Wrap your hands around the rubber-grip wheel, extend the retractable leg supports, drop your foot onto the pedal and hang on. Vibration feedback adds to the realism while the Accudrive system lets you tune the wheel sensitivity to fit your personal driving preferences. With ten analog action buttons, you can take the MC2 to Talladega, Le Mans and a no-holdsbarred desert rally, all in the same afternoon.
1 Decent ergonomics, awesome shifter, but poor accuracy
Up until now, I've only played with PC style clamp on racing wheels. The MC2 is nice in that it sits nicely in your lap while you sit, and rarely threatens to dislodge itself. The buttons are decent, the paddles are a bit shorter than they should be, and the vibration is a bit week (by the way it is "vibration", not to be confused with real force feedback). The problem is that the wheel is a bit loose, like an old logitech GP. For example, if you turn the wheel about 90 degrees off center and let it go, it springs back past the center, oscilating 3 or 4 times before hitting the dead zone.
This is nothing like a microsoft precision sidewinder wheel, which incidentally sells for about 1/2 the price (though they don't work for xbox). In a game like midnight club 2, this precision (or lack thereof with the Mad Catz MC2) makes a huge difference.
I have to say, for all the great reviews I've read, I was quite disappointed by this product. Nonetheless, this is still a fun accessory for a game like outrun 2.
2 amazon.com screwing
i waited over 2 months for my racing wheel and after my shipping date was changed on me they sent me an email saying they didnt even have the product. not backordered or delayed but no product. 2 months of waiting to get screwed by corprate america. this company is really screwed up!!
3 Horrible experience
Tonight I bought this wheel and have been ATTEMPTING to play F1 2001 with it. However, I am having more trouble controlling the car than I do with the regular controller. The "dead zone" people have mentioned is very bad- I must constantly over correct- it is incredibly frustrating. I would just go with a Logitech or something else, this wheel is HORRIBLE.
4 Honestly I am very pleased with my wheel.
I purchased an MC2 wheel probably 6 months ago now and it still works great today. It has been heavily used by many adults and children alike; it's great fun at parties when put on a big screen tv.
I've had no problems at all with PGR2, Nascar Heat/Thunder 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, Burnout 3 or SegaGT. The 'dead zone' in the middle of the wheel is very small and if set right doesn't exist at all. The wheel has a 90¼ turn radius which throws some people off at first but is pretty easy to get used to.
It has both leg 'clamps' and suction cups so it can sit on your lap or a table. The foot pedals do slide a bit depending on how you step on them; I only use my right foot (like driving a normal car) so my left foot is able to hold the pedals firmly in place, however some people use right for gas and left for break, which tends to push the pedals forward quite often. We usually put a folding chair in front of them to avoid the sliding.
The size of the wheel isn't bad at all, it is smaller than a real wheel but I find it to be rather fitting; it works for all ages. We've put probably over 1,000 hours on it now and it's still going strong. If you're a fan of using a stick shift, you'll find that to be probably its biggest drawback; it doesn't actually shift positions but simply clicks up and down, and is more often than not just a hassle to use...that being said, we never use the stick shift, but no one has ever complained.
All in all, I love it, and so does everyone else who has used it. Since my original purchase, several others have picked them up after trying mine because it was so much more fun. Even if it's not entirely realistic, it adds another level to the game. Some compared it to playing House of the Dead III without light guns. I plan on purchasing another in the near future so two players can go head to head with them.
5 horrible experiance
The MC2 racing wheel is total garbage! I worked with it all afternoon and tried to get it to work and I just got fustrated. It was so hard to steer and however you tried to adjust it, it wouldn't work right. I would rather stick to the regular controler. Don't waste your money on this steering wheel because you will mostly likely take it back to the store.
6 great wheel...............no problems
this is the best wheel. i have been playing it for over an hour and i have not got one error message. so if your a serious racing fan get it quickly.
7 Great wheel ....................no problems
I just got my wheel today and have been playing it over an hiour. i had not had any problems with disconnection or anything and the steering is great. I think this is the perfect racing wheel for the serious racing gamer.
8 Good but not Perfect
I bought this wheel a couple days ago, for the sole purpose of playing with Project Gotham Racing 2. It's the only racing game I own. So far I haven't experienced the disconnect problems others have complained about. Hopefully I won't. Using the wheel over the regular controller does add an additional element of fun, however there are some things I would change:
Drawbacks:
1) Vibration is underpowered.
2) The wheel itself is rather small. This may be good for younger players, but being full-grown I feel like I'm driving a little kiddie car.
