Gamestick

Gamestick is successful in delivering one of its Kickstarter promises, at least; it does fit in your pocket. It also plays games on any HDMI supporting display you can plug it into (assuming you’ve got a power supply nearby), and lets you stream media files from the internet too.

But does it do these things well?

In the Gamestick box you’ll find the Gamestick… stick, a controller and the USB leads and plug you’ll need to actually power it. Obviously carrying a bunch of cables around isn’t quite the idea you had in mind when you saw the inviting USB stick style console, but alas games consoles require electricity and the Gamestick won’t be procuring any of that through whichever HDMI you shove it into.

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So stuff those wires into your pockets or your bag, slip the Gamestick into the handy storage slot at the top of the controller and be off with you to wherever HD android-based games are needed, like the cinema if their adverts are to be trusted.

The Gamestick is a wonderful idea on paper. I didn’t donate to the Kickstarter to be honest (because I’m broke), but it was always an intriguing concept and one that I can absolutely get on board with. The Gamestick UI is somewhat similar to the Ouya’s recently updated interface, but tops it by just being more minimalistic. You’ll never find yourself baffled, wondering where to find something in the Gamestick user interface. It feels to me like Gamestick is setting out to be what the Ouya should have been although, ultimately, it succumbs to the same framerate issues and controller lag.

That is to be expected to some degree though, given these devices are pumping out HD games on smartphone hardware. And, while the occasional plummeting framerate is forgivable, what’s a far bigger shared issue is the input lag.

During my time with the little white cutie I experienced a fair number of instances where my inputs would just stop being picked up by the device altogether. Other times the game may just act them out slower or, at other moments, may even take an input and just do it forever. Generally a little bit of occasional controller lag isn’t the end of the world in videogames, but with so much of the Gamestick’s meagre (seriously there’s a VERY small selection of games here) repertoire being made up of mobile ports reliant on twitch gameplay, it becomes a real pain.

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If you don’t mind having to stop playing every now and then to give the controller the little rest it seems to need then you may be able to fully appreciate the small, varied selection of games you’ll find on the Gamestick marketplace. From parkour in Vector to punching bears in the face in Fist of Awesome and racing around in your jet ski in Riptide GP there is some fun to be had with the Gamestick’s library.

May I recommend Knightmare Tower, a game about climbing a large tower full of damsels in distress by catapulting yourself off of the heads of attacking enemies? Or the aforementioned Fist of Awesome that sees you walking in the shoes of a time travelling, bear punching lumberjack called Tim Burr?

There’s even a third person shooter called Shadowgun, but the experience is ruined by the Gamestick’s hardware being too weedy to actually run the damn thing at any acceptable framerate.

Even more disappointing than the small library is that it was about two days before I could convince it to get its act together and connect to my wireless network to download any of these games. Even at one point taking my computer monitor and sitting it next to my router. In the end it felt like a waiting game as the device miraculously just started working one day, but it’s still spotty.

The big difference in gaming between Gamestick and Ouya comes in the form of emulator support, that is to say that Gamestick doesn’t technically have any (right now). Thanks to the XMBC media centre I’ve no doubt someone will figure out a way to get emulators working on the machine but as of now there’s no official emulator support whatsoever, lending Ouya a big point in its favour.

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Knightmare Tower is about as addictive as they come, although sadly requires precision movements.

So, we’ve got poor framerates, an unreliable wireless controller and shoddy wi-fi support. We’ve started strong haven’t we, but fear not for I am about to unveil the true beauty of the Gamestick; its media applications.

I went looking through the Gamestick’s XBMC Tofu media player out of frustration, waiting for my controller to stop pausing for a few seconds before doing what I was telling it. What I discovered there completely changed my view on the device as I scrolled through software add-ons that would let me access all kinds of media, from 4 on Demand to YouTube. Even Twitch.tv has a fully functional add-on on there and will readily let you sit down on your couch and watch your favourite livestreams.

It’s not limited to video either with a host of add-ons for picture searches and listening to music. In fact it makes me wonder why the Gamestick is called the Gamestick at all when it clearly performs better as a media device than a portable console. This little baby essentially transforms your TV into a full-on HD media centre thanks to the wonders of XBMC and the Gamestick’s surprising ability to output full 1080p video.

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What you get with the Gamestick is not quite what you may have been expecting. With its small catalogue of games, laggy controller, poor performance and troublesome wi-fi you may want to give this a miss if you’re in it for the games. However, if you’re in the market for a really solid media player that lets you jump into the odd game from time to time then you’re going to want to give Gamestick a second glance.


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