I Went Over To The Dark Side... Got A Dslite + 1gig Flashcart

[geniv]

I've been looking at the GP2X. since Nov of last year..
but some of the stuff I didn't like about it still lingers today.

- battery life
- thumb stick
- lack of really good games or a killer ap for it.
(yeah emulators are nice I have to admit)

anyway I finally settle on a
Nintendo Lite and a M3 Lite flash cart.

I did a review of it if anyone is curious
http://www.geniv.com/kin/reviews/ndsl/

not that the GP2x is a bad unit. it is good in it's own right but for gamming I just settled for the DS Lite.. and with the flash cart I can listen to mp3, homebrew and video too (but video is not as good as a gp2x)

but on the bright side I have 12 DS games and 33 GBA games on my unit and they all run perfectly.

 

[Fishbong]

Noone´s gonna flame your for that. The GP2X is not for everyone, GPH made a few bad decisions (joystick, AA Batterys, no USB host jack) and on top of that the build quality really isn´t great.

The DS is a fine device, be sure to get Starfox Command for it, it totally rocks!

 

[geniv]

Noone´s gonna flame your for that. The GP2X is not for everyone, GPH made a few bad decisions (joystick, AA Batterys, no USB host jack) and on top of that the build quality really isn´t great.

The DS is a fine device, be sure to get Starfox Command for it, it totally rocks!

yupe I got that on my flashcart. didn't play it much yet. not use to the touchpad controls.

been busy playing Casstlevania DoS, new super mario and mario Kart DS

 

[Alex.]

I've been looking at the GP2X. since Nov of last year..
but some of the stuff I didn't like about it still lingers today.

- battery life

Battery life is bloody fine, remember that it runs a 200Mhz+ processor, 3.5 backlit (and how!) LCD, as well as other hardware-specific goodies under the hood.

- thumb stick

The stick is fine for most games except for Sensible Soccer. It actually gives you a great feeling of control and is not as bad as some people make it out to be.

- lack of really good games or a killer ap for it.
(yeah emulators are nice I have to admit)

What are you talking about, there are tons of great homebrew titles out already (and just wait for the community contest to come to an end) - Dodgin Diamonds, Noiz2sa, Spout, Vektar, Zoov, Kuru Kuru, Power Manga, Invaders, just to name a few off the top of my head.

GPH made a few bad decisions (joystick, AA Batterys, no USB host jack)

The AA batteries are anything but a mistake. They are very practical, and you have no logical reason to say what you said.

on top of that the build quality really isn´t great.

I have an MK2, and the build quality is excellent. All the buttons, including the stick and shoulders are sturdy. The LCD is top notch, and the unit as a whole has a full, well-assembled feeling to it.

- Alex

 

[geniv]

ehehe here comes the fanboy attacks.

 

[g4m3r]

Although I disagree on your opinion of the GP2X, congrats on your purchase.

 

[Ravnos]

Fanboyism aside, I have both and I'm happy with both. There are a ton of great games for the DS and it's tough to criticize your decision to buy it. I've been considering getting another one myself, then I can break out multiplayer games with my gf or friends who don't have a DS yet. But my GP fulfills the (wannabe)hacker/geek urges in me with its lovely Linux OS, great emu/homebrew and free-to-tinker-with nature. As far as I'm concerned, either is a great choice depending on what you're looking for and both are preferable if you've got the money.

As for DS games, I'm a little behind because I've been a little broke lately, but aside from the obvious (anything Mario, Metroid Prime Hunters, etc), I'd recommend Meteos (which is a great take on the falling-block puzzle game), Nanostray (if you like shmups), and Metroid Prime: Pinball, which seemed gimmicky at first but turned out to be really good. The version of Mr. Driller on DS is also really great. Oh yeah, and the DS version of Bomberman supports 8-player multplayer on a single cart, if you can get that many DS players together in one spot.

 

[geniv]

Fanboyism aside, I have both and I'm happy with both. There are a ton of great games for the DS and it's tough to criticize your decision to buy it. I've been considering getting another one myself, then I can break out multiplayer games with my gf or friends who don't have a DS yet. But my GP fulfills the (wannabe)hacker/geek urges in me with its lovely Linux OS, great emu/homebrew and free-to-tinker-with nature. As far as I'm concerned, either is a great choice depending on what you're looking for and both are preferable if you've got the money.

As for DS games, I'm a little behind because I've been a little broke lately, but aside from the obvious (anything Mario, Metroid Prime Hunters, etc), I'd recommend Meteos (which is a great take on the falling-block puzzle game), Nanostray (if you like shmups), and Metroid Prime: Pinball, which seemed gimmicky at first but turned out to be really good. The version of Mr. Driller on DS is also really great. Oh yeah, and the DS version of Bomberman supports 8-player multplayer on a single cart, if you can get that many DS players together in one spot.

thanks, I tried Nanostray it's pretty good. those other games I didn't get a chance to try yet but it's in there..

looks like it's going be a unproductive workday for me tomorrow for me

 

[DaveC]

ehehe here comes the fanboy attacks.

Not really fanboi attacks just correcting bad information. Just like the guy that says AA batteries are a mistake. They don't seem to get the fact that custom batteries from a small company that you can't always count on to get replacements from would be a mistake.

 

[Fishbong]

Not really fanboi attacks just correcting bad information. Just like the guy that says AA batteries are a mistake.

Just to mock you Davey Actually both solutions have its merits, its just that you seem to be on survival trips far away from civilisation all the time, carrying a backback full of AA´s.

