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ASCIIWHEEL 64  Hit the
road, jack, with a steering wheel controller that puts you one step closer to
racing reality, especially on arcade and kiddie-car Paks.
Right out of the box, the ASCIIWHEEL 64 gave us a giddy Sunday drive through Rush 2’s Central Park, a course littered with directional signs that warn well in advance of an upcoming turn. Schussing down Twisted Edge Snowboarding’s forgiving Easy Slider course turned out to be a snap, too, but then we weren’t trying to impress the judges with a halfpipe McTwist. Don’t expect to set a record time immediately. If you're accustomed to thumb-twitching the analog Control Stick, it will take a while to master the looser feel of the ASCIIWHEEL 64. We took it out for a spin on one of the toughest tracks in the N64 lineup: F-1 World Grand Prix’s Monaco. Sure enough, we left plenty of paint on the guardrails, just as we did the first few dozen times we raced through this gorgeous gauntlet with a regular N64 Controller. When steering with two hands, the left index finger rests on the Z Button, making it fairly easy to launch a Spiny Shell in Mario Kart 64. Alternately you can choose the top hand grip, with the Z function activated by a button on the ASCIIWHEEL 64’s base. With a scant 8-inch diameter, the ASCIIWHEEL 64 is clearly designed for smaller hands. The Control Stick’s up/down movement is duplicated by a toggle switch on the ASCIIWHEEL 64’s upper-left spoke. Don’t bother using the device on games that require you to tilt the Control Stick in a variety of angles. Just for kicks, we took NHL 99 for a spin. After ten seconds of our puckster looking as clueless as a Vanilla Ice fan at a Puff Daddy concert, we gave up and went back to the anti-grav fun of F-Zero X. The ASCIIWHEEL 64, made by from ASCII Entertainment Software, comes with a slot for the Controller Pak. You can also plug in your Rumble Pak, plop the ASCIIWHEEL 64 onto your lap and get a nice little tummy tickle each time you skid off-road. The wheel itself doesn’t shake, though. |
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