ButtKicker & CoD

[Blakduk]

I got a Buttkicker a few years ago off ebay- it's great but i only tend to use it when i'm using headphones as the fan in the amplifier is quite loud. Interestingly it seems to work better for me in CoD than Il2- i find the engine vibration really hits the right frequency with the Buttkicker. It's very immersive in this sim and basically means i dont have to monitor the tachometer at all- it's literally by feel (i must admit i am spending the vast majority of my time in Merlin powered planes as i struggle to get the best out of it using CEM).
The Buttkicker is great for immersion in FPS's as well- i remember the first time my wife used it in Half-Life 2. She was sitting in the chair during the opening scene when the train is pulling into the station and nearly jumped out of the seat when the train came to a sudden stop- it totally freaked her out that it recreated so accurately the sensation of being in a train as it shudders to a halt!
One comment i must make about it- the sales pitch is that it is totally silent however my house has a wooden floor and the Buttkicker is basically a subwoofer. The low frequency sounds do travel through to other rooms and any loose parts of the chair (such as the gas lift handle) tend to rattle if you dont secure them.

My advice to people considering a Buttkicker or a TrackIR- go for the TrackIR as it transforms the experience of flightsims, whereas the Buttkicker is a nice luxury. I often fly with the Buttkicker off, but always with the TrackIR on.