Vol.
2, Issue 4
December 1, 1999
Pocket
Full o' Love:
Finally!
by
Jason "loonyboi"
Bergman
elieve
it or not, there hasn't been a real handheld system released in
the US since Sega's GameGear all those years ago. Sure, there's
been the Game.com, but that was so limited, I can't even call
that a "console". The Neo Geo Pocket Color isn't just
a new system - it's (finally!) a step up from the quickly aging
GameBoy technology.
For roughly
the same price as a GameBoy Color (in some places the NGPC is
cheaper, in others it's the opposite) you get a true 16-bit CPU
capable of displaying 146 colors simultaneously (compare that
to the GBC's maximum of 56 - if you're lucky) an internal memory
backup system (cool feature here kids, more on this in a bit),
a calendar with horoscope, an alarm, the ability to connect to
the Dreamcast, and hey! It even plays games, too.
|
Woo...dig that design. (30k).
|
First
things first: the system itself is just about the same size as
a GameBoy Color, although it's significantly lighter. The cartridges,
which are the smallest to date for any system (even the venerable
HuCard can't touch these - they're only slightly larger than a
book of matches) fit snugly into the system, and have a curved
top so as to make the back a seamless curve. Swanky stuff.
The joystick
(and unlike every other system to date, it is an actual joystick,
not a gamepad) is a little odd...there's a depression around it,
and so it only barely sticks out (don't worry, you can throw it
in your bag and not worry about it being broken off). At first
glance it sort of resembles the stick on the N64 controller. This
is not an analog stick, however. It is a nice addition to the
system, no question about it, but it's not entirely necessary.
Some 2D games (Pac-Man being a notable example) are greatly
hindered by the stick, as making simple "left" and "right"
movements can be a bit of a hassle. There are two buttons, labeled
"A" and "B", and one labeled "Option"
above them. Sadly, the system looses some major points here.
While
I applaud SNK for their forward thinking in implementing a 3D
control stick, the fact that there's only three buttons is a bit
puzzling. All I can guess is that there was a lack of space in
the design for other buttons. The end result of there only being
three buttons, is that in some games (Metal Slug: 1st Mission
being the one that comes to mind immediately) you can't pause
the game. Ack! The system does have a built-in shutdown mode that
can be turned on in most games, although be warned, if it turns
off, your game is lost.
The power
button is pretty nifty. Instead of a switch to turn on the power
(like every other handheld system to date) it's a simple button,
not unlike the start button on a GBC (although, like the "Option"
button, it's rubberized). You turn the system on by pressing and
holding the button for two seconds or so. This is cool, because
it means the odds of the system being inadvertently turned on
inside your travel bag are pretty slim. If you've never had this
happen to you with an older system, believe me - nothing sucks
more than taking out a system on an airplane and discovering that
your batteries have died while you were waiting.
The battery
power on the system is fantastic. For your two AA batteries, you
get whopping 40+ hours of gameplay. There's a separate watch battery
in place to keep the clock and memory functions from being unaffected
if the regular batteries die (a very cool thing indeed).
The screen itself is not at all unlike the GameBoy Color's. It
uses the same low-power consuming reflective LCD technology, which
means that instead of having a backlight for the system, it uses
whatever light is available around it. It works a lot better than
it sounds, believe me, and it accounts for the incredible battery
life. The screen is slightly larger than the GameBoy Color's.
It runs at a 160x152 resolution, as opposed to the 160x144 resolution
of the GBC. Those few pixels do make a difference, although the
less congested layout around the screen of the NGPC doesn't hurt
either.
Next
>>