CONCLUSION

   When Thrustmaster released the HOTAS Warthog flight and space simulators had already begun to fade from the market and so at the time i wasn't particularly interested in that genre (remember, it wasn't until 2 years later that Star Citizen was even announced). On top of that i was very surprised to see that Thrustmaster made a replica of the HOTAS used in the A-10C Thunderbolt II/Warthog. I don't know if this was due to the fact that the A-10C was scheduled to be retired soon afterwards (i think some are still in service however even today) but a replica of the HOTAS used in the F-16 Falcon or the F/A-18 would had made much more sense to me. Still even though the A-10 was never a multi-role fighter aircraft like the F-16 Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet (meaning it was never quite as popular among flight simulator fans) having taken part in numerous operations in its life (with Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom being the ones that stand out), not to mention movies like Transformers, it's clear that even if you didn't know its designation you had certainly seen it more than once. Also, Thrustmaster did make add-on grips based on both the F-16C and the F/A-18C models later on so i really have no complaints in that regard (aside the extra cost of acquiring one that is). What about the HOTAS Warthog however? Well, as expected build quality is excellent across the board as is accuracy so I don’t have much to add here. The number of available buttons and switches is also something that will not let you down, quite the opposite really since they are too much for most games (by the way, the mouse hat with magnetic sensor located on the dual throttle is very useful since it helps you look inside the cockpit of some games). Yes, since Thrustmaster decided to go the extra mile in terms of realism the stick requires more force to move (at least initially) than most other models out in the market but that’s something you get used to quite fast. You may also need to spend some time configuring the throttle for use in some games (for example in Star Wars Squadrons it didn’t work for me by default) but again, that’s normal when it comes to such complex models. My sole issue with the HOTAS Warthog is the lack of yaw (side to side) functionality/motion since I happen to use that quite a bit when playing flight and space simulators. The good news is that I do have flight pedals here but that doesn’t mean everyone has and yes even though I do realize that the HOTAS Warthog is quite expensive and thus getting pedals as well is the obvious thing to do again I do think Thrustmaster should had implemented an alternative, at least for not very demanding gamers.

   The Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog was always a rather expensive joystick and with a current price tag set at USD549.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 398.96Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) it still is (to be fair everything costs more right now due to inflation hitting most countries). The good news is that as opposed to the past today there are many more HOTAS solutions in the market, still there are all by companies that are nowhere near as popular and established as Thrustmaster. On top of that not having gotten my hands on them still means I don’t know how they compare to the HOTAS Warthog (which is why I can’t comment on that). What I do know is that the HOTAS Warthog by Thrustmaster (at least in its current version) is the best device of its kind I’ve used to date and even though clearly not perfect it still deserves the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Metal Parts)
- Accuracy (3D Magnetic Sensors / 5 Coil Spring System)
- HOTAS Replica (Thunderbolt II / Warthog)
- Dual Throttle (Single / Dual Functionality)
- Available Switches & Buttons
- LED Illumination (Dual Throttle Base)
- Available Grips (Falcon / Viper & Hornet)
- TARGET Software

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Lack Of Yaw Motion