nVidia Shield?

[noiseredux]

crap, I just finally upgraded to N from G a few months back. Hopefully it will suffice. :\

[noiseredux]

so I've had my Shield for a few days now. Thought I'd post some thoughts on it...

tl;dr is I like it a lot. I think it's a brilliant little portable. It is heavier than I imagined, but it lends it a nice sturdy feeling. It's a really quality build. The controls feel great - very much like a 360 pad - especially the analog sticks which are legit. Though it's big and heavy, it's extremely comfortable to game on. The screen is amazing. Seriously amazing. And the speakers and loud and clear. All quality design.

Android games are the Shield's bread and butter. There are some offered straight through Nvidia's own hub shop that are designed to work flawlessly w/ the controls. The Wolf Among Us looks gorgeous on here. I assume that the Tegra processor plays a role, but I was impressed how close this looks to the PC version. Dead Trigger 2 is also impressive. The Netflix app is crystal clear. You can obviously install any Android games/apps on here. Random stuff is hit or miss - some games weren't designed for controllers but there's a built in key mapper (that I've yet to play with). Games that are meant to be played in portrait are a problem however. I have read there's a premium app that will force games into landscape, though I haven't tried it yet. Sadly, Deathsmiles' Android version just crashes when I try to launch it. Some research says this is an issue w/ certain builds of Android. I believe the Shield is Kit Kat?

Streaming games from my PC is also hit or miss. Some games work out the box. The Shield recognizes them and plays them w/ no problem - Borderlands Pre-Sequel and XCOM both worked fine. Others you have to "trick" by launching Steam on the Shield then launching the game and then again you may have to play with keymapping. Streaming is reliant on your home network so this may be a good reason for me to upgrade my router. The streaming worked great near my router and got choppier in rooms further away.

Streaming games from "The Grid" (Nvidia's on-demand service... think of it like Netflix for games) is impressive. Obviously your wireless internet is going to matter here. But I was impressed to see it launch Half-Life 2 and Borderlands 2 from a server so quickly and just work. And man did those games look fantastic running on this screen.

I've yet to delve into emulation. I'm open to hear what are some of the better Shield emulators (IE: Ones that recognize the controller w/ no set-up). Does anyone know if DOSBox will work?

But yeah basically this thing seems like THEE portable for me. Between Android and PC streaming and emulation the library is borderline infinite.

[fastbilly1]

How is the dpad?

[noiseredux]

How is the dpad?

it's nice - good solid click to it. Better than the 360's dpad I'd say.

BTW, a much expanded review of The Shield will be appearing on RFGeneration on 12/11...

[noiseredux]

so I play my Shield a lot these days. I really love the thing. And it gave me a reason to upgrade my router. I got a dual band Asus that was on Nvidia's list of recommended routers that works well with Shield's game-streaming and GRID. This thing is great. GRID games are flawless now thanks to 5GHz. It's nice too because I was able to move my fairly recent Netgear router into the other end of my house and use as a 2nd access point for the 2.4GHz band.

I'm also shamelessly obsessed with Bubble Witch Saga 2.

[Nyukki]

I was close to buying the Shield but bought a Chinese Android handheld called the JXD S7800b cause of its 7" screen. Its Dpad however is horrendous.

[noiseredux]

I was close to buying the Shield but bought a Chinese Android handheld called the JXD S7800b cause of its 7" screen. Its Dpad however is horrendous.

Well a big part of the appeal for me was the PC game streaming. As such, I'm pleased as punch w/ my purchase.

[FerretGamer]

I was close to buying the Shield but bought a Chinese Android handheld called the JXD S7800b cause of its 7" screen. Its Dpad however is horrendous.

I actually had one of these around the same time that I purchased the Shield. I ended up selling the JXD because of several issues.

I do wish the Shield had a larger screen similar to the JXD. I think they could've put in a slightly larger display since there is a significant bezel around the current screen.

I hope that at some point nVidia considers making a Shield Portable 2 and not only focus on the tablet.

[samsonlonghair]

Hey Noise, does the Nvidia Shield support USB-on-the-go functions?

[FerretGamer]

Hey Noise, does the Nvidia Shield support USB-on-the-go functions?

Yes, it does.