timwheatley.org

Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel, Pedals & H-pattern gear shifter.

I was sent the Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel for review having not heard much about it, other than what I’d read on a few simracing Web sites, of course. I knew the build quality would be good and that I’d be overcome with new things to get used to, but really I had no idea what an ‘awakening’ I was set to experience with the first truly spectacular wheel I have ever owned.

I did have a lot of things to get used to with this wheel. Firstly, I had to adapt to 900° of rotation from the wheel. Both wheels I have owned recently hit a physical stopper at around 90° each side and totaled out at 180°. Second, I had to adapt myself to use a more realistically stiff ‘racing style’ brake pedal. Third, the big one, I had to adapt to use the clutch… I’ve never had a three pedal set before and have hardly ever driven on normal roads… Lastly, I haven’t used any force feedback since about 2000… I would have very many bad habits from years of simracing and this wheel was going to rip them right out of me…

Upon reading the wheel specifications, one thing stood out for me as an area of concern: Wireless. This steering wheel features no cable between wheel and PC and this worried me for a couple of reasons: Would the latency of the wheel be fast enough for my steering commands to be instantly delivered to the simulation on the screen? Would interference from the ‘wireless world’ be a problem?

For the PC I think that the wireless option isn’t really too much of a bonus, I have cables going from every device except my mouse to my PC. But, for the Playstation 2 and 3, wireless is an obvious requirement: You can be sat on your couch as far away from the TV and Playstation as you need to be and not worry about someone tripping over controller wires.

I was quite worried though that someone next door might turn on their microwave and cause me to crash in-sim when the wireless lost connection (yes I’m joking with the microwave, but this genuinely concerned me)…

My concerns turned out to be absolutely wrong as I found there to be no issues with the connection and absolutely no problem with controller lag.

INSTALLATION

Please note that I suffered problems during installation. I had read in other reviews that there are some problems on installation of the wheel… I wanted to prove that everything worked perfect when you followed instructions but I found that even following the instructions turned out to be difficult… I have since contacted Fanatec about it and they told me they have a totally different procedure for installation now which matches the conclusions I drew myself during my own struggles:

1. Fully build and mount wheel and pedals.
2. Do not use the automatic updater on the USB stick.
3. Download the latest driver manually on the Fanatec website.
4. Plug in the RF dongle before you install the driver.
5. Run Setup.exe from your manual download.
6. Calibrate the controller.

I spent nearly 1½ hours trying to figure things out the way the manual I received was telling me to. I eventually gave up and did it my own way (shown above).

FIRST USE

I went into the Control Panel > Game Controllers and calibrated the wheel next. This was a simple process, but I was concerned to see a lack of Force Feedback preferences available… I set the wheel to a 0% dampening strength, 900 degrees of rotation and loaded up iRacing to take the Skip Barber 2000 for a spin…

Unfortunately, spin was a bad choice of word: I have been so used to using a wheel with about 180° of rotation that I wasn’t moving the wheel nearly enough to catch the little slides and wobbles that the car does, especially at a track like Lime Rock Park… I asked on the iRacing member forum for help and someone thankfully told me they had experienced the same thing. I went back to the control panel and temporarily set the 911 Wheel to (it’s minimum) 200° of rotation, finding that I could then drive perfectly I knew it wasn’t a problem with the wheel, it was a problem with me.

Note: If you wind up purchasing this wheel, be aware how different it is to almost every other wheel on the market. If you haven’t experienced huge amount of wheel rotation or stiff brake pedal like this before you might find it quite hard to adapt at first - be patient. It’s taken me about four days to re-claim by pace and consistency.

BUILD FEATURES

The power supply for the wheel is nice and long. It’s the little things like this that make life easier and I was delighted to see that where this wheel needed cables, it provided cables long enough to not make life difficult.

The pedals for this wheel are one of the biggest features of it and actually a major step forward in terms of realism. I have driven the Skip Barber 2000 in real life and the brake pedal for the 911 Wheel is getting pretty close to reality in terms of stiffness. It isn’t quite as hard to push down the 911 Wheel’s brake as it is most race cars, but it’s close enough, for sure. The pedals can be either wireless (with the use of four batteries - supplied by Fanatec), or they can be wired. It would also be nice for the pedals to be made of metal… They are currently plastic and while they both look and feel solid, my clutch pedal has started making a noise when fully pushed after just a couple of weeks, though this has not affected performance.

The 911 Wheel's pedals. Solid, with a stiff and more realistic brake pedal.

The fixings and clamps for the 911 Wheel are strong and tight, I haven’t experienced any slippage. Like most wheels though the desk clamps don’t reach far enough under my desk to get past the ‘lip’ my desk has, but this doesn’t seem unusual. Like with other wheels I have had to clamp the wheel to the lip itself.

The wheel also comes with a set of ‘knee fixings’ which should allow you to use the wheel on your legs… I have not tested this as I can’t imagine being able to keep it on my legs while force feedback is active. This feature is undoubtedly useful for the Playstation 2 and 3 users.

The desk clamp and leg fixings for the under-side of the wheel.

Having a choice of gear selection sticks is a major reason to buy this wheel. Not only is there a set of buttons behind the wheel (which simulate the paddles most open-wheel race cars have), there is a sequential gearbox (forward and backwards to shift gear) and H-pattern shifter that will sit at the side of your wheel (on the end of poles clamped inside the wheel housing). The gear sticks are very strong and feel they’ll take a lot of racing, the method of housing them (on the poles) also feels strong and sturdy.

