RacePadServer

RacePad is a nice little Android-powered mobile app that’s built to convert your phone into a controller/gamepad to use with your PC games. It connects via Bluetooth and is very easy to use.

RacePadServer is the middleman of the operation; it’s what you need to install to interface between the mobile app and the PC on which you want to play the game.

Right off the bat, RacePadServer uses simple methods for everything it’s built to do. Connecting the phone and PC takes a few seconds (providing you have a Bluetooth link between your PC and phone), and creating the controls profile for a game takes up very little effort.

The app displays a simple GUI which makes it comprehensive and easy to handle by even the most novice of users. RacePadServer is split into multiple tabs, each one explicit and clutter free. It’s not what you call a modern, slick interface, but it gets the job done.

As long as the game mostly relies on the use of your keyboard, RacePad is a good tool to have around if you want to use your phone as a gamepad. It features plenty of configurable buttons, and their layout makes it possible to use the mobile app with anything from simple platformers to infinite running games and racing titles.

It even comes with dedicated button combinations that enable you to quickly switch to your desktop or even close the game (ALT+F4). You can control the PC volume, and as you can imagine, RacePadServer also makes use of the phone’s accelerometer. The latter is perfect for racing games.

RacePadServer has a few things to work out in terms of in-game and out of game use. While in a game, a feature that blocks unconfigured or unused buttons could be handy. For example, playing on a smaller phone, you can accidentally press the ALT+F4 button, and that won’t be a happy moment.

Also, disconnect the phone and PC when you want to configure a new profile or edit an existing one. It tends to close the server side when you click the Save button. Other than that, there’s not much you can object to RacePadServer.

It works great with what it has, and that’s what counts.