3) The stick shift is goofy. All it does is click up or down, you're not actually shifting. Therefore I think the whole point of including it is defeated. Also, there's no clutch - so really, all you'd be doing is reaching over and clicking this little piece of plastic up and down. I'll stick to automatic transmission thanks...
4) Calibration can be tricky. The dead zone in the middle is a problem. It doesn't seem very responsive to slight turns, but then suddenly your car is totally spun out. Maybe I just need to adjust to it some more.
5) Floor pedals slide easily. Since I play on a wooden floor I've had to put something in front of them to hold them in place since I drive with both feet.
6) Buttons and "butterfly" buttons behind the wheel are not configurable, at least with PGR2. The buttons on the wheel themselves are difficult to access while racing. There are two "butterfly" buttons immediately behind the wheel which are easier to tap, but PGR2 doesn't let you configure them. This is a problem because I like to use the handbrake button while driving, but it's too difficult to reach on the wheel itself while playing.
All in all, a decent improvement from the controller if you're really into racing, but I'd prefer something that was a bit more realistic, heavy duty and sensitive.
9 Works well!
Works well, and specialy with project gotham racing 1-2 or
with need for speed undergroud. Also, now, with it my dad
even likes racing with it now !
10 Not as bad as they say...
I just got my MC2 last week, been playing at least 2 hours every day and I've not had an error message once! I've only played PGR2 and NFS with it, but not once have I gotten a message. Just to clarify that first, since that reason alone was keeping me from buying this. I took my chances...
With that said, this is the wheel to get for the Xbox. The size is perfect, and the laptop clamps work very well, even for a big guy like me. The buttons could always be more toward the grips...even with my long thumbs I couldn't reach the handbrake (Y). Whats best is the calibration settings, where you can really adjust the rotation degree, and your dead zone. Not only that, but it's very simple and doesn't require you to exit your game.
There are a couple minor drawbacks. One, the pedals do not stay where they should (especially on the carpet) if you use both feet for brake and gas. However, there is a place to hold the pedal unit down with the left foot, and use the gas and brake like in real life. Another thing was, in PGR (maybe just something w/ the game itself), when you are in a game and decide to restart because you're getting whooped, the settings go to default CONTROLLER settings, where your buttons now do different things except for the gas and brake.
All in all, this has completely changed my driving experience on the consoles.
Highly recommended!
11 Could be great, but...
I tried both the XBOX MC2 and the Universal MC2 on my XBOX with similar results: the XBOX wheel would disconnect at least once in every game, though I was able to press start to resume- with the Universal, the wheel would just lock up and the console had to be powered down completely. I could not even begin to recommend this wheel due to the inconvenience of this issue that seems to be pervasive, reading all of the comments here and on the internet.
12 Great fun wheel
After reading some of the negative feedback I almost didn't buy this wheel, but I'm glad I got it after all. I've been playing on it for the past 5 hours and have had 0 (that's zero) disconnect messages, or any problems at all for that matter.
The other complaint that I kept hearing was about this "huge deadzone". First of all, the deadzone is customizable and you can tell the difference. On one game (Colin McRae Rally 3) I noticed that the deadzone still seemed very large. That's when I realized the controller settings for the game were not set to "wheel". Once I made this small change everything was great.
It is true that the vibration is pretty weak, but that's ok with me. I certainly have not been a better driver because of this wheel, but it a lot of fun to use and I'm still getting used to it.
Just to clarify to anyone about to purchase this wheel, this IS the XBOX version of the MC2, not the Universal MC2, and I've had none of these so called controller disconnect messages. I hope the defective wheels all got taken off the shelves because I think this is a great product.
13 What happened?
Okay, so I got this item for the PS2, and I loved it. Almost everything about it was great, and I encountered absolutely no flaws or problems. I have a review on it for the PS2 version if you want to read it.
Then saw that it had come out for the XBox. Well, I was excited because of the lack of racing wheels for XBox and I went ahead and bought it. At first, I tried it out for PGR, and it seemed to work fine. Then just about every other game I tried after that, I would get messages saying the controller was disconnected and I would lose control and not be able to finish races. What the heck happened? The PS2 version was perfectly stable with absolutely ever game I tried it with, then the Xbox version bombed on every game except the Gran Turismo rip-off.
I sent it back for a replacement, and they quickly sent me a new one, but whaddaya know? Same problem. So, I sold it on ebay and pretty much gave up on Xbox racing games, as most of them suck, and the ones that are good are available for PS2 anyway. Halo time.
