SteelSeries Stratus XL – The AfterPad Review

If reviewers gave out a “most improved” award, SteelSeries would earn it a hundred times over with the Stratus XL. It has been 9 months since the original Stratus became the first-ever Bluetooth MFi controller, and the difference between that controller and this second revision is striking. Where the first controller was cramped, the Stratus XL is luxurious. Where the first controller had flimsy analog sticks, an imprecise d-pad, and poorly made secondary buttons, the Stratus XL features solidly built components across the board.

If the Stratus XL had launched 9 months ago instead of the original Stratus, I honestly believe the entire MFi controller landscape would look different today. This controller is so, so, so much better than any of the options we had. At least, up until last month. The problem is, SteelSeries is facing some much more capable competitors today, in the form of the recently released Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i (Review), Micro C.T.R.L.i (Review) and Horipad (review coming soon) controllers. And while SteelSeries is a highly proficient hardware maker, they don’t have much experience actually building controllers (as far as I can tell, the Stratus XL is only their 3rd or 4th controller design in recent memory). And again, while it is clear they’ve learned much since launching their previous product, it is also quite clear that much about building a great game controller still eludes them. There are serious problems with the Stratus XL, and unlike it’s predecessor, these can’t be excused by saying it’s the only option, or citing it’s pocketability.

The Stratus XL does more right than it does wrong, and it is far superior than it’s predecessor. But is that enough to put it above the excellent (and often cheaper) options from it’s competitors?

Design

A controller is many things beyond mere functionality. It is something you’ll have to hold in your hands, often for hours at a time. A full-size controller is expected to be ergonomically designed, and to feel pleasant in your hands, in ways that are often emotional rather than analytical. A controller is as much about feel as it is about function.

Let’s put the Stratus XL’s strongest foot forward: the visual and physical design of this controller is nothing short of stellar. This is one of the most beautifully constructed pieces of hardware I’ve ever held in my hands. The vast majority of first party controller makers have never designed a controller that looks and feels anything close to this. In fact, I’d put this just behind the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers as the best controller-as-a-physical-object ever.

The comparison to the Xbox One controller is no coincidence. It is clear that SteelSeries was heavily inspired by Microsoft’s latest controller. And why not? The Xbox One’s controller is the product of over 100 million dollars of research and development, and is widely regarded as one of the best controllers ever designed.

Visuals

If this review were solely based on visuals, the Stratus XL would rank among the most beautiful controllers ever designed. Clad in a matte black plastic without unnecessarily overt branding, the Stratus XL feels like a premium, first-party class accessory. An embossed black SteelSeries nameplate on the back of the and two glossy designs running between the handles and body are the only design embellishments that separate this from feeling like an Apple product. As far as third party accessories go, that’s about as strong an endorsement as you can get.

Unlike most of the other MFi controllers out there, connection and battery buttons are moved off the surface of the control and on to the beautifully designed rear section of the pad, between the left and right shoulder buttons. Much like on the Xbox One controller, this entire rear section – triggers, shoulder buttons, connection buttons – forms a continuous shape, which looks stylish and conveys a “premium” feel.

The execution of the visual design is good, if a bit imperfect. The previous Stratus had issues with manufacturing quality, with machine tooling marks often visible on the face of the device. The Stratus XL improves things a bit, but it is still clear that SteelSeries’ manufacturing chops aren’t quite up to their design acumen. The letters on the face buttons are printed direct on to the buttons, and in the case of the two controllers I’ve used, were printed off-center with each other. Machining marks are again visible on parts of the controller, notably underneath the LED indicator lights. Unlike with the Xbox One controller that inspired this design, the Stratus XL was unable to completely do away with screw holes, though they aren’t particularly noticeable during play.

Feel

Far more important than how a controller looks is how it feels in your hand. There is good news to report here as well: the Stratus XL feels simply amazing to hold. The body of the controller fits in my hands like a glove, without any odd angular components or fingertip-cramping battery compartments. The matte surface features just the right level of friction, and feels about as high-quality as you can get out of the material. In fact, the entire feel of the Stratus XL basically screams “quality”. There is a level of weight to the controller that feels uniformly distributed in such a way as to make the entire controller feel like a solid piece of plastic, rather than a hollow body filled with chips and components, as certain other controllers can feel.

There are a few minor negatives to the Stratus XL’s feel, but they aren’t worth worrying about too much. The handles are angled a big tighter than in the PlayStation or Xbox designs, which means you end up holding your wrists closer together, which can feel a bit uncomfortable after long play sessions. There is also a noticeable seam where the top and bottom parts of the controller are put together, and this seam can be felt against your palms during play. Neither of these are significant detractions in my opinion, but they’re about the only things marring the Stratus XL from an absolutely perfect feel.

The Controller

Analog Sticks

The Stratus XL breaks from the Xbox One controller’s blueprint by opting for the PlayStation style analog stick layout, rather than the staggered analog sticks preferred by Microsoft. Neither controller design is inherently superior to the other, but both lend themselves to different styles of game. This parallel layout tends to favor games which use the d-pad + ABXY buttons or left analog + right analog control styles, whereas the staggered layout favors games which use the left analog + ABXY buttons layout. If you’re playing retro games that use a d-pad and face buttons or shooters which require movement and camera control at the same time, the Stratus XL’s layout is probably better. If you’re playing 3D platformers or other games which use the left analog stick for control and the ABXY buttons for action, then the staggered layout is probably best.

The analog sticks themselves are rubber coated, concave, and textured with a light bump pattern in the center to improve grip. Unlike Mad Catz and Hori’s blatant copying of the Xbox 360 controller’s analog stick design, these SteelSeries sticks don’t feel like any other analog sticks I’ve used. In practice, I found them a bit less grippy than the Mad Catz and Hori MFi controllers, though significantly better than MOGA’s offering. This is one place where I wish SteelSeries had lifted yet another page from Microsoft’s Xbox One controller playbook by incorporating some sort ridge to the analog sticks, rather than just relying on the textured center. Still, I’m nitpicking here; these sticks are more than adequate for the vast majority of games.

Activating the sticks with your thumbs offers a pleasant level of resistance, a little bit higher than that of an Xbox 360 or PlayStation controller. The dead zone is minimal, perhaps a bit less than that of the C.T.R.L.i for those who are sensitive to this. The sticks are easy to reach, despite the non-primary layout. I found it easier and more comfortable to use these analog sticks than those of a PS3 controller or the Horipad MFi controller, though the primary position the left analog stick gets in a staggered layout controller will always be easier to reach.

ABXY Buttons

The quality and design of the face buttons is one of the most important aspects of any game controller. How far apart are the buttons? How large are they? How grippy vs smooth are their surfaces? How deep do they press down? These aren’t qualities that have a right or wrong answer; they come down almost entirely to matters of personal preference. Button size brings inherent trade-offs in gameplay – it is easier to hit larger and wider spaced buttons without inadvertently touching any other buttons, but at the same smaller buttons are easier to combine-press to create combos.

Size-wise, the face buttons on the Stratus XL tend to be in the large side, approximately equal to those of an Xbox controller. This would be welcome, except for one quirk that I have yet to see on any other controller: the buttons are very close together. It is very usual to see a controller with both large buttons and close button placement.

In practice it feels… Strange. It’s hard to place why exactly it feels as off as it does. The buttons aren’t any closer together than those of the regular Stratus, and they aren’t any larger than those of the Xbox controller. But the combination of the two makes it difficult to execute delicate and precise button combos. Combining flips, grinds, and jumps in the Tony Hawk games was more challenging with the Stratus XL than with most of the other MFi controllers. Executing the correct punches, kicks, and grabs in Tekken was similarly problematic. Still, outside of exceptionally demanding situations like these, the Stratus XL performed perfectly well. The vast majority of games don’t require anything close to this level of control, and the Stratus XL works fine.

If you don’t mind the strange combination of size and placement, the buttons themselves are solidly built. They have an almost completely flat surface featuring a lightly glossy, plastic coating that feels neither grippy nor slippery. The travel distance is neither too shallow nor too deep.

The d-pad

When I first caught sight of this d-pad, I was optimistic. It’s a strange look, but it is obvious from the first glance that SteelSeries put some serious effort into it. Considering Mad Catz and Moga seemingly put ZERO effort into the d-pad, thats a good sign. It features a glossy “plus” control attached to a matte circular back that is ever so slightly smaller than the plus control. Rather than the flat face of the regular Stratus, this d-pad dips significantly in the center, meaning the directionals of the plus shape are extended further away than the center. The gap between the d-pad and the controller body is generous, with no danger of the d-pad scraping against the edges on the way down. Visually, it’s a striking design.

Sadly, in use, the d-pad is nothing special. Sure, it’s better than the d-pads on the regular Stratus, the Rebel, the full-size C.T.R.L.i, the Ace Power, and the PowerShell – that’s to be expected, those controllers all have terrible d-pads. The problem is, this still isn’t a particularly good d-pad. To start with, it’s way too large. It’s a strain to move your thumb from one edge to the other, which completely negates the advantage of having those edges raised so high above the controller.

