Gaming Peripherals Round Up

Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Steering Wheel

Microsoft recently released its wireless steering wheel, and, as we are unnaturally obsessed with all things wireless at the bit-tech offices, we were very excited when we opened it. Upon seeing the wheel, fully unsheathed, I have to say everyone was impressed. It's big, it's white and it's bright.

Our smiling faces were soon wearing frowns though when we reached into the bottom of the packaging, "What's this?" I asked Wil. "Wires, Ryan. Those are wires!" he replied. We were both shocked, then later that shock turned to anger. The wireless Xbox 360, isn't wireless.

So, the deal is thus: The connection between the steering wheel and the actual 360 is wireless. The connection between the steering wheel and pedals, however, is wired, as is usual with most steering wheels. That's not all, the steering wheel doesn't run off batteries - it needs to be connected to a mains power socket, another God-forsaken wire.

After drying my tears, I decided to get on with setting the wheel up. The Xbox wireless steering wheel attachment to the desk is very high quality. Of the three we have looked at today it was by far the simplest to use, whilst also being the most sturdy. The width of the base also means that it can be unclipped and used on your lap, so if you play in your front room without a table then no problems here.


The materials that have gone into making the wheel are also of a higher standard too. The grip, for instance, felt comfortable in my hands, and the cut off steering wheel looked cool, if slightly unnecessary. It has large paddles, like an African (not Indian) Elephant, for gear changing, which were comfortable to use. The buttons were all well placed and worked well.

The same cannot be said of the steering wheel's force feedback. Its flimsy rumble was completely underwhelming -smashing my car at 200 MPH should at least cause more than a flicker of activity beneath my hands. Instead it just rumbled tamely away - not what you want from a steering wheel that cost between £80 and £90 (depending on if you shop online or buy it from a high street retailer).

My problem with the official 360 wheel is that anybody spending that kind of money has to be pretty serious about their racing games. If you're that person then what are you doing spending time playing games on the 360? A serious racing car gamer will only be satisfied with GTR 2 on the PC and so if you're willing to shell out the best part of £100 then I have to advise you to go down that route. If you're not a serious racing gamer, then why not get the Logitech wheel for almost half the price?

The final say is that, yes, this MS peripheral does feel good, look good and have the best featureset. But is it pricing itself out of the market?