Review: MOGA Pro Power and MOGA Hero Power

Best Android gamepad but questionable charging concept

I’ve been a fan of the MOGA game controller concept since it was first released about a year ago for the Android phones. The XBOX-like controller turns your phone into a fully functional game console with it’s built in retractable grip that holds your phone at a comfortable viewing angle for portable play.

 

I’ve reviewed  the first generation controller (MOGA Pocket) in the past and it’s quite effective and well thought out. As most of us know, playing games on your smartphone, especially graphic intensive games are a huge strain on battery life and having a phone without any power left in this modern world is no fun at all.

MOGA tries to solve this problem with the release of the MOGA Pro Power and the Hero Power by being able to charge your phone using the controller’s power source. Is this the right solution? That’s what we are going to find out!

Design / Build Quality

When MOGA shipped me both these units, I thought they sent me two of the same by mistake because the packaging was practically identical. You have to really look closely on the box to see that the MOGA Hero Power has a 1800mAh battery while the MOGA Pro Power has a 2200mAh battery. What’s INSIDE the packages however reveal two different controllers.

Let’s start with the MOGA Hero Power – it looks a lot like the Pocket that came out last year except that it comes with a micro USB port for charging the unit and a full sized USB port to plug in and charge your smartphone. The MOGA Hero’s design resembles the Wii’s classic gamepad so anyone who’s handled a console game controller will immediately be familiar with the button layout. You get your standard digital direction buttons, standard 4 button configuration and two shoulder buttons. What’s different over the previous MOGA Pocket is that you get full-sized analog thumbsticks vs the short little nubs which makes a huge difference in gameplay. It is very well constructed with a nice solid feel even with its lightweight design.

The larger MOGA Pro Power closely resembles that of an Xbox 360 controller. The button and dual analog joystick layout is identical to the Hero Power but is a little heavier in weight due to the larger battery size. It also has a nice solid feel to it and is very durable. Both of these controllers come with a 2 mode switch: Mode A puts the MOGA into a standard button layout designed for games pre-configured for the MOGA so you don’t need to setup any button mappings for your games. Mode B puts the gamepad into a custom mode where you manual map your own buttons for your games.

Performance

Setting up both of these to my Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1 was rather easy. Download the MOGA Pivot application in the Google Play Store, turn on your bluetooth and launch the software to configure the controller to your Android device. The setup takes about 2 minutes or less and you get a free full copy of Pacman when downloading through the MOGA Pivot app. Of course, you didn’t really buy this for Pacman, which the MOGA can EASILY handle so let’s try something that would take real advantage of the MOGA Gamepads. When playing Asphalt 8: Airborne using the MOGA Hero Power, I noticed that the sensitivity and response is much improved over last years MOGA pocket making the controller a great incentive to upgrade thanks to the new full sized thumbsticks. I am would go as far as to say  that the controls are much more enjoyable to use than that of the Playstation Vita for portable gaming. Asphalt 8: Airborne was a game that I wouldn’t even bother playing with the touchscreen alone but thanks to the MOGA controller, it’s one of the best gaming experiences you will have on an Android smartphone. As for the MOGA Power Pro, it pretty much handles like the Xbox controller it resembles. Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame handled very well. Just for fun, I had my Galaxy Note 3 connected to my 46-inch LED screen while using the gamepad wirelessly and it created a near console gaming experience.

Now the added feature POWER feature of both of these devices is somewhat questionable. The concept of adding the charge feature is to give you more play time but the problem with that is that it drains the battery from the controller itself rendering it useless. My Sony Xperia Z1’s battery capacity is 3000mAh while the Galaxy Note 3 is 3200mAh. Both of these phones have monstrous sized batteries but if you were to use this on your Nexus 5 which has 2300mAh which is average for an Android phone, neither of these controllers can fully charge a dead smartphone. So when you are charging your phone with the either the Hero or the Pro, you have to be aware of the battery life on both your smartphone and your controller if you plan to do some serious gaming on the go.

Pros

• Well designed and well built
• Brings the console-like gaming experience to your Android phone
• Easy to configure with top shelf titles supporting the MOGA right out of the box
• Thoughtful inclusion of a separate tripod for tablet gaming!

Cons

• Not enough battery capacity to fully charge your smartphone

 

Thoughts? Leave a Comment

comments