In practice, my thumb ended up resting in the dip in the middle of the d-pad, and I controlled directionality by pushing along that pivot point. Controlling that way works okay, but because the center is so low to the surface of the controller, your thumb doesn’t have much leverage. This means you have to push with a relatively large amount of pressure. Having my thumb in the center of the d-pad meant that the large size of the d-pad became a major disadvantage, requiring my thumb to push a bunch of superfluous plastic.

The issues with the d-pad didn’t matter much when control of only one axis was required. Side to side movement was fairly easy, even with the unwieldy size. The problems cropped up when delicate 2-axis movement was required – my thumb’s position in the center of the d-pad made precise control over directionality difficult – and when rapid changes in direction were required, such as activating manuals in the Tony Hawk games. On the plus side, there is a physical and audible click when each of the 4 primary directions are triggered, which makes for easier orientation – the first Stratus didn’t have anything like that.

It’s unfortunate that this d-pad isn’t as good to use as it is to look at. It’s not the absolute train wreck that the first generation of MFi controllers were, but it’s still disappointing. “Unique” and “greatly improved” still doesn’t necessarily mean “good”. It’s usable for most games, sure, but it’s a surprising weak spot.

The Triggers and Shoulder Buttons

This is where it gets ugly. The d-pad isn’t going to be a deal killer for most gamers, but the back of the controller may very well be.

For a quick experiment, grab a console controller if you have one. Hold it in your hands, like you’re playing a game. Question: where are your pointer fingers? If you answered “resting on the triggers”, we have a problem. You see, SteelSeries made a pretty serious mistake with the triggers on the Stratus XL. That mistake has to do with the level of force required to activate the triggers. Simply put, resting your fingers lightly on the triggers is enough to activate them.

Let me be clear: this isn’t a minor or theoretical problem. This will come up during gameplay if your play style involves resting your fingertips on the triggers. You’ll accidentally shoot people in Call of Duty. You’ll accidentally spin in Tony Hawk. You’ll accidentally shield in Smash Bros. Picture anything that requires input from the shoulder buttons, and imagine the potential bad sides of accidentally triggering this input. This is the experience of using the Stratus XL.

Unlike the multitude of problems plaguing some of the other MFi controllers, this is not a software problem, but a hardware problem. The springs inside the triggers have far too little resistance. This is one instance where being “inspired” by the Xbox One controller was a bad idea – I love that pad, but it also features triggers that are too weak. Not this weak, though; SteelSeries takes things to the point where gameplay becomes impacted.

For the record, the Mad Catz and MOGA controllers don’t have any of these trigger problems. In fact, no controller I’ve ever used has an issue like this. I have absolutely no idea how the controller was allowed to ship with such an obvious defect. This should have been detected immediately by gamers at SteelSeries. This isn’t a cheap controller. Thought went into designing it. I imagine it must have been given to gamers to test. And yet, if it had been, they would have noticed this problem immediately. It’s just… confusing. I don’t get it.

It is possible a future firmware update could work around this issue by requiring you pull the triggers even further down before before input is registered. The problem is, SteelSeries has done an absolutely terrible job with managing their firmware updates. They hide NECESSARY updates deep on their site and label them as “optional”, they release broken updates that don’t run at all on Windows, they release updates that litter your Mac with kernel extensions, and they fail to include an uninstaller. Worst of all, these are iOS exclusive controllers, and yet SteelSeries does not have a way to update the firmware on iOS, and has no plans to make one. Through these actions, SteelSeries has repeatedly shown that they don’t understand how to make software, and don’t care about the experience of getting that software to their customers. I’m not holding my breath.

Rounding out the button selection, the Stratus XL features the MFi-standard Pause button, a bluetooth pair button on the rear section of the controller next to a battery status button, and a power switch on the bottom of the controller, by the battery compartment. The Pause button feels solid, though it’s strangely less satisfying to press than the excellent pause button on the previous Stratus.

The Software

Nothing much to say on the software front that I didn’t mention in the section about the trigger defect. SteelSeries has no iOS app to test the controller with or discover games in. SteelSeries does not release iOS compatible firmware updates. If you don’t have a PC or Mac, and if this controller stops working in a subsequent version of iOS (as the previous Stratus did for several months), you’d better find a friend with a computer and a Micro USB cable.

SteelSeries controllers have a history of shipping with major software flaws that require patching. SteelSeries also makes it extremely difficult to patch those controllers. I have no idea why – even MOGA has this problem solved, and I don’t even think that company exists anymore!

Accessories

The Stratus XL is decidedly light on the accessory front. You won’t find any of the extras included with the first Stratus – no protective cover, no carrying bag, no USB cable. Not the end of the world, especially for a less portable-focused controller.

The iPhone Clip, or Lack Thereof

Much more problematic than the lack of accessories is the lack of iPhone clip. While I’m not personally much of a fan of clipping iPhones into controllers, this is a huge use-case for MFi controller customers. Why, why, why, WHY SteelSeries would build a controller without this is beyond me. It isn’t like they repurposed an existing controller to make the Stratus XL, either. This controller was designed from the very beginning to be great for iPhones and iPads. How did this design not include a grip for iPhones? So odd.

People want to buy a wireless Bluetooth controller, and they want to be able to attach their iPhone to this controller. Mad Catz has this covered with the C.T.R.L.i and Micro C.T.R.L.i lines. MOGA’s Rebel features an integrated clip that folds up when the iPhone is removed (perhaps the one great aspect of that controller. The upcoming TteSports Contour controller will feature a similar integrated grip. It’s hard to imagine iPhone gamers would be better served by this controller, which doesn’t feature any sort of grip.

The lack of a grip isn’t a problem for iPad gamers, of course, who are more likely to prop up their iPads in a stand while playing wirelessly. Of course, the Stratus XL doesn’t come with any sort of stand like the Horipad, so SteelSeries isn’t being particularly helpful on this front either. If you want to play on your iPad, add the price of a stand to the $69 the Startus XL retails for.

Batteries

There is no built-in rechargeable battery, but the Stratus XL is powered by two AA batteries, which are included in the box. Just like with the Xbox One controller, the batteries are stored inside the back of the controller. I’ve always preferred this to the battery pack design favored by the Xbox 360 controller and the CTRLi, since it means my fingertips don’t accidentally bump into some box stuck on the rear of the pad.

If you find yourself using this controller a lot, consider grabbing Apple’s rechargeable AA battery kit. I’m a big fan of these batteries; they have a long life, they charge fast, and they’re not too absurdly priced.

Conclusion

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to love a controller as much as I wanted to love the Stratus XL. It’s beautiful – truly, strikingly beautiful. It feels wonderfully premium, far beyond what anyone could expect from a company without a history of making controllers. In looks, it puts every other MFi controller, and almost every other controller in general to shame. In feel, it’s not without nitpicks, but it’s overall a pleasant feel.

The d-pad isn’t great, but it also isn’t bad. I could live with the d-pad if the rest was perfect. But the triggers, man… those triggers. I can’t get passed them. Literally – I actively have difficultly playing certain games because the triggers accidentally activate.

And the lack of an iPhone clip… I don’t get it. The iPhone outsells the iPad by a wide margain, and gamers want to clip their iPhones into their controllers. If you want to do that, you’ll automatically ignore the Stratus XL and buy another controller, so this review already isn’t for you. I can’t even begin to calculate the number of customers SteelSeries lost by not including such a grip.

Ultimately, I’m having a bit of trouble determining who this controller is for. I know who it isn’t for, though. iPhone gamers are excluded, and would be better served by the CTRLi, with it’s solid iPhone clip. Retro gamers who demand a perfect d-pad are excluded, and would be better served by the Horipad. Price-conscious gamers are excluded, and would be better served by the Micro CTRLi, which retails for $20-$30 less than this. Gamers who rest their fingers on the triggers are excluded, and would be better served by literally anything else.

But still, I want to reiterate that the Stratus XL isn’t bad. That’s the real killer here: this is NOT a bad controller, not by a long shot. It is a beautifully, comfortable, extremely premium feeling controller – the ONLY controller that feels remotely close to an Apple level product. That’s high praise.

Every full-size MFi controller so far has one flaw or another. The CTRLi has an awful d-pad. The Micro CTRLi has a poor quality iPhone clip. The Horipad has an old-fashion and less ergonomic design. The problem is, every one of these controllers does something that makes them the best option for a certain type of gamer. That’s the biggest problem with the Stratus XL: It’s problems are real, but it doesn’t compensate for them by doing any one thing better than any other controller, to the point that someone would NEED to get this controller and no other.

One thing is for sure: I cannot wait to see the third Stratus SteelSeries makes. If it is as much improved over it’s predecessor as this controller is over the first Stratus, we’re in for a real treat.

