DoctorEldritch
Hi everyone!
As you probably know, during our 3-year community anniversary we had a range of competitions and you could win a Legion Go, amongst other prizes 🤩 One of our Legion Go winners, @TrendaTen , created an extensive review of his prize, and continues to explore all the functions. We thought it would be great to share his review and findings with all of you, and so with his blessing, we translated his post - enjoy! 😊
1 Introduction
Legion GO after the first week of use after receiving the competition prize pack. Admittedly, I have dreamt of such a device in my household, but I will not let it affect my review and will try to be as objective as I can. Nor am I going to compare it to competing devices, mainly because I haven't even had any like that.
2 The case, charger and charging socket
The case was barely mentioned in the previous post I did about the Legion GO, and I will now give it a little more attention. The FABRIC and INCLUDED case look amazing. You can feel that the device will be safe if you need to take it somewhere with you. The inner layer of the case gives a feeling of security, nothing slides or scratches anything in there. It gives the impression of being waterproof, but the manufacturer has not included any information about this with the case. The zipper has a "cover pocket" as in waterproof rucksacks. A fabric handle at the top of the case provides a grip and is comfortable to carry around.
Lenovo has provided a small opening hole (at the bottom of the case) for the charging cable when the device is safely packed in the case, but there is no space for its charger. Legion GO comes with a powerful single charger that consists of a large cube and an integrated cable. Why do manufacturers now make such cubes right next to the power plug? Back in my day, laptops had cubes in the middle of the cable and normal plugs for power. It would be worthwhile with the Legion GO 2 to give a separate pocket for the power supply, but one that has the cube in the middle, so that, for example, when you are on a train or a bus, you could only take the cable out of the case and did not need to take out the whole bulky thing to charge.
3 Mini jack socket
This point is short, the mini jack is there and you can plug in your favourite headphones, whether they are wired or wireless.
4 USB sockets
This point is also short but that's because the list of USB sockets is also short. There's a USB-C socket at the top for everyday use and one at the bottom for charging while in the case. On one hand, I understand it's a mobile device but 2-3 USB-A sockets would be useful. A mouse, a keyboard, sometimes a memory stick, an adapter for XBox pads (to play with a few people, and I don't like to connect via Bluetooth) or an external drive. These are worth working on in the next model!
5 Speakers and volume buttons
The speakers are loud but sound nice. It is not a Dolby surround system but for playing and watching it is enough. Your favourite headphones would be better, of course, but there's nothing to stop you from plugging them into the mini jack. What I particularly like about the sound is that there are physical volume buttons. At the top of the device, you can elegantly adjust the volume or mute with the touch of a finger. I like this so much that I have to emphasise it again.
6 Function buttons
There are a 'million' buttons on the pads. There's the XBox layout, there's the GO menu caller, there's the LegionSpace caller and there are function buttons. These can be set in LS to whatever you want, just like in Steam XInput. The buttons can be set to keys, functions or even macros. You can also set your favourite keyboard shortcut combos under one button. For example, on Y1 I have the WIN + G combo all tied to just one Legion GO button. I can see a multitude of uses for this. But I don't have the layout fully worked out yet and I change the other buttons to something new every day.
7 Pads
Pads, plural because one controller is split into two parts. You can easily use one and play OXYTONE on a smaller controller. I haven't yet figured out how to use them as two for two people. For example, for LEGO games or MOVING OUT. You can use the pads disconnected and connected to the middle part called "tablet" in the instructions. I'm a fan of the button layout that MS served us and this layout is found in the Legion GO as well. They are nice and pleasant to hold, although my hands do 'fold' themselves to hold them together. I might look for a 'connector' on some sales site.
I usually play "lazy" games, but I tried FPS mode on Legion GO just for the sake of testing it. It looked interesting but I play primarily on the pad. Maybe when I practice shooting I will change my mind. Better still, I tested the FPS mode on my knee without the grip and on the table with the grip and I found it better on my knee. Today when I was shooting I discovered in the settings that the pads have gyroscopes. I'll have to look into that. Which brings us to the next section...
8 Grips
This is related to the previous point, but I wanted to highlight it because it's important to me. The pads have a 'slip-resistant' surface. MS didn't come up with the idea of grips until the 4th generation of consoles. These little tabs make your hands sweat less and the pads don't slip in your hands. This is a "small thing" but of great importance. Flat, slippery pads would slip and fall down easily, but perforated pads will fit well.
