Review: Logitech DriveFX™ Racing Wheel

Back To Page 3

Let The Game(s) Begin…

I’d considered basing this review with PGR3 in addition to Forza Motorsport, but to be honest, it wouldn’t tell you much as PGR3 is an arcade racer, through-and-through.

Matter-of-fact, the biggest drawback to this new wheel is the limited amount of serious racing sims for the Xbox 360! With at least three titles in the works, and all due out in the near future, the situation looks like it'll go from one extreme to the other. Kudos to Logitech for recognizing an emerging market — the serious Xbox 360 racing sim — and acting on it.

Backwards-compatibility is a big deal with console gamers, especially after they’ve spent God-only-knows on games before upgrading to a next-gen system. I knew Forza was backwards-compatible, but I was curious about how well a peripheral built specifically for the 360 could reach back and work with an older title.

As it turns out, pretty well, actually. Forza was a blast to drive around in and it quickly became a more addictive and enjoyable experience than an actual 360-only game. It soon became apparent why. Forza is considered to more of a simulation than arcade racer, and it would stand to reason that a peripheral built more for the simulation fan would get more out of it.

One thing that bothers me about console controllers is the difficulty or the outright inability to adjust any of the controller’s settings. Logitech has partially remedied this in that there does exist a small, black, nondescript button on the wheel that will cycle you back and forth between sensitivity settings that hover between ‘too much’ and ‘just about right’. The less-sensitive setting actually forces the driver to brake properly around turns and gives a much more realistic sensation of control.

A big drawback is that the level of Axial Feedback cannot be adjusted. It’s a sort of, ‘you-get-what-get’ kind of response. It would be nice if there existed a method tweaking the settings of the wheel in the 360’s Dashboard operating system, but thus far there are no such capabilities. No split axis adjustments, no level of feedback adjustments, it’s all on one default setting that you’ll either like or you won’t.

Driving Miss Kitty

Conclusion

First, let me preface these comments by saying that while console titles will only increase in popularity, attempts to come within striking distance of what PC titles can do is going to be difficult. It will only be when fidelity and realism are fully respected and catered to will the console even be considered the equal of PCs in terms of simulations, much less an alternative. Converting the hardcore to a console will be a daunting enough task, attempting to do so with the hardware and peripherals we are accustomed to using will make that task impossible.

"But PFunk," you say, "you still haven’t answered the question. Is it worth the $100 price tag?" Well, let me attempt it.

It depends on what you want to do with it. My answer is yes, even though it doesn’t work on my PC, I’ll still buy one after I give this one back. Why? I realize that the 360 is going to be the way gaming is going and later this year three very realistic racing titles are going to be released for the 360 and I cannot imagine attempting them without a racing wheel. The DriveFX has spoiled me in that going back to the gamepad in Forza is going to be an exercise in complete frustration.

Simbin’s GTR is tentatively scheduled for the 2nd quarter of 2007 and Forza Motorsport 2 will hit the shelves in November of this year. There is a third not announced yet. In order to get the most out of them and really enjoy thrashing your opponents on Xbox Live, the DriveFX will be necessary to give yourself the most competitive edge possible.

It definitely stands apart from the other racing wheels for the 360 in that it follows Logitech’s formula and is designed to be secured to a desk or racing chair. All others, including the wireless first-party wheel from Microsoft, are lap-friendly devices and look quite cheap by comparison. The DriveFX’s intended audience is the hard-core driving simulation fan.

So, is it worth the money? If you’re simply cruising around in Ridge Racer 6, I’d advise you to stick with the gamepad unless you simply have to have a wheel. If you’re going to buy GTR or Forza 2, the price tag will be quickly forgotten after using it. It might seem steep, but the end result is gratifying enough to warrant the purchase. Any gripes I may have about it are of the “Shakira-has-ugly-toes” variety.

Pros

• Sturdy, solid construction
• Not a lap-friendly toy, it’s meant for the serious driving gamer and a high-fidelity simulation-grade title on the Xbox 360
• Very smooth and convincing tightness in turns
• Axial Feedback every bit as believable as Force Feedback
• Anyone who has used a PC wheel will be immediately comfortable with the setup

Cons

• Serial port connector needs a locking mechanism
• The sensitivity adjustment button needs a label
• No way to adjust level of feedback or other settings on the wheel

We want your Feedback. Please let us know what you thought of this article here.

Click here to go to top of this page.