As stated in our last review for a Wii accessory, there have been no shortage of add-on peripherals that house the Wii Remote. From fishing poles to guitars, the Wii Remote was designed to perfectly fit inside of any attachment, whether they truly enhance the gaming experience or not.  While some disagree, the racing wheel is one peripheral that actually does enhance the experience, in my personal and professional opinion. They remind me of the arcade racing days, except motion controlled racing is wireless, portable, and just as awesome. Nintendo released their own wheel with the launch of Mario Kart Wii, with Nerf releasing their option shortly after.

The Nerf Racing Wheel is completely coated with soft, grip-able Nerf material. Unlike Nintendo’s Wii Wheel, Nerf’s wheel is ribbed with a textured surface to protect against slipping when in use. A rectangular hole is also cut out on the left side for access to the Wii Remote’s IR sensor.  The Wii Remote snaps into a center plastic crossbar, with a hole on the backside to pull the remote’s wrist strap through. The Wii Remote’s B trigger button presses against the Nerf Racing Wheel’s B button, similar to Nintendo’s Wii Wheel. Taking the Wii Remote out of the wheel requires a bit of force, but it’s still easy.

The gameplay with the Nerf Racing Wheel is solid.  You can use the wheel in any racing Wii title, but the packaging proudly states that it’s “the ultimate Racing Wheel for Mario Kart.” Because of that proclamation, I spent most of my playtime with Mario Kart Wii. The wheel feels great, as you’d expect from the material. You’ll find yourself gripping harder because of the soft exterior, which can translate into a more immersive feel. Although bigger in size, the wheel is relatively light and doesn’t add much more bulk or weight than the Wii Wheel.

Unfortunately, with greatness comes a tad of disappointment.  As mentioned before, the Wii Remote’s B button pushes onto the trigger button on the shell of the racing wheel. However it’s an oddly constructed button. Instead of replicating the Wii’s B button, or featuring an extended B button like the Wii Wheel, it was made smaller, and square shaped. My natural hand placement had to be corrected because I could barely reach the button. I was also confused that instead of pushing the button in as you’d expect, you’re kind of sliding it to the right.  It took some getting used to, and I personally found it uncomfortable, which is surprising for a wheel thats label promises to offer “unmated comfort.”

The Nerf Racing Wheel’s “B” button.

I decided to take part in a little scientific experiment. Question: Would gamers find the Nerf’s B button to be as uncomfortable and oddly shaped as I did, or was it a matter of preference? Hypothesis: Gamers would agree that the button is odd. Procedure: Without prior knowledge, I had 6 people individually play with the Nerf Racing Wheel to see their thoughts. Conclusion: Within the first minute of playing, each person made a comment about the odd B button.

Because the drift feature in Mario Kart Wii is so crucial to gameplay, and is mapped to the B button, I found it difficult to pull off drifts with complete accuracy. I’m surprised, given my small not-so-scientific test group, that those who helped create the wheel didn’t have the same issue, but it’s possible that the odd B button was the result of copyright issues.

Another problem I encountered was that for whatever reason when using IR, the sensor bar could not detect the cursor when at the top of the television screen. Any on screen navigation worked flawlessly until you reached the top few inches of the TV. I tried moving and repositioning the Wii Remote, Nerf Racing Wheel and Wii Sensor Bar, but nothing fixed the issue.  I assume either the hole is not cut perfectly around the remote’s sensor, my television is too large (50″), or the Nerf material is too thick and interrupting the signal. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.

The bottom line: The Nerf Racing Wheel truly does offer an amazingly solid steering wheel option for the Wii. By far, this is the most comfortable option for the Wii console to date.  However, the odd B trigger button is truly a downer, given its importance in such titles as Mario Kart Wii and Excitebots: Trick Racing.  Again, this kills me because comfort wise, this wheel is perfect. I’m hopeful a future revised version finds its way onto shelves.  Until then, it’s a solid wheel offering. If steering wheel comfort is your top priority, the Nerf Racing Wheel should be taken for a test drive.

The Nerf Racing Wheel is available for $9.99 in a variety of colors.

*This product review was written based off the product supplied by PDP for review purposes, with over 8 hours of gameplay using Wii software titles Mario Kart Wii and Excitebots: Trick Racing.

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