Dual metal poles go through the wheel body and the (changeable) gear stick.

The steering wheel itself is based upon the real Porsche 911 steering wheel. It feels so wonderful when driving! Being able to slip your fingers around a stitched leather steering wheel is an absolute privilege. It is perfect thickness, the construction feels solid and the amount of available buttons means you can control everything you need to control. I haven’t found anything to use the buttons on the front of the wheel for yet, but the ‘paddle’ buttons on the back of the wheel are in use whenever I drive the Formula Mazda! The front of the wheel also includes a very cool illuminated LED display that I assumed can be configured to work with software and display output of speed or shifting indications. I’ve personally turned it off (via the control panel shown above in this article) because, like I said, I don’t use any of the front buttons.

Note: Fanatec say that they are about to release a driver update that brings information from the game or sim out to the LED display.

The Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel provides the perfect look and feel.

FORCE FEEDBACK CAPABILITY

Until very recently I used a Thrustmaster steering wheel, I also hadn’t bothered with Force Feedback since the year 2000. I got a Logitech Driving Force EX and tried it’s Force Feedback - I wasn’t impressed enough to continue using it.

The Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo steering wheel is a totally different animal. I am now hooked on Force Feedback and can say with absolute joy that the experience this wheel is capable of delivering converted me to a fan of Force Feedback in general.

With a setting (within the iRacing simulation) of between 8 and 10 in strength, the feel this wheel gives is simply amazing. I can feel the changes in camber of the turn, levels of banking and occasionally can feel the tiny transition from one type of surface to another very, very well. That feel, combined with a higher degree of rotation in the wheel, is making me a much smoother driver and I’m finding myself able to tame circuits I have struggled at quite badly over the last couple of years.

To sum up: 911 Wheel Force Feedback = YES!!

NOISE

I actually don’t remember hearing the motor of the force feedback, ever. It is far quieter than any wheel I have ever owned, have seen on show displays or have seen in friend’s homes.

When you run a long session with Force Feedback the unit gets warm and there are fans that will run until the unit cools off. They’re not loud, but I did wonder what on earth the noise was the first time I heard them!

The body of the wheel has airflow grills above the fans.

PROS

Fantastic build quality. Feels solid.

Looks the part. Porsche-branded and cool looking. Nice leather finish.

Sequential and H-pattern gear shifters are provided and easily swapped.

900° of rotation, the same as many road cars (and the Pontiac Solstice featured in iRacing).

Wonderful Force Feedback capabilities that allow you to really feel things at a whole new level.

Stiff brake pedal that is much closer to the resistance of the real thing. It isn’t exact though, from my experience it feels about 50% as rigid as a real-life racing brake pedal (but that’s better than the 0% resistance most pedals offer).

Clutch pedal. Not every set of wheel and pedals has a clutch… Although it can be quite difficult to perfect, it might be worth it in the long run.

Non-slip pedals. When I say non-slip, I mean it. If you fix the metal plate to the bottom of the plastic pedals like you’re supposed to, these pedals aren’t slipping anywhere…

Haven’t had to recalibrate the wheel since I had it. Normally I had to recalibrate Thrustmaster and Logitech wheels before every running as they would both lose ‘center’ - I’d find myself having to turn the wheel to go straight. No sign of this issue with the 911 Wheel.

Wireless pedal to wheel communication. (Batteries in the wheels provide wireless communication, cable is provided if unwanted).

A choice to use a cable for pedal to wheel communication, rather than wireless (useful if those batteries die).

Wireless connection between wheel and PC/PS2/PS3.

Compatibility with PC, Playstation 2 and 3.

CONS

The installation from the USB stick of the USB wireless hub. Bad drivers/software… Fanatec are aware of this issue though and confirmed my installation method (above) works.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Working instructions need to be shipped with these wheels.

The clamp could do with being a bit longer. It’s wide enough for any desk but doesn’t get over the ‘lip’ on the edge of mine so I’m attaching it to the edging, rather that the desk - it doesn’t feel safe like that. Fanatec do have a solution though, they have a different clamp you can buy…

Clutch pedal has started to make plastic ‘tapping’ noise (after two weeks) when pressed fully. Still works perfectly though, I guess a part is hitting the casing.

CONCLUSION

My concerns over the wireless being interfered with or laggy seems to be misplaced and although the installation was a bit of a pain, it hasn’t caused me any further stress. The lack of configuration options in the control panel was a concern, but after using the wheel for some time now - I haven’t needed to change anything outside the game or simulation’s own settings. Amazingly, I haven’t even needed to recalibrate the wheel at any time!

At the moment, all in all, the Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel is probably one of the best pieces of equipment you can buy in terms of quality, feel and performance. It is genuinely making me a much better simracer and that’s only after weeks of usage… In terms of pricing, it is a lot of money, but I honestly think it’s worth every cent if you want one of the best wheels available today.

Buy from: fanatec.de. Wheel is for PC, PS2 and PS3 (untested by me).
Price: $350 (approx).

Note: The wheel comes with a 1GB memory stick (that looks the same as the USB hub). This stick contains the PC drivers but you can use it like any other memory stick. I’d advise against using the drivers on the stick and instead suggest downloading the latest ones from Fanatec manually.

