It just keeps getting better (Game Boy Advance in General (GBA))

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Game Boy Advance in General (GBA)
Date:	29/06/01 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very powerful, Great games, Ergonomic

Disadvantages: No backlight

The Gameboy is now the undisputed portable console of choice. Crushing it's early competitors such as the Gamegear and Lynx, it is continually evolving to become even better.

But with the Advance, it is more than a few tweaks, but rather a near total redesign. And it shows. Most notable is the new sideways orientation. This is good for people with large hands, since you no-longer find your hands overlapping at the back. It generally feels more natural.

Two new shoulder buttons feature. These allow more advanced games to be developed for the system, however it could possibly have done with a couple more on the front. The new buttons are rather less substantial, and they feel like they could easily break. Also, a problem that was present in the Color is the placement of the A and B buttons. You cannot effectively hold both at once. This is particularly annoying in games like Mario Advance, when you need to hold B to keep running whilst occasionally tapping A.

The screen is of the same type as the Color, however it runs at a higher resolution and is larger. Interestingly, it is now wide screen, so old games play in a 'windowed' mode, or they can be stretched out to fill the screen. Unfortunately, Nintendo decided not to include a backlight, which means that you must play light. A shame, but i does give an impressive battery life that improves even on that of the Color.

Under the bonnet is considerable power, equivalent to a SNES. And, many SNES games are being converted to it with some success. The initial batch of games look superb but also retain the high playability that previous titles were famous for.

This is a great product that continues the Gameboy dynasty in style. Buy now for the ultimate portable gaming experience.

Summary: