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Reviews

Gameboy Colour
First off I'd like to say that if you haven't gotten a Gameboy Colour or have questions about it please      
check out the GBC FAQ found in the Links section. This section will refer to some of the things covered
in the FAQ, but defiantly will not get too technical. When I pre-ordered the GBC on Tuesday Nov. 16th
I was told that it will arrive at the latest on Friday the 20th, and that I will get a call as soon as they get the
GBC. Friday rolled around waited... 5pm waited... 6pm waited... ok I gave in, called the store, "Sorry
we won't be getting them until tomorrow maybe?" Saturday at work convinced my friend to call them
for me, she was told they will be coming in now on next Tuesday 24th, what ??? Well what can I do
I'm stuck without a GBC until Tuesday. Tuesday rolled around, 12pm no call, waited, gave in and got my
to call again... hehehe (Thanks Cat!) The GBC were in !!! Why didn't they call ??? When to the store 
and found out why... there must of been 100 people in the store! I had to wait for 30mins just to pay for
my GBC colour. But when I finally had the box in my hand, my first impression was ahhhh.... sweet!
 
The Box - The box is about the same size as the GB Pocket, (if I could only find my GBP box I'd tell you
for sure.) (front) silver foil with the words Game Boy down the left hand side and a picture of the GBC,
depending on the colour you choose the pic differs (Solid Purple for me) and the word Color at the
bottom. On the sides, top, and bottom the words were written on it Game Boy Color and a few small
screen shots of Zelda DX and Warioland 2 in colour. Same as the back, ok now for the system.
 
The System - As I mentioned earlier I got the solid purple GBC (clear purple seemed to be more popular)
and I'm happy with the purple, it's a nice deep purple, not some washed out purple/blue or pastel that I
saw in some pics. The physical size of the system is about 3/4 of a cm longer than the GBP as is the
thickness. It's nicely curved at the back and bottom vs. the flat GBP. I personally find the bump
where the battery goes makes the GBC easier to hold. The buttons are sightly smaller than those on the
GBP and the + controller is now textured so it's easier to grip with your thumb. and as with all GB it feels
pretty solid in your hands, not like some thing that you have care for like a baby.
 
The Screen - The screen to my disappointment is smaller than that of the GBP, although not by much but
still smaller never-the-less.With that said, I have to applaud Sharp for making an excellent screen, all of
my GB games looks better on the GBC, the contrast is better than that of the GBP the, blacks are nice, the images
are sharper and Kirby looks cute in colour. =) One thing though, is the screen on the GBC lacks any contrast
adjustment, so you have to position it on the right angel to get the best picture plus it's almost mandatory
to have a light behind or above you when you are playing with the GBC.
 
The +'s - Colour screen The -'s - Smaller screen            
            - Long battery life             - No contrast switch
            - I think good price             - No backlite
            - Compatibility with old games                               - Still a pretty slow processor (IMHO) *
            - Compact size
 
* What I mean by slow processor is that, just as in the older GBs' on certain scenes where there is a lot of activity
* on screen (ie. lots of sprites moving etc...) I can notice that things slow down. Now I know that there are two
* processor modes in the GBC, but I think that when the full 8 MHz is being used in games, those games will be in
* full colour, so the added processing power would still not be enough.
 
Conclusion - Now many will argue and have different opinion, but I give the GBC a 9 out of 10, now you're
probably wondering how in the world did I ever come up with such a high score? The simple fact of the matter is
that there is no competition. Sure you can name names like Gamegear, and I say not much game support and bad
battery life, or Neo Geo Pocket, and I say one word COLOUR! So until Sony or someone else comes out with
a competing product I stand at my conclusion.
 
If you still haven't seen what a GBC looks like check out the FAQ and there are some nice pics there, no point in
me posting the same thing over again.

Jonathan Lim