LG Versa Gamepad hands-on
We've spent a week now fiddling with the LG Versa game pad module. How does the phone's first premium attachment fare? Does it amp up the gaming cred or join the ranks of ultimately forgettable peripherals? Unfortunately, we're inclined to think it falls in the latter category. Read on for full impressions.
The game pad adds enough bulk on the device to make it as thick as when it's got the QWERTY module, but with none of the screen protection. Surprisingly, then, the section with the slide out buttons is actually quite thin, and feels pretty flimsy when you've got the much-heavier Versa tilting above it. As for games, at this point it seems only three titles recognize and support it -- Pac-Man, Monopoly, and Need for Speed: Underground -- and none of those actually use the A-B-X-Y buttons. At all. In fact, in each of the previous examples, we found the keyboard to work just as well, and much more convenient for when we had to switch out of the games and send a SMS.
Of the other games available for purchase / subscription, most are pretty casual and only use the touch screen. We've heard more pad-supported titles are on their way, but no indication when or what. Don't get us wrong, the Versa is a pretty snazzy phone, but a gaming device it is definitely not, and this $30 attachment isn't gonna help that.
