Thrustmaster Walther PPK

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In this episode I am going to talk about the Thrustmaster Walther PPK. It was made for Sony PlayStation 1 and 2. The PPK supports both Guncon modes and the normal gun mode. Other vendors such as Hais, Flame, Dragonplus, Madrix, Sabre, Brooklyn, Yobo and Venom also sold the gun. The gun is known by other names such as High Clear Light Gun, Blitz Light Gun, m-9, m-22, Head Hunter Gun, PS2 Strike Gun, Gunman and Shadow. Some of the guns were sold with a built in laser. These are easily distinguishable from the rest by the pattern on the box below the A button. Furthermore an Xbox version of this controller exists.

Obviously the design of the gun is based on the Walther PPK. Interestingly just Thrustmaster went through the struggle to officially license the design from Walther and the holder of the exclusive rights Les Trois Pylônes. This is even more noticeable as all other PPK based light guns such as the Scorpion, which I reviewed in episode 115, and its successors weren't properly licensed.

I like the button layout of the gun a lot. The A and B buttons are spread to each side of the gun at the top of the sometimes fake laser unit. The C button is at the handle of the gun. At my particular unit C wasn't always sensed properly and had to be pressed rather hard in order to work reliably. On the left side of the gun are the start and select buttons and selector switches for the gun mode and the fire mode. Normal, auto reload and auto reload plus auto fire are the available choices. The reload interval is six shots. Where the hammer would be located is a nice circular D pad. At the heel of the magazine is a TS socket which allows connecting a reload pedal which is mapped to the C button. Next to it is an on/off switch for the force feedback mechanism. This force feedback is fast but very week. Furthermore it is just available during the two PlayStation 1 modes

The sight picture is nice and clear. The trigger is almost non-tactile and just actuates very far back. Furthermore it has to be pressed relatively hard in order to yield shots reliably. In my opinion it is the PPK's biggest drawback. Overall the gun feels sturdy and it is of a good build quality.

In Guncon 2 mode accuracy and precision of the PPK are very good. The position of the D pad is very well suited for Time Crisis 2 like games. In Guncon mode accuracy and precision are again very good. Here I was annoyed that just the A and B buttons are supported. The button at the handle and the reload pedal don't work in this mode. In normal gun mode accuracy and precision are just good. Here it is noteworthy that B was mapped to the start button.

In my opinion the PPK is a small, nice, pretty controller. I recommend it to pocket pistol enthusiasts who need a light gun for the PlayStation 2 as it is way better than the Scorpion 3. I would suggest replacing the trigger though and fixing the C button issue. While being in there I would remap the pedal to the A button. When just considering stock, non modified guns, I would choose the Logic3 P7K over the PPK for PlayStation 1 games.

Thrustmaster sold the PPK in at least two styles of boxes: One resembles the boxes of a lot of cheap, generic, no-name light guns. The other kind pays an homage to James Bond, showing a hand of a person wearing a suit holding the gun, female models and a cross hair.