Mad Catz Wireless Force Feeback Racing Wheel – Review (360)
It was a sad day for the racing genre when the original Microsoft Wireless Force Feeback wheel was discontinued. Here was a wheel of reasonable build quality that delivered a sense of realism at a very reasonable price.
To coin a phrase, it bridged a gap in the market from the cheaper non feeback wheels to the super duper, I have a few hundred pounds, to spend wheels. Microsoft’s original piece of kit done the job well and I know many a racer that has used one and been very, very competitive indeed.
A couple of years have gone by and we are now witnessing the emergence of the officially branded Mad Catz/Microsoft Wireless Force Feedback Racing Wheel which, although slightly more expensive than the original, has a place in the market to again deliver the same concept as the original as a very reasonable price.
There is, however, a huge difference in how these wheels perform though and all for the greater good. Upon unboxing the wheel and laying the components out you feel an immediate sense of build quality. Designed in exposed metal and rubber grips as well as re-enforced plastic, Mad Catz offering feels a lot more weighty and robust. The wheel itself has a flat surface to sit on most surfaces but also comes with a clamp to mount the wheel a little more securely. For people that don’t have a flat surface to put the wheel on, Mad Catz have also included a couple of shaped plates that secure via screws to the base of the wheel and fit comfortably on your legs. The pedals also are designed from the top down and have the same feel of quality about them. The position of them are at a higher angle than almost all pedals that I have felt but my God they feel so progressive and very comfortable indeed.
Mad Catz have even got the smallest attention to detail covered, providing a dead centre line on the wheel as well as metal paddle gear shifts that sit comfortable on either side of the wheel. Such is their attention to detail they also have a gear stick that can be setup for left or right handed people and all the while built from metal too. All the usual face buttons are provided in the centre of the wheel with bumper buttons included that are hidden just behind the gear paddles. All this beauty also comes with a mic port and is powered by mains.
So, once this ode to realistic racing wheels was built it was time to test it on some of the racing games it was designed for. Although it is being marketed for the Forza drivers I thought that it may be worth giving it a little go on F1 2011 first, especially as a few of my friends were playing it just to see how it reacted to another racing game. The game immediately found the wheel and the base settings were very nice indeed. After lapping around the Melbourne track for half an hour to get used to the wheel I found myself starting to hit the apexes correctly, find my lines and adapt to the ever changing conditions of the road that were faithfully recreated using the wheel’s very strong force feedback and dual vibration functions. The wheel made you work, hard at times, but the rewards were starting to show as my lap times came tumbling down. A special mention also has to go to the quality of the pedals too. These beauties feel so progressive and fluid that you can apply as much brake or acceleration smoothly and still have your car totally balanced at the same time. The experience was, to be frank, astounding, delivering a smooth driving experience but at the same time letting you know how the track felt and responded in the correct manner. Even when I had a de-lamination on the rear right of the car the rumble and feeback features tried to pull me in the correct way as well as rumbling in the correct area to give an authentic feel, basically I knew exactly what had happened and where before the pits could even radio through.
After being astonished for the evening on F1 2011 it was time to give it a real blast of Forza 4 and see how it responded to it’s main billing. Was I to worry? Definitely not! Forza 4 is rough, the tracks are unforgiving, the cars, hundreds of them respond in different ways dependent on their builds and setup and each car, that I tested handled in a slightly different way when I changed the setup of the car. There is no doubt that the force feedback feels harder in Forza 4 and changing to a stiffer suspension, for example, will have the necessary change in feel through the wheel and how you apply yourself when approaching a corner. The feeling was pheonominal and the amount of control that extended through the wheel based on its reaction to the track and car made this feel like you were in control of something really special. In fact, every game that I put into the 360 responded well to the wheel, each picking up the accessory immediately and each had a base setting that immediately delivered a fun experience in its own memorable way.
If you ever doubted what Mad Catz was capable of in terms of third party peripherals then you will only need to unbox one of these wheels to understand that the company has come a long way and where once they may have been considered a cheap third party alternative can now hold their heads up high as being a company that delivers a very high quality product that provides the ultimate gaming experience at a very reasonable price.
The sheer quality and attention to detail of the Mad Catz, 360 branded Wireless Force Feedback Racing Wheel immediately puts itself up there amongst the £400 offerings from other companies and when you feel what it delivers in game, it catapults itself to the top of the Racing Wheel tree. If you have been considering entering the steering wheel market then you need to look no further than the Mad Catz Wireless Force Feedback Wheel, I know this one will be getting a lot of use for a long time to come.