• Buy Now

The Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i – The AfterPad Review

In the weeks since reviewing the Micro C.T.R.L.i (spoiler alert: I liked it), my opinion of it has stayed positive. Still, while it is a great controller, the Micro C.T.R.L.i does have a few aspects that might keep it from being the best option for many gamers: the size is a bit small for large hands, the analog sticks have a tighter radius, and the iPhone clip doesn’t function correctly with larger iPhones. Luckily, Mad Catz is on the scene with the larger, full-size C.T.R.L.i controller. For $10 dollars more than the a cost of $49 Micro C.T.R.L.i, you get a large, Xbox 360 style controller with full analog sticks and a solidly build iPhone grip.

While it would be easy to say “go read my Micro C.T.R.L.i review and picture a bigger controller”, the fact of the matter is, the C.T.R.L.i is different in more ways than just size. There are subtle changes in construction and design that give this controller an identity unique from it’s little brother. Some aspects of this review has been copied over from the review of the Micro C.T.R.L.i when applicable, but much has been rewritten to reflect the changes the larger C.T.R.L.i brings to the table. I hope reading the two reviews will help make the decision of which controller to get a little bit easier.

Design

If the C.T.R.L.i was released a few months ago, it’s mere existence would be enough to earn it the title of Best MFi Controller. However, as we’re now getting a wealth of controller options over the holiday season, it isn’t enough for the C.T.R.L.i to merely work correctly as a controller. It has to be comfortable, it has to be well built, and it has to be nice to look at.

Visuals

The top of the controller is clad in glossy plastic. The version currently for sale is only available in black, but alternate colors are up for presale currently, and will likely be available soon. The right handle grip features a cosmetic touch: some sort of orange-red scratch mark, apparently indicative of the Mad Catz branding. The underside of the controller is a lightly textured matte plastic, with occasional screw holes.

Visually… well, it is what it is. Mad Catz has opted for an aggressively-branded “gamer” focused look. Never mind that these are iOS controllers, and the iOS ecosystem doesn’t fit this look in any way. To Mad Catz, their “brand” comes first. If you have a ton of other Mad Catz products, then hey, this one will fit right in. If you’re an average iOS gamer looking for an iOS accessory, this one is going to stick out like a sore thumb. It’s not an objectively ugly controller. It’s just… not a very Apple-ish one.

The underside of the controller features an external battery compartment right out of the Xbox 360 controller design style. The back features a rather large thumb screw which can be removed and re-attached along with the optional iPhone grip.

Feel

The good news is, while the visuals may be a bit overstated, the feel of the C.T.R.L.i is first-rate. Glossy plastic can feel cheap when done poorly, but THIS glossy plastic feels high quality. Fingerprint magnet or not. The matte plastic on the rear of the controller better still. It’s a world of difference between this matte plastic and the style used by the MOGA and Logitech controllers – this plastic just screams quality. The C.T.R.L.i is obviously influenced strongly by the 360 controller, but the materials used here feel a step above even Microsoft’s last-generation product. The screw holes on the bottom of the controller are present, but aren’t noticeable during gameplay. While the controller looks like it is covered in noticeable seams, you won’t feel these seems on your skin during play. You might feel the extruding battery pack against your fingertips if you have larger hands, but it’s no worse than using a wireless 360 controller. This may not be the the seamless, screwless beauty of the Xbox One’s controller, but it still feels nice.

Size-wise, the C.T.RL.i is very much on the large side. It is a bit larger even than an Xbox 360 controller, and feels a little heavier as well. If the Micro C.T.R.L.i leans a little towards people with smaller hands, the regular C.T.R.L.i is squarely targeted those with large hands. It is a comfortable, spacious design, and Xbox gamers are going to love it. In the iOS space, only the MOGA Rebel is larger, but it’s very low weight gives it a much less sturdy feel than this Mad Catz design.

The Controller

Analog Sticks

The C.T.R.L.i is outfitted with two diagonally-staggered analog sticks. Visually, they are almost identical to those of the Xbox 360’s controller – they are coated in a relatively grippy dark gray rubberized exterior, and feature 4 protruding lumps to signify directionality in the middle of lightly concave tips. It is more grippy than the textureless analog sticks of the Rebel, a bit less grippy than the rubberized caps of the Stratus, and comparable to the similarly-designed analog stick caps of the Horipad.

The full-size C.T.R.L.i features noticeably larger and slightly tighter sticks compared with the those of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. This makes it easier to precisely control movement, at the expense of making quick movement from one side to the other a little more strenuous. While I find full-size analog sticks of the regular C.T.R.L.i more pleasant to use, there is nothing inherently wrong with those of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. Much like the design itself of this controller, the analog sticks feel very similar to those of the Xbox 360 controller, in the best way possible. They are far superior to the shrunken sticks of the pocket-sized SteelSeries Stratus controller, and a world of difference from the circle pads of the MOGA Ace Power.

To my medium-sized hands, the full-sized analog sticks of the C.T.R.L.i feel better than the shrunken sticks of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. In the most demanding situations, I found my thumbs slipping from the smaller controller’s sticks due to the lack of surface area. Using the Micro C.T.R.L.i, I had difficulty running down the path while being chased by a giant boulder in Crash Bandicoot 2, aiming guns accurately for headshots in Call of Duty, and correctly entering stick movement patterns in Jet Set Radio. With the full-sized C.T.R.L.i, these were all easier to accomplish.

ABXY Buttons

The quality and design of the face buttons is one of the most important aspects of any game controller. How far apart are the buttons? How large are they? How grippy vs smooth are their surfaces? How deep do they press down? These aren’t qualities that have a right or wrong answer; they come down almost entirely to matters of personal preference. Button size brings inherent trade-offs in gameplay – it is easier to hit larger and wider spaced buttons without inadvertently touching any other buttons, but at the same smaller buttons are easier to combine-press to create combos.

Size-wise, the face buttons on the C.T.R.L.i are almost identical to what you’d find on an Xbox or PlayStation controller. These are large, luxuriously spaced buttons, without a hint of the “mobile gaming” feel you get with some of the other controllers. The C.T.R.L.i has the largest, widest spaced buttons of any MFi controller by far, with the one exception of the similarly-sized Horipad. MFi controllers have long tended to feature small, tightly spaced buttons. If you’re a fan of large buttons, the C.T.R.L.i or Horipad controllers will be your best options, as the other large MFi controllers – the MOGA Rebel and SteelSeries Stratus XL – feature significantly smaller and closer buttons than these.

Interestingly, these buttons aren’t just larger than those of the Micro C.T.R.L.i; they also feature a completely different design. They are a bit less grippy and more slippery, have flatter surfaces, and travel a bit further when pressed. In feel, they are almost like a glossy version of the PlayStation controller’s face buttons – wide, large, and flat – with a little bit of additional travel distance. Visually however, they take yet another cue from the 360 controller by featuring a transparent surface which reveals the letter markings beneath, rather than displaying the letters directly on the surface of the buttons, as the Micro C.T.R.L.i does

Ultimately, the face buttons on the C.T.R.L.i are well built, yet very large and spacious. If you’re primarily a mobile gamer, these might feel oversized to you. If you’re a console gamer, you’ll be right at home.

The d-pad

I really wish I could say the d-pad on the larger C.T.R.L.i is better than that of the smaller, but believe it or not, the opposite is true – it actually is WORSE than the already poor d-pad of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. Travel distance feels a little bit reduced, and there is an additional cheap, almost sticky feel to it as it’s pressed down. The one plus side: the Rebel, PowerShell, and Ace Power all have worse d-pads. That might warrant excusing this one, except that the Stratus XL and Horipad were just released, and both feature much better d-pads than this. And again, the little brother’s d-pad is noticeably better. It’s a big letdown on an otherwise solid controller.

I’m not sure what the problem is with MFi controller makers and d-pads. Apple mandates the circular design (although clever engineering allows for exceptions), but plenty of controllers have shipped with decent circular d-pads. Heck, my favorite PlayStation 2 controller features a circular d-pad. SteelSeries did a passable job with the d-pad on their Stratus controllers, and an even better job with the d-pad of the larger Stratus XL. The d-pad on the Razer Junglecat is solid. The d-pad on the newly released Horipad is legitimately great. Not sure why Mad Catz, MOGA, and Logitech keep dropping the ball so badly here.

The d-pad here is bad enough that retro gamers might actually consider it a deal killer and consider another controller option. Sad, because everything else about this controller is far, far better than it’s d-pad.

The Triggers and Shoulder Buttons

The rear input method style is one place that MFi controller makers are allowed a little bit of flexibility by Apple in terms of their approach. Every controller must feature a right and left shoulder bumper button, and Extended-layout controllers like the C.T.R.L.i come outfitted with an additional right and left input. This input can be in the form of two additional shoulder buttons, as in the Horipad and Stratus, or in the form of gun-style triggers, as opted for by the Moga and Mad Catz controllers.

