NVIDIA Shield Review: At the Crossroads of PC and Mobile Gaming
by Brian Klug on July 31, 2013 12:14 AM ESTI enjoyed the time I spent with NVIDIA Shield. While it isn't perfect, for NVIDIA's first consumer electronic mobile device, it's an amazingly well put together piece of kit. Build quality is so good I told Anand that I wanted to try running it over with my car. I expected NVIDIA to fumble the controller side of the handheld gaming experience, and quite honestly with Shield I have nothing to complain about. The buttons are all tactile and fluid, the analog sticks are great, and the ergonomics leave me without anything to complain about. I remember being worried about weight and balance after seeing Shield and hearing about that the 28.8 watt-hour battery inside, but the shipping device turns all of that mass into feeling like quality rather than a big burden. The one feedback point is what I already gave NVIDIA the first time seeing Shield in person – it needs a bigger 5.5-inch display and 1080p, just buy the LG Display panel used in the LG Optimus G Pro, it's phenomenal. If a smartphone can include that size display, a portable handheld gaming console of this caliber absolutely positively needs it, and that will also help viewing PC gaming content streamed over to Shield. I also strongly believe Shield needs at least a front facing camera, that can't possibly add to the BOM too much.
Is NVIDIA Shield fun to use? It absolutely positively is. Android is still however really nascent as a gaming platform, and I wish that Google had given Shield some sort of extra special status or inclusion in the Android 4.3 love with Google Play Games and Shield as the launch vehicle. Instead it feels like NVIDIA was left to carry Shield on its own here, and that's not their fault, I just wish Google would've put two and two together, maybe a Google Play edition Shield even though it's already running stock Android 4.2.1? The games on Android are fun, there just need to be more of them, and the ones that exist need to of a higher caliber to really sell me. Of course there's always the chicken and egg argument – good Android gaming hardware really wasn't available until recently with set top consoles like Ouya or Android-running HDMI dongles, or of course the handheld format that Shield is. I enjoy playing the titles there are, there's just not quite a killer title you can point to yet.
That's where the PC gaming part comes in, and thank goodness for it. NVIDIA's execution is arguably better than the beta tag implies, with minimal hitching during streaming, impressively low latency, and good support for a number of titles that they've promised will grow. NVIDIA's real strength is on the desktop, and this is the most logical way to leverage it, even if Tegra 4 really becomes something of a thin client in that model. I spent a lot of time enjoying Borderlands 2 from places in my house that are a lot more inviting than the task chair and Ikea desk I sit at all day.
The Tegra 4 part of the story is impressive. Performance on the device is incredibly smooth, I thought I had seen the smoothest possible experience with the latest and greatest quad core SoCs in smartphones, Tegra 4 in this form factor is something to behold. There are parts of some apps I never knew could go so fast. I said in the Nexus 7 review that I wished whatever happened to Tegra 4 that delayed it hadn't, so we could see it in more devices. Shield was a big part of what made me feel that way, especially after seeing and using it in the flesh.
Shield is an impressive product. It's solid, performant, and maybe Android gaming isn't really there yet, but what it does leave me wanting is for NVIDIA to make me a phone.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
134 Comments
View All Comments
darkich - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
..-there is hundreds of thousands of them.
- there are many full pc game ports already
- as far as shooters(genre with the greatest benefit of analog controls) are concerned, the iOS/Gplay library is VASTY superior, with at least ten super cheap titles that are at the same time better than ANY shooter on the DS/Vita.
Get out of that reality distorted prism and open your eyes already, please.
nikon133 - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
So... do you get heavy hitters on Shield (and in general for Android/iOS), games like:Rayman Origins
LittleBigPlanet
Mortal Combat
Metal Gear Solid HD collection
Uncharted
Dead or Alive 5
Street Fighter X Tekken
NFS: Most Wanted
Wipeout 2048
Ninja Gaiden
Jak and Daxter Collection
I have noticed some AAA titles in Android Market Place / Apple AppStore, but many of them seem to be dumbed down versions of console/PC counterparts, sometimes not much more than same name. On Vita, most above mentioned games are very close to originals from big consoles.
