F200 Review At Pocket Gamer

[Sphinxter]

30 minute charger with a 10 minute top off gets me around three or four hours using tenergy 2800mAh that came in a ten pack. When the batteries run down I don't have to stop and plug it into the wall, I pop two freshly charged ones and play on. The carrying case holds all ten if I'm going on a road trip plus the charger has a 12 volt adapter.

 

[Duddyroar]

Lots of people on these forums have commented that quick-chargers aren't an ideal solution, they wear out your batteries faster as well.

If internal batteries are the wrong way to go, why do Sony and Nintendo - not to mention every mobile phone manufacturer - use them over AA rechargeables?

I never said it was the end of the world, I just mentioned that it would have been a better option to go with an internal battery. Each to their own, I suppose.

Parky - I honestly didn't think it would be worth talking about the homebrew titles mate. The best thing about the GP2X IMO is the emulation, and I know a hell of a lot of people who feel the same. Homebrew is a neat bonus, but I'd be willing to be most GP2X owners ignore this side of the machine.

 

[Alex.]

I never said you could, my point was why support AA batteries when you can't even use standard AAs? With the GP32 it made some kind of sense because Duracells would last quite a while (in fact I never used rechargables with my GP32) but the GP2X drains more power, so it simply screams out for an internal battery.

As for GPH being unprofessional - dedicated rechargeable batteries cost nothing, they could have included on at very little cost.

Alkaline Duracells don't last more than 30 minutes in my Blu+. Needless to say, they don't get past the second loading screen of the GP2X firmware, either

Whatever, everyone has different needs, or feel that they do anyway.

 

[Parkydr]

Parky - I honestly didn't think it would be worth talking about the homebrew titles mate. The best thing about the GP2X IMO is the emulation, and I know a hell of a lot of people who feel the same. Homebrew is a neat bonus, but I'd be willing to be most GP2X owners ignore this side of the machine.

I wasn't expecting an extensive homebrew review, just a mention of the fact it and a hand full of commercial games exist.

There are many developers (homebrew and commercial) that have put a lot of time and effort into producing games (nearly 1.9 GB in the archive as opposed to 182 MB of emulators). I'm sure they will be happy to know that they were wasting their time producing stuff most GP2X owners don't want.

You are probably right though, most reviews target emulation, so that will attract the people who are interested in emulation, while putting off people who aren't.

Well, that's my rant over with, back to writing crap no-one wants wants

 

[senquack]

Parky - I honestly didn't think it would be worth talking about the homebrew titles mate. The best thing about the GP2X IMO is the emulation, and I know a hell of a lot of people who feel the same. Homebrew is a neat bonus, but I'd be willing to be most GP2X owners ignore this side of the machine.

That's a bunch of BS and I happen to also like the choice of AA batteries as well. I have a set of 8 I carry on long trips and never run out of juice. Can't do that as easily with lithium-ion.

Well, that's my rant over with, back to writing crap no-one wants wants

Nah I love gravityforce, c-dogs, and heroes2x. The OP is probably just 20 years old or so and doesn't have perspective.

 

[Duddyroar]

The OP is probably just 20 years old or so and doesn't have perspective.

LOL, actually I'm 28.

And as for 'perspective', does writing professionally published features for several leading magazines count?

You only have to take one look around the Pocket Gamer site to realise that the kind of people that visit it are not likely to be that interested in homebrew GP2X games. Hell, most of them will probably take one look at that review and dismiss the machine itself purely because it takes a bit of effort to get it running.

So, taking this into account - and the fact that I had a strict word count to work within - just because I didn't make more fuss about the homebrew side of the machine DOESN'T mean I'm saying that all homebrew/commercial software for the GP2X is unwanted.

:rolleyes:

As for the batteries, whatever floats your boat, guys. I would rather have a dedicated rechargeable power source, some people prefer to use up a pack of Duracells.

We're all different, I guess.

 

[Alex.]

I honestly didn't think it would be worth talking about the homebrew titles mate.

just because I didn't make more fuss about the homebrew side of the machine DOESN'T mean I'm saying that all homebrew/commercial software for the GP2X is unwanted.

Haha, such a borderline contradiction...

What if all that Amiga was known for was Frodo, the C64 emulator? Would people still care or even remember the Amiga today?

 

[sam fisher]

I deplore you to play ruckman, sqdef, boomshine; phishy and then say that it's not worth talking about the homebrew. That is to name but four!

 

[kevcal]

I would rather have a dedicated rechargeable power source, some people prefer to use up a pack of Duracells.

Don't think we were advocating that :huh: - maybe reread the posts immediately above about rechargeable AAs.

But apart from that, it seemed a pretty good (albeit too concise obviously) review; that could have mentioned the pretty active homebrew scene at least in passing..

 

[Duddyroar]

I honestly didn't think it would be worth talking about the homebrew titles mate.

just because I didn't make more fuss about the homebrew side of the machine DOESN'T mean I'm saying that all homebrew/commercial software for the GP2X is unwanted.

Haha, such a borderline contradiction...

That's not a contradiction. As I've previously stated, I was writing what the intended audience will want to hear. As a writer, you often have to do this.

I would have thought the GP2X community would be pleased the machine is getting coverage on a very popular and well-read site, but instead there's all this pointless bitching about what wasn't included in the review. :blink:

 

[Alex.]

When you talk about something many people poured countless hours into as 'not worth talking about', you may step on a few toes.

