Hori Mini PS4 Gamepad (Black)

So, the second to possibly last review this year, which for this one we go out with a start and get a Hori PS4 Controller done. This one has recently been out and Soon to be a maybe good seller from everywhere like Amazon. This is a decent Deal and we test how this controller can perform too, the video is below.

Comes in either Red or Black

The Box: 

This is a small, compact box with lots of detail, pictures and small print, so theres more to read but its important to be read, lets be clear there. The ease of pictures is clearly shown on the front and sides. 

The front of the box.

The sides of the box

The top of the box

When we get to the back of the box, that is where the real details and small print come to fruition, this allows you to know what the pad can and CAN'T do such as no virbration, motion sensor, no speakers or headphone jack. But that also helps make it the price it is and attractive too. The bottom is full of warranty and the small print, which is not much of a worry for most.

The back of the box.

The bottom of the box.

Unboxing. 

This is actually not as easy to get out, okay sure a knife to remove the tape is not too bad but its pulling it out of the cardboard which makes it tricky if you want to keep the cardboard intact. But once you have lifted it, it actually is nicely laid out. With the manual at the top and the Controller in the bag with cable at the bottom. You only get the manual and the gamepad, nothing else, which is easy to deal with. The manual is pretty big and dense (due to the languages), those folding ones I always have trouble with but none the less, its useful for how the touchpad works. 

The Manual

The top part of the manual.

The bottom part of the manual.

The controller really is mini, its very lightweight too, which can be a good and a bad thing, my big hands almost cover the gamepad completely so its not going to make things accurate in one away or another. The Dpad looks better as well. The cable was tied but actually looked quite long as well, thats a nice bonus for most.

The controller in the bag

How the Cables looks

The gamepad in clear view

The L and R buttons

The bottom of the controller

Testing: How it performs

Well to set it up, its a plug and play affair. In the PS4, it does NOT let you turn the console on with the controller, so be aware that might upset some but USB controllers never have that ability anyway. But it was ready to get up and go,, plugged it in on the login screen and up and running. There might be a bit of a strain on the top part of the USB cable near where the controller connects, but that isn't too much of a niggle due to the length of cable. The clicking on the analog sticks is loud but not annoying, but the grip of them is nice. 

The hands taking up most of the controller. 

Test #1: WipEout: Omega Collection. 

This initially felt smooth and I could control the craft better, using the airbrakes can be a bit trickier and tilting has always made it harder on any PAD, but i managed to only be 8 seconds off the elite pass time limit. Which since not playing from July, it was my own bad too. 

Test #2: Crash 2 (N Sane Trilogy)

This was a little bit trickier, but only on some of the levels I did misplace my timings on the buttons, Hang Eight was a decent example of this, but I was part speed running due to the Gem time limit, but there was a tiny bit less issues with the Dpad moving on its own, the ice levels that did happen a bit more. But helped me finished the first warp room in just under 1 hour (gems and Crystals), so it didn't stop any major issues.

Test #3: Steam (PC)

I did mention that there should be no issues for getting this working on PC, I was ~Right. It was picked up with no hassle in windows itself. Steam did have some issues with button mapping and the dpad not working until it was configured. 

The Gamepad into the PC.

Windows 10 Picked it up with no hassle 

Setting up the controller in Steam Big Picture Mode. I have managed to upload the controller profile.

Test #4: Cuphead

This was actually trickier to use due to the size of the controller, I was also doing the rapid tap LT motion to make stronger hits by switching weapons, that didn't help. The sticks were smaller which can make it hard to move quickly to get parrying easier, but for casual gaming, it would do nicely.

Test #5 PS3

This was requested and actually, it WORKS. Like WORKS in the XMB with no quibble, i manged to update the PS3 for it and also test BBC iPlayer, which actually Does work but there is a problem with the PS button not working. aka, you can't get to the in game XMB with the controller, this is for some a major crisis but it can work in the basic sense. 

Testing the hori on the PS3

Conclusion:

This has some potential and it performs well for smaller gamers and also retro ones alike. With USB. Almost anything can work with this, not just a PS4. Which has many uses on this one. This is aimed at smaller gamers so not everyone will benefit. 

omracer's Rating: 7/10

The Good Points:

• Nice design in terms of shape
• Works on PS4
• Works on PC
• Nice D-pad
• Responsive#
• Good Value

The Bad Points: 

• Can be a bit tiny for older and bigger gamers
• You will need to setup the controller for Steam
• Some features missing that people need to READ before buying. 

And that is is, this will be ok for the next few days and then a new review next week might be in the works between working and maybe other vlogs. See you then

omracer

Gioteck Control Pack for PS4

A Game accessory reiview, oh boy. Well lets see how this one turns out in preparation for the N.Sane Trilogy. Costing me £4.99 from Tesco and other retailers provide this for a bit more like amazon.. This is a nice bundle even though i Didn't need the headset. You can see the video for this below:

The Box. 

