Recommendations for PS3 steering wheel please

Yee-Ming · 04-22-2008, 01:28 AM

As title suggests, any recommendations as to what steering wheel I should get for use with a PS3?

I've seen recommendations for the Logitech G25, but that sucker is expensive! Also, I'm not sure why 900 degrees of turning is touted as a big selling point: I was playing in an arcade recently and the wheel barely turned 180 degrees, i.e. 90 each way off centre, and it seemed sufficient. And my real-life car only does 720, and that only happens when doing 3-point turns.

Having said that, only the G25 seems to have 3 pedals (clutch included) and a gearshift, so I guess all others would force you to play AT rather than MT?

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Aaron Silverman · 04-23-2008, 01:48 PM

Well, the other wheels all have shift paddles on the steering column (some also include a shift lever); they just lack the clutch pedal. So you can still use MT with them.

My neighbor got the less-expensive Logitech wheel ($135 or so at Best Buy). It has the 900-degree turning radius, which takes a little getting used to (I think you can switch it between 900 degrees and 270 degrees). It's awesome, but I don't know if I can bring myself to drop that much cash on a wheel. The G25 is way more than I'd ever spend on a game controller. Thrustmaster makes two wheels that are much cheaper (A $35 wheel that works with PS2, PS3, PC, Gamecube *and* Wii, plus a $50 wheel that just works with PS2, PS3, and PC), but I can't find them in stores and I'd really like to check them out in person before buying. (The manuals say you can't use them for PS2 games on the PS3, which kinda sucks if true -- they have multi-cables that have both a PS2 connection and a USB connection.)

MadCatz makes a PS3 wheel too. You can buy it on the Best Buy website, but unfortunately I didn't find it in the store.

Yee-Ming · 04-24-2008, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

Well, the other wheels all have shift paddles on the steering column (some also include a shift lever); they just lack the clutch pedal. So you can still use MT with them.

I did not realise that. Thanks for the heads-up, makes them a lot more interesting.

Thing is, the last time I played video games, it was on the NES and Sega Mega Drive -- yes, it was THAT long ago. And even for PC games, I've hardly played in ten years. Only reason I'm back in is that the PS3 is simply the best-value Blu-ray player out there now so I got one -- and it plays games

I've had a few tries on driving games at the arcade and enjoyed them (even if I was crap), so that's something I'd like to get into. I've got Sega Rally Revo (haven't played it yet, though); any other suggestions?

Aaron Silverman · 04-25-2008, 11:28 AM

My first suggestion is to download the free demos of Motorstorm, Dirt, NFS: Pro Street, F1 Championship, Stuntman: Ignition, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, MX vs. ATV Unleashed, Toy Home, PixelJunk Racers, and any other available racing game and see which ones you like best.

If you're like me, the progression is:

1. Buy a PS3 as a BD deck.
2. Download a zillion free demo games just for the heck of it.
3. Get into the habit of playing.
4. Buy games.

Dirt is excellent and has a lot of variety, but I think it's pretty similar to Sega Rally Revo. Motorstorm is fun too, and the price is starting to drop (I think I paid $20 for it used at GameStop when they had a special a couple of months back). MX vs. ATV has good gameplay, but the graphics are nowhere near as good as most of the other games. I haven't played NASCAR 08, but I've heard mixed things about it. If you like F1 racing, then you should definitely consider that one too.

Also, if you've ever wanted to be the star of a John Woo movie, you should get Stranglehold.

Yee-Ming · 04-26-2008, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

If you're like me, the progression is:

1. Buy a PS3 as a BD deck.
2. Download a zillion free demo games just for the heck of it.
3. Get into the habit of playing.
4. Buy games.

My progression was:-
1. Buy PS3 as BD deck.
2. Play lots of Guitar Hero III
3. Finally put in BR BD and let jaw drop.

The way the PS3 is sold here (dunno about for you guys) is Sony requires you to buy two games at the same time. GH3 I already wanted, then of the rest available I picked Sega Rally, since I used to really enjoy the arcade version some years ago, but I haven't played it yet because (a) no wheel and (b) still playing GH3. What I really wanted was Lego Star Wars, though.
But no rush, I'll get it in due course, perhaps on my next holiday to the US -- with your dollar dropping it makes it that much more attractive a holiday destination, especially for shopping (the missus had a field day last year at the outlet malls...)

Aaron Silverman · 04-28-2008, 01:34 PM

GH3 was item #2.5 on my list.

There's no requirement to buy games here, although the 80GB model comes (or came) with Motorstorm, and some stores have retailer-specific bundles where the console comes with a game or two.

Now somebody please tell us about those steering wheels, dangit!

Aaron Silverman · 04-30-2008, 05:53 PM

I think I'm going to order the Logitech Driving Force EX from Walmart for $60. I see a number of eBay sellers selling the Driving Force Pro for not much more, but the EX weighs about half as much so I think it'll work better latched to my plastic McQueen & Mater TV tray.

Also the fact that it's much less bulky (no separate stick shift) means it'll be easier to store.

I see they're also selling a bundle of the Driving Force EX with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for $89, which is a great deal, but I'm thinking that Prologue would be a waste of money since I'd probably want to get the full game next year.

We shall see. . .

Aaron Silverman · 04-30-2008, 05:54 PM

BTW, check this out:

Hardware: PS2 to PS3 Guitar Hero Adapter Rescues Otherwise Non-Functional Guitars

Looks like I might be able to use my old PS2 GH guitar to play PS3 Rock Band! If that turns out to be true, I'm all over that action.

Yee-Ming · 04-30-2008, 11:32 PM

My problem's the other way around: my 40GB PS3 doesn't play PS2 games, and I sure would like to have a go at some (hey, several!) of the tracks in GH2 and for that matter the Encore edition focusing on 80s songs.

I have been toying with the idea of looking for a second-hand PS2, just for the heck of it. But I'd also need to get my hands on the GH2 games. Any idea if the GH3 controller works on GH2?

Aaron Silverman · 05-01-2008, 01:25 PM

I have no idea whether the PS3 GH3 controller would work for PS2 GH2, but my guess would be no. I bet you can get PS2-compatible guitars very cheaply, though.

Incidentally, I discovered that that adapter will work with GH1, but not GH2 or GH '80s.

It will allow play of PS3 Rock Band with a PS2 GH guitar, though, and that's the main thing.

Aaron Silverman · 05-13-2008, 11:32 AM

The Driving Force EX arrived last night. The cable has both USB and PS2 connectors on the end. I tried it out with F1 Championship Edition (which has a specific option for that wheel in the menu) and it worked like a dream. The pedals slid a little bit on the tile floor, but I can just move to sit where the carpet is and it'll probably be fine. (Worse comes to worst, I'll just get a rubber shower mat for it.)

The wheel clamped to my McQueen & Mater tray table perfectly. The Driving Force Pro would probably have been too heavy for that.

So thumbs-up from me so far for the Logitech Driving Force EX. I probably won't have a chance to play it again until next week, but if I develop any other opinions on it I'll post 'em when I have 'em.

Aaron Silverman · 05-21-2008, 12:34 PM

I played Ridge Racer 7 and the DiRT demo last night. With the pedal assembly on carpet, it didn't slide AT ALL.

The wheel's a definite winner. (I posted a detailed review on Amazon -- US residents note however that it's $20 less on Walmart.com, which will deliver to a local store for free.)

Yee-Ming · 05-21-2008, 10:07 PM

Thanks for the comments. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it; I've seen the XBox version and it seems reasonably-priced. I haven't seen nor heard anything about a GT5 Prologue bundle here, though, which interests me since I'm probably not hard-core enough to want the full game anyway.