Design
The gamepad looks and feels like the little brother of the Shield Portable. It's the same matte black-and-silver color scheme and relatively bulky design, but without the flip-up touch screen or slightly sunken controls. Since it doesn't have an entire Android tablet's worth of electronics inside it, it weighs half as much as the Shield Portable at 10.9 ounces compared with the dedicated handheld device's 20.5 ounces.
The gamepad looks and feels like the little brother of the Shield Portable. It's the same matte black-and-silver color scheme and relatively bulky design, but without the flip-up touch screen or slightly sunken controls. Since it doesn't have an entire Android tablet's worth of electronics inside it, it weighs half as much as the Shield Portable at 10.9 ounces compared with the dedicated handheld device's 20.5 ounces.
The gamepad's controls are configured nearly identically
to the Shield Portable's, with dual analog sticks in a side-by-side
PlayStation-style layout, a direction pad parallel to four face buttons
in an XABY Xbox-style layout, and both triggers and bumpers on each
shoulder. The middle of the gamepad really starts to veer away from the
Shield Portable's design, eschewing mechanical system controls for
touched-based ones. A large triangular Nvidia logo is flanked by Home,
Start, and Return buttons, all of which are touch sensitive rather than
clicky. A silver-colored bar on the bottom edge of the gamepad holds a
Shield logo and touch-sensitive Volume Up and Volume Down controls.
The top edge of the controller holds a micro USB port
for charging and a 3.5mm audio jack for a headset or headphones. Because
the controller connects to a Shield device over Wi-Fi instead of
Bluetooth as an interface device, it can stream audio played on the
connected device through the controller, like the Roku 2$66.73 at Amazon media hub's remote.
Compatibility
Like the built-in controls of the Shield Portable, the Shield Wireless Controller requires either app-based gamepad support or a controller profile configured or downloaded through Nvidia's Gamepad Mapper app. Fortunately, most major titles either support gamepads or already have a functional profile available through the app made by a fan who already tinkered with it.
Like the built-in controls of the Shield Portable, the Shield Wireless Controller requires either app-based gamepad support or a controller profile configured or downloaded through Nvidia's Gamepad Mapper app. Fortunately, most major titles either support gamepads or already have a functional profile available through the app made by a fan who already tinkered with it.
I played several games on the
Shield Tablet with the Shield Wireless Controller, including Max Payne,
R-Type, Sine Mora, Metal Slug 3, Carmageddon, and Trine 2. Of them, Max
Payne, Sine Mora, R-Type, and Trine 2 worked flawlessly, recognizing the
gamepad and handling the controls automatically. Metal Slug 3 worked
well enough to play, but the B button was irritatingly mapped to pause
the game. Carmageddon wasn't recognized, but I found a relatively
functional Gamepad Mapper profile. The acceleration didn't work at
first, but Gamepad Mapper allows for extensive alterations to profiles,
so even the faulty profile offered a base upon which to build a
functional one.
The Nvidia Shield Wireless Controller is an excellent
accessory to the Shield Tablet, and its use of Wi-Fi instead of
Bluetooth means its connection works more reliably over longer distances
and with less latency. However, it's still a $60 controller that only
works with Shield devices, and since the Shield Tablet and Shield
Portable both support Bluetooth controllers as well, you might want to
look around for a gamepad that feels right and lets you connect it to
your PC, smartphone, or other tablets as well.
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