SteelSeries is well-aware of the growing mobile gaming market, and of late their focus has been on releasing mobile gaming accessories that aim at giving gamers a more console-like experience. As a companion piece to our recent SteelSeries’s Flux Headset review, we at New Gamer Nation will today look at another of their mobile gaming enhancements: the Free Mobile Controller.
Design: 10
Pick up the SteelSeries Free Mobile Controller and you’ll be immediately struck by a sense of the familiar, as if instead you were holding one of the major console controllers. The dual analog sticks and the well-placed D-pad promise zero learning curve for the average gamer. Syncing the controller with a device is as simple as syncing it with a Bluetooth headset, and the small size and light-weight design makes carrying the controller a non-issue.
Availability of games: 7
The Free Mobile Controller works with Mac, PC, iOS and Android-powered devices. Gamers will easily find a title that works with their preferred device, but currently there is a lack of streamlined games from Android to iOS. As a popular example, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 3 works with the controller on Android devices only, which is an issue that will be sure to upset gamers who use both mobile operating systems. Despite this small mark against them, SteelSeries deserves points for having a robust gaming library that encompasses all the available platforms.
Value: 7
The Free Mobile Controller retails for $79.99, but because of the limited support for Triple-A titles, the average gamer may have a difficult time dropping that sort of cash for a single gaming accessory. Moderate gamers, though, will no doubt find it well-priced. The device fully recharges in less than two hours and gives a fairly long play time of ten continuous hours, meaning travelers should be more concerned about their mobile devices dying long before this controller does.
Having presented gamers with a familiar controller design, a constantly growing gaming library, and a sub-$100.00 price tag, the SteelSeries Free Mobile Controller is a must-have for serious mobile gamers.
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