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R440 Force Wheel
Score: 90%
Developer: Saitek


Function:

Obviously, the R440 Force Wheel is intended for use with PC racing games. The added Force Feedback brings racing to life in a dramatic way. The included foot pedals add to the realism greatly and allow for analog acceleration and braking, putting you in the driver's seat and in control of what feels like a real car. Also included is Saitek's Smart Technology software for programming you new peripheral.

Performance:

The R440 Force Wheel is absolutely incredible! It starts with easy installation and ends with the perfect gaming experience. The user is given the option of installing the basic drivers for the wheel, or installing the programming software too (which you can install later if you want to). Usually, the basic drivers will be enough, as most game titles offer in-game configuration for wheels/pads. However, without any setup required, the R440 Force Wheel was ready-to-go out of the box.

For those that do what to program their wheel outside of the games, Saitek's Smart Technology software lets you do just that. The software is fairly easy to understand, and allows you to program multiple button/keypad/mouse combinations into a single button press. Unfortunately, on my system, the software tends to really bog down the computer at times and after testing, I opted to just not use it. This isn't a huge issue with the R440 Force Wheel, however, because the basic actions will always be included in the game software. It is because of the software that I did have to knock off a point from the score though.

Saitek's R440 Force Wheel truly does put you into the action in a huge way. With games that support it, the Force Feedback technology lets you feel every bump, turn and crash. The wheel also has great response to user action, so everything you do will be on the screen in front of you with precision control. The four buttons on the wheel are located in the perfect place, allowing you to use quick thumb movements to change views, toggle your mirror, or whatever else you want to do.


Features:
  • The only wheel available with Immersion's patented TouchSense technology
  • 4 wheel-mounted buttons for fingertip control during high-speed chases
  • 2 conveniently positioned paddles for rapid gear change
  • Feel every move you make in the game with Force Feedback technology
  • Stunning design stands out from the crowd
  • All the controls at your fingertips for hours of fatigue-free gaming
  • 'Plug-and-play' USB technology for easy setup
  • Unique heel rest design gas and brake pedals put less stress on your feet

Drawbacks & Problems::

As mentioned above, the only real problem encountered was that of the programming software bogging down my machine. Fortunately, unlike a gamepad, programming a wheel isn't all that necessary. Unfortunately, it does affect the score, and because of this I can't give what should have been a perfect score. It also would have been a nice feature to have the two flip-paddles on the wheel be analog. That way, if you wanted to bypass the foot pedals and use only the steering wheel for your gas and brake, you could. Overall, the R440 Force Wheel is the ultimate racing wheel and it is highly recommended for anyone that enjoys racing games on their PC.

-Woody, GameVortex Communications
AKA Shane Wodele
Minimum System Requirements:

166MHz PC; Windows 98/2000/ME; 32MB RAM; USB Port
  Test System:

Pentium II 400MHz CPU; Windows 98 SE; 256MB 100MHz SDRAM; Creative's 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 32MB 3D-Accellerator AGP Video Card (nVIDIA geForce 2 chipset); Ensoniq AudioPCI sound card; DirectX 8.0a; using Hewlett Packard CD-Writer Plus 9100 (reads 32x, writes 8x, rewrites 4x) as main CD-ROM; 1 gameport; 2 USB ports; Saitek's R440 Force Wheel (USB connection); 56k modem

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