darkman
darkman unmasked!

Some time ago there was a thread in here somewhere dealing with interest in this little unit. I picked it up this weekend. Here are my first impressions. My pic above is for size comparison. My digital cam is not very good with close ups. The One on the left is the Vg.
The “VgPocket 50 games” Review!
This is very impressive!
Screen: It has a hi resolution 2.0” color backlit TFT screen. Very impressive “GB micro” bright. You know the “GB with a brighter screen” bright. The screen is not recessed, so it would be easily subjected to scratches. It comes with a plastic overlay on the screen. I wished that the makers had made it clear so it could be used as a protector. I have kept this and am putting it back on after play until I come up with some money for a screen protector. I am sure that the GB Micro one would fit.
Controls: Very tight good responsive controls. There is the typical cross button, on/off button, reset button, and four other buttons with the familiar diamond layout. The unit fits my hands nicely with that controller layout feel. Everything is in the right place. EDIT: Clicky Buttons.
In the box: You have the unit itself. They come in many colors. I chose the white face plate. It comes with user manual, the cord for TV out and 3 AAA batteries. The cord seems very short, so plan on setting up close. They claim that you get 15 hours of gameplay on a set of batteries. I have not had a chance to check this out.
Sound: The volume control on the side is an act of mercy by the manufacturers. The sound is much better sounding over the TV speakers. And it seems like the same theme music is used for everything or variations there of. The tiny speaker on the unit seems to have a slight hum, but not that noticeable. It has a headphone jack. The sound is much better over headphones. NES quality game sound. That is the only way I can describe it. Game sounds from that period of gaming history.
Graphics: Wikipedia online claims that some people think that it has NES-on-a-chip technology. It is “NES style” graphics. The games are sharp and colorful. Is that scrolling going on there in that game? Yep! It shows some depth in a simple little game. Some games seem tiny on the screen, but playable.
Games: The games are built-in. No carts, no disc, nothing else to buy. I picked up the one with 50 games. There are three models. One with 30, 50, and 75 games. The more games built-in, the bigger the screen size. Go figure. Many of the games are clones. But it is definitely simple old school retro gameplay. Maybe even some old Atari gameplay here. There is Bump “n” Jump, Space Invaders, Battleship, Nibbles, Pong, Arkanoid or Break out, and maybe Xevious. They don't use those names, but you do see the similarities. Motor Rally reminds me of Hang On. There is even a Columns. “Earth's Star Fighter” has some really good power ups and is a real decent little shooter. Quickly becoming a favorite on this little thing. The manual gives you a good little description, along with gameplay and buttons used on each game.
Conclusion: I like it. I thought before hand, when I reluctantly purchased it, that I would maybe find a couple of games on here that I would like. I have found that, overall, it is packed with arcade fun. There is a lot of variety here. Simple little time wasters. A lot more than I expected. I feel, that for $29.99 USD, it was money well spent, if you like that “retro gameplay experience” to carry with you. Great for that “I am standing here waiting” sort-of feeling. The size is just right, a little bigger than a cell phone. Not as slim and trim as the GB Micro. I wished that it had a clone of centipede included. Which makes me wonder, what are the other 25 games that was included on the “VgPocket Max” with 75 games? I have yet to see the Max in any of the stores around here. I picked this one up at a local Gamestop.