This trigger-style design is generally better for games where precise control is required, such as racing games where the trigger pressure corresponds to acceleration rate; and for games where pulling a trigger makes sense, such as shooters. In games where the lower shoulder is “just another button”, the trigger metaphor probably makes less sense than including another bumper. Triggers probably make more sense going forwards for new games, with the growing popularity of shooters outpacing most other genres. Retro gamers may prefer controllers with L2 and R2 shoulder buttons instead, as the vast majority of games throughout history were not designed for triggers.

The C.T.R.L.i is a decidedly modern controller, and features standard-style shoulder button on the left and right side and two glossy triggers below them. Unlike the 360 controller, there is no click when they’re activated. This is because, much like the PlayStation controller, the shoulder buttons are fully pressure sensitive. Moving your pointer fingers from resting on the triggers to hitting the shoulder buttons doesn’t require any special finger gymnastics, and is quick and easy to perform under fire. Nothing particularly special to report about the shoulder buttons one way or the other – they work, they’re easy to hit, and they feel pleasant to the touch.

Beneath the shoulder buttons, we have the triggers. These are squarely in the vein of the Xbox 360 design (no PlayStation 3 nightmare here), are relatively small in size, and centered directly in the middle of their respective shoulder buttons. They require a medium amount of pressure to hit – far lower than the Rebel’s high-pressure triggers, and comparable to the Xbox 360’s triggers. They feel relatively solid, though there is a bit more wobble than on the extremely solid feeling Rebel triggers. Resting your fingers on these triggers does not cause enough pressure to inadvertently activate them – a potentially fatal flaw of the Stratus XL – and is important for games that map precise activities to light trigger pressure.

Other Buttons

Rounding out the button selection, the C.T.R.L.i features the MFi-standard Pause button, a bluetooth pair button in the top-center of the controller, and a somewhat odd spring-loaded “power switch” along the base of the controller, between the handles. The Pause button feels solid, though you probably won’t spend much time pressing it. The bluetooth pair button looks a little strange on top of the controller, but it likely takes the shape it does to conform with the design of the Android version of this controller, which uses that space to include a series of media controls. Same story for the spring loaded power switch on the bottom of the controller – that space is used to select modes on the Android version, and was probably repurposed for this iOS model.

The Software

A great controller is nothing without working drivers – just ask MOGA . Similarly, any decent controller should come with a way to update drivers to address unforeseen issues without requiring a warranty return or a hunt for a PC to install with – just ask SteelSeries. Anyways, although the C.T.R.L.i line appears to work great out of the box, Mad Catz has answers to both of these problems ready to go.

The Driver

This comes as a breath of fresh air: The drivers for the C.T.R.L.i actually appear to work as advertised. In my week or two of serious play, I didn’t encounter any noticable lag, and disconnects were exceedingly rare. This is one of those categories where the less there is to say, the better it is: the C.T.R.L.i works, and it works well. The ball is in your court, MOGA and SteelSeries.

The App

Assuming something does go wrong with the driver, perhaps due to complications with a new iOS update, Mad Catz seems to have things covered. Both the Micro C.T.R.L.i and standard C.T.R.L.i have apps available in the App Store (though each has a separate app for some reason). These apps provide a unified place to check for firmware updates, test controller compatibility, find compatible games, and check battery life – especially important as these controllers are the only MFi controllers not to feature physical battery life indicators.

In practice, the app is as poorly made as MOGA’s effort. The game list is missing many games, takes forever to load, and doesn’t indicate compatibility or price. And no, I’m not just saying that because I run a competing list which is the only way I monetize this site, shame on you for suggesting that! In all honesty though, you probably aren’t going to want to trust Mad Catz to maintain this list. None of the other controller makers have done a good job keeping up with game releases, and Mad Catz is a big company with a lot of other priorities.

Accessories

The fundamentals of the C.T.R.L.i are strong, and the controller works. But as with some other MFi controllers, Mad Catz has opted to include a few accessories. This is the place where Mad Catz dropped the ball with the Micro C.T.R.L.i; good news is, the story is a bit better with the full sized option.

The iPhone Clip

Many mobile game controllers have long been shipping with some sort of way to dock your phone into them. Mad Catz opts to solve this problem with the C.T.R.L.i by including an attachable iPhone grip. This screws securely to the back of the C.T.R.L.i, and is capable of holding any iPhone model at about a 45 degree angle to the controller.

In practice, using the C.T.R.L.i with the iPhone doesn’t quite work ideally, but does work far better than with the Micro C.T.R.L.i design. It’s clear this controller was designed long before the iPhone 6 line was revealed, as the clip itself is far too large in area to adequately hold the iPhone 6 without touching the volume buttons. Solving this problem means attaching the iPhone off-center or allowing the grip to constantly press down on the volume button – not the best of options. Still, the additional weight of the full-size C.T.R.L.i makes a big difference compared with the Micro C.T.R.L.i, as this controller can actually hold an iPhone 6 without toppling over under it’s own weight. The clip design of the MOGA Rebel is far superior to the Mad Catz offering, but again, the MOGA controller is buggy as hell on iOS 8, and weighs even less.

The clip itself feels well constructed – much better than that of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. Whereas the Micro C.T.R.L.i’s feels cheap and requires a great deal of pressure to attach to the controller (enough to break the clip according to some readers), the regular C.T.R.L.i screws on easily and pleasantly. There isn’t anything particularly negative to report about the construction of the larger C.T.R.L.i’s clip – it’s well made, and the iPhone feels secure when attached to it.

Battery

The batteries themselves are one of my biggest complaints with the C.T.R.L.i controllers. Battery life itself is fine, at about 40 hours. The problem is what happens when those batteries die. Instead of including an integrated battery, Mad Catz opted to outfit their controllers with AAA battery ports. Yes, AAA batteries, those little ones cheap TV remotes tend to require. Not the AA batteries that Apple themselves use in their mouse and keyboard designs, and sell directly from their store. No, Mad Catz again ignores the iOS ecosystem in favor of their own plan. So instead of being able to use the rechargeable AA batteries you may have already purchased from Apple, you have to find some off-brand AAA batteries, and keep them handy when you’re running low on power. It’s even worse that the larger C.T.R.L.i still uses AAA batteries, as the batteries are kept in an external compartment on the back of the pad. ANY size could have been used there, why opt for these?

Again though, Mad Catz is saved by their competitors’ dropping the ball. While rechargeable AA or built-in batteries might have been a better option, most MFi controllers with these options don’t even work correctly with iOS 8. or feature some sort of crippling flaw that takes them out of contention for most gamers. Having a working controller is always better than theoretical arguments about which battery style is best. In fact, the only really good MFi controller available right now with a rechargeable battery is the Horipad, and that controller will appeal to a VERY different demographic than the C.T.R.L.i

Conclusion

Mad Catz finds themselves in a strong position leading into the holidays. SteelSeries and MOGA may have had an early release advantage, but they dropped the ball when it came to software. New contenders like the Horipad and Stratus XL work well, but feature many design differences from the C.T.R.L.i line that might take them out of contention for a lot of gamers. The simple fact of the matter is, the Micro C.T.R.L.i and regular C.T.R.L.i are the only Xbox style iOS controllers that actually work right now.

So the question comes down to which Mad Catz controller to get. As I’ve covered in a separate review, the Micro C.T.R.L.i has some advantages over it’s full-size brother (which was covered in a separate review), but the larger C.T.R.L.i brings a lot to the table to justify it’s higher price..

For iPhone gamers looking to clip their phones into a controller, I think the full-size C.T.R.L.i is the way to go. The C.T.R.L.i is a lot heavier and larger than the Micro version, but at the same time, the clip on the Micro version is really poor quality. If you’re planning to attach your iPhone to your MFi controller, you’re going to be a lot happier with the screw-on clip of the larger C.T.R.L.i. At the same time, while the increased weight of the larger controller hampers portability a bit, it is nice to be able to set your controller+iPhone down without the whole thing toppling over under it’s own combined weight. Considering that no upcoming MFi controllers even have a clip, this will likely remain the best MFi controller for iPhone gamers for some time.

For iPad gamers, where a clip isn’t required, there are more options. The Horipad, with it’s excellent d-pad, will likely be the best choice for retro gamers. The Stratus is an extremely pocketable controller with a full layout. The upcoming Gamevice is a killer looking controller-case for the iPad. Still, I have a suspicion that most potential MFi controller customers are probably coming from using the Xbox as their primary game console, and are looking to translate that gaming experience on to the iPad. For them, the C.T.R.L.i is as good as you could hope for: a well built, reasonably priced, excellently designed controller that feels like an Xbox 360 pad. If that sounds like exactly what you’ve been looking for, you’re going to absolutely adore the C.T.R.L.i.

