It begins: GT4 coverage and contest

Late last night I finally got a few hours to test out the Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel and pedals with Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec in the PS2 to prepare for next week's arrival. I hadn't played GT3 in a long time. I was shocked at how ancient the graphics appeared. That's what a few years on the shelf will do to a video game. I also had lost all my game data so I was starting from scratch. I quickly purchased a Miata and was off.

My set-up for the wheel is far from ideal. Our coffee table is only 2 feet off the ground so I was hunched over and my knee had to fit between my arms while hitting the pedals. I was trying to imagine how anyone besides Walt would have an appropriate set-up for this besides at a computer desk.

But back to the wheel. I think my game settings were off since the wheel felt unusually tight and didn?t seem to respond to my controls. In the back of my mind I remember GT3 being harder early on and after a few quick upgrades to tires and suspension the wheel magically felt better in my hands. What I really loved was the shifter though. The tap shifts came instantly (duh it?s electronic) and that helped me start to win more races.

For some reason by the end of the night I still wasn?t tuned into the wheel. Maybe it?s just the older game but if anyone has tips on the controller let me know.

Oh I almost forgot about the contest. We?ll be giving away the Logitech Driving Force Pro and a copy of Gran Turismo 4 once we?re done reviewing it. To decide who wins we want our readers to think of two new categories for the Autoblog site. You?ll notice we recently added a Motorsports section and a Video Game section is also under development. We?re still looking for more ways to expand our coverage and want you to chime in. Send us your two ideas through our Contact form and we?ll sort through the respondents, create a poll containing the best entries and then let the public vote on a winner. We?re looking for a two-shot here folks. There can only be one winner.