Nintendo Game Boy Advance Gray Console

I first saw these things in action at the GameCube Press Conference. Some people had been playing these things because they had bought the import, but not I.

You see my whole plan was to buy one of these puppies when they came out and then never play any of the games...until I had to wait in line for a movie or something. What's the point of plunking yourself down in front of your handheld game at home? I've got perfectly good home non-portable consoles to play with, so why waste all the newness playing it at home.

So, I played with it a bit around E3. I played with the GBA in two settings. In the hallway of the press conference, a nice bright lit hallway with plenty of light, and at E3, where they were hooked up to displays, so you weren't really looking down at the screen.

I was pretty impressed with the system then, and it definitely looked like something that I wanted to spend some time messing around with. Then I got my hands on one and played with it a bit at home.

I have no idea what's happening on the screen.

The damn screen is SO dark that if I don't sit directly underneath the halogen lamp that lights my living room, I really, can't play with the thing.

I sit in front of a computer enough at work, I don't need to be straining my already fading eyesight trying to squint to see a darkened video game.

I put in the newest Castlevania and gave it a whirl...I can't see a damn thing. Enemies blur into the background, and although some of the moves I could see looked really slick, half the times I couldn't see the enemies I was attacking, and that tends to hinder gameplay.

Then I went to play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but I couldn't really figure out much depth perception because of the lack of any real lighting. I went around and skated but, it was really, really hard to tell if I was doing something right, or if I was doing something horribly wrong.

Finally, I went and tired and older Game Boy Color game, Mario Tennis. Sadly, the story was the same, couldn't see the ball because everything was just too dim to see.

I'm probably going to look into getting a light or something for the game, but, I have to say I'm pretty disappointed in the fact that I'm going to have to spend more money, just to save my eyesight. Didn't Nintendo at lesat look into this? I mean, you figure this is the way most people are going to be playing with their Game Boy Advances...did they want people to go blind?

A couple nice features are the facts that the GBA can be linked to 3 other GBAs and they can all run the same game. 4 player fun with only 1 game. That's value. Good call. Unfortunately, all 4 of you are going to go blind.

Another interesting thing is the fact that you can use the GBA as a controller for your GameCube. The L and R buttons don't really work all that well, so, I'm going to have to recommend against using the GBA this way, unless you're playing a game that strictly uses the A and B buttons. Otherwise, you're going to be at a control and competitive disadvantage. (Don't think that your roommates aren't going to use it against you, either.)

It is a bit pricey, running at the cost of $100, or half of what the GameCube will cost. Especially considering the lame speaker for Nintendo recommended that I get a GBA to use as a controller for my GameCube because it would only ship with one controller.

You may want to wait on picking this handheld up, especially since you're going to have to get a light for it, and a lot of the games are selling out now. You don't want to be in the situation where you've got a handheld, but not game that you want to play.

It looks promising, it's definitely got a bright future...it's just the damn screen that dims its present.