Microsoft xbox wireless wheel review

It also comes with a copy of Project Gotham Racing 3, which is required because it's got set-up drivers built-in to make it software compatible with the wheel. In other words, Microsoft gives you a copy of the game so you can play it.

So, if you already own PGR3, the steering wheel will work but it requires your new version for the initial set-up. All of your old saves and Achievements will work, by the way. It's also instantly plug and playable. There are not major instructions for this. Just unwrap it, plug it in, and play. The wheel is supported by only three racers right now, with a fourth coming down the pike: PGR3, Test Drive and Need for Speed Carbon use it now, and of course it will be compatible with Forza 2 whenever that comes out.

Microsoft has learned about style and consistency. The steering wheel hardware follows the same sleek styling as the Xbox , replete with chill white casing and gray highlights. The actual wheel is outfitted with a sturdy rubberized grip on the top, left and right sides, while the bottom quarter is a polished steel gray.

The rubber grip is hard but comfortable in the hands and it works perfectly. You won't lose your grip with this and it's resistant to water and most other liquids. Liquid either rolls off or evaporates. So, even if you found yourself disgustingly sweaty, it's unlikely to affect your grip. The wheel itself is about 8 to 10 inches in diameter and functions with about a degree turn radius.

While that's not a full degrees, it provides enough turn radius for me. It's solidly built into the dashboard, so there is little likelihood you'll tear it off in a fit of rage. The wheel is equipped with X, Y, B, and A buttons, Start and Back buttons, an Xbox Guide button in the center, and a D-pad along a horizontal bar inside the wheel itself. Surprisingly, the D-pad is better than the one on the standard controller, though it doesn't really mean all that much in the driving world, and F1-style paddles are strategically placed behind and slightly closer in to the neck of the wheel base.

Thus, they're easy to use to shift gears or camera angles on the fly. The dashboard features a green led indicator, a reset button to tune in the frequency of the Xbox , and a slot for plugging in a headset. We didn't test whether the wheel worked with a wireless headset because we don't have one , but Microsoft said that it does.

Also, the system is technically supposed to work just like a regular controller so you could, technically, have four wireless steering wheels in one house all hooked up as long as you have a racing game that supports four-person localized play. The dashboard also comes with a removable gray side paneling on the right side, which hides the battery pack.

One of the bigger plusses is that Microsoft's wheel supports rumble and force feedback. The rumble functions with smaller things such as lightly bumping into walls and if there were dirt, it would emulate the feeling of off-road driving. The core feedback supports major skids, slides, and major slams into opponents. You'll also feel resistance when speeding into hard turns, giving a realistic sensation that's exceptional. The force feedback functionality does takes a hefty amount of energy, which is the major reason the wheel requires an AC adaptor.

If it solely used batteries, you'd be burning through them every half hour. November 9, I much prefer the resistence of a FF when when turning, however, this "hold-in-the-air" wheel is more responsive than I was expecting. Driving on a traditional Xbox controller is a horrible experience.

You can get away with it on games where you just hold down the throttle and go, but on the F1 series where gooseing the throttle is important this long travel throttle and brake triggers are most welcome.

I play mostly F1 20XX games, and in that series flicking the car with quick steering wheel motions is important. Typically the level of "flick" for me is determined by feedback from the wheel. That is difficult using this controller because there is no resistence. That is, however, massive overcome by the long travel triggers. It feels as durable as that. June 20, I am thinking this is an iffy purchase. I love simulation racing and I feel this wheel is better suited to an arcade style of racing.

It is as good at tracking as you are, as there is no base to the wheel. So you have to keep track of which way is a 0 degree turn. Of course this will not beat a full mounted wheel with 2. February 6, I previously used standard Xbox controller for playing Racing Games.

Recommended for Racing Gamer Enthusiast! Holt , 12 hours ago. Twitter Facebook Reddit Mail. Palladino , Microsoft and Qualcomm are building custom chips for AR glasses The smart eyewear could be light and long-lasting. Fingas , A newsletter a day keeps the FOMO at bay. The wheel itself looks and feels great. Two thirds of the wheel is covered in a tactile rubberised finish, while the bottom third is finished in brushed aluminium.

The bottom of the wheel is also flat, just like it would be in a real racing car. The wheel is a three spoke design, with the two horizontal spokes housing all the controller buttons and the D-pad. Behind the wheel are two large paddles for changing gear — these work superbly and make it far easier to drive with a manual gearbox. The final part of the puzzle is the pedal box, which has the same high quality look and feel as the rest of the ensemble.

The throttle pedal is very large, while the brake pedal is mounted quite high, making the setup ideal for heel and toe aficionados. Now, when you first plug in the wheel and start playing your favourite driving game be prepared for some initial frustration. Lift off the power just enough to get the back out, apply copious amounts of opposite lock and get back on the power, while remembering to unwind the lock as you exit the bend of course! This wheel provides the perfect amount of feedback.

But for me flicking a thumb stick from side to side is just nowhere near as immersive as gripping a steering wheel — just like driving a real car, to drive fast using this wheel requires practice and skill, but the eventual experience is worth all the hard work.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.