John
I came to this in the same way you are. I didn't invest in a wheel
till I'd tried out a few titles - so I've concentrated on the titles below.
With steering wheels, I can only report that my Logitech is great
but owners of the Microsoft sidewinder appear to feel the same about
their wheels. There is an "ACT-LAbs" (visit "www.act-labs.com")
wheel which is supposed to be a class above.
I've found the racing section of Gamesdomain to be really good -
http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk/gdreview/index.html
The Games-
I have a system with less horsepower than yours (P2-350 ) and the
same video card. I've found that the Porsche Unleashed (NFS-PU)
game is definately worth the money and works great on my system.
Sports Car GT (SCGT) is also worth the cash and provides a racing
series angle that NFS-PU lacks.
SCGT is on a budget label now ("EA Classics") so should be in the
"pocket money" zone. Other excellent budget titles include Colin
McRae Rally (or "CMR") (nb. CMR 2 out soon) and Grand Prix
Legends - GPL .
For what its worth, I'd say don't discount GPL, I've not had it
long and I'm rubbish at it, but its the quality of the work that
is so impressive. For 10 ($15?) on the "Sierra Originals" label
its probably one of the most immersive racing titles.
One of the problems with some of the more mainstream work
(especially the earlier NFS titles, in my opinion) is that racing
games can get very boring very quickly- i.e. once you've done
all the tracks and all the cars what more is
there? Well NFS-PU and SCGT combat this by introducing
career modes that get you involved in improving your driving and
moving upwards. GPL addresses it through realism of the driving
itself.
There are two other games I'd say are worth mentioning,
Rally Championship 2000 (RC2000) is another high quality
simulator, but Colin McRae rally is more accessible.
Finally, though its not a car simulator as such, there is a
game called "ReVolt" which simulates radio controlled cars
and its a serious amount of fun. Might be difficult to find, but
it is a wonderfully alternative view on PC racing - and its
done extremely well - not half as cheesy as it sounds.
GOod luck.
> Hey guys,
> I've made up my mind and am gonna give PC race games a real shot for the
> first time in my life. Until now, my PC racing experience has consisted
> of downloaded demos controlled with a joystick and/or keyboard.
> I need to decide on some hardware and some games. As far as hardware is
> concerned, my first choice is the MS Sidewinder FF USB wheel. I checked
> out the (red) Logitech Wingman FF wheel but the pedals were a huge turn-off.
> Before I actually buy a wheel, I wanted to find out if either of these
> companies (Microsoft or Logitech) are going to be releasing new wheels in
> the near future and would they be worth waiting for?
> As far as games are concerned, I guess I should explain where I'm coming
> from. I'm almost afraid to admit this here but I'm not a "real-life"
> race fan at all. I just want to try something new and have fun doing it.
> After a couple of weeks lurking here, I can safely say that games like GPL
> and F12000 are probably not for me - at least not at this stage. I've tried
> the Porsche Unleashed demo and really dug that one. Also Midtown Madness but
> to a lesser extent. Are there any other games along these lines that I should
> check out?
> Thanks,
> John
> P.S. My relevant system specs:
> P3-750
> 128MB RAM
> Voodoo3-2000
--
Steven Crook-Dawkins - Research Assistant - University of York.
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