This will be my last newsletter entry before I start a big trip to Taiwan and China over the next few weeks — expect some interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits in future issues (if I can get past China’s firewall!).

🎥 Now Playing

Lenovo Legion Gaming Tablets are Crazy

The Legion Tab Gen 3 is a high-tier gaming tablet that provides a lot of versatility: use it as a tablet in and of itself, or add a variety of controllers to make it a big-screen handheld. Let's take a closer look at this option and see whether it's worth it for you. (Note: it’s currently on sale this weekend for $440, check out the Bargain Bin section below.)

Steam Controller vs 3rd Party Controllers

The Steam Controller is an absolute triumph when it comes to playing Steam games, but it's not the only controller out there. In this video I compare it to some of my favorite $50 options, the GameSir Cyclone 2 and 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless. It really comes down to how much you like trackpads, and whether you plan on staying firmly in the Steam ecosystem.

Be sure to note the pinned comment in this video; at the time of filming I didn’t realize that 8BitDo quietly updated their Ultimate 2 Wireless controller to have full Steam Input compatibility. It’s strangely not listed anywhere on their website, documentation, or firmware update log; but pressing B + Home when you power on the device will indeed let you use gyro and its extra buttons in Steam.

How To Set Up Offline Retro Achievements

Yes, it is possible to earn Retro Achievements offline, thanks to some recent app and firmware updates. In this video I show you how to set it up on Android handhelds (currently limited to RetroArch and Dolphin).

Other Russ Sightings

• Expedition: Handheld (Entry 13): Lucky #13! We talked about my irrational fear of ghost-related horror movies, Ayaneo’s new announcements, and GameMT’s strangest handheld design yet.

• PCWorld - Xbox Ally vs Steam Deck OLED: I also made an appearance on the main PCWorld channel, where Adam and I debated the merits of an Xbox Ally (on sale for $500) against the Steam Deck OLED (if it ever comes back in stock). Long story short: one bird in the hand is better than two in the bush, and the Xbox Ally is the cheapest handheld PC out right now — warts and all.

📰 Power-Up(dates)

• The Anbernic RG Rotate is arriving in customers’ hands, and it gives me no small pleasure to see how many people are loving this little guy. A handy new app might make you love it even more: SquarePod turns your handheld into a functional iPod, and it commits to the bit. It offers two interfaces: a Click Wheel classic mode with haptic feedback and Cover Flow, and an iPod Nano 6 touch mode with a paged icon home screen, photo wallpaper support, and a rebuilt Cover Flow. Beyond basic playback, features include synced .lrc lyric display, an EPUB/TXT/Markdown book reader, Voice Memos with recording, local photo and video browsing, a fitness log, notes, contacts, calendar, and the full iPod Extras suite (Sleep Timer, Stopwatch, World Clock). To try it out, head over to GitHub and sideload the APK.

• According to Retro Dodo, Lenovo has confirmed that the G02, a $73 RK3226 handheld that turned up on AliExpress last week bearing its branding, is a genuine product…sort of. The company describes it as "a regional brand licensing agreement meant for the China market only," distancing it from the official global product lineup. The awkward wrinkle: it ships pre-loaded with hundreds of copyrighted ROMs, which is standard practice for this category of Chinese-market device but a strange look for one of the world's largest PC vendors. I recently bought one for testing, so expect more coverage of this sticky situation soon.

• AYANEO have announced the KONKR Pocket Block, their first crack at the compact vertical market, going up against the likes of the TrimUI Brick and Miyoo Mini Plus. It’s set to run Android and comes in two colorways: a DMG-style grey, and purple, both with theme-matched buttons and an orange AYASpace launcher button on the front. Specs haven't been revealed yet, with AYANEO saying more details are coming "in the near future." It’s currently rumored to cost under $100.

• AYANEO also announced the AYANEO Pocket AIR Mini × Arcade Home Limited Edition, an officially licensed IGS collaboration that bundles in arcade titles including Knights of Valour, Oriental Legends, Dragon World, Demon Front, and The Killing Blade, among others. It gets a distinctive maroon-and-gold colorway to set it apart from the standard model, while the internals stay the same: Helio G90T paired with either 2GB/32GB or 3GB/64GB configurations. Pre-orders are live now directly from AYANEO, starting at $130 and $140 respectively.