• Buy C.T.R.L.i

Mad Catz Micro C.T.R.L.i – The AfterPad Review

Two different controllers, two interpretations of a solid design, both at surprisingly reasonable prices. I’ll be reviewing each separately, as they have different strengths and weaknesses. But as the Micro is the most reasonably priced MFi controller yet at a cost of $49, I figured I might as well start there. So without further ado, here is the complete AfterPad controller review of the Mad Catz Micro C.T.R.L.i.

Design

If the C.T.R.L.i was released a few months ago, it’s mere existence would be enough to earn it the title of Best MFi Controller. However, as we’re now getting a wealth of controller options over the holiday season, it isn’t enough for the C.T.R.L.i to merely work correctly as a controller. It has to be comfortable, it has to be well built, and it has to be nice to look at.

Visuals

The top of the controller is clad in glossy black plastic; other color options are coming soon, but black will likely be the only choice for the next few months. The right handle grip features a cosmetic touch: some sort of orange-red scratch mark, apparently indicative of the Mad Catz branding. The underside of the controller is a lightly textured matte plastic, with occasional screw holes.

Visually… well, it is what it is. Mad Catz has opted for an aggressively-branded “gamer” focused look. Never mind that these are iOS controllers, and the iOS ecosystem doesn’t fit this look in any way. To Mad Catz, their “brand” comes first. If you have a ton of other Mad Catz products, then hey, this one will fit right in. If you’re an average iOS gamer looking for an iOS accessory, this one is going to stick out like a sore thumb. It’s not an objectively ugly controller. It’s just… not a very Apple-ish one.

Feel

The good news is, while the visuals may be a bit overstated, the feel of the Micro C.T.R.L.i is first-rate. Glossy plastic can feel cheap when done poorly, but THIS glossy plastic feels high quality. Fingerprint magnet or not. The matte plastic on the rear of the controller better still. It’s a world of difference between this matte plastic and the style used by the MOGA and Logitech controllers – this plastic just screams quality. The screw holes on the bottom of the controller are present, but aren’t noticeable during gameplay. Visually, while the controller looks like it is covered in noticeable seams, they don’t aren’t actually noticeable on your skin during play. It isn’t the seamless, screwless beauty of the Xbox One’s controller, but it still feels nice.

Size-wise, the Micro controller is small, but not cramped. This does NOT feel like a mobile controller. Spacious buttons and an intelligently designed controller layout make for a decidedly console-style play experience. On the other hand, the analog sticks have been shrunk down in size along with the controller, leading to what is perhaps my biggest complaint – these slightly smaller analog sticks just aren’t as spacious as the full sized sticks on the regular C.T.R.L.i. Still, they don’t feel bad – in fact, nothing on the Micro C.T.R.L.i does. This is the first MFi controller that actually FEELS worth it’s price.

The Controller

Analog Sticks

The Micro C.T.R.L.i is outfitted with two diagonally-staggered analog sticks. Visually, they are almost identical to those of the Xbox 360’s controller – they are coated in a relatively grippy dark gray rubberized exterior, and feature 4 protruding lumps in the middle of lightly concave tips. It is more grippy than the textureless analog sticks of the Rebel, and a bit less grippy than the rubberized caps of the Stratus.

The Micro controller features noticably smaller, shallower, and slightly looser sticks compared with the full-size C.T.R.L.i’s. This has the effect of making the sticks easier to move, at a slight expense of precision. While I find full-size analog sticks of the regular C.T.R.L.i more pleasant to use, there is nothing inherently wrong with those of the Micro C.T.R.L.i. These are well-built and precise analog sticks without the quality compromises of the Stratus controller, just at a noticeably smaller size than those of traditional console controllers. They are far superior to the shrunken sticks of the SteelSeries controller, and a world of difference from the circle pads of the MOGA Ace Power.

While full-size analog sticks can occasionally feel a bit large and unwieldy, these ones definitely verge on the small size. To my medium-sized hands, the small analog sticks of the Micro C.T.R.L.i feel a little bit smaller than I’d like. In almost every situation, these sticks were perfectly fine, but in the most demanding situations, I found my thumbs slipping due to the lack of surface area; running down the path while being chased by a giant boulder in Crash Bandicoot 2 was made extra-difficult by the small stick size, especially compared with the luxuriously-sized PlayStation analog sticks the game was designed for. Controlling the camera in Call of Duty was more twitchy and less responsive than I was used to with the large-sticked Xbox controller, due mostly to the smaller radius of these sticks’ design.

ABXY Buttons

The quality and design of the face buttons is one of the most important aspects of any game controller. Size, spacing, and texture are important aspects to consider – how far apart are the buttons? How large are they? How grippy vs smooth? How deep do they press down? These aren’t qualities that have a right or wrong answer; they come down almost entirely to matters of personal preference. Button size brings inherent trade-offs in gameplay – it is easier to hit larger and wider spaced buttons without inadvertently touching any other buttons, but at the same smaller buttons are easier to combine-press to create combos.

Size-wise, the face buttons on the Micro C.T.R.L.i are a little bit smaller and a little bit closer together than those of a traditional console controller. Interestingly enough, MFi controller buttons are generally far smaller and closer than those of traditional console controllers – in fact, only the full-size C.T.R.L.i has larger and wider spaced buttons than these, and despite being the largest MFi controller of all, the Rebel’s buttons are smaller and tighter together. Objectively, the Micro C.T.R.L.i has relatively mid-sized buttons – they don’t stray too large or too small, and should be easy enough to use for fans of both large and small buttons.

This “middle path” execution extends beyond size. The depth these buttons travel when pressed is neither deep nor shallow when compared with those of console controllers, managing to be shallower than those of the C.T.R.L.i and Stratus controllers, but deeper than those of the Rebel and the iPhone-specific controllers. The surface texture is glossy and polished; similar to the surface of the Xbox and standard C.T.R.L.i controllers, less grippy than the surface of the Stratus controller, and less smooth than the matte surfaces of the PlayStation and MOGA Rebel controllers.

Ultimately, the face buttons on the Micro C.T.R.L.i are well built, unopinionated options that should serve the needs of a lot of different gamers. Unless you feel very strongly about button size, you have nothing to worry about on this front.

The d-pad

I wish I had something good to say about the d-pad here, but I don’t. It’s terrible. Less terrible than some of the other options, sure. The Rebel, PowerShell, Ace Power, and even the full-size C.T.R.L.i all have worse d-pads. That’s fine, but this d-pad is still terrible. The size is okay, and the surface shape is nice, but the feel is stiff, imprecise, and cheap. It’s a big letdown on an otherwise solid controller.

I’m not sure what the problem is with MFi controller makers and d-pads. Apple mandates the circular design, but plenty of controllers have shipped with decent circular d-pads. Heck, my favorite PlayStation 2 controller features a circular d-pad. This CAN be done well. SteelSeries did an okay job with the d-pad on their Stratus controllers, and the d-pad on the Razer Junglecat is solid. Not sure why Mad Catz, MOGA, and Logitech keep dropping the ball so badly here.

Anyways, in my testing, the d-pad performed adequately. It’s not a fun way to play, but it works. You’ll want to use the analog sticks at every available opportunity, though; even on side-scrollers that would otherwise benefit from a solid d-pad.

The Triggers and Shoulder Buttons

The rear input method style is one place that MFi controller makers are allowed a little bit of flexibility by Apple in terms of their approach. Every controller must feature a right and left shoulder bumper button, and Extended-layout controllers like the Micro C.T.R.L.i come outfitted with an additional right and left input. This input can be in the form of two additional shoulder buttons, as in the Horipad and Stratus, or in the form of gun-style triggers, as opted for by the Moga and Mad Catz controllers.

This trigger-style design is generally better for games where precise control is required, such as racing games where the trigger pressure corresponds to acceleration rate; and for games where pulling a trigger makes sense, such as shooters. In games where the lower shoulder is “just another button”, the trigger metaphor probably makes less sense than including another bumper. Triggers probably make more sense going forwards for new games, with the growing popularity of shooters outpacing most other genres. Retro gamers may prefer controllers with L2 and R2 shoulder buttons instead, as the vast majority of games throughout history were not designed for triggers.

But anyways, back to the Micro C.T.R.L.i specifically. What we’re dealing with here is a controller with a standard-style shoulder button on the left and right side and two glossy triggers below them. The shoulder buttons have a semi-gloss design, and with the exception of their smaller size, they feel similar to those of an Xbox 360 or PlayStation controller. Moving your pointer fingers from resting on the triggers to hitting the shoulder buttons doesn’t require any special finger gymnastics. Nothing particularly special to report here one way or the other – they work, they’re easy to hit, and they feel pleasant to the touch.

The triggers are squarely in the vein of the Xbox 360 design (no PlayStation 3 trigger nightmare here), are relatively small in size, and centered directly in the center of their respective shoulder buttons. They require a medium amount of pressure to hit – far lower than the Rebel’s high-pressure triggers, and comparable to the Xbox 360’s triggers. They feel relatively solid, though there is a bit more wobble on these triggers than on those of the full-size C.T.R.L.i, not to mention the extremely solid feeling Rebel triggers. Resting your fingers on these triggers is not enough to activate them, which is good for games that map precise activities to light trigger pressure.

