While gamepads are great as general purpose controllers, sometimes you just need to stick it to the competition (human or computer AI) with a genuine joystick. This is particularly true with flight simulations (combat and commercial), space combat and 'Mech sims, and some arcade-style shooters. For these categories of titles, nothing serves the purpose better than a good, fully-featured joystick. Of course, for ultimate realism, in combat flight sims especially, nothing beats a good HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) combo. However, we'll hold off on those more costly, high-end packages until a later segment devoted to specialty controllers.

In this roundup, we'll look at PC joysticks in the same three categories as we did for gamepads: traditional frills-free, force-feedback enabled, and wireless. We'll grab hold of several of the best PC sticks from each camp, save for wireless in which there is only one current option. Some are older standbys while others are brand new. All, however, will give you your money's worth -- more or less. So let's stick it to 'em!