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bmwrules · 02-12-2007, 04:03 PM

Here's a detail review of the wheel. It seems to work better when the power supply is plugged in. I've been playing with it unplugged.

http://hardware.teamxbox.com/reviews...cing-Wheel/p1/

From page 4 of this review

Quote:

Since there’s no Forza 2 to be had at the moment (sniffle), my logical test disc was the force feedback-enabled PGR 3 that comes with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. Those that have played PGR 3 with the Madcatz wheel know that it is no easy task. Without any in-game setup, the wheel is all but useless in the behind-the-car views, making “over” steer an “under” statement. The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel does about the exact same thing when the power supply is not connected. The somewhat loose-feeling wheel and lack of dead zone in PGR 3 will cause nearly any car in the game to get loose in a hurry. The pedals bank is good, and stays well planted, but again, I think the software is the limitation to the overall feel. The brake pedal is just way too sensitive, and with no way to adjust it, you’ll have to be quite dainty with your left foot.

The good news here is that if you aren’t playing with force feedback, you’ll have the ability to play up to thirty feet from your Xbox 360. The wireless technology in the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is flawless and lightning quick, and there’s a good chance that you’ll forget within minutes that you are transmitting FCC-approved waves with every input.

Plug the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel in and things change, and in some ways drastically. You’ll immediately notice that the wheel is now under a slight but constant tension. Now crank the wheel in one direction, and it will snap back rather quickly to center. In fact, you can turn the wheel through its entire left/right range of motion and the force feedback will right the ship. Jump into the same event in PGR 3 and suddenly you feel like Mario Andretti in the Lola heydays. The force feedback is solidly programmed, and really changes one’s ability to control the car. The more natural feeling of the wheel fighting your every move makes car control, or in the name of Kudos, controlled chaos nearly intuitive if you possess a valid driver’s license. Yeah, the brake pedal is still way too touchy, but I’m sure set-up options for brake pressure and the like will be installed in the code by the time PGR 4 arrives. With the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel’s force feedback on and PGR 3 in the tray, driving is now like riding a bike, but not for the first time.

Need for Speed Carbon, the only other game that fully supports force feedback right now, is a different animal than PGR 3. Surprisingly, the cars control quite well with force feedback deactivated, and poorly with it enabled. Again, this all comes down to the programming. The force feedback programming in Carbon is nearly nonexistent, but the rumble is put to good use (which is the opposite of PGR 3, which has little rumble). Personally, I’d play Carbon with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel unplugged, which doesn’t help me justify the unit’s $150 price tag much. Hopefully the soon-to-be-released Test Drive Unlimited and Forza 2 will have setup options or a better grasp of how cars are supposed to feel when the wheel is turned and the brake is applied.

The Bottom Line

With features like first-party quality, wireless connectivity, and true force feedback, the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is tough to beat, with a catch. The catch is that any wheel peripheral without adjustable settings (a la Fanatec Speedster) is only as good as the software being used with it. PGR 3 is quite impressive when powered up, but unplug the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel for wireless functionality and you might as well play it with a controller. Strangely, the opposite holds true for Need for Speed Carbon.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for Forza 2, as this seems to be the main application for which the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was designed. I’m also curious what Codemasters will bring to market, and what Bizarre has up their sleeves. But as it stands, I consider the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel like an undervalued stock with the chance to blossom if the conditions are right. Investing in the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel now can’t hurt.