Other Buttons

Rounding out the button selection, the Micro C.T.R.L.i features the MFi-standard Pause button, a bluetooth pair button in the top-center of the controller, and a somewhat odd spring-loaded “power switch” along the base of the controller, between the handles. The Pause button feels solid, though you probably won’t spend much time pressing it. The bluetooth pair button looks a little strange on top of the controller, but it likely takes the shape it does to conform with the design of the Android version of this controller, which uses that space to include a series of media controls. Same story for the spring loaded power switch on the bottom of the controller – that space is used to select modes on the Android version, and was probably repurposed for this iOS model.

The Software

A great controller is nothing without working drivers – just ask MOGA. Similarly, any decent controller should come with a way to update drivers to address unforeseen issues without requiring a warranty return or a hunt for a PC to install with – just ask SteelSeries. Anyways, although the C.T.R.L.i line appears to work great out of the box, Mad Catz has answers to both of these problems ready to go.

The Driver

This comes as a breath of fresh air: The drivers for the Micro C.T.R.L.i actually appear to work as advertised. In my week or two of serious play, I didn’t encounter any noticable lag, and disconnects were exceedingly rare. This is one of those categories where the less there is to say, the better it is: the Micro C.T.R.L.i works, and it works well. The ball is in your court, MOGA and SteelSeries.

The App

Assuming something does go wrong with the driver, perhaps due to complications with a new iOS update, Mad Catz seems to have things covered. Both the Micro C.T.R.L.i and standard C.T.R.L.i have apps available in the App Store (though each has a separate app for some reason). These apps provide a unified place to check for firmware updates, test controller compatibility, find compatible games, and check battery life – especially important as these controllers are the only MFi controllers not to feature physical battery life indicators.

In practice, the app is as poorly made as MOGA’s effort. The game list is missing a lot of games, takes forever to load, and doesn’t indicate compatibility or price. And no, I’m not just saying that because I run a competing list which is the only way I monetize this site, shame on you for suggesting that! In all honesty though, you probably aren’t going to want to trust Mad Catz to maintain this list. None of the other controller makers have done a decent job keeping up with game releases, and Mad Catz is a big company with a lot of other priorities.

Accessories

The fundamentals of the Micro C.T.R.L.i are strong, and the controller works. But as with some other MFi controllers, Mad Catz has opted to include a few accessories. And sadly, it is in these non-critical aspects that the Micro C.T.R.L.i is a bit of a letdown.

The iPhone Clip

Many mobile game controllers have long been shipping with some sort of way to dock your phone into them. Mad Catz opts to solve this problem with the Micro C.T.R.L.i by including an attachable iPhone grip. This clip is shoved on to the back of the Micro C.T.R.L.i, and is capable of securing any iPhone model at about a 45 degree angle to the controller.

In practice, using the Micro C.T.R.L.i with the iPhone in this manner is perhaps the biggest disappointment. It’s clear this controller was designed long before the iPhone 6 line was revealed, as the weight balance feels unstable and unpleasant with an iPhone 6 connected. The clip itself is far too large in area to adequately hold the iPhone 6 without touching the volume buttons. This means you have to choose between inserting your iPhone upside down, attaching the iPhone off-center, or allowing the grip to constantly press down on the volume button. None are pretty options.

The clip design of the MOGA Rebel is far superior to the Mad Catz offering, but again, the MOGA controller is buggy as hell on iOS 8.

The clip itself feels somewhat poorly constructed, with the rubberized back loosely glued to the plastic base. The part of the clip that attaches to the iPhone feels relatively cheap, and requires a great deal of pressure to attach to the controller. I have already seen reports from readers of this clip breaking, and the controller has only been out for a few weeks. This design is far inferior to the screw-on clip of the full size C.T.R.L.i, and iPhone gamers would be wise to consider the larger option.

Battery

Battery life with the Micro C.T.R.L.i is decent, with the controller rated at 40 hours. After a week of heavy use, I’ve had to change the batteries once. When inactive, the controller automatically disconnects and sleeps. Turning it on again will reconnect it without significant delay.

The batteries themselves are actually one of my biggest complaints with the C.T.R.L.i controllers. Instead of including an integrated battery, Mad Catz opted to outfit their controllers with AAA battery ports. Yes, AAA batteries, those little ones cheap TV remotes tend to require. Not the AA batteries that Apple themselves use in their mouse and keyboard designs, and sell directly from their store. No, Mad Catz again ignores the iOS ecosystem in favor of their own plan. So instead of being able to use the rechargeable AA batteries you may have already purchased from Apple, you have to find some off-brand AAA batteries, and keep them handy when you’re running low on power.

Again though, Mad Catz is saved by their competitors’ dropping the ball. While rechargeable AA or built-in batteries might have been a better option, the MFi controllers with these options don’t even work correctly with iOS 8. Having a working controller is always better than theoretical arguments about which battery style is best.

Conclusion

Mad Catz finds themselves in a strong position leading into the holidays. SteelSeries and MOGA may have had an early release advantage, but they dropped the ball when it came to software. The simple fact of the matter is, no bluetooth MFi controllers except the Micro C.T.R.L.i and regular C.T.R.L.i actually work right now. The SteelSeries Stratus and MOGA Rebel are fundamentally broken on iOS 8.

So the question comes down to which Mad Catz controller to get. The full size C.T.R.L.i has some definite advantages over it’s Micro brother (to be covered in a separate review), but the Micro controller has strengths of it’s own, beyond the $10 lower price.

For iPhone gamers, it’s a tough call. The full-size C.T.R.L.i is a lot heavier and bulkier, but at the same time, the clip on the Micro version is really poor quality. If you’re planning to attach your iPhone to your MFi controller, you’re going to be a lot happier with the screw-on clip of the larger C.T.R.L.i. At the same time, while the increased weight of the larger controller hampers portability a bit, it is nice to be able to set your controller+iPhone down without the whole thing toppling over under it’s own combined weight. Unless you really need the small size, or really demand a light weight experience, or REALLY need to save $10, I suggest iPhone gamers might be better served by the larger model.

For iPad gamers in the market for a small-size MFi controller, this is a very easy decision: the Micro C.T.R.L.i is a no-brainer. The d-pad is the only objectively poor aspect of this controller, and it isn’t like the competition is beating Mad Catz on this front. The size is a little on the small size, but for gamers who consider the Xbox 360’s controller to be unnecessarily large or heavy, this Micro C.T.R.L.i is a strong, strong recommendation.

Buy Now

• Buy Micro C.T.R.L.i
• Buy C.T.R.L.i

Review: Mikey Boots

Mikey Boots, the long-awaited followup to speed run platformers Mikey Shorts and Mikey Hooks, is available on the App Store. And, while developer Beavertap Games has made something different than the previous games in some key ways, Mikey Boots has somehow managed to take a relatively straightforward gameplay mechanic and turn it into an exceptional experience.

Mikey Boots takes a beautifully simple design and executes it perfectly, without ever losing focus on what makes the game fun. The titular Mikey (or a new female companion) have to traverse a series of levels covered in dangerous obstacles and swarming with enemies, and they have to do it using only jet-propulsion boots. These boots launch the character up and either to the right or left. That’s the only movement the player controls: move up-left, move up-right, or release to allow the character to fall. This is a rather limited move set compared to the more straightforward platforming of the previous Mikey games, but that limitation is the key to Mikey Boots’ challenge.

The levels are loaded with things that will kill you – enemies patrolling the ground, spikes lining walls and ceilings, bullets that fly across the screen towards you. Successfully dodging these obstacles and making it to the goal in one piece is an immensely satisfying experience. More ambitious players can try to complete a series of additional goals to truly master a level: collecting all of the coins scattered throughout the level, beating the level within a certain time limit, and finding the secret room containing a pair of golden shorts. Successfully obtaining every goal in every level is going to keep even the best gamer busy for quite some time.

Mikey Boots enters a different App Store ecosystem than it’s predecessors. Flappy Bird showed a world of developers that gamers aren’t afraid of a simple, fun, challenging game. In the weeks that followed, thousands of indie developers released their own games inspired by Flappy Bird. Mike Meade, half of Mikey series developer Beavertap Games, frequently joked about making a “Mikey Flaps” game. I’m not sure when Mikey Boots entered development, but its clear that Flappy Bird left it’s mark in one key aspect: the level of challenge.

Lets get one thing clear: Mikey Boots is not an easy game. This is especially true in contrast with the previous Mikey games, which tended to be far too easy (I tended to create my own challenge in the other games by trying to attempt all of the level goals at one time). In Mikey Boots, by the later levels, you’ll just be struggling to survive. With that said, the difficulty curve here is fair, with more than enough time to acclimate in the early levels before the challenge is ramped up.

