fine for a variety of hand sizes. The d-pad control is a socketed ball with a recess to place your thumb in. The material use for the base and palm rests of the Fusion has a non-slip coating but the d-pad is a smooth plastic and sometimes gets too slippery in heated play.

Setup 95%-

Either as a USB or gameport device the Fusion was easily setup. Install the software by inserting the CD (or download the latest driver set and execute the file) During installation you will be prompted to attach the device in an open USB or gameport and let the installation complete. When done, the Thrustmaster Fusion control panel will appear on your screen. Since the Fusion is digital it is self-calibrating; simply press the "Make device active" button and test the connection. Your ready to play.

**Software 85%-

** I am not a big fan of anything that places another icon in my system tray. The Fusion software installs an active device monitor that loads when you start your system and puts an icon in the system tray so you can view its status. The active device monitor detects when you activate a recognized game and loads the appropriate "Thrustmap" configuration. To access the Thrustmapper utility you have to create a desktop shortcut or access it from the Start menu. Thrustmapper has over 2 dozen games already configured for use with the Fusion. The utility launches the configuration for any game in its database that is marked active (default setting for all profiles). This confused me when I first tried to run a game and I did not realize the utility had loaded a keyset.

For most recent games you will not need a Thrustmapper setup. I found it useful for programming complicated moves for fighting games but preferred in-game button assignment for everything else.

For testing I used the most current Version 1.2 driver/utility software available from Thrustmaster (8 meg).

Documentation 95%-

The documentation included with the Fusion Gamepad is comprehensive. It includes a 6 language quick-start guide, troubleshooting guide and installation checklists for both PC's and MAC. The quick start guide is enough to get you up and running with the gamepad. The troubleshooting guide covers a wide variety of problems that may occur during setup and use along with detailed resolutions. Also included in the troubleshooting guide are warranty and contact information.

In order to understand and use the Thrustmapper software to assign keyboard strokes to the controller you must open the on-line help base. The on-line help for the mapping software did a good job at describing how it is used. It would have been nice to have the instructions for the mapping software in print. Thrustmaster also offers a nice web site with product information, driver updates and FAQ's (at the time of this review not Fusion FAQ was available).

Overall Rating 86% -

Overall, the Thrustmaster Fusion Digital Gamepad is a pretty good controller for its intended use. The only feature I would have liked to seen incorporated would have been a proportional d-pad for better control. With a digital interface this is possible. That aside, The Control Center recommends the Fusion for the weekend gamer and sport sim buffs out there. The price is right, you get a well known name with a history of good support and a comfortable controller.

Similar to-**

Review date as printed on the original page. Images from the original page are not reproduced.