A retro classic back in action
By Jenny • Mar 18th, 2010 • Category: Uncategorized
- Photo: Speed-Link
The 80s – parachute pants, the rise of rap in America, John Lennon’s death, Pacman, Charles and Di’s marriage, compact disks start to replace tapes and vinyl, Bob Marley’s passing, Beastie Boys, Adam Ant, hair bands, EastEnders goes on air, Dirty Dancing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the birth of Nintendo Gameboy. Ok, that’s enough. The point is, the 80s were great for some things and not so great for others: especially parachute pants, or worse, fashionable cycling shorts.
But great classics in fashion, music and film were created, and a return to some of them could be really fun. One such retro classic of those years has just made a comeback. Gamers will love this… the Speedlink Competition Pro USB joystick.
Remember the sturdiness, the durability, the cool characteristic clicking sounds of the micro-switches, all in that famous black/red design? Remember the Commodore 64 and Amiga games? Remember the best joystick ever made – an absolute cult classic? Well, its back.
A little new, but mainly old-school
The current version comes with an extremely robust, sprung metal stick as well as micro switches. Just like its predecessor, the Competition Pro USB only offers eight directions, and a fire button as an input command. Despite that, it comes with two large buttons and two additional smaller switches, making it suitable for left- and right-handers. Autofire can be activated by the press of a button – a must for many Amiga games. What’s more, ‘you don’t need to install a driver,’ according to a Speedlink press release. Instead of its trademark black and red, the Competition Pro USB is now transparent and red, which is very striking.
Game pack included
Some are not too happy with the titles included in the game pack, which comes part of the package, while others love the line-up. Magnussoft have put together 99 original C64 and Amiga games, returning to classics like Paperboy, Cybernoid and Turrican.
Check out the Speedlink Competition Pro USB for yourself. It’s cheap, and it’s cool, and will always be a retro classic for gamers.
Tags for this article: Competition Pro joystick, joystick, retro classic, Speed-Link, Speedlink Competition Pro