One more thing. When talking about difficult games, it’s important to clarify exactly WHY the game is difficult. To put it simply, Mikey Boots is the best kind of difficult. The challenge always feels beatable. Failure never feels frustrating, or cheap, or beyond your control. It always feels like if you’d just timed your move a LITTLE BIT better, you’d have made it. And unlike Flappy Bird style games, the levels in Mikey Boots always have an end. So it isn’t just playing the same thing for a high score – you always have a clear goal in front of you, and there is a great deal of satisfaction in actually reaching that goal after failing repeatedly. Personally, I think this makes for a much more rewarding experience than the high-score-chasing of Flappy Bird.

Graphically, there isn’t much to say about Mikey Boots. The graphics were never really the strong suit of the Mikey games, with backgrounds that often feel inconsistent with foregrounds. But that doesn’t really matter much – the graphics get the job done. Far more important to a speed run game like this is the framerate, which is absolutely rock solid at 60fps. The sound design is solid, with memorable level-dependent chiptune music and minimal sound effects. It feels retro without feeling dated. Most importantly, it never gets wearying, even after the 30th time in a row attempting the same level.

While the controls are quite simple, Mikey Boots’ support for MFi controllers is particularly excellent. Movement can be handled any way you want – use the d-pad, analog stick, or shoulder buttons to send your character right or left; the choice is yours. This control scheme has the special benefit of playing to the strengths of every available controller – the PowerShell has a terrible d-pad but great shoulder buttons, the Stratus has terrible shoulder buttons but solid d-pad and analog sticks, the Moga has solid triggers and shoulder buttons but bad analog nubs and d-pads. Mikey Boots’ control flexibility allows you to get a truly great play experience with every single controller, which is something very few MFi compatible games can claim.

Rounding out the list of features, Mikey Boots also includes the series’ trademark smorgasbord of unlockables. The coins you collect aren’t just ornamental – you can use them to buy a variety of skins, clothes, haircuts, and boots for your characters. In addition to letting you customize your character, these accessories often make reference to other indie games or include inside jokes, which is something I always love to see.

Ultimately, Mikey Boots combines the Mikey series’ trademark speedrun gameplay with Flappy Bird’s willingness to challenge the player. Over the past week, three classic games were released with MFi controller support: Bioshock, Ridge Racer, and Back to Bed. I haven’t played all that much of any of them because of how difficult it’s been to STOP playing Mikey Boots. That’s the best recommendation I can give. Download this immediately.

• Download: Mikey Boots

Quick Review: ‘Prime World: Defenders’

Tower defense fans, start your downloads: the excellent Prime World: Defenders has been updated for full MFi controller support!

Prime World: Defenders combines tried-and-true tower defense mechanics with an engrossing storyline and top-notch visuals and production values. Controllers are fully supported, both in-game and for menu control.

Of the tower defense genre, there are two main types: maze-based and path-based. Maze based games allow you to construct towers anywhere you want to, allowing you to determine the paths your enemies will take on their way to your base by constructing a maze of defensive towers. Path based games have a preset path that enemies will follow, and task you with constructing towers along that path. Prime World Defenders is a path-based game. However, while path-based TD games have a tendency to get old over time due to a lack of variety, Prime World Defenders counters this through the use of randomly generated missions.

One of the more interesting and unique aspects of Prime World: Defenders is the way in which you collect new towers. These towers are presented as cards that you earn for completing various tasks. You decide which towers you’d like to be able to build by building a deck of these available cards. This, coupled with an upgrade tree for more general abilities, allows for a great deal of flexibility in how the game is played.

It’s difficult NOT to recommend Prime World Defenders for fans of the tower defense genre. Graphics, presentation, polish… everything is absolutely first rate. Controller support is implemented excellently. It’s free to download, with the option to purchase in-game currency.

• Download: Prime World Defenders

Review: Transworld Endless Skater

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater meets Temple Run

Transworld Endless Skater, a recently released skateboarding game for iOS, takes on a difficult task of merging the twitch-reaction lane changing gameplay of Temple Run with the combo-based extreme sports gameplay pioneered by the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. After spending some time playing this game, I’m happy to say it executes that mash-up splendidly.

Transworld Endless Skater tasks you with transversing a series of levels which are presented in a straight path, with a variety of lanes. Your goal is to trick, jump, and grind your way across various obstacles and jumps, while at the same time changing lanes to avoid hazards and find the best trick spots. i

Controller support is mixed. Extended controllers are fully supported both in-game and in the menu, but Standard layout controllers like the PowerShell and the Junglecat don’t work properly. Changing lanes requires tapping the left and right bottom trigger buttons, which Standard layout controllers don’t have. Hopefully this will be fixed shortly, because aside from this one complication, there doesn’t seem to be any issue playing with the Standard layout controller.

Other than that, controls are mapped very similarly to the old Tony Hawk games – A to jump, B to grab, X to trick, Y to grind. It’s a welcome familiarity, considering just how much time I put into the old THPS series on the Playstation! This is one of those games that plays so, so much better with a controller than it does with a touch-screen.

Transworld Endles Skater does a great job bridging the extreme skateboarding genre with the lane-based reaction genre. Fans of either would be wise to give it a shot. It’s free to download, with a “Gamer” in-app purchase to remove ads and increase cash drops.

Update

Good news: according to the developer’s comments at the end of this review, an update has already been submitted to enable full control with Standard layout controllers!

• Download: Transworld Endless Skater

Review: Manuganu 2

Manuganu 2, a twitch-reaction auto runner platformer, was just released with full MFi controller support.

In this game, you play as the titular Manuganu on a quest to rescue your kidnapped best friend on a journey through 40 levels.

Manuganu 2 nails the basics of the auto-runner genre. The traditional “three-star” mechanic is here, with each level offering stars for picking up a certain number of the small collectables, picking up three big coins, and reaching the goal under a certain time. Trying to hit all of those at once brings a very welcome extra challenge for the hardcore gamer – that’s how I always try to play these things, and this game plays very well from that perspective.

In addition to getting the basic design right, Manuganu 2 introduces a mechanic that you don’t see much of in this style of game: the ability to stop. Your character still runs by default, but a quick press of the stop button allows you to stand still, causing certain traps and obstacles to miss you. Stand still too long though, and you’ll miss the time bonus. It’s an interesting game mechanic, and a welcome addition.

Swimming, flying, and the occasional boss fight round out the basics with a welcome variety, making for a more in-depth experience than usual for a mobile game.

Manuganu 2 enters a relatively crowded genre – there are no shortage of excellent auto-runner platforms on iOS, many of which have controller support. What Manuganu brings to the table is a high degree of polish, solid level design, and addicting gameplay. This is the type of game that you’ll keep pressing “next level” without thinking about it, until you find that you’ve spend the past hour playing – it has that addicting element that is so critical in mobile gaming.

Ultimately, unless you’re completely burned out on the endless / auto runner genre, Manuganu 2 is a solid recommendation. It’s a polished, fun game with great controller support at a fair price; you can’t ask for much more than that.

• Download: Manuganu 2
• Download: Manuganu 2 Lite

Review: 2-Bit Cowboy

Classic platforming in an unapologetically monochrome world

2-Bit Cowboy enters an age in which mobile devices are capable of incredible feats of graphical prowess. An age in which the iPhones we carry in our pockets rival the best computers from a decade ago. And, equally importantly, an age in which the difficulty of modern games has been reduced to the point where even the most casual of gamers can beat the latest AAA blockbuster without breaking a sweat.

2-Bit Cowboy doesn’t care about any of this. 2-Bit Cowboy is a classical platformer of a bygone era. 2-Bit Cowboy will kill you for a mistimed jump. 2-Bit Cowboy will punish you with a hail of bullets for failing to approach an enemy at the right angle. And, oh yes, 2-Bit Cowboy is completely monochrome, with graphics assembled entirely from green-tinted shades of black, white, and gray.

And for anyone with a soft spot in their heart for what platforming games used to be, 2-Bit Cowboy is exactly what the doctor ordered. It is a chance to travel back in time to be a cowboy with a gun in the Wild West, and to be a kid with a Game Boy in the 1990s.

2-Bit Cowboy is refreshingly straightforward in its presentation. Your town has been overrun with a gang of criminals. You play a cowboy (or cowgirl) attempting to rid the town of these gang members and return the things they’ve stolen. After this story is presented via a short cutscene, it’s on to the game.

Gameplay itself has a great feel to it. While reminiscent of classic action-platformers from the Game Boy era, 2-Bit Cowboy doesn’t specifically copy any of them, instead featuring its own mix of jumping and gunplay. Perhaps most interestingly, 2-Bit Cowboy features a wall slide mechanic. Pressing and holding against a wall allows you to slowly grind down the side of it, with the ability to jump or shoot in the opposite direction at any time. It’s a welcome addition to the genre, and one I can’t recall seeing in any actual platforming games from the era. It’s not all platforming, however; 2-Bit Cowboy focuses just as much on gunplay.

