Wheel of pleasure

So after many weeks of waiting and contemplating(well not really much contemplating) my Logitech Drive FX for the 360 finally arrived. I am sorry if i was leading you in the wrong direction with my title but i assure you my intentions were all good :) .

So some time before RAGE this year i started buying the odd racing game and have to say i was really enjoying it on the xbox 360. I had played Forza 2 and Race Drive Grid since they were the only ones that were recommended unanimously by everyone i asked. Then came the RAGE event , it was there that i got a chance to play Forza 2 with a steering wheel and the 3 screen setup .Wow what a change in racing experience that was, as soon as i got home that night i started playing Forza again, but alas it just did not feel the same anymore. I then decided the last important peripheral i had to get for my xbox was a steering wheel.

Now many months later i finally have my steering wheel and i am back to loving my racing games. After setting everything up i decided i would run a few test runs with all the racing games i had and jot down my findings here. The games i tested were Forza 2 , Race Drive Grid and Need for speed undercover.

Forza 2 : It is in this game that i personally feel the steering shines the most. Since Forza is more simulation than it is arcade you need all the extra control you can get over your car and the Drive FX does it beautifully. The steering’s built in resistance makes a huge difference at lower speeds and on the different terrains allowing you to accurately gauge how much you need to turn or how much you need to adjust the cars speed.

GRID : I personally feel that GRID took a more arcade style rather than a simulation environment. The reason i say this is because if you play the game immediately after playing Forza the accuracy from Forza falls away for higher speeds and slightly more extreme driving. You can immediately see the difference the Drive FX provides after you take your first corner at 120 without crashing.

NFS Undercover : Even though i played this game with the steering i am not entirely sure that its needed. While the game does respond precisely to the steering the game itself is sooo easy that by using the steering i felt if i was cheating some how. The one experience that i have to recommend NFS for , is if you want the Hollywood driving experience. While weaving through traffic on a highway chase at 220km/h , there is very little that is going to beat that experience.

I have to say that i would recommend the Drive FX without a second thought to anyone , although it is a bit expensive if you don’t like racing games or only play them on the odd occasion.

Just remember its the driver not the steering that makes the difference :) ,

till next time

~stalkerh