Mad Catz Analog Wheel

Mad Catz Analog Wheel**

Analog Wheel

**Manufactured By: Mad Catz, Inc.

Retail Price: $59.95 **

Review Date: 10-25-98

I have had the Mad Catz Analog Wheel combo for about a year. A gaming group I belong to was into racing games like POD, Need For Speed II, Whiplash and Nascar II. I picked up the cheapest wheel combo I could find so I could participate during the get-together although I was not a racing fan. I came across an open-box Analog Wheel for $30. It was missing the manuals and disk.

I took it home downloaded the configuration file and set it up. I played POD all that night with my new wheel. I didn't know it at the time but becoming a wheel owner made me a racing fan. I now love to fire up Need For Speed III, Ultimate Race Pro or any of the classic racing games still occupying my shelf.

The Analog wheel emulates a PC flightstick; using the x (wheel) and y (pedals) axis's. It also has a shifter control and 8 way hat switch. The only modification I made to the wheel was to add a comfort grip pad around the wheel (available from any auto parts store).

Features -

• Analog Wheel/Pedals
• 2 Position Shifter (same as button 1, 2)
• 4 buttons
• 8 way hat switch
• start button (same as button 1)
• Gas and Brake buttons on back of wheel
• Suction cup base (removable)

System Requirements-

Gameport, DOS or Windows 3.x/95/98

Price -

The Analog Wheel is a economical way to add a driving controller to your arsenal.

Performance -

The wheel is not as large as a standard car wheel (most PC computer wheels are not) and the pedals are at a high angle. At first these made use uncomfortable. I was also disappointed that the numerous buttons and shifter only provide a total of 4 controls (see description in "features").

That aside, the wheel is a very nice controller. I am able to map many of the extra game features to the hat switch. It remains stable on my desktop without the suction cups. Because it emulates a flightstick it is very easy to setup and use.

Setup -

Setup is a breeze. After loading the disk containing the Windows 95/98 setup it is a matter of calibrating the wheel and hitting the gas. I found the hat switch somewhat tricky to calibrate properly because it is difficult to tell that you have it pressed in a particular direction. You may have to repeat this step until it is right. Use of the hat switch does not seem to suffer from this problem however.

The wheel can be used with or without the pedals that plug into the base of the wheel housing. For some reason the gas and brake buttons on the wheel do not work unless the pedals are plugged in. This makes the buttons virtually useless in my opinion because the only reason I would think of using them would be so I don't have to connect the pedals.

**Software -

**The only software needed/provided is the setup panel for the Windows 95/98 controller properties display. It is a single run executable that places the Mad Catz Analog Wheel into the available options.

D ocumentation -

Unfortunately, I did not receive any documentation with the unit I purchased. However, none was necessary because the setup and use is very simple.

Overall Rating -

The Analog Wheel is a nice inexpensive wheel/pedal combination. It is not packed with features but will provide you with driving control in your racing games. The construction is durable and it should last for many years. It made me a race fan!