While this game can be played as a straight platformer, rushing through each level and dodging enemies on your way to the finish line, that doesn’t really provide the best experience. Each level in 2-Bit Cowboy contains an assortment of side quests: kill 5 bandits, collect 50 coins, rescue 7 sheep, and so on. While these quests are straightforward in design, they often require extremely precise shooting from precarious positions to succeed, as well as exploring additional side paths. Finishing every level with every objective complete, and unlocking the associated Game Center achievements, is exactly the challenge fans of retro platformers will love.

All of this would feel tiring in poorly designed levels, but that’s not something to worry about here: the levels in 2-Bit Cowboy are clever, spacious, and challenging, with alternate routes and secret paths. Some areas are only reachable through riding on horseback, cow-back, or on top of a mine cart (an almost obligatory vehicle for platformers of the era).

Graphics are tricky to get right in a game like this. Too retro, and a lot of modern niceties are sacrificed. Not retro enough, and the intended atmosphere is lost. I’m happy to say that 2-Bit Cowboy absolutely nails this balance.

2-Bit Cowboy completely evokes the feeling of the GameBoy-era platformer without entirely limiting itself to its shortcomings. To be clear, this game would not be possible on a true 8-Bit system. Multi-layered parallax background, variable pixel size, massive smooth-scrolling levels – these things were simply not possible in the games 2-Bit Cowboy recollects. And none of that matters, because the FEELING of those games is completely preserved here. The graphics here are reminiscent of the classic platformers of old in all the best ways, and updated in ways that feel completely natural.

Unfortunately, the sound design doesn’t quite match the perfection of the visuals. The actual sound effects themselves aren’t bad; the music is the biggest issue here. The entire soundtrack consists of one short western theme song, looping continuously. And aesthetically, the soundtrack feels too rich for the visuals. It feels more like something you’d hear from the DS than from the Game Boy.

All available MFi controllers are supported in-game. I was one of the beta testers for controller support, and it has come a long way since the first beta. Controller support still isn’t perfect, however. Very occasionally, the d-pad will stop responding in mid-air. You can fix this by quickly releasing the d-pad, then pressing it again. Additionally, shooting your gun can occasionally feel ‘sticky’. The game delays your shots, and this delay feels awkward when firing rapidly with a controller – sometimes a second bullet will automatically fire a few milliseconds after you’ve released the shoot button, and sometimes it won’t fire until you press again. Luckily, these issues occur rarely, and should by no means be considered deal-breakers. Furthermore, these issues never occur with the touch controls, which are excellent.

At the end of the day, 2-Bit Cowboy manages to shine as a love letter to the classic action-platforming games of the past. That would fine enough on it’s own. But beyond being a simple nostalgia trip, 2-Bit Cowboy succeeds as a solid, fun, challenging action-platforming game in it’s own right – even if you’ve never seen a Game Boy.

And if you do have a soft spot in your heart for the classic Game Boy, give 2-Bit Cowboy an immediate download. It brings back memories of the best parts of the era. At the very least, give the free version a shot. And if you like it, grab the full one – it’s worth the small asking price.

Update:

A free, ad-supported version of 2-Bit Cowboy is now available, and the review has been modified to reflect that

• Download: 2-Bit Cowboy
• Download: 2-Bit Cowboy Free

Review: Zombie Gunship Arcade

Flappy Gunship Zombie Shooting

Zombie Gunship Arcade – previously announced as an April Fools joke, then subsequently revealed to be a real game – is now available for all your side-scrolling zombie shooting needs!

Gameplay in Zombie Gunship Arcade is fairly straightforward. This game is part of the wave of Flappy-Bird-Inspired arcade games. That means difficult, reflex-based timing with one-button gameplay. For Zombie Gunship Arcade, that means tapping the button to fire your guns and elevate your ship, mowing down waves of zombies beneath you, and attempting to avoid shooting the innocent humans below.

While this gameplay seems superficially easy at first, you’ll quickly realize how false that is. Firing your gun to elevate your ship high enough, while at the same time not hitting the human characters below, requires timing and precision just as delicate as avoiding walls in Flappy Bird.

As a Flappy Bird style reflex-based arcade game, you pretty much know what you’re getting with Zombie Gunship Arcade. The use of humans on the ground instead of walls in the air provides some welcome variety to the genre, but if you’ve long ago burned out on everything Flappy, it’s unlikely this game will change your mind. However, Zombie Gunship Arcade is polished, fun, and free to download. If it seems entertaining to you, there’s nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Editor’s Note:

Zombie Gunship Arcade also has the distinction of being the 300th game with MFi controller support! Perhaps it’s fitting that a Flappy-Bird-style game should get that honor…

• Download: Zombie Gunship Arcade

Review: Unpossible

A twisted classic

In recent years, a new style of game has emerged and found a home on iOS. These games are defined by a clean aesthetic, straightforward objectives, and gameplay that is both simple to understand and rewardingly difficult. Modern classics like Super Hexagon, Impossible Road, Canabalt – even the infamous Flappy Bird – all represent this growing wave of simple games that aren’t afraid to be difficult.

These games buck the trend towards ultra-casual. They test your reflexes and your skill by presenting a high level of difficulty. They are accessible to the casual gamer, but they do not pander. They are straightforward in design, but unapologetically challenging. Unpossible builds on this style, but with an identity completely it’s own.

Unpossible is beautifully simple in it’s conception. You constantly move forward on a twisting tube covered in obstacles. Your job is to rotate around the tube to dodge those obstacles. The objective is straightforward enough, but as with most games of this style, Unpossible’s success depends on how well it executes on its design. Luckily, that execution is about as perfect as you can imagine.

The first time you play the easiest difficulty, you will die. Quickly. The next several times you play, you’ll die again within seconds. But that will be okay. The deaths will always feel avoidable, never cheap. You’ll reach for the continue button without thinking about it, eager to make it further, to make it through the obstacle that slipped you up. You’ll get better, slowly, over the course of many playthroughs. You’ll feel that adrenaline rush each time you make it past your previous high score, and hit that continue button as fast as possible when you inevitably crash again.

Unpossible has “it” – that elusive quality of design that makes you want to hit that continue button, over and over again, until you realize you’ve spent the past hour playing such a seemingly simple game, without a hint of boredom or frustration. That feeling is worth everything – it makes the difference between games that are classics and games that are forgettable. Unpossible has it in spades; this is a tough game to put down.

The levels are divided into 3 difficulty modes – Simplicity, Futile, and Ultra. Simplicity starts unlocked, with the more challenging difficulties made available after you survive 60 seconds in each of the easier difficulties. Rounding out the traditional levels are special “daily” levels. These have layouts that change every day, and feature independent leaderboards to compete on.

The leaderboards make Unpossible even better. Unpossible is completely a test of skill – every obstacle is avoidable if your reflexes are quick enough. Nothing prevents you from surviving forever. You won’t survive forever, but you might just survive longer than the rest of the people playing any given level. Once you get the hang of the controls, competing for that goal adds an extra dimension to the game.

Controller support in Unpossible is implemented quite well, though the sheer difficulty of the game really drives home some of the limitations of the current crop of MFi controllers. The lack of analog sticks on the PowerShell makes the type of fine-grain control necessary for the difficult levels somewhat challenging to pull off. The relative looseness of the analog nubs on the Moga Ace Power is more apparent in Unpossible than anywhere else. The SteelSeries Stratus works the best of the available controllers – its surprisingly solid analog sticks do a great job at registering even the finest grain movement.

Unpossible also permits the use of on-screen movement controls and tilt control. The on-screen buttons won’t be much good beyond the easiest difficulty, but the tilt controls are quite excellent, and give the MFi controllers a run for their money.

In terms of monetization, Unpossible is fairly straightforward. You pay two dollars, you get the game. There are no timers, ads, in-app purchases. You can’t buy your way out of Unpossible’s inherent challenge – everyone is in the same boat.

Thoughts From Other Reviewers

A couple of the owners of other iOS gaming sites and I decided to try something a little different with this review: rather than duplicating our efforts completely in writing three separate-yet-similar reviews, we’ve opted to share some resources between our reviews and cross-link each other.

Mfigamer Says:

Unpossible is played with easy to learn controls with options for touch, tilt and external MFi game controllers. Each control scheme is designed so the controls get out of your way. You’ll feel at one with the game allowing you to focus on your reactions and dodging skills.

Read More on MFi4gamerz

The video was provided by Mfigamer at mfi4.gamerz.com, a forum dedicated to news and reviews related to MFi controller compatible games and hardware. He does great work chronicling the iOS gaming scene, and it was fun collaborating and discussing this this game together.

Conclusion

Unpossible’s asking price is more than fair for the quality of the game you get. For anyone who is a fan of this sort of beautifully simple, challenging, and addicting game that iOS seems to excel so well at, don’t think twice about giving this one a download.

• Download: Unpossible