The Game Gripper

[Octopod]

This is not a review of a video game but of a gaming accessory. This is the first review I have ever written and looking at it, it is not much of a review but I figured I would post it to get some feedback to improve my review writing skills.




In my opinion a major problem when it comes to gaming on a phone has always been the controls. I am not a fan of touch screen controls as it tends to obscure the screen and there is no tactile response. For this same reason I prefer a phone that has a hard keyboard which is why I bought a Motorola Droid as soon as they were available. But this is not a review of the Droid, or even the emulators that can run on it. This is a review of an accessory available for the Motorola Droid called the Game Gripper. The Game Gripper has completely changed gaming on my Droid for me.

Prior to getting the Game Gripper playing games on the Droid was a bit clunky. The "D-pad" is on the wrong side which takes quite a bit of getting used to for one thing. Yes, you can fix that by holding the phone the up-side down with the controls on the top but that presents its own set of obstacles. Still, it was functional for a 5 or 10 minute game of Castlevania while I was waiting to talk to someone at the bank or in between classes at school. I would do fairly poorly but I was still playing my NES and SNES games on the go without having to carry around a dedicated gaming device.

This is where the Game Gripper comes in. The Game Gripper is a rubber sleeve of sorts that slides over the Droids keyboard and gives you a proper D-pad and 8 buttons. It's easy as pie to get the Game Gripper set up and your keys mapped. Now I can play those emulators with controls that work just as well as if I had a dedicated gaming device. The sleeve itself feels very durable yet it is soft rubber and you could easily carry this around in your pocket. I really recommend this to anyone with a Droid that does any kind of gaming on it. They also make Game Grippers for the LG Ally, Motorola Devour and the Motorola Backflip and they cost $15 and are available in multiple color choices, I got mine in black with clear buttons.


Link to site : http://sites.google.com/site/gamegripper/

[lisalover1]

The only thing I don't like about my HTC Evo is the complete lack of physical buttons, besides the power and volume buttons. It makes playing emulators without multitouch support completely impossible. I really would have liked a physical keyboard on my phone. But, in most cases, the screen is big enough to compensate.

[enderfall]

How are the buttons connected to the rubber mat? The video on their website didn't help. If you put this in your pocket or backpack, etc. is there a risk the buttons pop out?

[Octopod]

This is the backside of mine. The plastic is wider at the bottom, it kind of flares out like the head of a nail. They seem to be in there pretty good.

Also the number of buttons works out great because you can assign two of them to Save and Load or you can use them for shoulder buttons and the like which will be helpfully when the guy who made all the "oid" emulators finishes the PS1 one he is currently working on.

[CRTGAMER]

This is very very slick!

Oh a side note. In your signature the Blade Runner reference. One of my favorite movies Rutger Hauer actually improvised in the "Moments lost like tears in the rain" part. Very cool.

[Octopod]

This is very very slick!

Oh a side note. In your signature the Blade Runner reference. One of my favorite movies Rutger Hauer actually improvised in the "Moments lost like tears in the rain" part. Very cool.

Yeah, I knew that about that Rutger Hauer scene. I think he may have been a squandered talent after that film. Blade Runner is my favorite film ever. I used to want that whole quote engraved on my headstone when I die.