Recent reviews by Takara ～ ❤

07-08-2016: I want to love this game, the same way I enjoy Street Legal and Racing Redline on disk version, but in the space of half an hour I've had 4 game crashes. First after a couple of minutes and selecting a car at Joe's, the other three have all been after a few minutes of driving around the city during daylight hours.

I'm marking this as a negative review, for now, just in the hope that we see some stability fixes in the coming days, weeks or even months. But as it stands, on an i7-5500U / 940M laptop, it's practically unplayable.

Edit 12-08-2016: Latest update has given me some much needed stability fixes, having no issues going into the city, racing, and then returning to garage. Swapped from No to Yes recommended.

I've given this as much leeway as possible and given it every possible chance and I've had the device since first release as a pre-order. I've paired it up with the Steam Controller now and come to the conclusion that this device is utterly worthless.
The Steam Link seems to get regular updates but none of them actually fix or make your experience any better than the day it was released.


Cons:
1. 100Mbit connection over LAN
2. Doesn't seem to wake to wake up from sleep mode with Steam Controller
3. Can't handle any streaming above SD quality (480p).
4. ^ No array of settings will get Steam Link looking good on your TV, if you can solve the input lag get ready to deal with steam lag, both audio and video.
5. Because Steam is forced into Big Picture Mode, if you have any disconnects or crashes for whatever reason you have to physically go to your PC, close down Big Picture Mode, end the game forcefully or click any prompt required, start up Big Picture Mode and return back to your TV.
6. Any game prompt which asks you to confirm anything, the launcher of Borderlands 2 for instance, won't respond to your controller or even the Steam Controller and you have to physically press to continue on your PC before you can retreat back to your TV/Controller experience.

Pros:
1. I'll edit this review when I learn of any.

I cannot, honestly or willingly, recommend this controller as a worthwhile product.

Below are my main gripes:
1. The controller uses AA batteries, the USB micro on the controller is data only and cannot be used to charge rechargeable batteries (you may use rechargeables if you charge them separately)
2. By default the haptic feedback on the two touchpads is horridly annoying, this can be changed but only under Big Picture Mode.
3. Changing any settings at all on the controller must be done through Big Picture Mode, this isn't a negative but it's more a pain if you want to quickly change something and aren't using Big Picture Mode. Give us a "Tool" or "Software" under the library please.
4. The battery cover / backing tray clicks horribly when trying to hold the controller, if you apply any sort of force or grip around the handle you're greeted with a tacky, clicky, noise. (Edit: These are actual rear buttons, similar to an Xbox Elite controller, personally I don't like them and they've caused more issues than they've solved for how I hold and use a typical controller)
5. There is no space within the controller to store the receiver, why? The one thing that usually gets lost or broken is receivers, even mice these days have the ability to clip the receiver to their underside so you don't lose it. And how much are you going to charge for another receiver if we do inevitably lose it?
6. The general ergonomics of the controller's handles are poor, you have to arch your thumb across to press any of the buttons and this opposite to the tried and tested methods of the Dualshock and Xbox controller. The handles slope away from your thumb, meaning you arch your thumb over to press the touchpad or buttons, where with the DS and Xbox they slope upwards and help support your hand and thumb.
7. Lack of rumble feedback of rumble motors, or any equivalent. Haptic feedback works for the touchpads and triggers but this doesn't compare to your traditional controller.


Some very slight redeeming points:
1. If you have Steam installed, using the controller in desktop mode works nicely without any configuration or fuss.
2. The controller can work without batteries if connected via USB micro to your computer, perhaps useful to those who don't stockpile AA batteries. (Why not just sell us a wired controller instead of a cheap AA battery powered controller with proprietary receiver?)
3. Makes a great throwing weapon, it's weight being heftier than that of a wired Xbox controller. (Seriously, why is this so heavy, it doesn't even have rumble motors?)

Whilst the 'game' itself does have some bad points to it, namely not being very 'noob' friendly, it's a great little buy and gives the player a bit more of a depth of where to find components on your own car/engine.
For its £2 sale price, it's absolutely worth it, as you'll easily spend 10 hours into this game just playing through the main game!

Just remember, having a bit of knowledge of where to find components in a real car is a big help! Not knowing what the clutch is, or where it's located, besides being a pedal next to the accelerator and brake for instance. :D