9. Steam XInput
I'll just mention here that there it's there and you can set the pad to your liking. The pad can be set up differently for each application, for example, pressing "A" will pause when Streaming. In Windows, it can be used as an ENTER and in another application as something else. You can set the knobs as the mouse and the triggers as LPM and PPM. Nothing stands in the way.
10. LegionSpace
The program has many flaws, looks poor and is really only suitable for pad settings and driver updates. Functionality beyond that is lacking. It has the potential to, for example, integrate environments and display a common library for all shops. It could be a central control panel for gaming and a "shop" with setting options.
11 Playing times and settings
With this being a mobile entertainment centre, the battery life should be at least adequate and clearly visible. I started to explore potential settings. Initially, I tested the Performance and Power Save modes. I tried both for different games playing at 80% charge to see how long you can play the game as power drops:
Minecraft PF - ~100min
Minecraft PS - ~170min
Minecraft PS (controllers disconnected) - ~165min (!) // game play, apparently not equal
OXYTONE PF - ~112min
Sky on Chrome PS (+ headphones) - ~253min
Overall this is just the beginning of these measurements, and I did not put the results in a table yet because I'm just planning it out. Also, these are not all the games I've played, I'm just starting to take these numbers.
12 Games
Lenovo has bet on Windows, which I think is right. On the one hand, I realise how much resources it devours but on the other hand, I've experienced Linux gaming trials and the time for creating my own ecosystem is long gone. I have free access to my vast archives on Steam, GOG, Epic, and MS. Without any restrictions, except for power of course. For example, I tried The Witcher 3 on PF in Steam Deck mode and achieved 40+ frames. I consider this an elegant result.
Instead, I have a problem with which I have struggling for 3 evenings already. Namely, Heroes 3 does not fire up on W11. I managed to miraculously make Heroes 5, run but I don't like the 5. So I will be experimenting. Maybe with apps from Android? VCMI on my phone is running nicely, so maybe I'll get back to that project.
You can sometimes mess with the settings.
Special thanks to @ramax for the great wallpaper.
For the rest, the usual greetings for being part of the community
As you probably know, during our 3-year community anniversary we had a range of competitions and you could win a Legion Go, amongst other prizes 🤩 One of our Legion Go winners, @TrendaTen , created an extensive review of his prize, and continues to explore all the functions. We thought it would be great to share his review and findings with all of you, and so with his blessing, we translated his post - enjoy! 😊
1 Introduction
Legion GO after the first week of use after receiving the competition prize pack. Admittedly, I have dreamt of such a device in my household, but I will not let it affect my review and will try to be as objective as I can. Nor am I going to compare it to competing devices, mainly because I haven't even had any like that.
2 The case, charger and charging socket
The case was barely mentioned in the previous post I did about the Legion GO, and I will now give it a little more attention. The FABRIC and INCLUDED case look amazing. You can feel that the device will be safe if you need to take it somewhere with you. The inner layer of the case gives a feeling of security, nothing slides or scratches anything in there. It gives the impression of being waterproof, but the manufacturer has not included any information about this with the case. The zipper has a "cover pocket" as in waterproof rucksacks. A fabric handle at the top of the case provides a grip and is comfortable to carry around.
Lenovo has provided a small opening hole (at the bottom of the case) for the charging cable when the device is safely packed in the case, but there is no space for its charger. Legion GO comes with a powerful single charger that consists of a large cube and an integrated cable. Why do manufacturers now make such cubes right next to the power plug? Back in my day, laptops had cubes in the middle of the cable and normal plugs for power. It would be worthwhile with the Legion GO 2 to give a separate pocket for the power supply, but one that has the cube in the middle, so that, for example, when you are on a train or a bus, you could only take the cable out of the case and did not need to take out the whole bulky thing to charge.
3 Mini jack socket
This point is short, the mini jack is there and you can plug in your favourite headphones, whether they are wired or wireless.
4 USB sockets
This point is also short but that's because the list of USB sockets is also short. There's a USB-C socket at the top for everyday use and one at the bottom for charging while in the case. On one hand, I understand it's a mobile device but 2-3 USB-A sockets would be useful. A mouse, a keyboard, sometimes a memory stick, an adapter for XBox pads (to play with a few people, and I don't like to connect via Bluetooth) or an external drive. These are worth working on in the next model!