Yes, that’s right! Finally… Tim Wheatley got rid of that dodgy $30 Thrustmaster wheel… I loved the old girl but, she had too many problems. She lagged, spiked, did all sorts of wonderful things… She made it very difficult to drive in a straight line though and after all this time… I moved on.

The Logitech Driving Force EX steering wheel that I was given, I should point out, is labeled on the box as a Playstation wheel. It doesn’t come with anything saying that it works on the PC, nor does it come with a drivers CD for the PC, but, you can simply go to Logitech.com and there they are, bright as day. Drivers are (currently) there for both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

CABLES, PLUGS & SETTING UP

The box contained wheel, pedals and power supply unit. I don’t have a Playstation, but reading the documentation that came with the wheel, my version should work with both the PS2 and PS3. It comes with a USB connector and (what I’d refer to as) a ‘gamepad’ connector. Obviously in this review I’m talking about the PC, so you would use the USB connector. The first thing I noticed when unwrapping was how wonderfully long they made the wires! No longer am I going to have to use the front USB connector on my computer case for my steering wheel! Not only that, but the wire between the pedals and steering wheel is similarly well-endowed, as is the power unit.

I attached the pedals to the wheel, plugged in the power (at both ends) and then mounted the wheel on my desk. Running the driver EXE I had downloaded from the Logitech Web site I waited until I was told to plug the wheel into the computer and then did do. Following the onscreen instructions made it very easy and after a quick run through the calibration I was ready to race… It hadn’t taken longer than three minutes.

I now took a quick look at the unit in it’s new home and tried to find faults. I must admit, I found it hard to pick faults on how the wheel looks. Apart from the obvious Playstation-related buttons, which don’t bother me, the wheel both looked and felt sturdy, professional and like it could take a race or two! I certainly didn’t feel like the thing would fall apart anytime soon.

I guess my only real issue is with the clamps. They don’t reach forward enough for me and I’m sort of concerned they’ll work their way loose as they’re clamped onto the lip of my desk, rather than just past that lip - where I would prefer. I guess this isn’t a big deal, I’ll just have to keep checking the tightness every week or so.

FORCE FEEDBACK & NOISE

Compared to many other wheels I have heard with motors, the Driving Force EX doesn’t make much noise at all. Infact, if you disable both Force Feedback and set the centering force of the wheel to 0% - you won’t even hear it. I’m used to a wheel with no motor (it did have one, but I guess it burned out) and I was delighted to see that I could get the same effect by just modifying a few settings rather than waiting for it to break! With full force feedback effects it’s certainly not more noisy than I would expect and I don’t even need to turn my speakers up to compensate.

I don’t normally use force feedback, so although I’m trying it with this wheel, your mileage may differ. Any review of force feedback is heavily reliant on the game or simulation used to test it anyway…

Trying the wheel with Richard Burns Rally I mainly found myself feeling tightening of the steering, there wasn’t really any notification when you’d landed after a jump. It seemed like the force feedback was only simulating the feedback of the steering column and ignoring any vibration or ‘jolts’ that I believed I should be feeling.

Trying the same general settings with Flatout: Ultimate Carnage I felt the tightening of steering in the turns, but also felt a ‘jolt’ during sideward impact (from other cars, or the armco). I also felt the car becoming ‘light’ while in the air. Again, this force feedback was missing any sudden jolt’s you would expect when getting front or rear impact but did seem better than Richard Burns Rally. Annoyingly, Flatout 3 gave a constant rumble of vibration… I can only assume this is meant to simulate the engine? Whatever it is… It doesn’t work for me, it feels silly.

One thing I have discovered though is just how vast the difference is between software. Interestingly the force feedback in Richard Burns Rally doesn’t seem as good as that seen in the new Flatout title, they are a world apart!

I’ve seen a lot of sim racers saying how good the force feedback is in iRacing and after a quick test - I have to agree. You can feel transitions in different levels of banking, you can feel individual bumps/kerbs and you can feel the armco/wall and other contact forms seen in both Richard Burns Rally and Flatout. As much as this sounds like a compliment of iRacing, it’s actually a compliment of the Logitech Driving Force EX because when given the ‘feedback’ this wheel can certainly supply the ‘force’. It does actually feel pretty good… Whether it’s enough to make me switch on force feedback from this point? Probably not… My wrists ache as it is and I find it harder to keep concentration when driving!

GENERAL DRIVING

So, turning the force feedback off as I will normally be using it, how does it feel?

It feels great. You can’t feel any ‘workings’ in the wheel, it’s nice and smooth, but there is a bit of a problem (and maybe it’s just me)… When going down the straight I find my steering oscillating left and right… I actually ended up setting the wheel to pull back to the center with a strength of 30% - this made keeping it straight a lot easier. I’m thinking that the wheel is probably just a tiny bit too precise compared to what I’ve been using; my tiny compensations in steering didn’t help keep it straight.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s a very, very nice wheel and well worth the current purchase price (about $80 right now on Amazon.com, $55 on Amazon.co.uk). It’s probably the best feeling wheel I have ever had (so far anyway!) If you can’t afford the Logitech G25 and don’t want to go for the cheaper or unknown options, this is a great wheel.

LATER NOTES

It’s now a long time since I wrote this review and I have learned a couple of things further about this wheel.

First, this wheel doesn’t have actual force feedback. Apparently Logitech failed to get proper licensing to include it and instead included a basic ‘rumble’ technology which frankly is pathetic when compared to how a decent wheel feels.