Look here, boss: which part of the GP2X besides the case was designed by GPH? The CPU? The LCD panel? RAM? Any chip on the board? None. Not even the horrid thumbstick.

Ond then, the GP2X fames itself of being opensource

So what, oh all powerfull and wise DaveC, makes you think they´d design a proprietary Li-Ion battery? Why not use an already widely available solution, as it is used in PDAs, that can be purchased from 3rd party manufacturers?

Now calm down Dave, i´m not expecting you to answer this.

 

[grahf]

Hardly any company makes their own li-ion cells. However, most companies do make their own proprietary battery case. A Sony PSP battery most likely uses the same li-ion cell that you can find in many of sonys other devices, and other things such as cellphone batteries. But, that doesnt mean the battery will fit. Just the actual cell inside the battery is the same. The battery case is not. You cant think of a battery as just the cell, you have to think of the entire assembled unit (as in cell, housing, and sometimes integrated charging circuitry).

I dont agree with a lot of DaveCs points on things, but I do share his point on the use of batteries.

 

[fawny]

The DS will always be leagues ahead in having masses of quality commercial software ( written by JAPANESE programmers ) so I can understand why you made your decision.

Thank you for pointing us to your review. I have a DS and am deliberating over which flashcart option to go for, so your review is very interesting to me.

What made you decide on the M3 Lite and would you still get that one if you were to do it again ?

 

[Fishbong]

The M3 is better for GBA games, there are quite a few GBA games that won´t run correctly on a supercard. FOr DS games, it doesn´t matter.

 

[geniv]

The DS will always be leagues ahead in having masses of quality commercial software ( written by JAPANESE programmers ) so I can understand why you made your decision.

Thank you for pointing us to your review. I have a DS and am deliberating over which flashcart option to go for, so your review is very interesting to me.

What made you decide on the M3 Lite and would you still get that one if you were to do it again ?

I did like a week of research before settling on the M3 lite.

actually I did a few days of reserach on the supercard Lite till someone one pointed to me about the M3 lite.

they have pretty much the same featues.

but from further research the M3 Lite have some stuff the SC Lite doesn't
- realtime clock for GBA games that uses it (I doubt I will use personally )
- Linker function (for GBA games) (I doubt I will use personally )
- uses higher quality IC chips that consumes less battery.
- big active community
- frequent updates to the device.
- runs GBA games better
- supposely less hassle to run latest ds games. (I had no problem running all those DS game I loaded in. )
and I think can run games that you can just drag and drop the games over.

The M3 lite card is about $25 more than the SC lite tho..


I'm happy with the M3 lite and will recommend it to other people

my only complaint is the crappy emulators. (hope there will be good DS emulators out later on)
and small GBA display but that's a Nintendo problem.

 

[Goity]

Why the fuck do people think that Japanese programmers are the best? It's insane.

 

[Thomas Dequinas]

Very nice review, I'd love to get an M3 Lite but I may have to go with something cheaper like the SC Lite. Sure, it may be inferior but it is what I paid for (or will be paying for). Also loved the part where you put some exlax into the guy's coffee :lol:! I was very surprised and in awe when I pulled out the DS Lite from the sleeve inside the box, those pictures I've seen online make the Lite look much bigger than it really is.

I'd also like to mention that you can now run GBC games (didn't see it mentioned in the review) on the M3 and SC (as well as any other GBA flash cart, but Goomba Color is now built into the latest firmwares). You should check to see if you have the latest version of an emulator as it isn't guaranteed they'll be included in the latest firmware updates (and be sure to keep an eye on SnezziDS, a DS SNES emulator that is looking really good).

 

[speedmike]

Why the fuck do people think that Japanese programmers are the best? It's insane.

The Japanese Suck, Chinese programers is where it is at! Just look at the Game King, IT OWNS!

* I totally forgot about that Japanese programers thread that made me laugh again.


I wish I had money to buy a GP2x or DS. Good Buy!

 

[geniv]

Very nice review, I'd love to get an M3 Lite but I may have to go with something cheaper like the SC Lite. Sure, it may be inferior but it is what I paid for (or will be paying for). Also loved the part where you put some exlax into the guy's coffee :lol:! I was very surprised and in awe when I pulled out the DS Lite from the sleeve inside the box, those pictures I've seen online make the Lite look much bigger than it really is.

I'd also like to mention that you can now run GBC games (didn't see it mentioned in the review) on the M3 and SC (as well as any other GBA flash cart, but Goomba Color is now built into the latest firmwares). You should check to see if you have the latest version of an emulator as it isn't guaranteed they'll be included in the latest firmware updates (and be sure to keep an eye on SnezziDS, a DS SNES emulator that is looking really good).

GBC doesn't work on my M3 Lite.

I wouldn't get my hopes up on a SNES emulator. I don't bother with emulators that don't run at least 40fps with sound.

If I want to see slideshows I'll download a bunch of JPG...

right now if I can get fullscreen DS emulators for GB/GBC, NES, GENESIS, TG16 I'll be as happy as pie. I"m sure the DS hardware is capable of it.

 

[EvilAlex]

Do you know were i can get a EWin2 miniSD/SD cart! it's very cheep and i looked everywhere.

 

[geniv]

Do you know were i can get a EWin2 miniSD/SD cart! it's very cheep and i looked everywhere.

http://www.winsunx.com/shop/searchproducts...amp;todo=search

didn't know somthing that cheap exist..

wonder how good it is.