14 Don't bother
As a very avid motorsports fan and participant (both electronic and in the real world), I've got just about every roadracing game available for Xbox. Naturally, I wanted a wheel. What in the world is up with the unbelievable LACK of choice out there? Thrustmaster, Logitech, Saitek, HELLO!!!! Anybody out there? Anybody ever heard of XBOX?!!! Will one of you PLEASE make me a wheel for this thing that works right...
I want to know, because I'm SICK of my MC2 and want other CHOICES. Ones that don't give me a disconnected message five times a game and one made by a company that actually stands behind their product and acknowledges that there is a problem. Been to the website? I have to laugh when I go to the tech support troubleshooting and "known problems" section and there is no mention of this issue.
Here's a news flash - every one of these controllers has this problem and it affects almost all of the driving/racing games I have. Project Gotham and Apex are the only two games I own that are stable with this wheel. All of the rest pretty much will frustrate you into wanting to throw the thing through the window as it "disconnects" right in the heat of gameplay.
Just keep using your handheld until someone comes out with a wheel that works. - Unless all you want to play is Apex and Gotham (which it does work reasonably well on both) Mad Catz, fix your problem and make good on your promises.
15 thanks for the reviews
I was just about to buy this wheel until I decided to read the reviews. Thanks to all reviewers for your input. I'll look around for a different wheel. I just picked up Midnight Club2 and need a wheel. So far I've bought 2 items from MadCatz and they've worked fine. You win some and you lose some I guess.
16 Almost but not quite
I went thru two of these wheels before returning it for a refund. It was a good wheel but I got this same disconnect problem others mentioned. About 5 times a race (I always found it disconnected during a race - never in menus) it would ask me to reconnect the controller. I never got a response from Mad Catz tech on this subject.
17 Great wheel - one problem
I've tried driving with just the handheld controller and I would crash at every turn - I guess I'm a creature of habit. I needed a steering wheel and foot pedals - the stick is an added bonus in my book since many wheels don't have one. The steering is great - I have to remind myself that these are race cars and not my regular car - by design they handle differently and that's fine. I'm still adjusting - but after the first lap I'm no longer crashing and am cutting my time dramatically with each race. I love it - except for one problem - I intermittently get a lost connection message in the middle of the race - just exit the message and the race goes on. I've sent a message to MAD CATZ Tech support in hopes of getting a resolution. It may be a problem with my unit - in which case I would gladly exchange it for replacement of the same wheel. When I get a response, I'll post it here. Happy Racing!
18 Disappointing
This wheel is a real shame. It looks/feels great for the price and the light-up meter on the dash is cool, but it simply doesn't work properly.
There is a huge dead zone in the middle that you can't get rid of with calibration, which makes the wheel more difficult to use than the controller. It feels like you either have the wheel in the dead center or turned all the way. This is not the point of owning a racing wheel - I can tap my way into turns all day long with the standard controller, but I was looking for something that would allow me to take turns smoothly.
It will disconnect in the middle of a game, and your XBox will prompt you to press 'start' in order to continue. Gameplay resumes immediately, but this is really really annoying and takes the fun out of playing racing games.
The experiences I had with this wheel leave me with a few questions...
This wheel is supposed to be officially licensed for XBox, did anyone in Redmond even bother to try this piece of junk out before slapping their name on it?
The Microsoft Sidewinder wheels work great on the PC, why don't they make one for their console?
To sum up. Don't buy this wheel. I had it back in the box ready to return about 10 minutes after I got it home.
19 Did not work for me.
I experienced the same problem as many of the other reviewers. Every few minutes, I got an error message about my controller being disconnected. There was nothing wrong with the cables. The only solution was to press Start every time it happened in order to continue the game. That got annoying very quickly! I bought my wheel at a local electronics store and took it back the next day. Save yourself the trouble and pass on this one until Mad Catz fixes their product.
20 Buggy
Like others, I found that this controller doesn't work. It "crashes" every few minutes - halting the game and requiring the user to press the START button to continue.
If it wasn't for this significant flaw, I would have given it a 5 star rating. However, this flaw makes it totally unusable in my opinion. It was returned to the store.
21 I can't believe a copmany would try to sell this!!!!!
I just recieved this wheel for my xbox for christmas and couldn't wait to use it. Sure the wheel is cool and all but what good is a controller if it doesn't work. Yes I am talking about the controller giving me a disconecting error in the middle of a race and having to start over and it happens all the time!!! The wheel also has a very bad deadzone in the middle making it very inaccutare. Don't buy this wheel, you won't be able to play your games with it. I can not believe that a company can get away with selling this thing if it doesn't even work correctly!!! It looks like I am not the only one with this problem since a lot of other people have posted about it on here, and I am sure mad catz knows about the problem but has done nothing!! Nice try mad catz, this is the second of your products for the xbox that has screwed up on me, you will never get any of my buisness again! This thing is going back tommorrow.