Second, it seems to suffer from the ‘loss of center’ problem I hear a lot when reading about Logitech wheels. You’ll suddenly find yourself having to steer left or right in order to go straight. Some people think this is related to force feedback or the center spring but it actually doesn’t seem to be as I always had both of these disabled with the Force EX…

I was so surprised by this movie. As someone who hadn’t read the comic books and had no idea who, or what Ironman was, I expected an action-packed movie with a mediocre storyline that would be worth seeing, but nothing more… How wrong I was.

Ironman is an excellent movie, it does lack action sequences (I expected to see a lot more fighting from the robot), but actually I have to say, you don’t notice they aren’t there… The movie stands up with a strong storyline, superb dialogue and most surprisingly, perhaps, an actor absolutely perfect for the role of Ironman.

Tony Stark is the head (and genius) of a weapons manufacturer, he is proud of what he does and doesn’t seem to care about the destruction he causes. This character is oddly accepted in the real-world also and this is one of the many messages this movie seems to be trying to send to it’s audience.

When in Afghanistan on a weapons demonstration exercise, Tony Stark is taken captive by a group of ‘rebels’ located in the mountain ranges it is thought are occupied by Bin Laden in real-life. The weapons used to attack the military convoy he is in - are his own weapons. They are holding him and expect him to build one of the missiles the rebels witnessed being demonstrated. Stark decides that he should instead build a weapon that will allow him to escape. He builds “Ironman.”

After a very cool escape from the cave he was held in, Stark returns to America and decides to shut down weapon production until it can be better traced where his weapons are going… He then becomes obsessed with developing and perfecting his Ironman prototype and with his new found ‘good heart’, he begins to try to rid the world of the weapons he sold to what he believes is the wrong side…

Go out and see this movie! The storyline is excellent, the special effects are very good and although there are a lack of action scenes, it doesn’t feel like it. The perfect actor was cast for the role of Ironman and his delivery of some extremely witty dialogue is worth the price of admission alone…

I think people spend way too much money on toys for their adult Cat or new Kitten. Cats are a breed that spend their time either running around crazily attacking everything, eating, pooping or (this is the big one), sleeping. The main toy a Cat or Kitten seems to need, is either another Cat or Kitten, but there are a lot of really simple toys you can provide a Cat or Kitten to keep them occupied and happy. More about toys later, let’s talk about Kitten and Cat behavior first…

If the Kitten is taken away from it’s siblings before 13 weeks, it may be too early for it to have learned how not to hurt when it plays. Other Kittens it may play with will yelp and scream, teaching the aggressive Kitten when to let go.

It is very important that you realize that when you’re playing with a Kitten, you teach it how it’s supposed to play as an adult.

If you allow the Kitten to attack your hands or feet (because when it’s Kitten, it doesn’t hurt much), don’t be surprised if every time you have visitors you have to lock the adult Cat in another room. Your adult Cat will think it’s OK to sink it’s (now painful) claws or teeth into your visitors because you taught it so as a Kitten.

Also, no, it isn’t OK to do it with gloves on, to dangle clothes for your kitten to climb up, etc. Think what damage your Kitten will be able to do when fully grown or if the Kitten chooses to climb up that expensive dress in the wardrobe when you’re not looking!

Your Kitten will recognize very quickly what is a toy, what it can touch, what it’s OK to bite or claw on, but only if you remain consistent in your actions and teaching. There are various methods of training via rewards and punishment, but from personal experience I have found the following to be true…

Cats don’t really seem to bothered about treats or positive attention (totally the opposite of my experience with Dogs). They will come to you for a stroke or to sleep on your knee when they feel like it! You really will have difficulty forcing them to do anything that they don’t want to do.

In order to train a Kitten I’ve found a need to develop a few levels of disciplinary action and I’ve already (with an approximately 16-week old Kitten) seen very positive results. Remember, all the punishments must be done while the Kitten is doing the bad activity. If you miss it (while trying to find your water sprayer or something), let it go, get the Kitten next time. Those levels of punishment are…

1. Moving the Kitten away from the problem. If the Kitten is doing something you don’t want it to, pick it up and move it away. If the Kitten returns to the activity, pick it up and move it away again. If you do it enough times, the Kitten will learn. I would advise you do not pick up the Kitten and present it with another toy to ‘take it’s mind off the problem’ - this could confuse the Kitten as it may see the toy as a reward.

2. Hiss whenever the Kitten does the activity. The Hiss is a form of warning and initially your hiss may be followed by the Kitten hissing back at you - this is OK. You are not attacking the Kitten, you are ‘protecting’ whatever the Kitten was chewing/clawing on like you would if you were a Cat and the Kitten were attacking you. You don’t even need to move when you hiss at the Kitten - as long as you’re sure you’ll be heard.

3. Hiss and push the Kitten away from the activity. This helps the Kitten to associate the hiss with contact - showing it there might actually be something to be scared of. Additionally it incorporates the benefits of all those in punishment #1 above. Adding hissing from close range will have a good effect on the Kitten - expect to get hissed back at, when this happens, stand your ground and the Kitten should move off to do something else. Again, do not present the Kitten with something else to do, let it make it’s own mind up. Also, don’t be too afraid of hurting the Kitten if you’re shoving it away from something, a couple of Kittens playing and fighting really shows how much physical punishment they can take!

