“COWABUNGA! COWA-COWA-COWABUNGA!”

That's the sound one would hear when pumping token after token into Konami’s original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the delicious four player bash-o-rama arcade game that defined my early video gaming years. I remember beating the game, start to finish, with three of my buddies at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Along with a love for all things arcade comes my love for all videogames: Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, Game Boy... the list goes on and on. Attempting to rekindle my childhood passion, I embarked on a quest many years ago to collect whatever I could get my hands on. The crown jewels of this collection include a Neo-Geo CD with over 30 games; both versions of the 8-bit Nintendo console and over 180 original cartridges; an original Neo-Geo MVS bios board; many JAMMA arcade boards; and an original ColecoVision with two controllers and more than 40 original cartridges.

The problem is this: how will I possibly play all of these titles now? It’s way too much of a hassle to haul them out of storage, plug them ALL in, etc. A childhood dream of mine was to have the ability to take my cartridge games with me, and this dream has carried into adulthood. Emulators now enable you to play different types of games on your home PC and many other devices, but there haven’t been any truly satisfactory portable solutions for this. Until recently, that is.

Along with its many other features, the Gamepark Holdings GP2X offers the emulation capability I've been waiting for, which ultimately led me to purchase it. So let me share my initial experiences with the GP2X and offer some advice for would-be buyers.

Technical Features

• Dual ARM CPU configuration, 200mHz but overclockable in many situations
• NAND flash ROM 64MB
• SDRAM 64MB
• Linux Based OS
• SD Card storage slot, with high-speed USB 2.0
• Powered by 2 X AA batteries
• TV-Out support (with add’l cable)
• Video formats of DivX 3/4/5, XviD (MPEG4) supported
• Audio formats of MP3 and OGG Vorbis supported
• Container files of AVI and OGM supported
• EXT port for use of TV-Out cable or external USB devices

Opening the Box

One of the most sublime experiences a geek can experience is opening up the box. I have to say that this wasn’t exactly a monumental experience, but it was a solid one. Upon opening the box you're immediately presented with the face of the unit itself; contained underneath it are the cables, strap, case, CD, and some rechargeable batteries. The unit itself is good sized but extremely light–so light that I was shocked and surprised.

My initial impression was that it was of low quality because of this lightness, but after using the device, I've concluded that it’s built pretty well. It's not up to speed with the DS or PSP, but it's good enough. (There are some flaws–for example, the rubber pieces protecting the open ports don’t fit in perfectly–but in my opinion, they're minor ones.) With the batteries installed, the GPX2's weight feels more normal.

It comes with a drawstring–style soft case that you should immediately replace to protect the GP2X; I wouldn't suggest carrying it around in the case that's included. The unit also has a screen protector (which I've not yet removed).

Powering On the Unit

When you power it on, you're presented with a

nice splash screen; you'll see immediately how sweet the screen is. This had been my major concern when I bought the GPX2, so I was very pleased. The 320X420 resolution, 65,536 color display is bright (but not too bright), clear, and colorful, with no flaws that I could see.

Interestingly enough, there aren’t any built in brightness controls, but that’s fine with me, as I haven't needed to adjust it. The power button feels cheap and I’m worried it might break or fall off–I have my fingers crossed!

Navigation and Software

The menu system works sufficiently but can be frustrating. You have to press the “start” button to go to a previous screen, which sounds okay–until you have to actually do it. You need to think of the GP2X interface as a simple file browser; that’s exactly what it is and how it operates. For example, when you start up the music player it brings you to the file browser, allowing you to choose from the SD storage card, the NAND memory, or an external USB device. You'd then have to navigate to your music folder and select the song you want to play first. If you go to the games option, you have to return to the directory where the executable file is held in order to select the correct file–even for the games that come preinstalled in the unit.

Sometimes, there's a lag when transitioning from one screen to another. This makes it seem like there's something wrong when there really isn’t. The file browser with regular file control functions (i.e., delete, etc.) appears woefully inadequate; I almost never use it. With its simple icons and directory trees, the menu system has a deliciously old-school feel to it. No registry or start button here!

The music and video player are very basic and work well. Video function is smooth and clear, and the music player offers solid functionality. Neither are particularly flashy or fancy but they certainly do the trick. The video player is especially nice; you can dump a video on the card and watch it without jumping through too many hoops, unlike you might have to do on other devices. The external speakers sound cheap and aren't very loud, so I'd definitely recommend a set of headphones. I don't currently have a TV-Out cable so I wasn't able to personally test this function, but numerous personal accounts on the internet testify that the output looks fantastic.

First Impression: Preinstalled Games

Before doing anything else, I loaded up some of the system's preinstalled games. One of them, Noiz2sa, I'd previously played on my Mac; it’s a great homebrew shooter from Japan. It looked and sounded great, playing nicely on the GP2X. I also loaded up Payback, which is a demo version of one of the few commercial games available for the GP2X (it plays like the original Grand Theft Auto). The 3D graphics were nice and smooth, and the game played well. Finally, I tried Vektar, which is a very colorful Asteroids-esque shoot-em-up. I really enjoyed this one, and it’s a great freebie.

The buttons feel solid and respond well when playing the games, although the Start and Select buttons feel somewhat “squishy” and lower quality. The L and R buttons click nicely. The joystick functions well but takes some getting used to; anyone who's used the Neo-Geo gamepads will be familiar with the concept. The system's comfortable to hold in my hands and the screen's large for its size, making for a pretty immersive experience for a handheld. continued on page 2 >>

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