Arts & Entertainment

Game Boy Advance SP is portable gaming at its best

By Nick Meriwether
The Daily Cougar

Nintendo released its newest piece of hardware last week, the Game Boy Advance SP. It is the successor of the popular Game Boy Advance, and boasts several new features.

The biggest complaint about the original Advance was that the game screen had incredibly low visibility under most lighting conditions. The Advance SP completely removes this problem with the addition of a lighted screen. This is the most noteworthy improvement, as it allows the user to play the darkest of games, such as Castlevania, in almost any lighting conditions.

The SP also features a more compact size and a fold-up screen. When the screen is down, the SP is about half as wide as the Advance. The screen is also protected when closed to prevent scratches and punctures. When the screen is up, the SP is about the size of the old green-screen Game Boy, but now the player can angle it to allow for better viewing. The screen is the same size as the original, 2.9 inches diagonally.

A rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers the SP, unlike the two AA batteries needed for the regular Advance. This new battery supports 10 hours of continuous game play with the light on or 18 hours without the light. The included AC adapter allows for recharging, which takes three hours. You can even play while you recharge, although it will take longer. 

The SP features a 32-bit processor that can display up to 32,768 colors on a screen with a resolution of 240 by 160 pixels. It can play all Game Boy Advance games and is also backward compatible with Game Boy Color games. The SP is available in two colors: cobalt and platinum.

Many of the main features of the original Advance remain, such as the ability to link two to four Advances or Advance SPs together, which allows games to feature multiplayer modes.

Also, the SP can link to the Gamecube console, enabling the player to access features of some Gamecube games specifically designed for the Advance. The SP supports many of the peripheral add-ons to the Advance, such as the MP3 player, the television tuner and the Nintendo e-Reader.

However, as with any piece of hardware, the SP does have some drawbacks. The most notable is the absence of a headphone jack, which appears to have been left off because of size constraints. Nintendois remedy for this is a headphone adapter, sold separately, that plugs into the back of the unit.

Also, the SPis compact size makes for much tighter button grouping. The L and R buttons are considerably smaller and much closer together. The D-pad and buttons are also flat and more recessed than on the regular Advance. Those with large hands may have trouble adjusting to the smaller size.

Despite the drawbacks, the SP is by far the best portable gaming system on the market. The lighted screen alone makes it vastly superior to the original Advance, not to mention the rechargeable battery.

Game Boy Advance SP

Nintendo

The verdict: The new SP advances make it the best system you can buy.
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