4. Spray the Kitten with water. Cats do not like water too much and your objective when spraying the Kitten is for it to have a bad memory. If it returns to the activity and you are consistent and spray it again, it will associate the bad memory of being wet with the activity it was doing. Do not chase the Kitten around with the spray bottle once it has moved away. Also when the Kitten has stopped doing bad things, wait five minutes then cuddle the kitten up in a towel to dry it off (or allow the other Kittens or Cats you might have to lick the wetness off the fur).

5. Spray the Kitten with water - and hiss. This helps to associate the punishment with the bad activity better.

To give an example, our Kitten likes to sleep on my knee while I work during the day. When she first came she would literally dig her claws into my clothes (and skin) on my legs and climb up. I reacted by hissing at her and staring at her - nothing else - she would retract her claws and drop in stunned silence. She would then walk away for a moment, come back and as she stood on my foot (probably about to climb again) I picked her up and put her on my knee - over and over again. When I didn’t notice her down there and she climbed up, I hissed again. She now walks up to my leg and taps me on the leg with her paw when she wants up. If you’re going to do this though, make sure you get the timing right! You don’t want to be hissing at your Cat for actually being sat on your knee - so catch them at the right spot (dangling from your flesh!)

Cat Toys

Like I said earlier, people spend way too much money on toys for their pets. I work from home in the same room where the Kitten spends 99.9% of her time, I see everything she plays with, here’s a rough percentage breakdown of the time our kitten has spent with various toys…

80% of the time - fighting with adult Cat (the Kitten always starts it).

I think it’s very important that any Cat has another Cat around, because although they are not really sociable animals, they do seem to get lonely. The Kitten and Cat do an awful lot of fighting and if you’re introducing two cats who’re either not from the same litter, or greatly differ in age, you have to be really careful… A Kitten’s only defense is a hiss and if an adult Cat wanted to kill the Kitten, it could, easily. Seek help if you’re doing this, because we were lucky to have a very placid adult Cat that always lets go if the Kitten yelps.

15% of the time - running around in “stalk mode”, not playing with any toy.

Our Kitten loves it when the door is open so she can run down the hall. She sounds like a horse and she runs back and forth for a long time before getting tired and having a nap to get ready for the next time! When the door is closed she runs about climbing and jumping onto the off the Kitty Condo we have, jumping onto and off the bed and just generally stalking/hunting nothing in particular!

2% of the time - playing in empty boxes.

The holes in the side of Coca-Cola boxes and the noise they make when you tap on them seems to really excite a Kitten who happens to be sitting inside it, our Kitten just loves jumping ontop of the thing!

2% of the time - knocking various objects around the floor.

Usually our Kitten is busy running around like a nutcase and she’ll see something she wants to attack, so she does! We have a few objects on the floor for her, but none of them were bought as a Cat toy… We have a few metal Christmas Tree ornaments with bells in, we have some bottle caps, we have some plastic egg-shaped things (that did contain candy) and her most favorite - we have the little foam circles that came from a blank CD spool. Yes, you read that right, the favorite toy of both our Kitten - and adult Cat too! - is a little bit of foam that was part of the packaging of a spool of blank CD’s!

1% of the time - playing with her “Crazy Circle” toy.

While the Crazy Circle toy is excellent and our Kitten loves it, it plays a really small part in her daily play compared to other, cheaper items. Variation is important, but your Kitten doesn’t care how much money you spend…

Above you can see a video of our Kitten playing with the Crazy Circle. You can buy one from Amazon (USA) Small | Large.

Having read the book this movie is based on, I knew what I was in for, but did expect the ending of the book - instead I was pleasantly surprised to see another ending that worked and finished off the story in typical ‘feel good’ ways.

Will Smith plays a Military Virologist in New York City, he is alone and hasn’t seen another Human Being for three years. He is all alone because three years earlier, Dr. Alice Krippin created a genetically re-engineered Measles vaccine capable of curing Cancer in all forms. The Virus mutated those who took it and mutated itself, turning Humans into Rabid animals interested only in eating living flesh.

So Robert Neville (Will Smith) stays behind while everyone else without symptoms evacuates New York City so he can try to create a cure based upon his own immunity. His wife and daughter are dead because of a helicopter crash during the evacuation and his only company is the Dog handed to him as a Puppy by his daughter during that evacuation.

Reduced to a wonderful mix of primitive and modern living, Neville drives around in cars of his choosing, hunting for animal meat with Dog and Gun but all the while fearing the shadows and the Sunset. The first time we see Neville board himself up inside his building with steel shutters and shake from fear in the bathtub we begin to get an idea of the horror that emerges each and every night.

Eventually the mutants begin to show intelligence by setting a trap for Neville, leaving him hanging by his foot until Sunset. Having just managed to escape after attack by infected Dogs, there is a harrowing scene where his Dog succumbs to the Virus and turns, giving him no other choice but to choke his only friend to death.

Enraged at losing his friend, Neville sets out the next night to hunt the infected and commit suicide in the process. Just as he is about to have his face bitten off by the apparent leader of the group he was hunting, he is saved… He drops in and out of unconsciousness, but was just able to tell the woman who had saved him where he lived.

Neville awakes the following morning to find himself no longer alone. He finds it hard to accept that there is someone around who talks back to him and ate the bacon that he was saving for a special occasion but eventually, because of the child the woman brought with her, opens up to them.