5 Speakers and volume buttons
The speakers are loud but sound nice. It is not a Dolby surround system but for playing and watching it is enough. Your favourite headphones would be better, of course, but there's nothing to stop you from plugging them into the mini jack. What I particularly like about the sound is that there are physical volume buttons. At the top of the device, you can elegantly adjust the volume or mute with the touch of a finger. I like this so much that I have to emphasise it again.
6 Function buttons
There are a 'million' buttons on the pads. There's the XBox layout, there's the GO menu caller, there's the LegionSpace caller and there are function buttons. These can be set in LS to whatever you want, just like in Steam XInput. The buttons can be set to keys, functions or even macros. You can also set your favourite keyboard shortcut combos under one button. For example, on Y1 I have the WIN + G combo all tied to just one Legion GO button. I can see a multitude of uses for this. But I don't have the layout fully worked out yet and I change the other buttons to something new every day.
7 Pads
Pads, plural because one controller is split into two parts. You can easily use one and play OXYTONE on a smaller controller. I haven't yet figured out how to use them as two for two people. For example, for LEGO games or MOVING OUT. You can use the pads disconnected and connected to the middle part called "tablet" in the instructions. I'm a fan of the button layout that MS served us and this layout is found in the Legion GO as well. They are nice and pleasant to hold, although my hands do 'fold' themselves to hold them together. I might look for a 'connector' on some sales site.
I usually play "lazy" games, but I tried FPS mode on Legion GO just for the sake of testing it. It looked interesting but I play primarily on the pad. Maybe when I practice shooting I will change my mind. Better still, I tested the FPS mode on my knee without the grip and on the table with the grip and I found it better on my knee. Today when I was shooting I discovered in the settings that the pads have gyroscopes. I'll have to look into that. Which brings us to the next section...
8 Grips
This is related to the previous point, but I wanted to highlight it because it's important to me. The pads have a 'slip-resistant' surface. MS didn't come up with the idea of grips until the 4th generation of consoles. These little tabs make your hands sweat less and the pads don't slip in your hands. This is a "small thing" but of great importance. Flat, slippery pads would slip and fall down easily, but perforated pads will fit well.
9. Steam XInput
I'll just mention here that there it's there and you can set the pad to your liking. The pad can be set up differently for each application, for example, pressing "A" will pause when Streaming. In Windows, it can be used as an ENTER and in another application as something else. You can set the knobs as the mouse and the triggers as LPM and PPM. Nothing stands in the way.
10. LegionSpace
The program has many flaws, looks poor and is really only suitable for pad settings and driver updates. Functionality beyond that is lacking. It has the potential to, for example, integrate environments and display a common library for all shops. It could be a central control panel for gaming and a "shop" with setting options.
11 Playing times and settings
With this being a mobile entertainment centre, the battery life should be at least adequate and clearly visible. I started to explore potential settings. Initially, I tested the Performance and Power Save modes. I tried both for different games playing at 80% charge to see how long you can play the game as power drops:
Minecraft PF - ~100min
Minecraft PS - ~170min
Minecraft PS (controllers disconnected) - ~165min (!) // game play, apparently not equal
OXYTONE PF - ~112min
Sky on Chrome PS (+ headphones) - ~253min
Overall this is just the beginning of these measurements, and I did not put the results in a table yet because I'm just planning it out. Also, these are not all the games I've played, I'm just starting to take these numbers.
12 Games
Lenovo has bet on Windows, which I think is right. On the one hand, I realise how much resources it devours but on the other hand, I've experienced Linux gaming trials and the time for creating my own ecosystem is long gone. I have free access to my vast archives on Steam, GOG, Epic, and MS. Without any restrictions, except for power of course. For example, I tried The Witcher 3 on PF in Steam Deck mode and achieved 40+ frames. I consider this an elegant result.
Instead, I have a problem with which I have struggling for 3 evenings already. Namely, Heroes 3 does not fire up on W11. I managed to miraculously make Heroes 5, run but I don't like the 5. So I will be experimenting. Maybe with apps from Android? VCMI on my phone is running nicely, so maybe I'll get back to that project.
You can sometimes mess with the settings.
Special thanks to @ramax for the great wallpaper.
For the rest, the usual greetings for being part of the community
