The Gamepad Moto Mod is a good suggestion in quest of video games

Motorola’s Moto Mod ecosystem has been constructing out for some time, and the Moto Gamepad looks as if it’s the obvious extension of that system. It’s a controller case that tries to make the argument that it may flip your telephone right into a full transportable gaming console, just like the Swap.

It prices $79.99, which is a bit expensive, on condition that there are quite a few Bluetooth controllers that work with Android out there for a lot much less (together with Sony’s wonderful DualShock 4). Nonetheless, the Gamepad does supply some additional conveniences like an built-in battery and a direct, lag-free connection to your telephone, which may be sufficient to justify the additional value.

The {hardware} for the Gamepad is great. Like a lot of the different Moto Mods, it connects to the again of your telephone with a satisfying magnetic click on. And that’s the whole lot of the setup. There’s no app to put in and no Bluetooth pairing to undergo. If an app helps Android’s controller API, it’ll simply work. The truth that the Gamepad immediately connects to the telephone implies that lag isn’t actually a difficulty both, not like with Bluetooth controllers. It additionally doesn’t block the digital camera, do you have to really feel the necessity to snap a fast image whereas having the pretty cumbersome Mod nonetheless hooked up.

The buttons themselves are good, too. The D-pad has significantly crisp journey, the 2 analog sticks are responsive, and the face buttons aren’t too mushy. My solely concern is with the triggers, that are principally a break up, rounded nook and sometimes a bit of tough to hit. However until you’re making an attempt to play a first-person shooter, that shouldn’t maintain you again an excessive amount of.

The top product leaves you with one thing not dissimilar in dimension and form to Nintendo’s Swap, however a bit of smaller. In contrast to the Swap, although, the Moto Gamepad has a fairly large downside in terms of really having video games to play.

That’s as a result of whereas the attachment could also be one of many higher and extra responsive controllers I’ve used together with a cellular gadget, there’s not a complete lot of video games definitely worth the effort of carrying across the Gamepad. (It’s sufficiently big that retaining it hooked up to your telephone your complete time isn’t possible.) That’s as a result of a lot of the finest smartphone video games — whether or not that’s one thing like Sweet Crush, Alto’s Journey, or Monument Valley — have been designed from the bottom up for contact controls or easy faucets and swipes, not complicated button mashing.

The exception to that’s video games that had been ported over to Android, like Sega’s Sonic video games or Minecraft, that are way more fulfilling to play utilizing the Moto Gamepad than on a touchscreen. Equally, the Gamepad excels at controlling emulators for different platforms. In spite of everything, the SNES and the Sport Boy had been designed to be performed utilizing full {hardware} controls, not hackneyed contact overlays. (In fact, emulation remains to be very a lot a legally grey space, which is one thing to bear in mind.)

In case you are somebody who performs a variety of Sonic or emulated Sport Boy video games, although, the Moto Gamepad performs extremely properly and is simply a much more fulfilling expertise than the customarily poor contact controls for these platforms.  

For those who’re eager about shopping for the Moto Gamepad, you want to reply two questions: do you may have a Moto Z gadget? (Okay, that one may be a bit apparent.) However extra importantly, what sort of video games do you prefer to play in your telephone? On condition that solely a small subset of Android customers are ever going to personal Gamepads, it’s not in builders’ pursuits to make huge, difficult video games which can be finest performed with full {hardware} controls, which implies that ports, clones, and emulation are just about the most effective use case for the Moto Gamepad.

If these are the sorts of video games you prefer to play in your telephone, then the Moto Gamepad might be nice for you. However if you happen to actually need console-quality gaming in a conveyable bundle, you’re in all probability higher off investing your $80 towards a Nintendo Swap.