Recently, with the arrival of Gran Turismo 5’s release on the horizon, I decided to pick up a PS3 steering wheel. I ended up with a Logitech Driving Force-GT. Let me be the first to say, get yourself one of these, and you’re in for one hell of a ride.
Upon unboxing the GT (which I shall refer to it as from now on) I noticed how sleek it was, it didn’t seem to take up any unnecessary space. I lifted it out of the box, it felt almost weightless, so I thought “This can’t be good, it’ll end up broken in no time”. I was wrong, it’s surprisingly durable. Finally, I removed all the contents and placed them on the table, It comes with the actual steer wheel, pedals, and some cords (a plug, and a USB adapter to plug into your PS3).
The steering wheel attaches to your table via two monkey wrench type hook that are to be screwed from two areas in the top. Now upon plugging the GT into my PS3, it immediately buzzed to life spinning in one direction, then the other, and centering. I put in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and sat down gripping the wheel. The material is comfortable, and doesn’t make your hands sweat. The pedals are also comfortable, and they won’t slide across the floor if you apply a lot of pressure. There is a dial allegedly used for brake tension, which I know nothing about so I left it alone.
As the countdown for the race to begin started, I pressed down on the acceleration pedal and felt exhilarated as vibrations ran up my arms. The race began and I was off like a rocket, even the slightest movement of the wheel seems to transfer into the game. Upon the first turn, I nonchalantly turned the wheel thinking I could clear the turn with ease, this was not the case. I went sliding into the sand as I fought to keep the steering wheel in place, the feeling was pure ecstasy. The counter balancing of the GT makes it feel like you’re seriously sliding across those roads.
The GT, brings new meaning to all your favorite PS3 racing games, it really, makes you feel like you’re in the driver’s seat. Being a bit curious, I plugged in my old PS2 , put in Gran Turismo 4, and the steering wheel worked! I played all my older racing games with new vigor, things like Need for Speed Underground, became completely different games. I found out the wheel also works with your computer as well, that’s also a huge plus.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants a console steering wheel, it’s almost perfect in every way. The only real downsides are the fact it isn’t cordless like most things are these days, but, that doesn’t come into much account. Also, if you have all your consoles in one room, you’re usually fighting to find plug space, and the GT comes with a rather large bulky plug. With all things in consideration, I’d definitely recommend this godsend.