15 extreme simulators that went past the adrenaline rush in 2009
Try as they might, console games just don't make the cut when the gamer wants the shakes, spills and thrills associated with the real thing, especially in the case of motor racing or adventure sports. So where do the avid motor racing aficionados or adventure sports junkies turn when the roads are too wet to race or the snow is too thin to ski? They go the game simulator way. Yeah, you guessed right, we went ahead and put together a bunch of hot gaming simulators that you'd certainly be interested to bring home this spring. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride!
1. Cruden F1 Simulator
If cost is of no consequence, you must take a look at the Cruden F1 Simulator that offers its users all of 6 DOF (degrees of freedom) for an authentic race simulation. A 100% accurate steering wheel, a G-force simulation for multiple values of G and specialist software makes this simulator one of a kind. All this one-of-a-kind gadgetry pushes up the Cruden F1 Simulator's price to a stratospheric $200,000.
2. F1 Showcar Race Simulator
Here is the real deal, presenting the F1 Showcar Race Simulator. While the F1 Showcar Race Simulator won't win beauty contests, it will certainly give enthusiasts the best bang for the buck. Why? Simple, because the simulator basically is a full F1 Car Chassis mounted on motion controllers. So, you can feel the real G-forces pulsing through your neck when you take that wide sweeping corner that never seems to end. The F1 Showcar Race Simulator is meant strictly for the hardcore F1 enthusiasts and this reflects on its ultra expensive $44,990 price tag.
3. Armaroli FA5 Simulator
Here is another F1 simulator which while not being as realistic as the F1 Showcar Simulator, still packs in quite a punch. The Armaroli FA5 Simulator packs in 3 LCD monitors with 44 inches of viewable area and a Logitech G25 steering wheel with pedals plus force feedback. The simulator also includes a Armaroli Computer V12 with a Gibabyte GA-M650SLI-DS4 motherboard and two video boards, a NVIDIA GForce 8600GT graphics card and an Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor. Wow, that is plenty of juice to hurtle across the most demanding of the race tracks. Yours for $34,500.
4. Etihad Boeing 777 Simulator
While not for sale, the Etihad Boeing 777 Simulator can certainly be experienced by young and old alike. This airplane simulator's prime purpose is to give people a feel of what it really is to fly a jetliner. The Etihad Simulator is currently doing rounds of public and private places across the world where people congregate, to give everyone a taste of flying a jumbo jet.
5. Bravo Golf Simulator
You don't need to drive down to the golf greens every time you feel like enjoying a relaxing session of golf. All you need to do is to bring home the Bravo Golf Simulator. This golf simulator comes with a projector that projects realistic images onto a 16:9 screen that will display high resolution imagery. Bravo Golf’s patented 32-bit “Micom Sensor” will read the nine kinds of movements and trajectory o1f the ball in three dimensions, thus giving you an authentic golfing experience.
6. Predator Motion Simulator
So far, we've seen racing simulators with a single screen displaying the race tracks. Here is one that simply surrounds you with a rich array of images to give you an immersive game simulation experience. Other hardware includes a Corbeau-Forza racing seat with lap belt, a steering wheel from force feedback, a dual-pedal setup, computers with pre-installed software, on-board Ethernet cards for LAN play, Diamond Audio’s custom sound system and a wireless keyboard trackball. The Predator Motion Simulator sells for a hefty $17,900.
7. Ferrari Racing Simulator
The big daddy of F1 racing, Ferrari has come out with its very own F1 simulator. Here's what the simulator has to simulate a true blue F1 race. Ten linked computers, 60GB of RAM, five giant 3D video screens and a 3500-watt Dolby sound system work in conjunction to ensure that future Ferrari F1 drivers are well prepared to handle the real rigors that F1 racing will throw at them. And here is an astounding fact about the Ferrari F1 simulator, it weighs more than 200 tons. This, if not anything else is testament to the massive processing and simulating the Ferrari F1 Simulator is capable of. And no, it isn't for sale.
