Nintendo Game Boy Advance Gray Console
- Processor: 16.78 MHz
- Display: LCD TFT (Active Matrix)
- Platform: Game Boy Advance
- Console Type: Handheld
- Gaming Type: LAN Gaming
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Game Boy Advance- Just what my kids wanted
Pros
New larger color screen, better sound
Cons
limited battery life
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Great little gaming system, perfect for long trips as long as you bring plenty of batteries.
Ever since my kids were given their first hand held gaming system for Christmas, they have been addicted to it. When their grandparents found out that they wanted one for Christmas they just had to send them one each. The hand held game system I am referring to is the Nintendo Game Boy Color. Like typical kids they were bitten by the Pokemon bug and they had to have all the different versions of the Pokemon games (Gold, Silver, Red, blue...). After playing with their Game Boy Color pretty much every day since they got them they saw the first advertising on TV for the about to be released hand held gaming system from Nintendo.
This new gaming system was supposed to be a big improvement over the Game Boy Color. Of course they just had to have the new system and started bugging me about buying it for them. So I did the next best thing I could think of without shelling out $200.00 for two of them. I went to our local Blockbuster Video store and rented it for 5 days and let them test it out. This new gaming system is called Game Boy Advance and I was a little skeptical of whether it could perform as advertised. After renting it for 5 days my wife and I decided we would shell out them money and buy one gaming system for each and they would share the games.
Here are my impressions and experiences with the Game Boy Advance:
The Game Boy Advance Gaming System
Nintendo seemed to have deviated from it's earlier design of the hand held gaming system. The two earlier versions of Game Boy were both small rectangular shaped boxes vertically positioned. The newest version is much different and I must say a lot more comfortable for me to use. This design change allowed them to make some much needed improvements that I will explain in more details the review goes a long.
Shape
As I said earlier, the new Game Boy Advance has been designed differently. Instead of the old Vertically positioned setup, Nintendo has turned the unit side ways and laid everything out horizontally. This gives the gaming system a lot more of a comfortable feel, instead of having all the controls so close together. This gives the user more of the typical gaming system controller feel. The other thing that this new design did was allow for a bigger viewing screen. The screen is nearly 3" and it positioned in the middle of the system instead of at the top. I will explain a little more about the control's a little later.
As I said this new shape makes it easier for me to play the game than the older Game Boy and Game Boy Color. I like how the new positioning of the control buttons are further a part just like on a full size gaming controller.
Control Buttons
All the familiar control buttons are still a part of the new system just in different locations. This too me has to be second biggest improvement Nintendo made to this new gaming system over the previous versions. The button location on the Game Boy Color for instance were placed close together near the bottom of the unit. This made my hands cramp up after longer periods of use. With the new design they placed the buttons further a part located at the ends of the unit and you looked into the screen in the middle. For those of you that at used to Nintendo gaming systems you have the same plus shaped directional pad for controlling the direction of movement in the game play. This is still located on the left side of the unit only as I said it at the end of the horizontal unit. The A and B buttons are also used in this gaming system and they are used for controlling things like; jumping and kicking and many other things depending on the game being played. These two buttons are located on the right hand side of the unit. The L and R buttons are located at the top of the unit and are easily pressed if necessary depending of the game you are playing. The last two buttons are the Start and Select these are located at the bottom left hand corner of the display screen. This buttons are used to start the game and to select different menu options.
All of the buttons have been placed on the gaming unit in locations to give maximum comfort and ease of operation for the user. So far I haven't experienced the same problem's with my hands cramping as I have experienced with the older Game Boy systems.
Graphics
This is the biggest single improvement I have noticed since we bought the Game Boy Advance. The old Game Boy graphics were really bad, they reminded my of blocky stick figures and blobs. Then along came the Game Boy Color and I thought I was saved from the blobs and sticks. Well, I would like to say I was saved but, I again was disappointed. It reminded me of when Ted Turner bought all the older classic movies and decided he was going to colorize them. The colorizing wasn't good for the movies and it really wasn't that great for the Game Boy. This all changed with the new technology of color TFT screens just like the ones you find in laptop computers. With the new 2.9" TFT screen it allows for better color resolutions and more color capabilities. This improvement in the graphics has made a huge difference in the game play versus the old stick figures and blobs I was so used to.
If you are expecting to find the same graphics displayed on this unit that you find on the new high tech gaming consoles you will be very disappointed. Due to limitation of computing power (CPU size) and memory limitation you will not see those kinds of graphics on small hand held gaming systems anytime soon.
The other limitation is power consumption, as you increase the graphical output of the unit you increase the power consumption at a greater rate. These gaming units don't have a whole lot of space for the batteries to be placed that runs this compact gaming unit. It is powered by two AA batteries and they are located in a compartment in the back of the unit. The length of playing time is dependent on the quality of batteries you put in it. You can also purchase an AC adapter which plus into any 110 volt outlet. This will give you unlimited game play as long as you stay close enough to an outlet. You can also purchase rechargeable batteries to prolong the battery life, instead of having to keep buying new batteries all the time. I have been able to use this unit for as long as a week on the same set of batteries, of course I don't play for hours at a time. My kids go through batteries every couple of days. Needless to say I will be investing in a couple of AC adapter pretty soon or buy stock in Duracell and keep buying new batteries all the time.