I reread your article, and I understand you had to work with a word limit. However, adding that the GP2X's opensource nature leads to a myriad of different apps and games in addition to emulators wouldn't have broken it, I'm sure. Neither would have mentioning Payback, Vektar, retrovirusRTS, and Wind&Water as exceptions when you talked about the lack of commercial potential.

 

[namco]

Just hang on a cotton picking minute!!!!

Having read your atricle I do agree with what people say here....you concentrated too much on emulation.

However, you tripped over yourself, in your article:

QUOTE
Retro gaming is undoubtedly big business these days. Esteemed companies like Capcom, Namco and Midway are busily pillaging their back catalogues for games they can repackage and sell at a premium, and all three current-generation consoles offer downloadable retro content of some description via their burgeoning online services.



Then I see, on the right hand side:

QUOTE
Opinion: Can quake be really done on a mobile phone?


and absolutely no mention of Quake, Duke3D and even ScummVM...are you telling me that ALL the pocketgamer fans want is just emulation???

Regardless of your professionalism, would it have killed the word count to have just said:

Oh and it plays Quake, Doom and LucasArts games???

No, wait...sorry that's just not professional enough is it?? What the hell would I know about retro games and professional writing?? <_<

If you think that's harsh, well I apologise now. I just hate it when reviewers don't give enough birth to the GP2X, without resorting to moaning on about AA batteries / "it's all about the emulation".

The batteries issue is one of the biggest "sore points" on this forum, there isn't a thread that doesn't go by that someone hasn't griped about it! :angry:

Giving your clientelle what they want (or what you think they want) is all well and good, but expanding their horizons - and to at least give credit to - other possibilities shows a lot more professionalism in journalism than "looking down the short and narrow".

Oh and please don't refer to me as mate...it wouldn't be in your best interests to do so.......

 

[Duddyroar]

Ok, it's clear that people are of the opinion that I seem to have some kind of 'grudge' against the GP2X, or something equally stupid. I purchased the machine I reviewed for Pocket Gamer with my own cash, I'm a former GP32 owner and the F200 is currently my most-used machine at the moment. Trust me, when I wrote the review I didn't intentionally ignore aspects of its potential. If I'd have had a limitless word count I would have covered every single facet of the GP2X world, but that is a luxury I simply didn't have.

I felt it was worth mentioning the battery issue as most PG readers - who own either a DS, PSP or mobile phone - will be used to having dedicated rechargeable power sources, so the fact that the F200 uses AAs will be a big issue for them (it's not for you guys, but then you're hardcore fans of the machine).

My hope is that if someone reading that review likes the sound of playing emulated games on the move then they may click the link to Craig's shop and learn a bit more about the possiblities the machine can offer. There's no way I could cover everything in such a short review, and I fully expect any interested parties to dig a bit deeper if they're really interested in the console.

There were countless other things I had to leave out, too. I wanted to talk about the excellent build quality of the console (apart from the rubber port covers, naturally), the quality of the screen, the sound, etc.

So please don't brand me as 'just another reviewer' trying to play down the appeal of the machine. I'm a big fan and like I said, the F200 is getting all my attention at the moment.

Oh and please don't refer to me as mate...it wouldn't be in your best interests to do so.......

Oooooooooooooh-kay. :blink:

Lovely crowd we have here! :lol:

 

[kevcal]

Passionate lot (about AAs in my case).

 

[Duddyroar]

Passionate lot (about AAs in my case).

For sure, I don't doubt anyone's passion on here, I just found it a bit strange that someone could take offense at being called 'mate'...it's hardly a negative or aggressive term!

 

[lubidog]

Blimey you lot! Calm down! Namco, mate-what are you gonna do? Beat him up (ooh, hard!)

This is all a bit over reacted, really.......

 

[Duddyroar]

Blimey you lot! Calm down! Namco, mate-what are you gonna do? Beat him up (ooh, hard!)

This is all a bit over reacted, really.......

Well said my friend.

 

[BaDToaD]

AA ftw. Simple really. In 20 years time when you can't buy a battery for your PSP or DS I'll be sitting happily reliving the old days on my GP32 as will you guys on your f200s curtesy of the latest AA battery technology which by then will probably give you 20 hours run time

As for fast chargers damaging batteries the answer is to buy a good one. Mine has a built in fan to cool batteries, has four seperate charging circuits, monitors each seperately for charge and slows up the charging as the battery nears fully charged.

 

[Nova]

I doubt AA batteries will still be manufactured in twenty years, or the F200 still going strong (The GP32, maybe, that baby was like a panzer tank). Nowadays, standardised rechargable batteries are easy to buy and replace, and it's inexcusable (in my opinion) to use a power source as bulky as AA batteries.

I enjoyed the review, and as Duddyroar suggests, I am one of the GP2x owners that isn't very interested in homebrew (Thats not to say that homebrew is crap). I mean, take a look at the Craiginator topic, specs are flying around, and all people care about is what the machine can emulate. I have not seen a single excited post about the quality of homebrew on the thing.

 

[b._.o._.b]

I have not seen a single excited post about the quality of homebrew on the thing.

New homebrew is not so depending on the specs of the new device and old homebrew will surely be able to be ported.
I would love to see Sqdef, Ruckman, TileWorld2x, Ghostpix, Joyriders puzzlegames etc (really there are a lot more great games) on the new device. I hope the devs will port their great game to the craig2x.

Am I exited enough?