Customer Reviews

Sega Dreamcast MC2 Racing Wheel w/Pedals

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The Mad Catz MC2 racing wheel is without a doubt the best of the three wheels available for the dreamcast. While the Interact wheel also has pedals I was thoroughly unimpressed with the feel of the wheel and how it handled. The Agetech wheel, although it has no pedals was much better in the way it felt while playing compared to Interact's wheel. Both wheels were taken back to the store and I had given up hope of ever finding a racing wheel I could be satisfied with, then the MC2 came out and I was in heaven. The pedals are solid and stay where you want them (as long as you use the rest spot for your left foot), and the wheel itself is superb not only for its beautiful handling characteristics but also in its setup of the buttons and the d-pad positioned in the middle of the wheel. In my opinion this is definitely the best dreamcast racing wheel for the money. If you like racing games THIS IS THE WHEEL FOR YOU.

This is THE steering wheel to get when it comes to racing on the Dreamcast. Why? Because unlike the clumsy DC Controller, You can manuever faster and really get into the game.

One quick note, though. When I first got this wheel, it was quiet when I used it, but after only a couple of days, the wheel screeches like the backyard gate. But its not too bad though, other than that the wheel is cool. The front panel lights up when you hit the accelerator and the built-in vibration feature is more than adequate. I haven't tried the other steering wheels, but I am very satisfied with this one.

This is a really good wheel. Mad Catz has now fixed the squeaky wheel problem so now the wheels they sell don't squeak. The built-in vibration feature is great, and the gas and brake pedals are good too. Works great with all racing games and it feels really realistic (especially with the manual gear shifter on the right side). This is a really good wheel and I recomend that anyone who is looking for a very nice racing wheel should buy this one.

I recieved this item from Amazon for a christmas present from my father. I was incredibly happy when I got to open it up and use it! The wheel sits comfortably on your lap (or for more lifelike use put a tv dinner tray in front of you and set the wheel on that and the pedals under the tray for the BEST racing experience) The wheel is a nice size to work with. It isn't too bulky or too little. I like the wheel alot also because of the rubber grips on the side of the wheel and on the knob of the shifter. The wheel's base has 3 suction cups on it to keep it secure through even the most intense areas of a race. The pedals stay down also with the rubber pads under it. The pedals are racing style and are pressure sensitive (meaning the further you push down the faster you go. You can "cruise" at one speed) as is the wheel. You have the choice to use the stick shift or the F1 style paddle shift in a race which is better than pressing a button to shift. There is also a nice spot for the VMU (virtual memory unit) to sit in so you can still load up all your favorite racing game files. I have NO complaints about this wheel at all! Yes, after 7 months of use it still is in Perfect condition (and I use it alot!) My favorite games to use it with are Ferrari F355 challenge, Test Drive Le Mans, Crazy Taxi 1,2 18 wheeler Pro American Trucker, Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2, Hydro thunder, and Sega GT. I hope this hepled you, good luck with your wheel!

Given the cost of this racing wheel compared to the PC racing wheels I understand why the construction feels the way they do. But, it would be far from being considered as a good wheel.

Pros: -It has F-1 Style shifters AND the normal up/down gate type shifter. (good idea, and not all wheels have this) -Excellent built-in rumble pack. (V.strong and accurate) -Rubberized wheel feels solid. (won't slip)

Cons: -The spring resistance in the wheel makes any driving game feel fake. -The dual axel to the pedals feels cheap. (does not drive like a real car) -The Pedals has too much travel distance between 0 and fully depressed. The Wheel has too much travel from full left to full right as well. (cannot be calibrated in-game or otherwise). -General construction of the wheel does not feel sturdy enough. (you can easily force it to tilt like a spring back and forth)

Games I tried this wheel with: -Sega GT -F355 Challenge -Crazy Taxi

It gets my 3 stars just by the rumble and shifters alone. However, I returned the wheel 3days after I bought it, cause I could drive faster and more accurately with the dreamcast pad than with this wheel.

After reading all the reviews I was hyped about getting this. I even got the later shipments without the squeaky wheel problem. Well all I can say is that this thing suffers from 1 major flaw. The way the unit has to be positioned in order to get a grip is really restrictive because you are unable to adjust the wheels height or tilt. The wheel has to be at the same level as your stomach and at your knees. If you try and position it closer you will be unable to turn the wheel because it will hit your, uh you know what. BAD! The only saving grace is the pedals which are quite comfortable otherwise it would have gotten 0 stars if that were possible. I returned it to the store immediately within 20 minutes of getting it. Do not buy!

the wheel is a very good wheel when i works i have taken two back to the store cuz they didnt work.....so when i took the 3rd one back i traded it in for a game...dont buy