Will Smith and friend; all alone in New York City.

Getting ever closer to the cure, Neville and his new friends close the shutters as normal that night when suddenly the groans of the infected can be heard louder than ever in the distance, it is then that Neville realises they must have followed them the previous night and tonight they were going to try to get into his home. Neville launches all his defence mechanisms including explosives, but that doesn’t stop some of the infected getting through. Neville and his new friends end up down in the Laboratory where to their amazement the subject he had been testing his latest cure on, is getting better.

Neville frantically shouts through the glass to the infected who’re trying to break-in, telling them he can save them. Eventually realising they are beyond his help he passes the information on the cure to the woman who had saved him, tells them to stay in the bunker at the back of the laboratory until morning, grabs a hand-grenade from the drawer and waits for the leader of the infected to break through the glass…

Alpha Male (left), Will Smith (right). Shot is from the alternate version of the movie (which is much better).

STORY

While this adaptation of the book does differ from it quite a bit, it is a very good ending. The story perhaps fits this era better than any other and this is much, much more than a Zombie picture.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

I have absolutely no idea how they achieved the level they did with this movie, most impressively New York City looks as deserted as it should… All of the animals, vegetation, even the infected, they all look absolutely fantastic and it is worth seeing this movie for these alone.

ACTING

There really is only one recognizable name in this movie and really only one actor. Will Smith doesn’t carry this movie - the story does - but if the story wasn’t up to par, the acting would be… Smith is capable of talking to manikins and makes it a convincing conversation! The performance by the Dog was also impressive and it really is heart-breaking when Neville (Will Smith) has to choke him.

WORTHINESS

The movie does seem short and really that is no surprise because apart from the flashbacks to the evacuation, all the action takes places over a few days. I really liked Zombie movies in the past and this a fantastic modern spin on the book, but it does have a totally different ending… I’d suggest reading the book also if you like the movie. The movie itself is absolutely worth seeing as long as you don’t expect the plot of the book to feature very much.

Buy on DVD: Amazon (USA) | Amazon (UK)

In 2001 I was homeless. I was in Coleraine (Northern Ireland), where I had moved for a lucrative job, when I found myself without work, without money, without home. I went from Coleraine with just what I was able to carry and started walking to Belfast. I considered that a city would give me a better chance of work and a better chance of finding somewhere to stay.

After about two hours walking, a lorry driver from TESCO stopped and offered me a ride (I hadn’t been asking for one), gave me $10 (that I hadn’t asked for) and dropped me off outside the Salvation Army hostel. I went inside and obviously they didn’t offer much Salvation, so I walked away and started wandering the city (a city I had never been to before - a city I knew had places that were very dangerous to wander).

A Police car eventually pulled up alongside me and asked if I was OK, I told them I was trying to find somewhere to sleep and that I had no money, they then gave me a ride to the hostel on Verner St. I was lucky to get there safe and I was very lucky to find somewhere so quickly.

What a lot of people don’t realise is that when you have no address, you get no money from the British Government. In the USA, they at least give you Food Stamps. So if you have no address, you can’t get money from the Government, you can’t pay rent, you can’t work (legally) and you can’t get money. It’s a vicious circle that keeps the down and outs, down and out.

I used the address of the hostel, I applied for Unemployment benefits and was able to claim. I used that money to live on (after paying out for food to the hostel, I had $24 a week) and to apply for jobs.

Eventually, someone hired me as a Security Guard. I was told by staff in the hostel that it would have been hard to get any other job, as they take one look at my address and toss my application in the trash. I started working as a Guard at a hospital in the city and when I did, the Government decided to kick me again because, now that I was working, I could no longer claim benefits.

I now had to pay the full fee to stay at the hostel. I was left with less money now that I was working, than I had had when leeching from the Government. The rates for staying where I was were so high, because of the type of people they have to deal with (most were drug addicts, some were on the run from the Paramilitary groups in the city and of course, the staff were always in danger - they deserved the money, even if it made my life hard). I also had to buy my own more expensive food (I was working 60 hours a week and missed the cheap-cost meals the hostel offered).

I saved what little money I could, and together with a man called John (who was - I estimate - in his 60’s and had just flown back to his home town of Belfast from Johannesburg), pooled our cash so we could move out and share a house in the outskirts of the city. It took a very long time to get the money together for the rent and the deposit, but we did it.

Things went well for a long time. I was eventually hired by the I.T. Department in the hospital and was making a really nice amount of money that thankfully was no longer gobbled up by my rent and bills. I even had enough money to fly back to England to see my family at Christmas, but it turns out that was a mistake…

When I returned to Belfast after the New Year, I found John passed out on the Sofa, the apartment stank of stale pee and there was blood on the walls (it was brown - and I knew it was him losing his stomach lining - as the same thing had happened to my elder brother when he had an ‘incident’ with alcohol). I managed to wake him up and he said he had fallen apart when he was by himself - it was then that he told me his son had died at Christmas one year earlier. I secretly called for an Ambulance (he didn’t want to go when I had asked him) and had him taken in for treatment while he was turning to me saying “how could you do this to me?”

