The
dream of making your iPhone or iPod Touch a perfect on-the-go gaming
handheld used to depend on this question: do you care about buttons? The
Moga Ace Power, the first of what will probably be many official game
controller accessories for iOS 7, adds all the buttons you'd ever dream
of having, and even has a few more tricks up its sleeve. But, it costs
$100. Is it worth the investment?
As iOS devices have evolved, their graphics have leaped massively, and the games they can play are becoming downright impressive. But, for the most part, you needed to accept using touch, and tilting, as ways to play.
Android devices have enjoyed game controllers for years, and now it's iOS 7's turn. The Moga Ace Power is the first game controller I've seen that takes advantage of iOS 7's baked-in support for MFi controllers. In short, that means that there can finally be "universal" game controllers that just work, and can connect either via Lightning or wirelessly.
The Moga Ace Power has dual analog sticks, triggers,
buttons galore, and even a headphone pass-through, but it's meant
strictly as a snap-on case for the iPhone 5, 5C, 5S, and fifth-gen iPod
Touch. It only connects via Lightning. But, if you're eligible and
game-curious, this Moga accessory -- and the peripherals that are bound
to come out after it -- opens up a lot of possibilities for the future
of iOS. I've been using one for the past week, and it might be one of
the best stocking stuffers yet for the iPhone Gamer Who Thinks He Has
Everything; but keep in mind that the product and its app support are
still in the experimental stages, and its design leaves a little to be
desired.
Buttons, buttons, buttons galore
Apple supports two types of game controllers in iOS 7: "Standard," which has a D-pad, four buttons, and two top shoulder buttons, like a Game Boy, or "Extended," which adds dual analog pads, left and right trigger buttons, and everything else in Standard. The Moga Ace Power is an Extended controller. What that means is it'll cover, in theory, any controller-ready game that hits iOS 7.
The only thing it really lacks compared with a console
controller is rumble. It's a more complete button set than what's on a
PlayStation Vita or a Nintendo 3DS (the Vita lacks the extra triggers,
and the 3DS doesn't have a second analog pad). The four buttons are
color-coded and lettered, with A, B, X, and Y. Certain games pick up
that you're playing with a controller, and advise you to press certain
buttons via pop-up info boxes. That's not true for all games, but it
needs to be.
Design: Feels more like a $50 device than a $100 one
Covered in plastic, the Moga Ace Power feels more like a toy than a serious accessory -- but then again, we're talking about a game controller. In folded-up form, it looks exactly like a little Xbox controller, complete with all the types of buttons you'd expect. Unlock and unfold it, and the device somewhat clumsily slides open to act as a cradle for an iPhone/iPod. It feels loose, but snapped into an iPhone it becomes a lot more sturdy. (It only works with a naked iPhone or iPod, so abandon ye cases before using.) When installed, it made the iPhone feel like an old-school Atari Lynx gaming handheld (if you remember one of those): very long, and not very pocket-friendly. And the glossy piano-black front finish scratched very easily on my test unit.
Another button turns the iDevice on and off, and another on the left presses Pause during a game (a new feature added into iOS 7 game controller support).
Getting it on my iPhone took a little work. It took me a few minutes to
figure out, but I inserted my phone top-end first and then stretched the
device out to lock the Lightning connector into the phone's bottom end.
Once connected, the Ace Power flashes its red LED light. Press that
button on the upper right, which also shows how much battery life is in
the controller, and you can see if the device is connected and ready to
go.
Inserting an iPhone versus an iPod Touch involves some annoyance:
included are extra plastic inserts for helping each differently thick
device slot in with the least amount of wiggle. An iPhone 5C doesn't
require an insert. It's weird, and a little wonky if you plan on
switching devices a lot.
Do buttons make a killer iOS game machine?
I've been hindered by iOS game controllers before that only worked with a couple of games, or had a strange of way of kinda-sorta playing with games, like the iCade 8-bitty. Sometimes Bluetooth added extra lag. The Moga Ace Power has none of these problems: compatible games work seamlessly and right away, with button functions mapped logically. The physical Lightning connection resulted in nearly lag-free gaming, from what I could tell over the games I tried.
As iOS devices have evolved, their graphics have leaped massively, and the games they can play are becoming downright impressive. But, for the most part, you needed to accept using touch, and tilting, as ways to play.
Android devices have enjoyed game controllers for years, and now it's iOS 7's turn. The Moga Ace Power is the first game controller I've seen that takes advantage of iOS 7's baked-in support for MFi controllers. In short, that means that there can finally be "universal" game controllers that just work, and can connect either via Lightning or wirelessly.
Buttons, buttons, buttons galore
Apple supports two types of game controllers in iOS 7: "Standard," which has a D-pad, four buttons, and two top shoulder buttons, like a Game Boy, or "Extended," which adds dual analog pads, left and right trigger buttons, and everything else in Standard. The Moga Ace Power is an Extended controller. What that means is it'll cover, in theory, any controller-ready game that hits iOS 7.
Design: Feels more like a $50 device than a $100 one
Covered in plastic, the Moga Ace Power feels more like a toy than a serious accessory -- but then again, we're talking about a game controller. In folded-up form, it looks exactly like a little Xbox controller, complete with all the types of buttons you'd expect. Unlock and unfold it, and the device somewhat clumsily slides open to act as a cradle for an iPhone/iPod. It feels loose, but snapped into an iPhone it becomes a lot more sturdy. (It only works with a naked iPhone or iPod, so abandon ye cases before using.) When installed, it made the iPhone feel like an old-school Atari Lynx gaming handheld (if you remember one of those): very long, and not very pocket-friendly. And the glossy piano-black front finish scratched very easily on my test unit.
Another button turns the iDevice on and off, and another on the left presses Pause during a game (a new feature added into iOS 7 game controller support).
Do buttons make a killer iOS game machine?
I've been hindered by iOS game controllers before that only worked with a couple of games, or had a strange of way of kinda-sorta playing with games, like the iCade 8-bitty. Sometimes Bluetooth added extra lag. The Moga Ace Power has none of these problems: compatible games work seamlessly and right away, with button functions mapped logically. The physical Lightning connection resulted in nearly lag-free gaming, from what I could tell over the games I tried.
This is an emerging market. There aren't many games for iOS (yet) that really scream for a controller. And there wont be until things like this controller become mainstream. But additionally, controllers like this wont go mainstream until there are a good amount of games that support them.
It's a risky venture for both app developers and controller makers and that means early adopters will end up paying the price. That's just the way it is.