My First Encounter With lotza plastic all over the place, and not much rubber on the wheel, I was a bit skeptical right off the bat. There is no stick shifter either. I have always used one so there's going to be a bit of a learning curve here as well. Using flippers to shift while trying to slide around the tracks in Powerslide or Leadfoot will definitely be a challenge. I like using my left hand for steering while keeping my right hand free for shifting and e-brake duties. Whelp, nuttin left to do but RACE! Lez get it!

Although I found everything within the wheel properties informative and helpful, I had the most fun with the testing\sampling of the force feedback. :o}

Profiles Twenty profiles ship with the wheel but if you don't see your fav game in there, you'll have to create one yourself, or get one from one of your friends. The Sidewinder web site offers no additional profiles but does offer support on helping you to create your own. Koggs side-note: Don't stress about the profile thing, if you choose not to load a profile, you can configure the buttons and flippers in most games anyway.

Force Feedback The Sidewinder utility offers up two methods for your force settings allowing you to either RUMBLE your way around the track, or set it to the low settings or to the off position and glide your way around. If you choose to glide, make sure and tattoo a big I'MA WHIMP across your forehead! Naturally, I set everything to the MAX setting cuz that's the way Koggs runs. Wide Open!

Monster Truck Madness 2 and CART Precision Racing came on an enclosed game CD. Both of these games did what they were intended to do, which is showcase this controller. The monster trucks are a blast to jump, and the wheel really tries to 'jump' right out of your hands when you land! I am a HUGE CART fan and have gone to several events, so I naturally enjoyed this game.

Well done Microsoft. It's great when you see a company ship a game with it's controller but in this case they shipped TWO! ---This reviewer\gamer definitely appreciates seeing that.

It all starts with Sidewinder Central. This application is great for an overview of your product and to get you pointed towards Control Panel and then the Profile Editor. Control Panel has configuration options, but doesn't really get into any help. If you have problems with configuration or other hardware issues, you should go to the Microsoft web site for support.

The Profile Editor help is done right, and provides excellent instruction on how to use the editor. The help is standard windows help, and if you dig you will find nice graphical representations that include the details.

I really like the angle this wheel positions when mounted on the desk. I still want to see a 'tilt wheel' option, to ensure I can position it wherever I like (I like to bring this up, because sooner or later somebody will include the option). Having said that, the wheel is positioned optimally for me - but I tend to like my wheels positioned as close to my lap as possible (and this is the closest I have had).

The wheel sports a soft rubber grip right where your hands need to be in order to shift using the flippers. Each button was easily reachable and the shifting actually was easier than I thought it would be. Only a rare time or two did I miss my flipper. It usually came when I was completely out of shape trying to downshift. Most likely due to LAZ trying to pass me, hammering me into the rail or onto my side!

All in all the wheel felt pretty darn comfy in my hands while racing it. If I decided to run the automatic and tried to change hand position, then that would result in grabbing a handful of plastic. Not a very realistic feeling when considering everything else the wheel gives you. So basically your stuck with one position for your hands.

Force Feedback: Microsoft 'brought the force' to this wheel. When you say, you want to turn this big boy up - it will give you plenty of force to have to 'man handle'. I really like the option to turn force on and off, just in case you want to run a while without it. One of the things they could improve on, was the 'clanking' noise that happens when you are shakin' and quaken' (maybe some kind of rubber gromlet in there would help. One easy way I found around this minor set back, was to turn up the sound and crank up the action!

Mounting: This unit mounted up to the desk top great! Many of the controllers out there just haven't figure this out, but the Microsoft guys obviously did their homework! The wiring nicely plugs into the back of the unit and was pretty easy to manipulate out of the way when you are attaching this to your desktop. Once attached, the wheel stayed very secure. I didn't experience any slippage at all. I emphasize the mounting area, because if you get a poor mounting solution - it can easily ruin your whole experience... fortunately, Microsoft aced the wheel mounting scenario!

The clamp is a single threaded plastic piston that will snug up to most all desks. I have about a 2.5" - 3" lip on the front edge of my desk and the clamping system handles it just fine. Although the clamping is tight, with the FF turned up to the max, the wheel base seemed to slide around a bit. I tightened up the clamp as tight as she'd go but still had a bit of movement in certain "O-CRAP!" situations. :o}

The Base is large enough to rest both of my size 11.5 feet on and is very user friendly but would tend to slide around after a bit of serious racing. I remedied this problem by adding a section of non-slip padding -found at your local hardware store - underneath it. Both acceleration and braking seemed to be exact and effective in all situations.

I've had this wheel for a while now and have taken it through it's paces. CART, MM2, Leadfoot, Powerslide, and Viper Racing are just some of the games I've had the chance to race with. Each and every time on the track, this wheel performed very nicely giving me that realistic feel.

In the center of the wheel there's a button that can be very easily overlooked. If it is not lit up, you have no force. I really liked having the option of turning it off until the next race. Sometimes while being upside down -usually caused from someone T-boning me while I sat there on the track waiting to head back to the chat area. As soon as the screen changed, the wheel would sometimes pull to one side or the other. Being able to turn it off was a huge bonus. BTW, the green "FORCE" light looks very stylish!