I visited him in hospital and was prepared to have him back home, I had cleaned the place as best as I could and he moved back home. He was fine for a little while, but then I started to find (what I now know as) telltale signs of an Alcoholic creeping back into the apartment. I would find empty bottles of Vodka crudely hidden behind other objects and eventually, one day when I came home to him sleeping on the sofa smelling like he had peed himself along with more blood-stains, self-preservation instincts set in…

I called an Ambulance, had him taken in again, then started packing my things. It was now obvious to me the reason why this apparently former-successful businessman was in a homeless hostel and after talking to one of his friends in South Africa over the phone, I knew I had to leave or he was going to take me down with him - I couldn’t afford to make the rent by myself. I called the Landlord, made them aware of the situation and moved out.

I found somewhere else to live and did see John walking through the city a few months later - he had work clothes on, so hopefully he’s still going strong five years later. I eventually moved back to England, then in 2007 moved to the United States (and got married). I never claimed bankruptcy (although I have been told now that I would have been better off doing) and cleared the debts caused by my 2001 situation in 2006.

So, why did I tell you all this?

Yesterday I was on Lower Wacker St, directly under Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile”, when a man came up and asked me for money. I didn’t have any. I did, however, talk with the man for probably an hour, I told him everything I have just told you and he told me about his life too. It just seems so strange to me that above our heads there were people walking, spending thousands of dollars on things they don’t really need to survive and below, even below the gutter of Michigan Avenue, stood this homeless man, talking to another former homeless man from the other side of the world.

I could tell, because of how he looked, that this man didn’t have a drug problem or a drinking problem (I have seen enough to know now). He seemed fairly fit and healthy and much younger than his 42-years. He showed me that he is a college graduate and told me that he has two trades (one of which was woodworking/joinery - but I can’t remember the other). He told me that every-so-often a local project group supported by Mayor Daley will come down and give them blankets, but every Wednesday they have to hide them because the sanitation department throw them away again. He told me that every-so-often local project groups will come with food, and that relatives of some homeless people will come and give everyone food also.

The things that really stuck with me, were when he said about ‘bum-bashing’. He said that men (usually white) will come down the stairs from Michigan Avenue and beat up the homeless (usually black) - for the heck of it. When he told me that the men will come down there armed with everything from a baseball bat to a crossbow - I felt sick. One of the relatives who comes to give them food, is the father of a homeless man killed by a crossbow while he was sleeping.

He said that usually they’ll pool their money together, buy a bucket of Chicken and sit together to eat it… It usually takes quite a few donations for them to be able to afford enough food for everyone. That kind of made me feel good… These guys who have no family - have family.

On 17th September, 2007, that man I was speaking to will be let into the Chicago YMCA for three months (after being on the waiting list - and on the streets - for eight), I just hope he can find his way onto the Upper Streets - for good. The temperatures Chicago will see this Winter can kill, being out there on the streets at a time like that? I can’t even imagine…

Firstly if you haven’t seen any of the other movies, it doesn’t matter. The beginnings of Michael Myers are understandable and easy to follow.

It begins with the 10-year-old Myers living with his mother, baby sister, older sister and step-father. The step-father is abusive and aggressive, the mother is a stripper, the older sister is a bit of an easy-lay and the baby is obviously, innocent.

Myers initially begins to torture and kill animals, disturbing to say the least when you see this young child doing it from behind a clown mask… Once discovered to be mentally unbalanced with the early warning sign of attacking vulnerable things like animals, he runs away to take care of a bully larger than he is, beating him to death with a shovel.

Returning home his mother doesn’t recognize how damaged her son is and only knows about the animals, she goes to work and while she is away Myers proceeds to wipe out the whole family with the exception of his baby sister. Committed to a detention center, Myers becomes the study piece for a Doctor who does seem to want to help him but when he is left alone with a photo of him and his sister, Myers strikes, attacking a nurse with a fork.

After the attack on the nurse, Myers’ mother returns home and kills herself…

15 years later Myers escapes from the detention unit in a massacre, finding his way to the small town in Illinois where he grew up looking for his baby sister, now a teenager, with friends similar to Myers’ older sister. He goes on a rampage, killing everyone on his path to his sister while sitting in the house he grew up in…

Myers seems to be trying to reform his family as he collects his mother’s tombstone, one of his sister’s friends (to take the place of his easy-lay older sister), so when he eventually captures his younger sister, he seems satisfied. He kneels there with the picture of him and his baby sister and hands it to her, but she doesn’t understand… She was never told who she is.

She decides to try to get Myers’ knife, stabbing him in his shoulder then attempting to escape, as things wind down you find yourself wondering how much longer it’s going to take before Myers (who has now become angry and wants to kill his sister rather than just “collect” her) finds her…

She eventually escapes but as you’ll know if you’ve seen the rest of the movies… He isn’t dead.

So I was left with a few thoughts and questions about the movie…
It is a great movie, well-worth seeing if you like horror. There’s a lot of young breasts on display, so however you feel about that is up to you… We had a laugh in the movie theatre when one of the slutty girls says: “See anything you like?” and a guy behind us shouted “Boobies!” You also find yourself kind of understanding Myers mind, you understand the bullying he got from his step-father, sister and external influences and you really begin to think… But it doesn’t stop you being horrified by what he does during the movie.

Two questions:
1. How did the police know to go to the house his sister was babysitting at down the street, rather than the house the Police were called to (and the call to 911 was made from)? Who wrote this script!? Actually this is the only error I can spot in the movie and it’s minor, I normally spot more errors than one the first time I watch a movie!
2. Would Myers have killed her, if she hadn’t snatched his knife and drilled it into his shoulder?