22 Great except for disconnect problem
I love playing Project Gotham and Rallysport challenge with this controller, except for the fact that the controller repeatedly causes 'disconnected' messages during gameplay. Ive tried a couple of times to contact Mad Catz but they havent responded about this problem.
I own 2 of these wheels... Ive already exchanged one of them for a replacement when I first encountered the disconnect problem, so I have now tried 3 of these wheels and they all suffer from the same problem. I wish Mad Catz would do something about it.
23 Great wheel, unusable because of problems.
Just bought this wheel today and I love the way it feels. I've been playing Sega GT 2002 and Rallisport non stop for past 7 hours. Very well designed and fits on my lap perfectly.
There are problems with it however that will make me return it tomorrow morning.
1. In both games it will disconnect 1-5 times a race. Pressing start button will fix this but it also resets your calibration. Imagine being disconnected and having to recalibrate it 5 times a race - extremely annoying.
2. It doesn't remember your calibration settings when it's powered off. This alone wouldn't make me return it but is still annoying.
I haven't had anything brake off yet, like other reviewers. The wheel and pedals are very firmly built.
Another thing - Mad Catz need to be open for support something other than Mon-Fri 9-5.
24 Good but there is a version that is better.
This is the best wheel out for Xbox but the Universal MC2 is the one you want to buy. I got error messages on this one saying my controller was disconnected. I have heard other ppl say the same thing. I think it had a problem with ps2 games also because of new game protocols or something. The universal version is also great if you have other consoles or if your friends do because you can take your wheel with you.
25 Good but flawed
This wheel is good, but I am returning it. Frequently, an error message comes up on screen saying that my controller has disconnected. It happens at the worst times. I was better off using my controller.
26 If you're going to include a stick, please let it shift.
Although the steering is much more realistic than the "stock" Xbox controller, the stick shift has nothing to do with reality. If you're going to include a stick shift, let it shift. There is so much attention to detail to each city and street, I am very surprised at the lack of realism to the feel of the game play. As a person who has driven stick shift all of his life (more years than I'm willing to admit), I find myself using the automatic transmition option because the manual is too weird. Although this seems to be this best controller out there for car racing, I' can't help feeling seriously disappointed.
27 this rocks
i was at my cousins house and we played project gotham with the regular controllers. The next day he got this wheel for his bday. It cuts time of your score and makes turning a breeze, its really alotta fun. I definetaly recconmend tis for racing games it makes it easier and much more fun.
28 rocks on racing games
it is good but it have a few games that works on it whan dont just want to race with it. If tou want to use it on games that is not realy ment for it like HALO whan you are driving the car
with the wheel it wont work so dont buy it if you want to use it on games like that but it rocks on racing games.
29 Best wheel yet
Sensitive, highly adjustable turning range AND dead zone size. Makes games like NASCAR Thunder or HEAT much easier. Leg braces on the side are good. You might want to use some masking tape to hold down the foot pedal component while using.
30 best ever!!!!!!
this wheel is awesome works great with PGR and RalliSport challenge. the turing is great its way better than gamesters racing wheel. plus it hasa stick shift what is awsome insead of having to use buttons. i rest my case.
31 NOT
This is my 3rd wheel testing for the XBox. Tested with Ralli Sport Challenge and Project Gotham. The wheel is un-usable for Ralli Sport. The dead zone alows too much play. I completed the easy level with the game pad. But had no luck with the MC2 Wheel. Project Gotham was somewhat better but still the dead zone prevents the user from driveing down narrow passages without hitting the sides cousing spin out. I am comparing this wheel to PC wheels. I have been playing EA sports Need For Speed PU and have completed all using thurstmaster wheel. I would not buy this MC2 if you are trying to get top results in driving games.
32 Good for Some Games
Just purchased MadCatz MC2 Racing Wheel and Pedals. Here is the good news.
Fits about as well as I could expect on my lap. The pedals take the place of the triggers and work well when the triggers are accelerate and brake. The wheel and pedals seem durable if used with moderation. I would not get too aggressive with this product. The calibration system is easy and helpful.
