Being a graphic designer accustomed to the accuracy of professional Wacom drawing tablets, I went into reviewing THQ's latest gaming peripheral - the uDraw Gametablet - with low expectations. So expecting disappointment, the only way was up for the uDraw device and I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprisedat its accuracy and versatility.
The hardware itself is solidly built while remaining light and comfortable enough to be held for extended periods. It has a directional pad, select/start and the usual coloured controller buttons. The star of the show is the rectangular touchpad and the pressure sensitive stylus that is understandably built robust enough to take a reasonable level of heavy-handedness. Running the stylus lightly over the touchpad moves the cursor around the screen and doing the same while pressing the tip down a little harder will engage drawing or select an object. The whole wireless peripheral also has an inbuilt tilt sensor that can be used for several minigames that come with the supplied software.
uDraw Studio: Instant Artist includes a series of nice drawing and painting tutorials, not just for the uDraw tablet but covering practices and theories on art in general. You can complete supplied join-the-dots and paint-by-numbers pictures or, if you feel confident enough, freestyle any picture you want with full digital colour palettes, a great range of brushes and a selection of special effects. Finished artworks can be shared, saved or uploaded online then printed out on your computer.
With a handful of games available and upcoming, the uDraw has short-term potential but looking further afield, I can see many collecting dust along with all those music peripherals.
