I have just modded the shit out of my Skyrim installation. Better storms, flora, lighting, blood and gore, countless new weapons and armors, cloaks, all the good stuff. Now, if you're at least slightly familiar with me or my Facebook profile, then you'll know this is nothing special and I've been doing this sort of thing for years. What's different this time around is how I'm doing all this on a handheld gaming device, which is pretty much exactly the size of a 3DS XL.
 |
| The GPD Win |
And yes, you can absolutely install mods, if you've got a large enough SD card to handle all the extra content. Naturally, you wouldn't want to go for all those beefy 4K texture packs or a juicy ENB, but it does handle the Skyrim Script Extender, SkyUI and all the follower overhauls, unkillable horses and other essentials that separates the master race from the console peasants.
Amazingly, this fun little gadget also plays World of Warcraft like a boss. Behold!
It also emulates ALL THE THINGS from a PlayStation 2 to a Sega Dreamcast to Gamecube and even some Wii games like so:
It goes without saying that the GPD Win also emulates all your ancient retro crap from the 8 and 16 bit era. It's hilarious. Just a few months ago I was struggling to find a decent enough SNES emulator, which would run on my 3DS without too much stutter. It felt like a miracle when I managed to emulate the Sega CD on Nintendo's little handheld. Now I can play play the Metroid Prime trilogy on the bus. Not that I would ever ride the bus or play Metroid, but it's good to know that I have the possibility.
The built-in analog-sticks, D-Pad and face buttons do a decent job at emulating Xbox 360 controls, though the shoulder buttons are a bit crap and there are separate L3/R3 buttons on the device's tiny keyboard, as you can't actually press down on the two analog sticks. That's fine and the built-in controller still gets the job done in most games. For everything else there's a USB slot you can use for an external controller. I'm actually using my Switch Pro controller via bluetooth. When I want to go all out I also connect a bluetooth mouse and a small bluetooth keyboard, so I can play Warframe or Call of Duty on the go without having to play in controller mode. Sure, you wouldn't want to play like that when you're on the bus or in the backseat of a car. But I can take this thing on trips, bring it with me for Christmas family gatherings and I could even hook up the device to their tv screen via mini-HDMI, so I can join the rest of them for some jolly cooperation.
I get that once you go all out with bluetooth peripherals you may as well go for a proper laptop. What makes the GPD Win so fun, however, is its flexibility. You can use an extra controller, a bigger keyboard or attach the whole thing to your TV, but at the same time you can just put the device in your pocket, play on the go and use the built-in controller and keyboard. Sure, you wouldn't want to raid-heal on WoW with that kind of setup, but it's more than enough for a quick lap of Mario Kart Double Dash on the go.
Speaking of 'retro' - games like Need for Speed Underground (2) may not have aged incredibly well and may look a bit blurry and dated on a large modern OLED panel, but put that game on the GPD Win's small, sharp, crystal-clear screen and not only is it gonna look really great, but it'll run at 60 FPS with all the settings cranked up.
And there's something undeniably satisfying about having the Mass Effect Trilogy, Darksiders and Diablo 3 in your pocket. If you really want to, you could even run Dragon Age: Inquisition on a GPD Win, although 'run' might be a bit of an optimistic description.
I managed to run Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin on high settings at 30-40 FPS, the Steam version of Sonic Adventure 2 runs at a stable 60 FPS and if I'm really desperate, I can continue my PC playthrough of Divinity: Original Sin 2 on the GPD Win through the power of cloud saves. Granted, the game stutters a LOT on the portable device, but performance only matters so much in a turn-based game. Meanwhile, older CoD games, the Unreal Tournament Series or Quake up to and including Quake 4 run beautifully. The more modern you go, the more you'll have to lower your settings and/or resolution to keep things playable.
It's also a pretty amazing portable arcade machine.
When it comes to emulation and less demanding games on the go, the GPD Win is a stunning, surprisingly powerful little toy. In fact, it currently offers better value for money than a Nintendo Switch, unless you're absolutely dying to play (both :P) Switch exclusives. Of course, given unlimited funds, there is no doubt that everybody should own a Switch just to play Breath of the Wild, because the game really is that good.
However, if you're not a die-hard Mario and Zelda fan (or perfectly happy playing Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and just about every Zelda title that came before on the go), then a GPD Win may well be the better option. It costs roughly the same as a Switch (I've seen the GPD as cheap as 280 Pounds, but also as expensive as 550, depending on where you look), you get a much bigger library of games and since the GPD Win runs Steam, you get your entire Steam library on there. Meanwhile, the Switch offers you five year old indie crap at two to three times the price you'd pay on Steam.
The obvious downside, of course, is how the GPD Win is a portable computer and not a console. And that means Windows updates, potential crashes, viruses, Cortana and all the other nonsense one may have to put up with on a PC. Sure, you can disable Cortana through the registry, run your Windows defender and surf the web using an adblocker. But you'll have to set it all up first, just like on a big PC. A Switch or 3DS, on the other hand, you simply fire up and play. Sure, those have game updates and system updates now, too, but if you've ever had a gaming session interrupted by a surprise Windows update, you'll agree that consoles are still a lot more convenient in that regard.
 |
| If you're shit with computers buy a Switch is what I'm saying. |