Bad news. The buttons are not programmable. This makes games like "Spy Hunter" rather awkward. In Spy Hunter the acceleration button is "A". Firing weapons and selecting weapons are located at the triggers. This means when you use the pedals in "Spy Hunter" you will be firing weapons. This gets rather confusing. This has as much to do with the design of the games. If the game allowed the player to reprogram buttons, this would not be a problem.
Overall racing wheel worked well on Project Gotham and Wreckless. It did not work as well on Spy Hunter for reasons mentioned above. I recommend the product, however I would have preferred a wheel with programmable buttons (if there is such a thing).
33 Xbox MC2 Racing Wheel
This thing is so phat.I'm buying it today so i will know soon the feel of it(I'm so excited).I can't wait to play Progect Gotham Racing with it,hehehe.
34 MC2
I just bought this Steering Wheel tonight. Played a few races and noticed broken pieces near the pedals. It seems the rubber pads at the bottom of the throttle pedal broke off. Cheaply attached it seems. Only a matter of time before the brake pedal pads come off also! Mad Catz we need improvements in this area!
35 'Really' AWESOME!!!!
This is by far the best racing wheel for xbox. I cant stop playing with it. Its highly addictive when combined with Project Gotham. This wheel is very comfortable and the and well built. The best feature is the gear shift which can tbe found on any other wheel for xbox and the rpm meter lights up on the wheel when you hit the gas. This is a must have for the racing inthusiast.
36 A great concept. Now if it only worked.....
I've only tried it with project gotham so far, but even changing the settings on the wheel around, it's harder to control the cars with this stupid steering wheel than it is with the regular controller, because you can't decrease the wheel range far enough to handle the frequent cornering. If you were on a perfect oval track like stock car racing, it would probably be fine, but defnitely not designed or even tested much with the thought of actually steering something.
If you insist on getting one of these, buy one used. at least that way you wont waste as much money.
37 F1 2001 Buyers beware
Being a hardcore F1 fan, I eagerly anticipated playing F1 2001 with this wheel. However, the controller configurations for F1 2001 only allow you to select the A and B buttons or the triggers for upshift/downshift. Unfortunately, the butterfly shifters on the Mad Catz wheel correspond to the A and X buttons. So, semi-auto shifting has to be done with the A and B buttons on the wheel and are almost impossible to use correctly at speed. A major bummer!
38 mc2 raceing wheel
did not like it because all of the features did not work and did not perform as well as i thought.
39 Sweet!!!
This wheel makes Project Gotham Racing. I liked it before I had the wheel but now I love the game. The wheel is much more sturdy than I figured it would be plus if you are using the wheel on your lap there are two pieces that pull out of the bottom to help the wheel from sliding too much. I really like the sensitivity of the wheel and the analog gas and brake pedals are awesome. The very nice touch was force feedback which seems a little week at times but at least it isn't too strong. The only thing I can't get used to the buttons on the steering wheel itself since I have trouble using them and turning the wheel at the same time. This isn't a big deal since most games don't use too many buttons other than gas, brake, shifting hears, and handbrake. Overall a great product that made Project Gotham Racing much better.
40 better then any other wheel
this wheel is great. i just bought it with all my birthday money and i got project gotham and halo for my birthday present. so the wheel has evey button that the controller does and it has a memory card port. the peddels hook on to the side of the wheel. the peddles are way differnt then all the other peddles, it goes down instead of back. the wheel has rubber grip and it doesnt hurt your hand. it has suction cups so if you have a table it sticks, or it is designed to fit on your legs and its comfterble.
41 AWESOME!!!!!!
This is the greatest accessorie you could get for your Xbox. If you have a car game this is a must have.
42 Great Quality Hardware
I bought this racing wheel for the XBox. I am playing it with Project Gotham and it is AWESOME! Great quality construction, the steering column is actually bolted into the console. I has a digital power meter and allows you to configure the wheel turning radius. This product far exceeded my expectations and I would definately recommend it to anyone looking for a wheel for XBox.
43 wheel
the wheel is pretty nice, but I hope another company puts a wheel out for xbox. It's the same quality as any other Mad Catz accessory, nice but could be much better. and it doesn't have a clutch, like the ... above put. I'd love to see a manual set of racing wheels on any console
44 wheel
the wheel is pretty nice, but I hope another company puts a wheel out for xbox. It's the same quality as any other Mad Catz accessory, nice but could be much better. and it doesn't have a clutch... I'd love to see a manual set of racing wheels on any console
45 Great way to drive in style with the xbox
this steering wheel is a great buy for the x-mas holidays. with its sleek design,awsome clucth, and great look, u wont be able to keep your hand off it.
