NFS: Most Wanted (PC)
Force Feedback: None
Pedals: Separate
Shift Lights: None
Released: Oct 30, 2012

Our 19th article of SolidlyStated’s longest running series: The Logitech G27 Racing Wheel for Casual Racing Gamers. This time around, I will attempt to set up the G27 racing wheel to play NFS: Most Wanted on PC. I say “attempt” because this game is a dismal failure for steering wheel owners everywhere and is driving this franchise right into the ground.

The 19th title in the series, Most Wanted was developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts, just like their 2012 title NFS: Hot Pursuit. Most Wanted combines a traditional favorite of high speed police chases, open world, and countless chanllenges and cars.

Solid Tip: Looking for G27 drivers or Logitech Profiler software? Get it here.

Logitech G27 Solid Series Articles
1. Casual Gamer vs Simulation Gamer 11. Test Drive Unlimited
2. Setting Up Your G27, Made Easy 12. Test Drive Unlimited 2
3. Need For Speed: Carbon 13. Burnout Paradise
4. Need For Speed: Pro Street 14. Race Driver: GRID
5. Need For Speed: Undercover 15. Split Second
6. Need For Speed: Shift 16. GTR Evolution
7. Need For Speed: Shift 2 17. DiRT 2
8. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 18. DiRT 3
9. Need For Speed: The Run 19. Blur
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted

A Tradition of Failure!

Electronic Arts and Criterion Games – good job taking yet another big dump on your core fan base! You should be ashamed of yourselves and I know you will read this. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a yet another big step backward for G27 fans, just as Hot Pursuit was for 2010.

Criterion just transplanted the same control scheme from Hot Pursuit right on over to Most Wanted and it looks like they didn’t bother to use the patched controls of Hot Pursuit because a dead zone still exists at the center of the wheel. Not too noticeable going slow, but once you get up to speed, you have to oversteer for it to register.

Force feedback doesn’t exist (AGAIN), there is no shifting at all (AGAIN), no built-in LED support (AGAIN). Huge disappointment…

Need for Speed: Most Wanted G27 Settings

  • Open the Logitech Profiler
  • Select New > Profile
  • Add NFS13.exe as a new game
  • Open Specific Game Settings
  • Check ‘Use Special Force Feedback Device Settings’
  • Leave ‘Overall Effect Strength’ alone! (100%)
  • Raise ‘Spring Effect Strength’ to 150%
  • Check ‘Use Special Steering Wheel Settings’
  • Set ‘Degrees of Rotation’ to 200 (to lessen dead zone)
  • Leave ‘Use Special Game Settings’ Unchecked
  • In game, go to Settings > Controls
  • click on ‘Logitech G27 Racing Wheel USB’
  • Map wheel buttons to your liking
NFS Most Wanted Controls

NFS Most Wanted Controls

No Force Feedback, Only “Vibration”

Ever play a gun game at the arcade? One that has a little solenoid motor in it that bucks as you pull the trigger to simulate automatic fire? That is what amounts to force feedback in this game.

The vibration feature is about worthless for wheel owners and makes the G27 constantly buck/shake like its an arcade gun controller firing bullets. Bang, bang, bang, bang.

I made the mistake of setting overall effects to 150%. The wheel began endlessly banging on my desk, shaking everything, while my car sat idle on the road. I immediately had to ALT+Tab out of the game and reduce it to 100%.

In fact, the only setting that does anything is the Spring Effect Strength- and that doesn’t do much (just provides some resistance when you turn the wheel).

The Dead Zone

When Need For Speed Hot Pursuit was released in 2010, we featured a patch by racing community member Racer_S over at TocaEdit.com that would eliminate the dead zone, allow the use of your paddle shifters, correct force feedback, and give you 1:1 steering. It was an awesome patch! Later EA/Criterion released 2 patches that were meant to fix the dead zone issue alone. I didn’t even bother, as I was already disenchanted with the bad wheel experience.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for this game (yes, I tried) and we are once again at the mercy of the developer to take care of us (don’t hold your breath). The best you can do is manually set the degrees of rotation down to 200° because that seems to lessen the dead zone effect.

You can technically use 900° with this game, but it would be pretty much impossible to drive as this is an arcade-style racer with already poor controls.

The Verdict

You can already gather my opinion on this experience. The last Need For Speed game that was any good for wheel owners was Shift 2: Unleashed. Even the last title, NFS: The Run by EA Black Box had plenty of controller issues.

If you haven’t already bought this title, I do NOT recommend it. Saying that costs me money, too, but I give it to you straight. If you already bought it and have come searching for help, you won’t find much. The only thing to improve the experience right now is to use 200° and set the Spring Effect up. I apologize on behalf of Criterion for taking advantage of you!

I had such high hopes for this game and was excited at the plethora of cars and open world… too bad.

The Most Wanted Corvette ZR1

The Most Wanted Corvette ZR1