Now we start with the packaging, a nice Playstation colour scheme and quite nice modern designs like the wave the xmb used to show. The pictures of the products you were actually buying is shown. 

The front of the box

The sides of the box

Now we get to the back, which shows the items again as well as a fair bit of translations of what the items are. This can be a bit much for some people but this is a multi national product. It is nicely laid out to see. 

The back of the Box. 

The bottom of the box. 

Whats inside. 

So, when you open the box, a blue smaller box appears which encloses the items in zip bags. a nice touch so lets see what you get: .

• 1 x Bluetooth Dongle
• 1 x LP1 Headset
• 1 x Micro USB Cable
• 1 x Manual
• 1 x Dualshock 4 Silicone Cover
• 2 x Dualshock 4 thumbgrips

The box with the items. 

The controller. 

This cover is quite thick in its rubber and makes a nice tight fit agained the Dualshock 4. This will make playing for long periods of time nice and comforting. The thumsticks provided a bit more grip when i tried the covers on. 

The front of the cover and thumbsticks

The back of the cover and thumbsticks

The cover on the controller's front

The top of the cover on the controller

The rear of the controller 

The Headset

This was a nice design except for the a few minor setbacks like the foam earpiece and also the problem with it connecting to the PS4 using the dongle but the headset worked on my desktop as well as connected to my tablet but no sound output from that. The dongle is not reconfigured as a bluetooth dongle but a Audio device in the PS4 and Windows. 

The headset, Manual and USB Cable

The foam on the back piece

The manual

a stiff connection for the headset

Conclusion: 

Its a intresting kit and this can make some things feel better but the headset is not as good as it makes it out to be. But gioteck try to make it simple to use. The designs look good themselves but it can be tricky and uncomfortable with that headset. 

With that in mind...

omracer's Rating: 6/10

The good Points: 

• Good Value at Tesco
• Nice grip with the controller cover
• The thumbsticks look nice and strong
• Nice packaging

The Bad Points: 

• The bluetooth dongle isn't the best to set up 
• Can be stiff to plug in the supplied cable to the headset
• The headset Foam is not that comfortable and causes rubbing on the ears.

More reviews will come later in the year and also new challenges and changes will take place, but for now a nice weekend..

omracer

Playstation Vita TV (Known as Playstation TV in US/EU)

Well as many of you might of known, I've mentioned that i had wanted a PS Vita TV since it was announced in September . Its now November and they have been released in Japan, I've been checking Play-Asia and eBay and found some offers. it turns out Otaku was listing one for $149.99 + $12 postage (tracked). Which comes to around £110. But i did make an offer for everything (The console + tracked delivery) for $160 which when paid with Paypal, came to about £102.44. So that was ordered Friday evening

I worked an extra day this week due to Dickensian Night happening this Friday, and since a customer wanted to have a lesson with me and was only in Tavi on the day, so i worked, i did finish at 6:30pm or so. But i found it had arrived withing 5 days, that's quick, even quicker than chinavasion with £12 delivery from DHL (That had customs, this didn't ?). So when i arrived home, i found it, looking at me, i undid the outer packaging and you can see the box below.

The box, sealed up, with the PSVita TV logo infront of me, i was excited but i had to pace myself.

So, after the evening was sorted, everyone else went to sleep and i started to get this review underway, It was quite cold in the kitchen, but i made sure to get what i needed before i started. With a Figure 8 cable, my fake DS3 and i did get the usb cable to pair it part way through, but i was ready. You can enjoy the review below, which includes what was in the box, setting it up and looking through the PS Store, but there are bits i have missed which i will cover in this, so do read on...

The Unboxing and setup 

Well Getting the seal off was quite tricky. But the box has a nice PS feel to it, advertised what was available, the interface and of course, parental control, trademarks and safety regulations. Have a look at the unboxing pictures below:

The top of the box, with the logo and some of the bubbles

The back of the box, with detailed descriptions as well as the Reigon, HDMI trademark, Parental controls and something that looks like a date on the right hand side

The Right side of the box, with the Mode numbers, POS Bar code, URL for more info and where it was made, well china for obvious reasons :D

The bottom of the Box, which has sony's trademarks and "FOR SALE IN JAPAN ONLY". But many have been lucky to import.

The Left hand side of the box, with the pictures of the interface, mentions the ability to play PS1 and PSP games (You'll See later). Also the sony icons as well as the GUI is shown.