8. Honda Bicycle Simulator
Let's slow down a bit and check out the original contraption that put people on wheels, the humble bicycle. The Japanese car and motorcycle firm, Honda, has developed a bicycle simulator. This simulator will simulate real world conditions and enable bicycle users to experience a variety of conditions in a safe environment. This simulator also will imbibe values of safe bicycling among students and beginners.
9. DeWalt-Williams F1 Simulator
Only a handful of individuals across the world get the opportunity to pilot an F1 car. For the rest of us who don't like to be left out of the action, there is the Dewalt-Williams F1 Race Simulator. This simulator takes things to an all new high with the front section of the Williams F1 car being part and parcel of the simulator. The modern F1 monocoque is manufactured from the highest quality of genuine race materials with a carbon fiber steering wheel, genuine front suspension, ex-race wheels and tires completing the package. This means that you will sit in a realistic F1 car as you enjoy going past corners at 200 miles per hour, virtually of course.
10. Ski Home Simulator
Skiing down precipitous inclines throughout the year is next to impossible. So where does this leave you, the die-hard skiing enthusiast at? Right at the Ski Home Simulator. This motion gaming simulator even has a pair of skis to make the entire simulation as authentic as possible. So, snow or no snow, you get to ski down the slopes of your choice whenever you feel the urge to hit the snow slopes. The Proidee Ski Simulator sells for $2,285.
11. Robotic Baby Simulator
We have no clue as to why anyone would want a robot baby simulator, but for those of you who want one, here is one called the Yutaro. Created at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, the Yutaro robot portrays a variety of facial expressions, movements and physiological characteristics, just like a real baby would. If that isn't enough the Yutaro robot will stun you by crying real 2D tears too. That, is some simulation, really.
12. VisionRacer VR3 Racing Simulator
Motor racing comes right to your living room with VisionRacer's VR3 Racing Simulator. The VR3 Simulator comes in a sleek stainless steel and thermoplastic form, replete with race spec bucket seats, suspension, a nice small diameter steering wheel and a gearshift. The VR3 Simulator can be hooked up to most of the game consoles currently sold on the market. The Aston Martin co-branded VR3 Simulator's price starts for about $1,211 for the base version going all the way up to $2278 for the full-blown version.
13. Elite Racer Pro Simulator
Here is another wicked race simulator that uses plenty of high quality stuff to give you a realistic race track experience. The Elite Racer Pro Simulator features a sleek, yet dynamic form with a Sony 5.1 surround system and a Crowson vibration system that will let you feel every rut and bump from the racetrack. The simulator includes a fully adjustable racing seat, a huge 32-inch Sony 1080p LCD screen, a high-end PC with 4GB of memory, 500GB hard drive and a NVIDIA SLI graphics card. The steering wheel too is the top dog, Trackstar 6000 with paddles for gear shifts. That just about sums up the Elite Racer Pro Simulator for you.
14. BestSim Gameframe Racing Simulator
The BestSim GameFrame Racing Simulator isn't too different from other simulators in terms of simulating a race, but its design certainly is. The BestSim GameFrame Racing Simulator consists of a brushed stainless steel frame that sits in the shape of a crescent. Gaming hardware includes an adjustable racing pedal block, force-feedback technology, a 5.1 surround-sound system, a multi-screen experience with up to three 22-inch LCD monitors and 3D-animated racing software. All this hardware coupled to a terrific looking form factor makes the BestSim GameFrame Racing Simulator a must-buy for hardcore game simulator fans.
15. USS Galileo Starship Simulator
A lot of us have grown up watching Luke Skywalker and gang in Starwars. Here's our chance to hop onto a spaceship and fight aliens. We're talking about the USS Galileo Starship Simulator replete with stations, networking, speakers, a main viewscreen and everything a futuristic starship should have. While the price hasn't been fixed, people can start bidding for this simulator with the lowest bid starting from $1,000.