Sound
The last thing I would like to mention about the Game Boy Advance gaming unit is the new sound system they use. I did not try to break open the unit to see what kind of speaker setup it has, but I will tell you it is so much nicer sound. Gone is the pings and monotones of the old hand held game systems. They have been replayed by what sounds like actual stereo sound. Like I said I didn't open it up so verify if it is actually stereo sound, but it sure sounds close. I remember when I was a kid, we had the hand held football games that consisted of LCD segments that seems to move across the screen and beeps and electronic pings and pongs. Our kids have it great compared to the good old days.
Gaming Software
Like the full size gaming consoles, Game Boy Advance still uses the plastic cartridge that contains each separate game. This little 2.5" x 2.25" plastic cartridge fits in a slot on the top of the unit. This little cartridges are pretty durable, I don't recommend you leave them in direct sun light for a long period of time. They will stand up to being dropped occasionally, but just don't stand on them. The biggest complaint I hear from people that don't like Nintendo gaming systems is that the game selection is limited and they don't have the bloody shoot 'em up action games. Well, as a parent of three kids that is just fine with me. My kids get exposed to enough violence on the news and life in general, they don't need to sit down and play the violent games all day. Please don't take offense if it seems like I am passing judgment of anyone who like those types of games. I am not judging anyone, I am just stating how I view those violent games and my kids don't need to exposed to them.
The games I have noticed are running between 20.00 to 50.00 dollars. All of the software made for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color will still work on the Game Boy Advance.
Likes and Dislikes
So far I have been impressed with the latest version of the Game Boy hand held gaming system. With it's improved graphics, shape and sound I would give it two thumbs up. The only flaw I have noticed is in the display screen. Though I said it was similar to a laptop computer screen it is not as bright as a laptop screen. This can present some challenges to find the correct lighting. I would recommend you purchase a worm light which attached to the unit and shines a light directly on the screen.
Quick Specs
CPU 32 bit ARM with embedded memory
Memory 32 Kbyte +96 Kbyte on CPU, 256 Kbyte external to the CPU
Screen 2.9" TFT reflective screen
240x 160 resolution 40.8 mm x 61.2 mm screen size 32,768
possible colors, 511 simultaneous colors in character mode
32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode
Size(approx) 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches
Weight 140 grams.
Power 2 AA batteries
Battery life 15 hours (approx)
Software Cartridge format
Specs were taking directly from Nintendo's web site www.nintendo.com
I would recommend this hand held gaming system for everyone as long as you can get by the $99.00 price tag. I'm sure if you checked Half.com or eBay you probably could get a deal on a used one.
This new gaming system was supposed to be a big improvement over the Game Boy Color. Of course they just had to have the new system and started bugging me about buying it for them. So I did the next best thing I could think of without shelling out $200.00 for two of them. I went to our local Blockbuster Video store and rented it for 5 days and let them test it out. This new gaming system is called Game Boy Advance and I was a little skeptical of whether it could perform as advertised. After renting it for 5 days my wife and I decided we would shell out them money and buy one gaming system for each and they would share the games.
Here are my impressions and experiences with the Game Boy Advance:
The Game Boy Advance Gaming System
Nintendo seemed to have deviated from it's earlier design of the hand held gaming system. The two earlier versions of Game Boy were both small rectangular shaped boxes vertically positioned. The newest version is much different and I must say a lot more comfortable for me to use. This design change allowed them to make some much needed improvements that I will explain in more details the review goes a long.
Shape
As I said earlier, the new Game Boy Advance has been designed differently. Instead of the old Vertically positioned setup, Nintendo has turned the unit side ways and laid everything out horizontally. This gives the gaming system a lot more of a comfortable feel, instead of having all the controls so close together. This gives the user more of the typical gaming system controller feel. The other thing that this new design did was allow for a bigger viewing screen. The screen is nearly 3" and it positioned in the middle of the system instead of at the top. I will explain a little more about the control's a little later.
As I said this new shape makes it easier for me to play the game than the older Game Boy and Game Boy Color. I like how the new positioning of the control buttons are further a part just like on a full size gaming controller.
Control Buttons
All the familiar control buttons are still a part of the new system just in different locations. This too me has to be second biggest improvement Nintendo made to this new gaming system over the previous versions. The button location on the Game Boy Color for instance were placed close together near the bottom of the unit. This made my hands cramp up after longer periods of use. With the new design they placed the buttons further a part located at the ends of the unit and you looked into the screen in the middle. For those of you that at used to Nintendo gaming systems you have the same plus shaped directional pad for controlling the direction of movement in the game play. This is still located on the left side of the unit only as I said it at the end of the horizontal unit. The A and B buttons are also used in this gaming system and they are used for controlling things like; jumping and kicking and many other things depending on the game being played. These two buttons are located on the right hand side of the unit. The L and R buttons are located at the top of the unit and are easily pressed if necessary depending of the game you are playing. The last two buttons are the Start and Select these are located at the bottom left hand corner of the display screen. This buttons are used to start the game and to select different menu options.
