The first force feedback peripheral for a computer that actually simulates real movement, the Falcon is basically nothing more than an oddly shaped mouse. One that delivers the closest thing to realistic touch from a game.

A three-pronged removable mouse head is your interface with the machinery. What it’s meant to simulate is real world feelings of touch. For example, a bowling game will have you pick up the bowling ball, and suddenly the Falcon will push down on your hand to simulate the weight of the ball. Throwing it alsobecomes more difficult.

This oddly shaped device does a good job of fulfilling its purpose, but is incredibly limited. Like Nintendo’s Wii remote, it lacks rather basic functions that force it to rely on additional buttons to do specific actions. Just after testing the Falcon, I was able to try the newly released Victorious Boxers which suffered many of the same qualities. Throws couldn’t be made fluid and perfectly realistic because the Wii remote simply does not function in that way.

So too with the Falcon, though it is a bright first step towards a new type of user interface. The removable portion can be exchanged for different parts, such as a gun emplacement for playing a Half Life 2 mod made specifically for the Falcon. Other such peripherals are soon to come, but there has been no word of what they will be.

The current standard mouse set is incredibly uncomfortable and small. Four buttons sit far too close together on the tiny ball, and it would greatly benefit the Falcon to have a similar concept for the general mouse head, but bigger. Something that an entire hand could hold, not just pinch.

Currently the Falcon is sold through CompUSA in a bundle which comes with 24 minigames and five sports games. Twelve more games are also available to buy, as well as free downloads of Half Life 2 and Episode 1 mods (named Haptics-Life). 28 additional titles are set to be announced. The bundle is listed for $239.