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It is not everyday that we are presented with something to review that could change the way you interact with an iPad. ThinkGeek’s iCade started as an April Fool’s joke in 2010, and thanks to ION has become an actual retail product. The iCade is a mini arcade cabinet with a physical joystick, and multiple buttons that we unboxed a couple weeks back. The iPad accessory provides the physical controls and cabinet, and you supply the screen which is the iPad. The cabinet is perfectly sized for the iPad to fit snuggly inside, and there’s a little plastic stand inside for your iPad to sit. The iCade connects to the iPad via Bluetooth so there are no cables to deal with, and start-up and shut down is effortless.

The iCade ships with assembly required which means you need to screw all the pieces together. The control panel features a full sized joystick along with eight buttons across two rows. Once assembled you simply place the iPad inside the cabinet, and turn on Bluetooth on your iPad. Then you hold the bottom buttons to initialize, and enter the connection code with each number corresponding to a different button. That’s all you have to do to get your iCade and iPad synced, and then it’s time to install some games. You only have to do initial Bluetooth syncing once, as your iPad remembers the iCade after that, and you only need to turn on Bluetooth to start playing. As soon as you turn off Bluetooth, the iCade turns off, waiting until you’re ready to use it again.

As of this writing, there are 10 high quality games with iCade support which provide classic arcade retro fun and plenty of variability. Developers need to build in support for the iCade controls to be mapped to the game. This review is of the iCade, and not iPad games, so the real question is how the controls work. The iCade controls are silky smooth just like the classic arcade cabinets of Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, etc. The joystick and buttons feel great in your hand, and are very responsive to every move you make. The joystick and buttons provide authentic give, and they also feature the realistic sounds with each movement and push. The controls transport you back to the old days of playing in the arcade, and they’re connected to the iPad so well.

I’ve played each iCade supported game with and without the iCade, and the gameplay difference is night and day. I always like tilt and touch controls, but playing with a physical joystick and buttons is even more enjoyable. Your actions are relayed in real time, and it’s just such a responsive control system. You really feel like you have more precision, and control over the action on screen. We tested multiple games on the iPad 1 & 2, and even the iPod Touch 4th generation with all working exceptionally well. On a couple of games there were a few interruptions in connection, but it seemed to be particular games, and not system wide with the iCade. All iOS devices with Bluetooth are supported, but the iPad fits so well, and iPhone and iPod Touches look out of place.

The design of the iCade is done supremely well with a very authentic look and feel. The cabinet looks fantastic from the great artistic side panels to the black top, and wood grained control panel. There is even a 25¢ slot that glows when the iCade is on, to round out the entire design of the mini-cabinet. The iCade is attractive to look at even when not in use, and the overall body of it is a perfect representation of the past. The iCade isn’t very portable though, and you will be using it primarily at home.

As great as the iCade controls are designed it only matters if you can actually use it. The value of the iCade is directly correlated to the availability of iCade compatible games. The iCade doesn’t work with the iPad home screen, and only works within apps, so you need to have the apps to work with it. Big companies like Namco and EA haven’t made any Pac-Man games or Tetris iCade compatible which would really help for large adoption. The long term usability of the iCade is an important factor for the price point, and there still a great selection available at the moment.

Independent developers are filling the void with games like Compression which is similar to Tetris, but with a whole new challenge. Silverfish Max is somewhat comparable to Pac-Man, but without a locked in grid, as well as multiple game modes. Velocispider brings a Galaga style arcade shooter, while Warblade is almost an exact copy of Galaga. Sideways Racing delivers Super Sprint style top down racing, and Mos Speedrun provides a retro platformer. Super Mega Worm offers Rampage style destruction, and Match Panic is a fast paced sorting game. Atari’s Greatest Hits is mentioned in the iCade instructions, but is rather disappointing with all the in-app purchases for classic games that aren’t even refined for the iPad.

There is a lot of fun to be had with the iCade, and each of the games listed above is even more enjoyable with physical controls. Support for the iCade is relatively easy to build in, so hopefully we will see many more games with an on screen joystick make their way to the iCade. The iCade is designed to play games in portrait, but there is a lip above the controls allowing you to rest the iPad in landscape mode. The iCade isn’t just for nostalgia, and any iPad owner will definitely enjoy the tactile feedback of physical controls. It’s a great combination of the past and future with the positives of retro gaming and the outstanding features of the iPad.

The iCade retails for $99.99, and it’s a great purchase if you play even a few games on your iPad. The one consistency across all the games you can play on the iCade is that you will have fun because of the iCade. The accessory has a beautiful design, effortless set-up, and wonderful controls. The iCade is a whole new way to interact with the iPad, and it really has the “magical” feel that Apple keeps referencing.

The iCade is a must buy for $100 that just may be the best iPad accessory yet.

iCade ThinkGeek Product Page ($99.99)
iCade ION Product Page ($99.99)