AN EXCLUSIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Most people are pretty happy with the Game Boy Advance, but they'd be even happier with a wide selection of affordable games. Nintendo's e-card reader offers not only this advantage but special opportunities for GameCube players as well. Is all of this worth the pricey initial investment as well as the extra effort spent in scanning cards? The editor of The Gameroom Blitz offers his opinion.

PACKAGING

The e-card reader is more expensive than many Game Boy Advance games... you'd think for that price, the least Nintendo could have done is package it in a cardboard box. Unfortunately, all you'll get for your forty dollars is a standing plastic package that won't give up the reader and cards without a fight to the death. The cards come in foil wrap, which is no more convenient for the player... you'll probably rip it apart to get at those games, leaving you without a secure place to put them. I'm surprised Nintendo didn't think to include a plastic carrying case with the reader, because most players are definitely going to want one.

THE CARD READER AND CARDS

The card reader isn't the prettiest peripheral you'll stick into your Game Boy Advance... people may wonder why your system has suddenly grown an oversized, misshapen head. It's fairly light for its size, but there's a definite difference in weight between the e-card reader and a tiny Game Boy Advance cartridge. The cards themselves are very nicely designed, presented in full color with a glossy finish. You'll find the game's cover art, usually simple but cute Japanese drawings, on the fronts of the cards, and the bar codes and instructions are printed on the backs.

USING THE READER

Instructions are included with the e-card reader, but you probably won't need them... the peripheral is as simple to insert into your Game Boy Advance as a standard cartridge. From there, you just turn on the system and the slick metallic interface will guide you from there. One small sticking point is that you can't just swipe through cards once the system is on... you'll have to choose an option to do it before they'll be recognized. Once selected, the system will wait until you've swiped a card through the slot at the top of the reader... a slow, steady hand is necessary for the card to be read properly. Worsening matters is the fact that some games, particularly the NES titles, use up to ten barcodes. On the plus side, the reader lets you scan cards out of sequence and make errors without having to start from the beginning. In addition to this, the larger games can be saved to the reader's memory, effectively turning it into a game cartridge that can be removed and replaced later. If you're worried about your cards, you may not even have to take them with you on trips... just scan in the game you want to play before you leave.

THE NES GAMES

This is what you came for, right? I know that's why I bought mine. The NES games require more card swipes than any other software available for the system, but ultimately, it's worth the hassle. We've waited a long time for this, but finally, Nintendo's given us a way to play real NES titles on a handheld system. Granted, they're not the largest or most impressive of the games available on the Nintendo Entertainment System, but Nintendo's made some pretty good choices. Moreover, the games are so close to the originals that it's tough to tell whether they're emulated or just very well translated. There are indications that either may be the case... the omission of the two player mode in Donkey Kong Jr. and Balloon Fight, suggests that the designers started from scratch, but the faithful graphics, sound, and gameplay in these games, coupled with the obscene amount of cards you'll have to swipe to play them, gives you the impression that you're loading both an NES game and an excellent emulator into your reader. The text and some portions of the screen are slightly flattened and blurred to accommodate for the Game Boy Advance's resolution, but that aside this is one of the best and easily the least expensive way to play NES games when you're not at home.

GAME AND WATCH SERIES

This is probably the least appealing of the software available for the e-card reader... frankly, I had more fun reading statistics for the Pokemon characters. Games like Manhole are closer to the original Game & Watches than they were on the miserable Game Boy Color, with more convincing background overlays, but the characters themselves are still pixelated. Even if the resolution of the Game Boy Advance was doubled, they'd still be too rough around the edges. The only way you can fully appreciate Mr. Game & Watch is to actually play a Game & Watch, and I don't think that's ever going to change. The gameplay is faithfully reproduced, but this just leaves you with a very simplistic game that's just as boring and far less attractive than it was twenty years ago. I'd keep the card- you'll really appreciate the photo on the front if you remember playing the original Game & Watches as a child- but you might want to avoid scanning it if at all possible.

POKEMON CARDS

The Pokemon game included with the reader isn't much more complex than Manhole, but the graphics are a vast improvement. As the green bodybuilder Ferrigno-mon... uh, I mean, Machop, you must smash through tons of boulders, one hundred in all. Like in the arcade classic Jungle Hunt (another possible e-card port? Please say yes, Taito!), every rock bounces, but some boulders jump higher than others... you'll need to use the right combination of straight punches and uppercuts to survive. One boulder collision is enough to drop Machop, and those boulders tend to roll out pretty quickly, so the game is very intense despite its simplicity. The three card set can stimulate your mind as well, if you decide to use them as part of your strategy in the Pokemon trading card game.

OVERALL OPINION & PREDICTIONS

If the somewhat high price were the only drawback to the e-card reader, I would definitely recommend it, but that's not its only flaw. Scanning cards becomes rather tiresome, and I imagine that young children (the Game Boy Advance's primary audience) aren't going to be very excited about swiping a handful of them to play games only adults will fondly remember. The e-card reader has other applications, but to keep it alive Nintendo's going to have to associate it with a popular cartoon or card game. The Pokemon fad has faded almost to the point of blinking out, so an alliance with Konami and its own series Yu-Gi-Oh! would be Nintendo's best strategy. This would have the added bonus of giving older players early Konami NES titles like Track 'n Field and Gradius. Finally, later games are just going to have to come on fewer cards... ten swipes is asking too much of anyone.

The value of the e-card reader is directly proportionate to your love for Nintendo and its products. If you prefer the competing systems to the GameCube and play the Game Boy Advance because it's the only thing available on long trips, forget it. There's nothing of interest for you here, and you'll absolutely despise having to scan the cards. However, if you find yourself playing the Game Boy Advance as much as your home consoles, you could benefit from the purchase. Now let's say in addition to that, you grew up with an NES and spent a lot of time with all the games. If that's the case, and you don't already have a flash linker and PocketNES, dude, you're gettin' an e-card reader. I don't think I have to take this even further and add a GameCube to this hypothetical situation.