So with the box shown, its time to look inside. Now there isn't much to show you inside but a list of what is actually included is as follows:

• The Console itself
• A HDMI Cable, 1.8m, standard V1.4
• An AC adapter, which can support 100-240V (So maybe its not just localized for Japan perhaps ?)  and the cable to plug it in to the mains, which is a figure 8 cable, so you can buy a local cable for your country, plug it in and not worry about using adapters. I was actually running around before i left work, looking for a 240V to 110V adapter aha. 
• A manual which folds out and is double sided, it even tells you how to replace a battery in a Dualshock 3, which isn't mentioned in a PS3 manual, funny that ???. 
• A warranty card/booklet. 
• Some notices on small sticker type labels

Now this is a nice amount, when you open the Box, the console is the first thing you see, which you have to take out before you can get to the other items. So i'm going to show you whats in the box:

The left side of the Console itself

The right side of the console, with the PSVita Logo on the slot where the games are inserted

The back of the console: with a power button, slot for PSVita Memory Cards, USB 2.0 Port, HDMI port, 10/100 Ethernet port and the power jack, supporting DC 5V

The bottom of the console, with the Sony logo and some of the detailed information

The front of the console, with the Sony logo and a tiny LED

The top of the comsole, with the PS logo, in a nice silver finish.

The bottom half of the rear of the manual, it even mentions how to replace a battery on a dualshock 3. Thats impressive

The top half of the rear of the manual, More safety notices

The bottom half of the front of the manual, which shows the UI, the dualshock 3 and how to use the sticks as the either the front or reach touchscreen

The back of the Warranty booklet

The inside of the Warranty booklet

The Front of the Warranty Booklet

The Figure 8 AC cable to plug into Japanese sockets

The actual AC adapter itself, which allows for 100 - 240V and steps it down to 5V

A bog standard HDMI V1.4 cable, Looks good for a added extra and helps you get started. 

So the unboxing was quite nice, with everything to get you started if you already own a PS3. After getting everything plugged in, turned on, i started to set the console up, it was quite simple, although i did forget that O is enter and X is back, unlike the Western settings, which is X for enter, O for back. But it was easy to navigate, even getting "Trial access to Playstation Network" was a unique idea, but it technically is on PS3 but i never used it.

After you set it up, or when its normally turned on, you see this. The home screen

Once it was set up, it was like a normal vita but there was a popup on how to use the home screen, well with the d-pad and analog sticks. there was 2 parts, since there was more features then what could of been fitted on one screen. You can even make folders by pressing /\ (That i didn't mention in the video). Afterwards, i went to the settings to get the wifi setup, this is quite simple, although my router always has to fuck me over, i'm going to cut to the chase, but after a few attempts, it worked fine. Then i checked the PS store after updating to 3.00 OFW. There were some good apps as you saw, some of the standard vita apps had been ported over, Torne, Livetweet, NicoNico, Youtube and others, all free too.

The testing. 

At this point, the video ends and i continues to do some extra tests. I did decide to start playing the one game i've always wanted to play on the Vita, which is of course Ridge Racer. I inserted it in the slot, which is tricky to comprehend if you have badly bitten fingernails, i even tried using the cable ties for the hdmi, which worked the first time, but not the second time, it exposed the wire inside lol. But once i got the cartridge in, i found it needs an update, it said ver 1.02, which i hoped would of allowed it for Vita TV compatibility, but alas it was an update in April 2012. Alas it didn't make the game compatible :(

The latest update for Ridge Racer on the Vita TV. 

Afterwards, i downloaded the games i have on my JAP PSN account, which were some free ones, very interesting that the PSP demos don't work, but the full games do. So i had the chance to play some LocoRoco Midnight Carnival, i didn't play much but it felt like it should be, as well as being able to download other conent while playing, which was nice, even the PS3 doesn't let that happen for some games. The upscaled quality is not too bad (Patapon 2 cutscenes are quite bad, but the tv was at 1080i) and also it allows you to add functionality to the right stick, which might be useful for some games.

Playing LocoRoco midnight Carnival and a notification that mentions i've download a PS1 game, in this case its a demo of Devil's Dice, which i still don't understand.

The Verdict:

Well with some things covered, its time to give you my opinions. I'm sort of glad i did get the console, the concept for what i've wanted to do for a while is there, yes i've been able to do it with my CFW PS3 but the emulator for the PSP remasters isn't as good as the vita's. But since there is no UK or even Western release planned, for now at least...The console is restricted if i wanted to buy a ramdom vita game from CEX, Game et, there is a chance that i might of not bought one of the 304 compatible games that is compatible with the Vita TV, i'm surprised Ridge Racer isn't compatible . But the UI is fluent and really easy to use, even if the X and O are swapped

omracer' Rating: 7/10

Pros:

• Looks beautiful and small
• Easy To use
• Has alot of potential, as a mini console and as a Smart TV box (Well for Japan currently anyway)

Cons:

• Linked to Japan only, so you need a JAP PSN to get around
• Not compatible with many vita games, especially EU and US games, PSP and PS1 games are mostly fine. 
• 1GB of storage is basic but a 4GB card is recommended. 

Well that sums this review up. This won't be the last time i mention about the Vita TV, but for now, expect some more reviews, maybe Christmas Present ones. 

omracer :)

.