If you’re playing racing games with a standard controller, you’re doing it all wrong. Yes you can play most racing games perfectly fine with a regular controller but you lose out on that whole immersive feeling you get when using a real steering wheel and pedals. I mean, have you ever been to an arcade and seen a driving game use a standard joystick and buttons? No. Real arcade driving games use a steering wheel and pedals and you really should too. If you’re a real hardcore racing game fan, you owe it to yourself to pick up something like the Logitech G29 Driving Force steering wheel controller. While it may be a tad on the expensive side, you’ll be enjoying driving games like they were meant to be played.
My Driving Game Past
I’ve always loved playing racing games in the arcade. The feeling of going fast and the fact that you were usually playing in what was a simulated vehicle, made it all seem more real. Of course when you played the same game at home on your console, it just wasn’t the same experience when using a regular controller. It was like this for me for every generation of home console up until the PS3. It wasn’t until I purchased a PS3 to play Gran Turismo 5 that I decided it was finally time to play with a real steering wheel controller and that controller funny enough was the Logitech Driving Force GT, specifically licensed for that game.
The Logitech Driving Force GT wheel made me love racing on my console again. I spent many hours nightly just driving track after track in GT5 and I swore after that, I’d never play a racing game again unless I had a steering wheel controller to go with it. Racing games just weren’t the same anymore without one.
Present Day
Fast forward to 2016 and I’m now playing on a PlayStation 4. Since its release, there have been a a good handful of racing games released. Games like #DRIVECLUB, Project Cars, and various other racing sims, but I hadn’t played any of them. Why’s that? Well because I didn’t have a steering wheel controller. There was this whole controversy with the Logitech Driving Force GT wheel, which you can read about in length if you do a Google search and whether or not Logitech would ever support it on the PS4 that I held out for as long as I could. In the end, it seems like the PS4 just wouldn’t support it so a quick email to Logitech and a week later, their brand new, Logitech G29 Driving Force steering wheel arrived at my door.
The Logitech G29 Driving Force is the only Logitech wheel that supports the PS4. While many may be disappointed that the Driving Force GT wheel ultimately will never work on the PS4, this new wheel is a much better wheel in almost every way and well worth the upgrade.
I’ve been using the new Logitech G29 Driving Force for a good amount of time now so lets take a look at some of thing I really love about it.
Great Looks and Top Notch Build Quality
This new Logitech G29 Driving Force is much more premium feeling than the past GT wheel. Though that might also be due to its much higher price tag. At the time, I had picked up the old GT wheel for under $100 while this new G29 wheel will set you back a good $399. If you’re willing to spend that much, you’ll find that this new steering wheel is very much like the old GT wheel, but has been thoroughly upgraded to be more than what the old wheel ever was.
The old wheel had a very plastic feel to everything. It was well made, but it also looked like a toy. This new G29 Driving Force has grown up and is for grown ups. The base of the steering wheel controller is still made of plastic and it’s molded to look like the front end up a Mustang. It’s solid and heavy and clamps on tightly to any table or stand you want to use. In my case, I’m using this thing here. It’s not the best solution, but it works for the time being.
Anyways, back to the steering wheel itself, this thing is really well made. Like a real racing steering wheel, the frame is made of anodized aluminum while the wheel itself is wrapped in real leather. All the various PS4 specific controls are mounted to the face of the wheel and there are two brushed stainless steel shifter paddles on the rear. What’s nice about the shifter paddles are that they turn with the wheel, like in any good sports car. They aren’t stationary units. All the buttons and controls feel very good and are very nicely placed on the wheel.
*Optional
If you notice, the G29 Driving Force does lack a manual shifter. The paddle shifters do make up for that, but for those who want an actual shifter, there is a shifter attachment you can buy that solves this omission.
The last piece of hardware is the pedal set. The pedals are attached to a really heavy plastic base. The pedals themselves are made of stainless steel and look like actual racing pedals. On the bottom of the base, you’ll find solid rubber grips for hard surfaces as well as a retractable carpet grip system for carpet. It all works rather well and helps keep the pedals firmly planted when in use.
How Much Better are Driving Games With the Logitech G29?
I’ve played my share of racing games with a regular controller and in my opinion, they get boring real quick when played like this. There’s no real sense of driving when all you’re using are your thumbs and a couple fingers and while this might work for games like Mario Kart, this is no way to play a real racing game. Real driving and racing games deserve something like the Logitech G29 Driving Force because in real life, do you drive with a controller? No.
If you’re a huge fan of driving games, you really should invest in a good steering wheel controller and the Logitech G29 Driving Force is one of the best. I honestly can’t even play racing games with a regular controller anymore because it just doesn’t feel right. Driving with a steering wheel just feel more natural once you get the hang of it and you’ll find that it feels much more precise than using a regular controller.
With all that said, I highly suggest picking up the Logitech G29 Driving Force steering wheel controller. It might cost a bit much, but in the end, it’s well worth the price to be able to get that real driving simulator feeling if that’s important to you.