Yes they are much more expensive, but there really is reason for that. I do have Android tablet and iPhone, and had iPad for a while as well... but no, I failed to find many - if any - games of same overall quality you can get on PSP, let alone Vita.
darkich - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Unbelievable short sightness..The uncharted and (ridiculously overrated) fighter games ate pretty much only titles I give to you, in that list.
And you missed the Assasin's creed title, while at it.
iOS/Android?
The crazy thing is, those libraries are so superior there really cannot be a comparison even.
There are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GAMES ON MOBILE, more titles being released in a day than what comes out in a month on Vita.
Picking up individual ("casual") titles that have amazed millions of players would take ages, but alright, I'll just try to pick up some of the "highest production quality" ones.
I dare you to find Vita counterparts to.these:
- Infinity blade
- Galaxy on fire
- Max Payne
-GTA
-Deus Ex: The Fall
- Order and Chaos
- The Bard's Tale
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old.Republic
- Bastion
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
- Six Guns
- Modern Combat (4)
- N.O.V.A. (3)
- Real Racing (3)
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Sentinel III
- Shadowgun: Dead Zone
- Battle Bears
- Blitz Brigade
- Sky Gamblers(personal favorite)
- NBA 2k 13
- Chaos Rings
..
And I could go on, and on.
I hope you realize you've been beaten in your own game now.
Overall, iOS and Android game libraries are simply beyond comparison superior, offering hundred times more quantity, at a bargain price.
The reason why it seems the Nintendo and Vita have more quality is because the libraries are tiny and don't get flooded and burried up with thousands upon thousands of casual titles
darkich - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
..oh, and last and the most important..the FUTURE TRENDS.Android and iOS gaming will only grow-in fact, it is yet to enter the real revolution, with major studios tasting serious profits on the freemium model and taking mobile seriously (EA, for example, will release frostbite games on Android and iOS next year), and mobile GPU's far outperforming the PS3 console in a less than a year.
Otoh, Vita and Nintendo DS will simply fade into complete irrelevance.
nikon133 - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Uncharted and fighting games only..?I will respectfully disagree. MGS Collection, Ninja Gaiden, Jak and Daxter are all premium titles. As well as LittleBigPlanet, one of most original franchises in recent years.
I didn't compile list of best games, I just listed bunch of games I recall that were well reviewed. Beside Assassin Creed, I also missed
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
MLB 13: The Show
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Muramasa Rebirth
Velocity Ultra
Dragon's Crown
Guacamelee!
Soul Sacrifice
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Persona 4 Golden
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Doruko
FIFA 13
FIFA 14
Final Fantasy X
Gravity Rush
Madden NFL 13
...
... and I could go on and on.
True, Vita and GB are missing variety of cheap casual titles, so if one's preference in gaming is tossing birds and piggies across the screen, then it is simple choice.
But for premium, PC/console-quality titles? No. Not yet, at least. Those are still too few for Android/iOS. And of those that do exist, many are riddled with poor control schemes or poor execution in general.
darkich - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
Which games from my list have you played, and on what device?5150Joker - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 - link
NVIDIA: Thanks for the review! The check is in the mail! :DSeriously, who in their right mind would buy this oversized piece of junk?
Jumangi - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Yea and the vast majority of them are that cheap for a reason.Jumangi - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Those 2 inches matter allot to people. The form factor matters allot to people(bulky controller with flip screen and a fan going vs a sleek tablet like the new Nexus 7) The Nexus gets great battery life too. The power means nothing if it can't be used and I doubt much their will ever be and real support for the thing.Its has no future.
Someguyperson - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
I'm really torn whether to get this, or the new Nexus 7. I feel that half my time using a portable device is reading online articles and the other half playing emulators, but I might be leaning towards this guy. $300 isn't cheap enough for an impulse buy though.