Installation:
The installation is easy enough, but you are forced to install a video codec during it. The bit that annoyed me with this codec is that I already had it installed, yet it didn’t try to find it. I also had to wait 7 or 8 minutes while it search for instances of Netscape (which I don’t have - and the game doesn’t need).

Review:
Every time you run the game you are presenting with this setup console, which allows you to change most things you would expect. I can safely say that this game comes with enough graphics and controller options to please everyone who looks at them. Unfortunately, the game is not up to the standard I would have expected in graphics for the release date…

Once the splash screen and studio logo marathon finally ends you are treated to a really nice intro sequence that shows just how many different types of two-wheeled wonders you’ll be able to ride in the game, you can view it below. The intro can be skipped in the setup options shown above.

After setting up your player name, helmet, etc (for both online and offline usage), you are taken to the main menu where you select whether you want to race in multiplayer, or solo-play. The menu system has some innovative features and I actually quite like it… It may be different but, it still makes sense (unlike a lot of “innovations”).

You move into the next menu now, where you select the type of racing, the bike you’re going to ride and lastly the type of race/event you want to take part in. This includes circuit racing (similar to Moto GP), motocross and street racing, every race type you could want!

The racing game itself is decent, the graphics and “ok” and the game is worth buying if you’re a bike nut, but for the average guy, or someone who isn’t into two-wheels - it’s not worth the money. The physics are horribly simple and easy to learn the flaws of and the sound seems just plain weird. Unfortunately I have to be pretty offensive to the developers here and say that really - that’s all there is to say about their game…

Screenshots:

Getting through the start of the game…
Do the first few missions in the starting ship. You need the “standing” in order to progress and doing those missions will also give you a little free equipment.

Once you’ve gotten through the first 4 or 5 storyline missions, head to Herron’s Nebula. There is a Space Distillery in Herron’s Nebula and although it sells illegal product, you can sell that product to the Free Argon Trading Station within the same system. You can buy Space Fuel for around 700 (do not buy for more than 1200 or you make no profit!) and sell them for 1252 per unit. You may occasionally get caught by the local police, but the rewards are worth it. When the price raises for Space Fuel (this happens when you have taken all their stock quicker than they can produce it), you can probably make money bringing Energy Cells to the station from the Power Circle system. Once you have around 400,000 credits from trading Space Fuel (or from recovery and sale of the “free objects” listed below), head to Argon Prime and then to the Federal Argon Shipyard where you should buy a Mercury. You should also upgrade the Mercury’s engine and rudder to full capacity and fit it with a Trading System Extension. You should not board the new Mercury or spend the spare 50,000 credits you should have, stay in your starter ship (the Buster).

Now you’re going to be able to fly around the universe in your Buster, doing whatever you want while remotely controlling the Mercury as it continues to trade Space Fuel on your behalf (using the 50,000 credits you didn’t spend to start with). Remotely controlled ships are never scanned by the police, so you’re going to be free of problems. I’d advise you work to try to supply the Space Fuel Distillery with Energy Cells whenever the price of Space Fuel becomes too high. Energy Cells should be bought for no more than 16 credits in Argon space, Power Circle is a good place to start buying.

There are quite a few “free objects” scattered around the universe, I’d suggest you try to recover some of these items early.

Some you will not be able to recover until you’re an experienced player with a powerful ship!

Here is a map of the X3 universe. Note that not all systems have four (north, east, south and west) gates. Also note that in the list above there is a System Coordinate, those numbers count from the top-left system on the map, Kingdom’s End (0, 0).

Once you’ve got enough money I’d advise you setup a Sector Trader. It’s best to start off a Trader in a Mercury (with upgraded engine and rudder) and set him/her loose in Argon Prime, Ore Belt or Paranid Prime. Once those Trader’s reach a skill of 8 you can upgrade them to Universe Trader’s and they’ll trade throughout the entire universe instead of those single system’s.

You can now sit back and watch the money roll in really, though I’d advise you still manually smuggle Space Fuel with your remote controlled Mercury…

The Sandlot is what looks like an empty housing lot where a group of children have setup a baseball diamond where they play almost every day but now find themselves one player short…

They enlist Scotty Smalls (played by Tom Guiry) who (at first) really isn’t good at the game as a player and this group of kids develop a nice friendship over time.

As Smalls gets better at the game and gets closer to his friends, he is told about a local legend concerning a house beside the lot… The house is guarded by a huge monster and nobody has ever managed to get a baseball back when it went over the fence…

When the kids lose their last ball over the fence, Smalls goes to his house to borrow his Step Dad’s ball signed by a “lady” called Babe Ruth (who most people will know, is a man who played for the Yankee’s, who most people consider the best ballplayer ever)…

The other kids, who all know exactly who Babe Ruth is, don’t notice the writing on the ball. They put Smalls in to bat and when he hits his first home run everyone is delighted, except Smalls… As the ball goes sailing over the fence Smalls breaks the news to the other kids and they break the news to him that the ball he just lost is priceless…

The kids decide that they have to get the ball back and after a load of wonderfully amusing schemes, things really get interesting when the kids find themselves face-to-face with “the monster”…

A great family movie whether you know anything about baseball, or not. Plus, with quotes like: “You’re killin’ me Smalls!” - what better childhood movie could there be? It really makes you look back on your youth and remember all the wonder and magic the world once held.

You can buy The Sandlot here.