Ion Audio iCade

Assembled, the iCade weighs a solid 6.4 pounds and stands at 16 by 10 by 10.2 inches (HWD).

The arcade games feel fun on the iCade, and while the controls aren't quite as large or sturdy as those found on the Xgaming X-Arcade Dual Joystick ($129.99, 4 stars) or MadCatz Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 FightStick Tournament Edition ($159.99, 3.5 stars), they're still much better than touchscreen controls or the suction cup Joystick-It joysticks you can put on an iPad screen.

Pairing the iCade with an iPad is easy, if you keep the instructions on-hand. Pairing mode is triggered by hitting five of the eight buttons on the iCade until the fake coin slot lights up and flashes.

The iCade registers as a keyboard, with each button or direction producing a pair of letters. This lets the iCade integrate directly into the iPad Atari's Greatest Hits app, but it means it supersedes the onscreen keyboard.

Each Atari arcade game has slightly different controls on the iCade, but all Atari 2600 games use the same control system. However, that control system maps the sensitive and potentially game-crashing Reset, L-Diff, and R-Diff buttons and switches to three of the iCade's buttons. Fortunately, the superior arcade games all have their own button mappings, none of which risk ruining your game if you nudge the wrong button.