Review – Fanatec Speedster 3 ForceShock - Xbox 04.07.2005 15:05 Uhr Team Xbox | Forums | Games | Previews | Reviews | News | Cheats | RSS | Advertise | Contact Us Content Sections Welcome, Guest. You are not logged in. TeamXbox Home Review – Fanatec Speedster 3 ForceShock [Register] [Login Now] Xbox News By: Dale Nardozzi - "Legba" Games Search Features May 7th, 2005 Editorials Ask anyone that own an Xbox about its Interviews shortcomings and they will probably have a hard Xbox Hardware time thinking of any. Now, pose the same question to the racing game crowd and the immediate Xbox Events response will most likely be: “No force feedback!” Xbox FAQ There are differing opinions as to why the Xbox Search TeamXbox does not support force feedback, and none of them revolve around the difficulties associated with RSS Feeds programming it or its relative cost. The lack of force Xbox Games Info feedback support has kept many peripheral Xbox Games companies from producing wheels for the harder core population of race fan. You couldn’t even buy a New Releases premium wheel if you wanted to for the Xbox, that Xbox Previews is, until now. The Speedster 3 ForceShock by Fanatec was created with one goal in mind: To Xbox Reviews provide the most realistic racing game experience Editor's Choice while working around the lack of the Xbox’s force Reader Reviews feedback support. Has Fanatec succeeded where others have failed, or haven’t even tried? We put Xbox Cheats the Speedster 3 ForceShock through the ringer, and Screenshots below are the track results… Movies Xbox Developers Xbox Publishers Features Xbox Community Programmable force feedback effect Xbox Forums Connection for Communicator and memory unit on wheel Xbox Chatroom Can be mounted on table with included bracket High-quality rubber coating on steering surface Member Articles Formula 1- style manual shift lever TeamXbox Staff Analog-mode acceleration and braking with pedals or gear levers Contact Us Ergonomic, non-slip pedals Twelve buttons (2 programmable) plus steering column and start switch IGN.com Tuning function with configurable dead zone/sensitivity/vibration/force feedback effect/resistance Xtras Four programmable memory settings for tuning TeamXbox Store $149 MSRP OXM Challenges Downloads Setup Sweepstakes The first decision you need to make with the Speedster 3 ForceShock is if you are going to affix it to a Scrapbook table or similar surface or attach it to your quads. Table mounting is straightforward with the included Xbox Live plastic clamp. The clamp must be manually installed in the Speedster 3 ForceShock for table mounting GamerTags but it’s basically an “insert and snap into place” affair; no tools required. As with most wheel’s table mounting systems, the Speedster 3 ForceShock does not function well on a surface that is overly thin. Clans You may have to shim the table or mounting surface with scraps of wood, or cardboard to build up some thickness for a secure clamping force. The Swedes like their furniture thin, so for our office’s Ikea table, we used the newer slim-line PS2 as our shim, and it performed admirably in its new, under-the-table role. Similarly, this wheel will not work perfectly with the GameRacer Pro sit-down unit (due to the steering plate’s thickness) that we love here at the offices. We’ve already contacted the crew over at XBOX REVIEWS GameRacer about this situation; hopefully they will come up with a solution that lets both units worked King of Fighters: together perfectly. Maximum Impact - Maniax (Xbox) http://hardware.teamxbox.com/articles/xbox/1137/Review-Fanatec-Speedster-3-ForceShock/p1/ Seite 1 von 2 Review – Fanatec Speedster 3 ForceShock - Xbox 04.07.2005 15:05 Uhr Fantastic Four (Xbox) Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition (Xbox) Conker: Live & Reloaded (Xbox) Destroy All Humans! (Xbox) XBOX PREVIEWS Ninja Gaiden BLACK (Xbox) SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! (Xbox) The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (Xbox) The Sims 2 (Xbox) STACKED with Daniel Negreanu (Xbox) XBOX SCREENSHOTS Sid Meier's Pirates! (Xbox) Hitman: Blood Money (Xbox) Shattered Union (Xbox) Frankie Dettori Racing (Xbox) Monster Madness (Xbox 360) XBOX MOVIES If you would rather play with the wheel sitting on your thighs, Fanatec has you covered there too. The Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360) Speedster 3 ForceShock was ergonomically designed to replicate a real race car cockpit as best as possible when the sitting on a gamer’s legs. Two side flaps can be folded out which are meant to keep All Points Bulletin (Xbox the wheel from moving laterally. These flaps, however, will need to be folded in if table mounting is your 360) method of choice. Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack (Xbox) The Speedster 3 ForceShock isn’t like most wheels you have setup for the Xbox since it plugs into the Huxley (Xbox 360) wall like the PS2 force feedback wheels. This doesn’t make the setup much harder- just plug the power Stubbs the Zombie in adapter into the unit and the wall- but it does say a bit about the strength of the motors controlling the "Rebel without a Pulse" Speedster 3 ForceShock’s feedback and resistance effects (more on this later). The foot pedal unit plugs (Xbox) into the wheel and the wheel then plugs into the Xbox, and that’s about it for the setup of the physical unit. Once the console is turned on, the Speedster 3 ForceShock wheel will sweep through its full clockwise and counterclockwise range of movements, then center itself, which lets gamers know its time for business….sweet! Page 1 of 4 More Hardware Articles: 06/24/2005 - Mad Catz Fantastic Four Controller Review 06/22/2005 - Ear Force AXT Ultimate Gaming Headset Review 06/15/2005 - Mad Catz Batman Begins Controller Review 06/15/2005 - GigaWorks ProGamer G500 5.1 Speaker System + DDTS-100 Decoder Review 05/12/2005 - The Xbox 360 System Specifications View Comments (12) | Submit Comment Keep Updated with the latest from TeamXbox. IGN.com | GameSpy | Arcade | Arena | TeamXbox | GameStats | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | AskMen.com CheatsCodesGuides | FilePlanet | 3D Gamers | Direct2Drive | Rotten Tomatoes | GamerMetrics Copyright 1996-2005, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About Us | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | http://hardware.teamxbox.com/articles/xbox/1137/Review-Fanatec-Speedster-3-ForceShock/p1/ Seite 2 von 2 Review – Fanatec Speedster 3 ForceShock - Xbox 04.07.2005 15:15 Uhr Team Xbox | Forums | Games | Previews | Reviews | News | Cheats | RSS | Advertise | Contact Us Content Sections Welcome, Guest. You are not logged in. TeamXbox Home Review – Fanatec Speedster 3 ForceShock [Register] [Login Now] Xbox News By: Dale Nardozzi - "Legba" Games Search Features May 7th, 2005 Editorials The final step in preparing the Speedster 3 Interviews ForceShock for battle is customizing it to the racing Xbox Hardware game that happens to be in the Xbox’s tray. Since the Speedster 3 ForceShock was released at the Xbox Events same time as Forza Motorsport, you know that both Xbox FAQ Fanatec and Microsoft Game Studios had something Search TeamXbox up their sleeve. The game designers for Forza Motorsport worked closely with the Fanatec crew to RSS Feeds ensure that a harmony between the two products Xbox Games Info would exist. The result is a preconfigured setting Xbox Games that was designed to work flawlessly with Forza Motorsport. A simple press of the “Tuning” button New Releases will allow a small L.E.D. display to show the various Xbox Previews setting possible for the Speedster 3 ForceShock. Using the D-pad, gamers can scroll to the pre-set Xbox Reviews configuration “53” which is the factory settings for Editor's Choice Forza Motorsport. There are also pre-set Reader Reviews configurations for Need for Speed Underground and ToCA Race Driver 2. One slot has been left open for Xbox Cheats you to completely customize settings for a different Screenshots title, or if you want to come up with your own combination for one of the three pre-set titles for a side- by-side comparison. Movies Xbox Developers Xbox Publishers To tune your own setup (or tweak the factory setups) you’ll have to use the D-pad in conjunction with the L.E.D. readout to cycle through the customization options. Left and right on the hub D-pad will cycle Xbox Community through the pre-sets, and up and down on the pad will change the configuration for each. Here is a run- Xbox Forums down of the options when tuning the Speedster 3 ForceShock: Xbox Chatroom Dead Zone – adjustment range +3 to -9 Member Articles This is probably the single most important feature for the Speedster 3 ForceShock wheel. Most wheels TeamXbox Staff don’t have this as a setup option, and most games have no way of adjusting it either. This is why most wheels are useless for the Xbox, other than the NASCAR wheel for NASCAR games and any of the wheels Contact Us with ToCA Race Driver 2 since it has dead zone adjustments in its setup. Now, you can adjust this with IGN.com the wheel and dial in the precise amount of “play” in the wheel before car movement occurs. Most Xtras games need a healthy dose of dead zone for the steering to feel like a real car’s rack. TeamXbox Store OXM Challenges Downloads Sweepstakes Scrapbook Xbox Live GamerTags Clans XBOX REVIEWS King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - Maniax (Xbox) Fantastic Four (Xbox) Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition (Xbox) Conker: Live & Reloaded (Xbox) Destroy All Humans! (Xbox) XBOX PREVIEWS Ninja Gaiden BLACK (Xbox) SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Sensitivity – adjustment range 0 to 5 Camera, PANTS! (Xbox) The Sensitivity setting works along with the Dead Zone setting to achieve the proper feel of the steering The Incredible Hulk: rack.