All of the buttons have been placed on the gaming unit in locations to give maximum comfort and ease of operation for the user. So far I haven't experienced the same problem's with my hands cramping as I have experienced with the older Game Boy systems.
Graphics
This is the biggest single improvement I have noticed since we bought the Game Boy Advance. The old Game Boy graphics were really bad, they reminded my of blocky stick figures and blobs. Then along came the Game Boy Color and I thought I was saved from the blobs and sticks. Well, I would like to say I was saved but, I again was disappointed. It reminded me of when Ted Turner bought all the older classic movies and decided he was going to colorize them. The colorizing wasn't good for the movies and it really wasn't that great for the Game Boy. This all changed with the new technology of color TFT screens just like the ones you find in laptop computers. With the new 2.9" TFT screen it allows for better color resolutions and more color capabilities. This improvement in the graphics has made a huge difference in the game play versus the old stick figures and blobs I was so used to.
If you are expecting to find the same graphics displayed on this unit that you find on the new high tech gaming consoles you will be very disappointed. Due to limitation of computing power (CPU size) and memory limitation you will not see those kinds of graphics on small hand held gaming systems anytime soon.
The other limitation is power consumption, as you increase the graphical output of the unit you increase the power consumption at a greater rate. These gaming units don't have a whole lot of space for the batteries to be placed that runs this compact gaming unit. It is powered by two AA batteries and they are located in a compartment in the back of the unit. The length of playing time is dependent on the quality of batteries you put in it. You can also purchase an AC adapter which plus into any 110 volt outlet. This will give you unlimited game play as long as you stay close enough to an outlet. You can also purchase rechargeable batteries to prolong the battery life, instead of having to keep buying new batteries all the time. I have been able to use this unit for as long as a week on the same set of batteries, of course I don't play for hours at a time. My kids go through batteries every couple of days. Needless to say I will be investing in a couple of AC adapter pretty soon or buy stock in Duracell and keep buying new batteries all the time.
Sound
The last thing I would like to mention about the Game Boy Advance gaming unit is the new sound system they use. I did not try to break open the unit to see what kind of speaker setup it has, but I will tell you it is so much nicer sound. Gone is the pings and monotones of the old hand held game systems. They have been replayed by what sounds like actual stereo sound. Like I said I didn't open it up so verify if it is actually stereo sound, but it sure sounds close. I remember when I was a kid, we had the hand held football games that consisted of LCD segments that seems to move across the screen and beeps and electronic pings and pongs. Our kids have it great compared to the good old days.
Gaming Software
Like the full size gaming consoles, Game Boy Advance still uses the plastic cartridge that contains each separate game. This little 2.5" x 2.25" plastic cartridge fits in a slot on the top of the unit. This little cartridges are pretty durable, I don't recommend you leave them in direct sun light for a long period of time. They will stand up to being dropped occasionally, but just don't stand on them. The biggest complaint I hear from people that don't like Nintendo gaming systems is that the game selection is limited and they don't have the bloody shoot 'em up action games. Well, as a parent of three kids that is just fine with me. My kids get exposed to enough violence on the news and life in general, they don't need to sit down and play the violent games all day. Please don't take offense if it seems like I am passing judgment of anyone who like those types of games. I am not judging anyone, I am just stating how I view those violent games and my kids don't need to exposed to them.
The games I have noticed are running between 20.00 to 50.00 dollars. All of the software made for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color will still work on the Game Boy Advance.
Likes and Dislikes
So far I have been impressed with the latest version of the Game Boy hand held gaming system. With it's improved graphics, shape and sound I would give it two thumbs up. The only flaw I have noticed is in the display screen. Though I said it was similar to a laptop computer screen it is not as bright as a laptop screen. This can present some challenges to find the correct lighting. I would recommend you purchase a worm light which attached to the unit and shines a light directly on the screen.
Quick Specs
CPU 32 bit ARM with embedded memory
Memory 32 Kbyte +96 Kbyte on CPU, 256 Kbyte external to the CPU
Screen 2.9" TFT reflective screen
240x 160 resolution 40.8 mm x 61.2 mm screen size 32,768
possible colors, 511 simultaneous colors in character mode
32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode
Size(approx) 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches
Weight 140 grams.
Power 2 AA batteries
Battery life 15 hours (approx)
Software Cartridge format
Specs were taking directly from Nintendo's web site www.nintendo.com
I would recommend this hand held gaming system for everyone as long as you can get by the $99.00 price tag. I'm sure if you checked Half.com or eBay you probably could get a deal on a used one.
