Sega Dreamcast MC2 Racing Wheel w/Pedals

by Madcatz

Product Details

• ASIN: B000023MCL
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,663 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the money for realistic driving games, October 6, 2000

By 

Ted Lilley (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sega Dreamcast MC2 Racing Wheel w/Pedals (Video Game)

As of 10/00 this is very likely the best wheel for the Dreamcast. I don't like wheels in general because they're bulky to set up and use, but this one has definitely won me over.

Highlights include:

o The best design for couch usage. The wheel sits securely on top of your lap because of leg indents and extendable plastic side bands that snugly fit the outside of your legs. Don't hurt your back with a wheel that forces you to sit in an uncomfortable position.

o Excellent base pedals. Two things: A pad to hold the base with your left foot prevents movement, a big weakness with other units I've tried. And the double-jointed pedal design is excellent. It allows the pedal to practically lie flat on the ground when fully pressed, which is comfortable.

o Calibration system: The calibration system allows you to set no dead zone at all. Not sure if other wheels offer this feature. Easy to use, although it would be nice if it could save the setting.

o Wheel resistance: Nice and firm. This is about as good as you'll find for a console, but it's nowhere near the quality of the PC wheels since it is spring-based. The spring in mine creaks badly now, though.

o Shifters: The paddle shifters work, and there is an up-and-down click shifter handle on the right for that extra-realistic driving feel. Nice, but I don't like to take my hands off the wheel. The shifter is _not_ a multi-gear manual, the games won't support that.

o Other stuff: Built-in Rumble feature works ok, although the games seem to underutilize it. Nice rubberized coating on the wheel. Single VMU slot, which is fine.

Weak points include:

o Squeaky spring. _Really_ squeaky after a while.

o No analog gas and brake if you remove the pedals. You have to use the buttons on the wheel, which are digital only, contrary to one of the other reviewers. I would've really liked to have had a set of analog paddles behind the wheel to go along with the shifters.

o Non-programmable button layout: The normal button layout is not very good since it puts the frequently used "A" button on the shifter. Makes for a lot of hand movement between the d-pad in the middle of the wheel and the shifter paddle behind the wheel.

o No way to save calibration settings.

Make no mistake, those complaints do not outweigh the benefit of the wheel, especially for realistic driving games. In fact, there really is no other way to effectively play a game like Ferrari F355. And you _want_ to play F355. You do. Really. With this wheel. Yes, it's hard, but oh so rewarding.

I wouldn't buy this wheel for arcadey racers like Crazy Taxi or Speed Devils, though. Enjoy this wheel if you are serious about driving games.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very high quality racing wheel, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sega Dreamcast MC2 Racing Wheel w/Pedals (Video Game)

I bought this wheel as soon as it arrived in stores. Let me just say as a veteran gamer that this is the best wheel I've ever used for a console, bar none. The wheel is nice and tight, and well crafted, and the pedals with a footrest are the best design I've seen. The gearshifter is great with a satisfying click as you switch gears up or down, and it has F1/Ferrari style shifters behind the wheel for that authentic feel.

Awesome.

I have one caveat, however; My first wheel had pedals that didn't reset fully to zero, and after a couple days I could hear the springs inside the wheel housing, which were very loud, and incredibly distracting. I took the unit back and exchanged it and the new unit had pedals that worked perfectly, but after about a week I started getting that noise problem again. I contacted Mad Catz via email to ask them about this problem, and they said they had about 1000 ship without proper lubrication from the factory, so I should just take some WD40 and squirt some inside on the springs. I have yet to do this, but it sounds like it should work. I just don't have a long enough screwdriver to take it apart. Hopefully the problem will be fixed by the time yours is received, or at least you will know the problem and solution, should you run into it.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MADCATZ ROCKZ, March 10, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sega Dreamcast MC2 Racing Wheel w/Pedals (Video Game)

This has got to be the BEST STEERING WHEEL yet for dreamcast. Although the Agetec racing wheel is the official dreamcast 3rd party racing wheel, Madcatz definitely outshines all others. First, you get PEDALS, which you don't with agetec. The pedals are spring loaded and stay anchored well. There is a place to rest your left foot, and if you use it, pedals stay even more firmly in place. There is no rubber coating on the pedals like the steering wheel, so you'll want to wear some footwear with tread (your Totes slippers are not recommended). If your gaming area is not pedals-friendly you can detach these and use the steering unit. The wire to the pedals is out of the way (connects from right of wheel to right of pedals), I've read comments on other wheels w/pedals having interfering wires. OK now steering. The STEERING WHEEL UNIT is by far the best out there. The most striking feature aside from the sleek formula 1 cockpit style is the Accudrive Calibration System, which allows you to customize your steering to your own driving style, and counteract overly ridiculous steering in your least favorite games. A red & green light display shows your 2 steering settings:: 1.the minimal amount of steerage before your car starts to turn; 2. the maximum range you can turn the wheel before your onscreen vehicle reaches its full turning point. The display also works as a gauge for throttle when in actual gameplay. This makes for some awesome feel of control. Combine that with the rubber gripping, good physical wheel resistance, suction cups on the bottom of the unit(leg-straps if ya got no table), and a hit game like Crazy Taxi brings home a real arcade racer feel. As stated before you can remove pedals if you wish, and this is fine because the wheel offers a excellent selection of both digital and analog buttons. To the rear center of the wheel you have on-the-fly A and B triggers, or you can use the built in A B stick shift. The only problem with the shifter is you'll have to check game opions to make sure the standard control pad is set up right. There are also L and R buttons(for that pedal option) and X,Y,Z,and C (C&Z?)buttons lined up in 2 groups of 3. sometimes you'll hit a button thats not in use with these which may be annoying. BUILT IN RUMBLING FUNCTION IS AUTOMATICALLY ON, so YOU DON"T HAVE TO CARVE UP YOUR CONTROLLER OR WARRANTY FOR RUMBLING (confused? check out reviews of other controls where memory card slots where surgically "upgraded" to fit rumble packs). The memory card slot is on the downslope behind the wheel, staying out of your way while the clever external plug fully exposes the VMU as if to say "Hi don't forget to take me out later so you can finish Soul Reaver." Would've been a nice feature for those wheels that got sliced up, don't you think? Also plays an important role in reading the vmu screen. This about covers it, this wheel has everything you could ever want and the option to alter what you don't. Now, I can't wait for my Sega GT import to arrive, I'll never leave my basement when I put these 2gether.