Gamester attempts to make a device that functions both as a steering wheel and a regular controller. Unfortunately, it isn’t good as either one.
The Gamester Pro Racer is a weak attempt at melding together the functionality of a racing wheel with the strengths and small size of a normal controller. The device is somewhat like a horseshoe with a circle in the center. The main controls are laid out pretty much like a standard controller with the Start and Z buttons slightly below them on the ring. Near the bottom is a “lock” that you twist to switch between wheel and controller modes.
When first picking up the device, you’ll likely question how the thing works and attempt to use it as if it were a regular car steering wheel. Within moments, the Pro Racer’s fatal flaw is revealed. Basically, it’s not a wheel at all, and the device operates using a large hinge on the left to work. Moving the left side of the controller up will turn the vehicle right, and moving it down turns the vehicle left. How this translates to actually driving is that you’ll need to steer using only your left hand. If you instinctually move the right side of the wheel to the left, you’ll find the car turning right. It’s terribly disorienting, and rather than giving you a more natural and authentic driving experience, the device forces you to learn to drive all over again.
Even if a player manages to adjust to the controls, they are still terribly inaccurate compared to a standard GameCube analog stick. It’s very difficult to make the precision turns and maneuvers needed in a game like Burnout, and it doesn’t take long to discover the next major flaw in the controller’s design: the shoulder buttons.
Although most racing games allow the player to adjust their controller settings, many people prefer using the GameCube’s deep pressure sensitive shoulder buttons to simulate the feel of gas and brake pedals. Mapping the buttons this way on the Pro Racer will cause you great physical pain. (I’m not kidding.) The shoulder buttons are small, hard, and high on the controller’s ring. These factors, combined with the fact that they also recess awkwardly into the controller, make it very difficult to keep them pushed in through the length of the race. Within minutes, I found my fingers in so much pain that I really couldn’t play with the thing anymore.
Now that we've finished driving, and smashed into that tunnel wall, let’s click the lock down on the bottom and see how the Pro Racer stacks up as a standard controller. Generally, it’s pretty average. The analog stick feels loose, making it difficult to make slight, precise movements, and the C-stick lacks a decent grip. Having the Z button below the main set prevents you from pushing it simultaneously with other face buttons, and the shoulder buttons continue to be painful and problematic.
Overall, the Pro Racer isn’t worth the time it takes to figure it out, and is far from being worth your money. If someone happens to give you one, be sure to sell it before you ruin the valuable plastic packaging.
