Racing Games have never been so exciting! The technology now exists to provide realistic racing environments through the use of steering wheels with forcefeedback, LCD screens with crystal clear display and speakers delivering the right acoustics (with bass!). And of course, the ring type of gaming seat, or gaming chair (I don't call them cockpits, I'll leave this to the flight-sim people!). We've been so impressed by GranTurismo, that we've been looking for things to improve the experience of the game.
We have been testing the best steering wheels on gaming seats such as the VisionRacer and Fanatec, and now we'd like to share our findings so you can get the same experience.
Bean Bag Sofa
Driving Force Wireless
Before we had the GT and G25 in the labs, we had so much fun with the Driving Force! For us, this was one of the devices that really started a revolution in gaming.... bye bye controller pads and keyboard! We had two people on a couch (sofa!) and one playing on a bean bag.
The Driving Force is wireless, and although I'm not a big fan of wireless devices for precision gaming, the Driving Force works fine. More importantly, the feedback you get from the device covers bumps on the roads, car crashes and traction loss.
The controller can be used on the lap, which is pretty much where it was designed for - racing from the comfort of your armchair, although you can fix it to a table or desk. The Driving Force also comes with Pedals, which is something that is really the missing piece when playing racing games.
On the PS3, we tested GranTurismo and Burnout - I have to say, the playability was much better on the PS3 than the PC, but at the end of the day we were testing the Driving Force - and I don't want this review to represent that the Driving Force was deficient in any area, it worked fine on all the games.
Summary...
The Driving Force is a fantastic product, it falls short of the G25 and GT - but its less than half the price, which more than justifies it's position (specifically being on the lap). Recommendation - buy one, have fun, sell on ebay - then buy an upgrade!
Driving Force GT
yummy. Thats my first words on this!
This is where force feedback really comes into itself, and with the full rotation it really does give you the feel of a real wheel.
The difference we found with this wheel compared to similar priced wheels is that the steering wheel has a rubber coating, as opposed to just cheap plastic. This really gives it a realistic feel. When you play GT or Need for Speed, you really want to hammer the wheel to get the best experience, and the Logitech is good to handle it.
We initially tried the DFGT on a table, as we were in the middle of rebuilding the VisionRacer, and we'd dismantled the Fanatec kit - and we found two things. Firstly, once you've played (sorry - experienced!) a racing game with a wheel - you can't go back to a keyboard or joypad. Secondly, when you've been in a gaming seat - you can't go back to a table.... its all good. Its also easy to see why the wheel is the official wheel of Gran Turismo.
The wheel has been around for sometime now, and we're glad to say it's aged well and still current. As this product replaced the Driving Force Pro, we wont be covering that Wheel.
Summary...
Fantastic Product. I'd say its the beta version of the G25.
Logitech G25
The G25 is the next model up from the Driving Force GT. The packaging is great on these products, although the reality is that its what's inside that's important. So when you know that the pedals are made of metal (and not plastic) it gives you some idea of what to expect in the product -something that's solid and hard-wearing. This is good, but what about the playability and the experience?
What we liked to see is that the gearbox is also part of the 'evolution' of the game pad, and has been brought into the mix. Specifically, you get a D-Pad and the expected eight buttons, which is great when you need to change views on GT or program for another game.
The majority of people I know have previously preferred the automatic approach, although I'm knowing and seeing more people prefer the manual approach for the added realism, and the gearshift box supports 6 gears - one of which is reverse! Cool!
There's a choice of gear shifting modes too, so you can have sequential if this is your preference for F1, or just stay with gated gears.
Apparently the steering wheel is made from hand stitched leather - I can't confirm this other than saying the wheel looks and feels as if its come straight out of a steering wheel.
We never bothered connecting the G25 to a table - after you've experienced a gaming seat, there just isn't any going back! The real value in these components is when they're integrated with a gaming seat, 5.1 surround sound and a good LCD. Seriously, there is no going back!
In Summary...
Well, we discussed the need for feedback on the pedals for sometime, and only came to the conclusion that its nice to have and would improve the game, albeit marginally.
For realism the G25 is the way to go, although the Driving Force GT does exactly the same, albeit not quite as polished.
We'd go as far to say that the feedback electrics are quieter on the G25, rather than the DFGT - but hey, with 5.1 speakers rearing, who cares!