Handheld Reviews

Popping the Two Towers cart into your GBA and you’re almost instantly shown a myriad of actual clips from the film. Nothing that hasn’t been shown in trailers. Just enough to get the message across that, after the last batch of lackluster Lord of The Rings games, modern fans of the films are finally getting what they want... a full movie license.

Sammy and developer Arc Systems Works have brought players the fun and excitement of Guilty Gear to the GBA. While the game isn't perfect, those looking for a very playable, button smashing fighter, will want to grab a copy of Guilty Gear X: Advance Edition.

I have played my fair share of Role Playing Games. To me, this is the greatest genre of gaming. In the past, I have experienced countless battles, saved a multitude of worlds, and watched incredible story lines unfold before my eyes. Since an RPG is a type of game that has deep storylines and character development, it would seem to be a logical fit for Black Label Games to deliver their Game Boy Advance version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Based on the classic novels, unlike the EA versions--which are based on the movies, what at first appeared to have much promise quickly turned into a mediocre title. The sad part is that this is a much better game than the Xbox/PS2/GCN versions...

After a few disappointing re-releases of Gauntlet Dark Legacy on the GameCube and Xbox, Midway finally releases the GBA port of the title. While it only offers a single player experience, fans of the series and those who are looking for a great Action game will be surprised at how good this one turned out.

Both Tomb Raider games on the Game Boy Color were excellent titles. In the follow-up from Ubisoft, the tradition continues. However, a few small problems spoil an A rating.

I’ll start off by saying that Metroid Fusion is the best original Game Boy Advance game to date. It’s got great atmosphere, and it’s well designed. It’s a lot like Super Metroid, but it’s also got a significantly different style. It’s a fairly intense adventure for any gamer.

During the life of the PlayStation, Konami released arguably the best 2D game ever made--Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. While Konami has made attempts at bringing the Castlevania series to 3D, they have paled in comparison to the 2D titles in the series. Continuing the trend of great 2D Castlevania games, Konami releases the GBA follow-up to Circle of the Moon. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance proves to be one of the very best in the series.

It's no wonder people were so disappointed with Yoshi's Story for the Nintendo 64. It's because they were expecting it to be as good as Yoshi's Island. Yoshi's Island is a prequel to Super Mario World. It was originally released for the SNES in 1995. Now, many people consider it the best 2D platformer ever created. This is a game I had just overlooked when it originally came out. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was because you play as Yoshi, not Mario. I have to admit, up until now, I have hated Yoshi's character ever since the Nintendo 64 came out. Now, I appreciate him a lot more. His character comes mostly from this game. Yoshi's Island is not only one of the best platformers ever, it also has the most amazing 2D graphics I've ever seen. If you've never played this game before, then I encourage you to read on.

The Dinotopia idea started out as a book by James Gurney. In Gurney's book, he detailed a lost civilization where dinosaurs and humans work together. While the concept defies everything that Jurassic Park taught us about dino-human relations, the idea did catch on with many readers. In light of the book's popularity, Dinotopia has been turned into a TV series, a feature-length film, and even a Smithsonian art exhibit. Amongst this flurry of Dinotopia merchandise, TDK Mediactive has released Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates. Though the game isn't as bad as some of the other Dinotopia cash-ins, it's not without its flaws.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories for Game Boy Color was released back in 1996 but has finally hit the United States. For those who know nothing about it basically it plays like Magic the Gathering with rules that are a lot easier to understand. That way anyone can begin playing right away. As in any collectible card battle game two players, you and a friend or you and the computer play against each other with a deck of no more or less then 40 cards. It's usually made of up monster cards with varying attack and defensive powers and magic cards that can either boost your creatures, destroy enemy creatures, and a host of other things. There are over 700 cards in all and all of them are accessible after a while. You'll interact with all the characters from the TV show and increase your duelist standing making your way to fight the Rulers of the Heavens for the Millennium Items. As an extra bonus it comes with 3 rare cards for the physical card game.