• GAMEMT released a video teaser for their upcoming E5 ModX, a modular Android handheld with an interesting hook: the controller grips detach magnetically and can clip onto a phone to function as a Bluetooth gamepad, serving as both a standalone handheld and a mobile controller. They say it can even be used with the Nintendo Switch. According to the original press release, internals are a modest MTK6771 chip paired with 3GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of storage, and a 1024×768 screen. Pricing and availability haven't been announced yet, but it's one to watch if the modular concept holds up in the final hardware.

• Anbernic has pushed Android firmware v1.1.4 for the RG Vita Pro via OTA, and the main event is Google Play Store support, something the device launched without, which most people didn't notice because GammaOS Next dropped on launch day and pulled a lot of attention away from the shoddy stock build. The update also brings mysterious “system optimizations and general bug fixes”. To install, open the FOTA Update app, hit Download, then install.

• Australian electronic group The Avalanches have added an unexpected item to their merch store: a colorful, clown-controller-equipped console called the SuperFun, apparently tied to the promotion of their new album Together. The listing claims TurboGrafx-16 compatibility alongside specs like dual 32-bit RISC processors and interchangeable Game Pak cartridges, and the band is already selling their albums as separate cartridges for $10. The console is listed at ~$499 USD but shows as "sold out" despite seemingly never having been in stock, which has folks split on whether this is a real product inbound or an elaborate marketing stunt. Either way it's a very weird thing to exist, and very on-brand for The Avalanches.

❤️ Currently Grinding

Retro Game: Virtua Fighter 2

When the first Virtua Fighter game released in arcades in 1993, I thought it was a lame gimmick. In no way did those rudimentary 3D polygons compare to the gorgeous sprite work found in Street Fighter II titles, or the motion capture realism of Mortal Kombat. Things changed when Virtua Fighter 2 released in arcades the following year; it was a monumental leap in graphics from its predecessor, and the arcade version STILL looks gorgeous today. I found a VF2 cabinet at an arcade over Spring Break this year, and I was wowed all over again.

I mostly play the Saturn version because it’s the closest port to the arcade experience, and Sega Model 2 arcade emulation is still limited to PCs. I keep meaning to see if I can get the arcade version working properly on my Steam Deck, or maybe on an Android device via Winlator - comment down below if you’ve gotten it working!

Modern Game: Mouse P.I. For Hire

I picked up this game a couple weeks ago, it’s a unique FPS with 1930s black and white cartoon animation, all set in a mouse-centric society that clearly pays homage to early Disney videos. It’s brief, bloody, and fairly priced at $30. I’m only about an hour into its 8ish-hour campaign, but I’m enjoying its mindless chaos and surprisingly pretty graphics. In their review of the game, IGN complained that Mouse P.I. For Hire has too many cheese references, but that’s the kind of tongue-in-cheek charm that drew me to the game in the first place.

Album: Engine Down - To Bury Within The Sound

Most Engine Down albums are forgettable listens, in the best possible way. This Richmond VA band rose from the ashes of late 1990s post-hardcore legends Sleepytime Trio, and they were often lumped in with other DC-area bands like The Dismemberment Plan and Frodus. Engine Down’s 1999 debut album (Under the Pretense of Present Tense) is quite explosive, with a similar raw intensity to Sleepytime Trio. Their later records became more relaxed and focused, once guitarist Keeley Davis took over lead vocal duties; 2000’s To Bury Within the Sound is the first of their Davis-led albums, and my personal favorite. The songs are angular and methodical, with inventive time signatures that are still being grounded in a standard rock sound. I had an opportunity to see them open up for Minus the Bear in 2003 while visiting NYC, and it was awesome.

What makes To Bury Within the Sound stand out to me is that even after 25+ years of listening to it, the record is not really locked into my memory; each song sort of blends together, and while it imparts a distinct vibe, this album sits better in the background. It’s the kind of album I like to listen to while my mind wanders on a long walk, or when thinking through a tricky puzzle (or when writing a newsletter like this one). In addition to playing in Engine Down (who disbanded in 2005), Keeley Davis recorded albums with Denali (where his sister was lead vocalist), Sparta, and the reunited At the Drive-In.

💰 Bargain Bin

• Lenovo's Yoga Tab Plus is currently down to $499 at Lenovo.com — keyboard included — from its usual $800. That's a 12.7-inch Android tablet running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which puts it in very premium territory for the price. For context, an iPad Pro starts at $1,300 and their Magic Keyboard is another $350 on top of that, so you're looking at roughly $1,650 to match the package Lenovo is offering for less than a third of that. Plus this one can actually play a wide variety of games. Worth a look if you've been eyeing a large-screen tablet setup without the Apple tax.

