Chris Alexander
11th January, 2010
One gift I was very happy to receive at Christmas was the Xbox 360 Wireless Steering Wheel. Quite a few people have asked me what it’s like, so here’s a brief look at it.
Along with this I also got Forza Motorsport 3, which I will go in to in a bit.
So the wheel itself is designed to be multi-purpose - you can either clamp it to a table, or remove the clamp and rest it on your legs (as in the shot above). For me it works well both ways, but some others may prefer one way or the other - if I had the choice I think I would use a table.
The wheel comes with foot pedals, which are well designed to allow your heels to counteract the force of you pushing the pedals forwards, and it is very unlikely to move due to this. The pedals themselves are not wireless - there is a thin cable that goes up to the wheel unit (but not to the Xbox itself).
In the box is a demo game to try out with it, the AC adapter, and a few other bits and pieces, including a ridiculously large instruction manual (disregard as usual).
You can run the wheel off a normal Xbox controller rechargeable pack or normal battery pack, but the real benefit comes when you run it off the mains - then the force feedback in the wheel kicks in and the gaming comes alive!
The build quality is excellent, and it is very well packaged (although the box is massive).
This game is very very good.
Every detail is in place - from the models of the cars (which are all spot on), to the rendering of the racing and the circuits (which are also perfectly realised). AI drivers are innovative and present a challenge every time, and every car feels and reacts differently when you drive them - no more BMW X5 driving like an R8!
Both of these come highly recommended, and I look forward to spending a good few hours throwing Bugatti Veyrons and Fiat 500s alike around Silverstone and the Nurburgring.