What happens when you take a two-player arcade stick configuration and merge it with a trackball? X-Arcade has done that with two of their great products and what they got is dubbed the TankStick. Does the Tankstick live up to the previous X-Arcade products? Of course it does!

I reviewed X-Arcade`s original setup many moons ago and it wasn`t too long ago I reviewed their trackball. But for those that want it together, this is the setup you want. Let`s start by going over the traditional stick area. The setup for the stick portion of the unit should appeal to most retro gamers. Each player`s side consists of one stick with eight buttons configured with two rows of six and one row of two. The configuration should be enough for most games and if you`re a big fan of fighting games like me, then you`ll appreciate the setup. If you`re familiar with their dual joystick setup then it`s pretty much the same for the Tankstick. The sticks click just like in the arcades. The buttons` feedback was strong and pronounced. It truly does feel exactly like an arcade machine but then again it should as it`s using arcade quality parts. A red LED on the upper right portion of the unit lets you know that the product is active as well as give you other indications.

You can adjust the sensitivity of the buttons and the joystick by removing the bottom panel and making minor adjustments to the switches or springs. Say you don’t play many fighting games but more of the retro Q-Bert, Pac Man, or Donkey Kong games. You really only need four directions as the diagonals aren’t used. Just pop open the bottom, move the arms away from the control stick, then you’re ready to go. But if you’re into fighting games and need that high sensitivity for diagonals, then just move the arms towards the control stick and it’ll be more sensitive to those directions. The buttons can also be changed to feel looser by adjusting the springs.

In the middle top portion of the unit are two start buttons. Labeled just like in the arcade with one person or two, these two buttons will start the game for their respective side. For old arcade folks, this is also where the two buttons sit on most arcade machines as well.

For pinball fanatics out there, the Tankstick features two pairs of two buttons on each side of the unit. The dual joystick setup only had one on each side but here you get two on each side. In MAME, you could use one of the buttons to put in the coins for the first player by using one of the left side buttons with the second player`s coin button being one of the right side buttons. The unit`s width makes it so that the side buttons do feel pretty natural when playing pinball games as it offers the same feeling as if you had your hands on either side of a pinball machine with your hand resting on top of the unit while your fingers hang off the side to press the buttons.

Smack dab in the middle of the unit lies the trackball. For games like Golden Tee or Missile Command, the trackball mimics a mouse and gives you greater control over a cursor than a joystick. Like X-Arcade`s trackball unit, the trackball on the Tankstick feels very authentic. I think I would`ve liked a little less friction on the trackball so it would roll a little easier and longer but for the most part the trackball worked great. Yes it can double as a mouse so if you don`t want to plug in a mouse to move the cursor on screen you can just use the trackball instead. A left pinball button works as a left mouse click while one of the right pinball buttons works as a right click. Like the X-Arcade trackball unit, the Tankstick has a button on the back where you can toggle the ability to only register vertical rolls with the trackball. It`...