game.com Review

Official Gadgeteer Hands On Review: Game.com by David Lection Last date revised: 03/25/99

Just when you thought handheld gaming was just about dead… Well Tiger
Electronics didn’t think so, in fact the Tiger is hungry and it wants to
eat Nintendo’s dinner in the up for grab handheld game market!

Tiger has introduced the game.com system, and this system is intended to
beat the Nintendo Gameboy every step of the way. Just look at the
features jam packed into this $69.95 handheld game system:

· Advanced Audio including music and speech synthesis

· Monochrome screen with a built in touch screen interface. Unit
includes a built in stylus for pen selection on the display screen.

· Two game cartridge slots built in

· Built in applications like a calendar, phone book, calculator, and
even a challenging solitaire game

But if this weren’t enough, with a special cartridge and modem, you can
even access your text based internet mail. All of this in a $70 package!
Nintendo is sure to be nervous about this system….

So how does game.com stack up against the Gameboy and other game
systems? I have owned a game.com system for about a month. I like this
machine. The system seems well built and sturdy. The display offers reasonable
clarity although it can reflect some glare when the lighting hits it right, a common
problem with displays that have a touch screen sensor. The audio processor in
this system is awesome. The system talks to you when you turn it on, and
each game offers spectacular audio effects. Significantly better than any audio
effects I’ve heard on any other game system.

The initial package includes a bonus cartridge that offers a game.com
version of the Tiger Lights Out game. I was never much interested in
this game in its original handheld package form, but it plays well on
the game.com, but unless you are a hard core puzzle addict this game is
so-so.

The built in solitaire game on the other hand is a lot of fun. Tiger
built in a timing element for the scoring, and it makes this game very
addictive for solitaire.

The built in applications, well they are there. They aren’t bad, but
with a monochrome screen with low resolution, well this machine won’t
replace your PDA. But they get the job done. The phone book is great for
keeping the names and numbers of your favorite gaming buddies.

The area that sets this game system apart is the spectacular lineup of
games Tiger has lined up for the system. If you like action games, then
Duke Nukem 3D, Batman & Robin, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy will be making
their handheld gaming debut on the game.com system. How about Sonic Jam?
This game should win over some Game Gear folks. Then there if the
Jurassic Park Lost World Game. Or if you prefer some games from a time
gone then the Arcade Classics cart has what you want: Defender I & II,
Joust, Robotron 2084, and Sinistar. All of these classic games include
the original play, animations, and sound effects. This is only a partial
list of the games to come.

Rounding out the game.com system lineup is a complete array of
accessories including a carrying case, modem for the email feature, a
head to head cable for multi player game play, and an AC adapter.

If you are in the market for a new handheld system and want killer games
the game.com system deserves a look. After owning a Gameboy, Game Gear,
Lynx, and a Virtual Boy, The game.com is a great handheld game system!

Construction: B+
Screen Readability: B-
Audio Support: A
Battery Life: B+
Overal Rating: B+

David Lection
[email protected]