• If the 12.7-inch Yoga Tab Plus is too large, Lenovo's Legion Tab Gen 3 is also on sale: $440 down from $550. Same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under the hood, but in a more compact 8.8-inch form factor aimed at gaming. It's a solid pick if you want top-end Android performance in something that can still fit in some telescopic controllers.

• The ROG Xbox Ally is down to $500 at Best Buy (from $600) as part of their big Memorial Day Sale. The specs: 7-inch 1080p 120Hz IPS display, AMD Ryzen Z2 A, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, running Windows 11 with Microsoft's “Xbox Mode”, which consolidates your Steam, Epic, and Game Pass libraries into a single console-style launcher. Three months of Xbox Game Pass Premium are also included in the box.

  • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• Anker is having a sale on Amazon for an eclectic spread of products. Check out some deals below:

  • Anker 45W Smart Display Charger, $30 (normally $40)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Anker 100W Phone Charger, $60 (normally $70)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Anker 160W Prime Charger, $106 (normally $150)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Anker Laptop Docking Station, $140 (normally $200)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

  • Anker Prime 3-in-1 Charging Station, $160 (normally $230)

    • Buy it here: Affiliate / Non-Affiliate

• Fanatical's May Madness sale is running through May 31, and Bethesda's back catalog is extremely well represented. Highlights include Skyrim Anniversary Edition down to $15, Fallout 3 GOTY for $6, and the Starfield Premium Edition at $61 if you've been waiting on that one. Older titles like Wolfenstein II and RAGE 2 are discounted up to 86% off. There's also a separate BYO Bethesda Bundle on GOG if you prefer DRM-free copies of the classics. Spending $15 or more on a single order also unlocks a bonus game or coupon.

• The entire Risk of Rain franchise is on sale on Steam right now, covering everything from the original 2013 platformer through Risk of Rain Returns (the remaster) and Risk of Rain 2 with all its DLC. If you've been on the fence about the series, Returns is 35% off and makes for an excellent entry point: it's the original game rebuilt with new survivors, overhauled multiplayer, and content pulled forward from RoR2. The sequel and its expansions are also heavily discounted. No end date was listed, but worth grabbing sooner rather than later.

• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is also 70% off on Steam right now, bringing it down to around $18 from its regular $60. It's a third-person grimdark action game where you play as an Adeptus Astartes mowing through endless Tyranid hordes. It features brutally satisfying combat, strong co-op support, and is generally one of the better-received Warhammer titles in years. A free demo is also available if you want to try before you buy.

⏪ Previously on Retro Game Corps

Awesome Handheld PC! (But Lousy Xbox): ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X Review

While I never made a specific review for the Xbox Ally (the white model on sale this weekend), I did an in-depth review for its bigger brother, the Xbox Ally X. This one has a more powerful chip, but the controls and screen experience are identical; if you’re looking for a good idea of how the Xbox Ally looks and feels, this should help.

🎬 Behind The Scenes

Last week I wrote about the Aoostar AG03 eGPU, and in testing it for my review video, I realized that my current GPU offerings weren’t strong enough to really push these new contraptions. So I ended up buying the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT during an Amazon sale earlier this week; at $630, this sale price was too good to pass up. It’s about as powerful as an NVIDIA RTX 4080, but at a fraction of the price. Using the AG03 via USB4, I was able to get a 3DMark Time Spy score of 22,043, about 4,000 points higher than my RTX 5070, but with the added benefit of working seamlessly with Linux OS options like Bazzite. That, of course, will be a future project I am sure to detail in a video at some point.

I would be remiss in closing out this week’s newsletter without mentioning that tomorrow is Memorial Day here in the US, an important holiday to honor service members who sacrificed their lives in defense of their country. Many Americans celebrate the holiday as the unofficial start of summer, and it’s strangely a big sale weekend here too, but I think it’s prudent to pause and remember those we’ve lost (no matter the country they served). This year I am honoring my friend Shannon, a fellow linguist who was killed while deployed to Syria in 2019. She was kind, witty, sharply focused, and exceptionally talented, the kind of person who lit up any room she entered. Like many others who never made it home, she is deeply missed, and her memory lives on through the people whose lives she touched.

Enjoy your weekend,
Russ