This exclusive bundle is no longer available. See all Game Boy Advance hardware This exclusive black Game Boy Advance console comes with a free copy of Super Mario World.
The Game Boy platform (which includes the original unit, the Game Boy Pocket, and the Game Boy Color) came to market when most video game consoles had a life expectancy of just a few years. More than a decade later, the system is still going strong. How did the Game Boy successfully compete--and in some cases bury--an onslaught of faster, more powerful handheld and home console systems? Let us count the ways: affordability, a huge library of games that consistently made the most of the hardware's limitations, smart power management that extended battery life, and uncluttered controls. But perhaps it was the system's ultraportable design, which allowed devotees to play video games around their schedules, making it the must-have system for kids and adults alike.
Now the Game Boy Advance (or GBA as its already being called) comes to us with power that would have been unthinkable back in the day. The portable's 32-bit RISC CPU runs circles around the former's 8-bit workhorse, allowing it to process program instructions much faster. What that means to everyday gamers is more intricate visuals, more simultaneous movement on the screen, and better sound. In fact, the often-annoying beeps and boops of old-school Game Boy titles are being replaced with digitized stereo sound. The extra processing muscle also means you can network up to four Game Boy Advance units together, via the communication cable, for multiplayer fun on one shared cartridge. Only two Game Boy Color units could link together, and each unit had to have a copy of the game.
What's not being replaced, however, is the wide selection of Game Boy games. Since the Game Boy Advance system is backward compatible, it will play its own line of colorful games--like such launch titles as Super Mario Advance, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Army Men Advance, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2--as well as all the monochrome and color games that have already been released for the previous Game Boy systems (nearly 500 of them in total). Players can view the older games in their smaller, originally square dimensions or, with the touch of the shoulder button, expand the game to fit the GBA's larger screen. We tried enlarging the screen on a Game Boy Color edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and found that Mr. Hawk was much easier to see.
When you first pick up the system, you'll wonder how they got it to be so incredibly lightweight. At a little less than 5 ounces and a little larger than a deck of playing cards, the system easily fits into a shirt pocket without any sag. The GBA's wider shape fits better into a wider range of hands. The former design too often pushed the left and right thumb knuckles together during game play. The new layout should be comfortable for all ages, and the center screen orientation makes it easy to see.
Game Boy Color owners will find the GBA's larger screen somewhat darker than they're used to, but that's because the screen is outfitted with antiglare technology. Like the old Game Boy Color, the color LCD is not backlit, so you need pretty good light to play by. Unlike that system, though, you won't be craning your neck and tilting the unit to see around the hot-spot reflection of the light bulb in your screen.
But you'll also notice the graphics. Sporting what's basically a redesigned SNES technology, you'll see things on the GBA that the big consoles do, such as scaling (making objects larger or smaller) and rotation effects--technological advances that will affect the look of everything from crossing a finish line to throwing a touchdown pass to crawling through a dungeon.
Some might argue that Nintendo could have tried to put even more power into this Game Boy Advance. After all, the 32-bit video game had its heyday more than five years ago. Perhaps, but after handling this new handheld, we're inclined to think that Nintendo wisely struck a balance between size, price, and power consumption. And considering how well the old 8-bit system weathered the decade's technological storms, we think the Game Boy Advance is here to stay, and we're glad. --Porter B. Hall
Unit Specifications
- CPU: 32-bit RISC CPU with embedded memory
- Screen: 2.9-inch reflective TFT color LCD
- Display Size: 1.6 x 2.4 inches (40.8 mm x 61.2 mm)
- Resolution: 38,000 pixels in a widescreen aspect ratio (10,000 per square inch)
- Colors: 512 simultaneous colors from a palette of 32,768
- Size: 3.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches (82 mm x 144.5 mm x 24.5 mm)
- Weight: Approximately 5 ounces (140 g)
- Power Supply: 2 AA alkaline batteries
- Battery Life: Approximately 15 hours continuous play
Customer Review: Awsome and exiting
This system is awsome one of the best Ive ever seen i have ps2 gamecube n64 and ps1 but this one is the funnest to play. You feel like you jolt into the game.I could play it for hours u wont regret this buy its an awsome system PS People that say bad things about it dont even own the GBA There just jealous.
Customer Review: day late...dollar short!!!
I was sick with bronchitis over Christmas and New Years, but saved the Toyrus ad....finially got to look at it and saw the Gameboy Advance with FREEEEEEE Super Mario World....our 6 1/2's FAVORITE>>>>>>I, too, would like to know when available again????PLEASE!!!! thanks....we still had a great Christmas and so did he, as we believe Jesus is the reason for the Season!!!
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past five years, you know all about the Halo franchise of games. Halo 1 propelled the original Xbox onto the scene as a major competitor to PlayStation 2 and put a whole new spin on first person shooters. Halo 2 builds upon the foundation of Halo 1, expanding gameplay, improving graphics, and continuing the story of Master Chief and the battle for civilization. Halo 3 was the flagship game for Xbox 360, grossing nearly $200 million in sales on the first day it was released and has now sold over 8 million copies.
And now comes Halo wars. The latest game from Bungee and Ensemble Studios is expected to hit the shelves in late 2008 or early 2009 with much anticipation.
Why Halo Wars, and not Halo 4? Well Halo Wars is a patently different game than its predecessors. While the first three Halo games were first-person shooters, having you take on the role of Master chief, Halo Wars is a game of real-time strategy. Think traditional first-person shooter meets World of Warcraft. Needless to say, the overall gaming experience is going to be a lot different with Halo Wars. You'll be able to control and command armies, send them to do battle, or protect your bases.
Will all the die hard Halo fans be receptive to this new type of game? I think it is safe to say most of them will at least give it a shot, as all the familiar characters and vehicles will be featured in Halo Wars, such as scorpion tanks, UNSC Marines, and the Warthog. Expect some new, unfamiliar character as well.
The developers of Halo wars are trying to garner a new set of gaming fans, those who may be hardcore into real-time strategy games like Starcraft or World of Warcraft. It may be difficult to win over these fans, as there are already a couple of well established real-time strategy franchises that have a very devoted fan base. Nonetheless, with the popularity of previous Halo games, many of these fans are likely to be intrigued by halo wars. The designers know this and are going out of their way to make a Halo Wars the most talked about strategy game of the year.
While we all wait in anticipation of the game's release, there is not much we can do other than speculate about the ins-and-outs of Halo Wars. The good news is, Ensemble Studios has released a Halo Wars gameplay video to give you an idea of the games action. It's not much, but it will holdover the hard-core fans until we can play the game ourselves.
Chris is video game-a-holic and avid Halo fan. For reading his article, he would like to offer you a free copy of Halo Wars at http://www.myincentiverewards.com/?p=11
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