The future of retrogaming is... emulation?

Last week, I posted a review of the Anbernic RG351P handheld games console, a device that uses emulation to bring a fair few gaming systems to life in a portable format. Towards the end of that post, I mentioned that whilst I am a fan of collecting games and their associated hardware, cost and space make hardware storage prohibitive which is why the emulation route makes a great deal of sense for me at present. Giving this further thought, I now consider emulation to be the best way to continue to enjoy retro videogames without destituting myself. Whilst my games collection is a shadow of its former self, what I have now are titles that I will continue to play, rather than a load of titles on shelves that will never be touched. As you can see from the following pictures, these are an eclectic mix.

Now I know what you're thinking. What about the collecting and curation of all that old hardware? Let me ask a more pertinent question. What happens when that old hardware dies?

The growing PS2 collection.

If your beloved aged computer or console kicks the bucket, you always have the option of buying another one. This may end up being very expensive. Prices have risen an awful lot over recent years and price-gouging is very common. Depending on where you buy this kit from, you're probably going to face the same issues that killed your original hardware, so preventative maintenance is a must. This isn't especially difficult a lot of the time but a heat gun, ability to solder and a decent tool kit will be required. If you don't fancy that, or don't have the space to carry out this work, then you can, in most cases, find someone that will do the work for you but be prepared to pay for the privilege. At this point, you can also find mods to make your machine of choice a bit more 21st Century friendly. Adding HDMI support, SD card readers and other bits and bobs do make usage a lot more simple, though purists might argue that it takes you away from the point of actually having the old kit anyway. Still, there is quite the industry depending on the format you're using and a quick Google will give you some idea as to what can be done to long out of production hardware.

There will be more added in the future.

There are, however, alternatives to original hardware that use original games. Companies like Analogue and Hyperkin have offered machines that accept original cartridges. These machines are designed for modern day televisions (a not inconsequential matter when it comes to playing old games) and are successful to varying degrees. It's all about the quality of the replication, be it FPGA hardware (in the case of the Analogue systems, the UnAmiga and the MiSTer) or the emulation (Hyperkin and others), though some of the emulator based consoles are hit and miss. Analogue have a lovely range of machines, the latest of which, the Analogue Duo, appears to be the perfect PC-Engine nerd solution to keep playing those old games. There is a flaw though - you can't buy the Duo yet and even when they do announce it for sale, there'll be only a handful released to order and you'll have fuck all chance of getting a pre-order confirmed. I admit, I have a bug-bear with Analogue as they seem to do this with every machine they announce. Too few made for the obvious and understandable demand. For $199, the Duo would be a steal, but even once they get it produced, they'll never have any in general stock to buy - I mean, checking out their other products, outside of a couple of controllers, none of the their gaming systems are in stock. Zero. Zilch. How the company stays in business is beyond me as I stupidly thought that you had to have cashflow to continue trading. Yes, I get it that this is a niche area of interest and, though not exactly a cottage industry, it's big enough to support these companies in the first place. However, companies like Analogue, and this goes for other manufacturers in the retro world too, seem to exist on the idea of the privileged few - those lucky/fanatical individuals who do get their hands on the kit and sod off to everyone else. The daft thing here is that cost isn't an issue, not really. $200 for the Analogue Duo, that's about £150 at present. Compare that to what original hardware goes for and it's a steal. Which is probably a more reliable way of getting hold of one when it's released... (joke!). 

Another small, but varied collection.

But what if you wanted to play the games but don't have the original hardware and aren't lotto-winning levels of lucky to buy an FPGA based replacement? That's where software emulators come in and, for me, this means RetroArch. It's free and you can add "cores" easily to increase the number of systems you want to emulate. It doesn't need a stupidly powerful PC to run, though the more graphical oomph you have, the better for some of the later consoles. My Lenovo Yoga Book is good enough for up to 16-bit consoles and that runs an anaemic Atom x5 processor. Adding games to the library is just a matter of dropping the ROM files in a folder and telling RetroArch to scan that folder. Simples. Getting the ROM's, well, that's another discussion, but what I will say is that for most disc-based consoles, it's simplicity itself to drop your copy of the game in the PC's DVD drive and "archive" the ROM. If you don't have the disc, or the game is on a cartridge, well, there are other options, both hardware and software-based, but I'm not going to talk about those. You can Google that stuff yourself.

Of course, there is more than just RetroArch. Redream for the Dreamcast is a must and although the basic free version does the job well enough, consider paying the small upgrade fee ($5) for the extra features. My i5 7600k, with 16GB of memory and a rather old 6GB GTX 1060 (a set up that's not been updated in three and a half years) can run this just fine. Other format specific emulators include PCSX 2 (PlayStation 2), Dolphin (Gamecube and Wii) and PPSSPP (PSP). There is also another emulator that is getting there in capability - Xenia. I've used this to play the recently discovered Xbox-360 adaptation of Goldeneye 007. This port was held back from release by 1 (one!!!) person during the discussion of licensing. Taking what is rightly regarded as a classic, Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64 and updating it for the 2008 audience, it brought proper FPS controls, better graphics and a much smoother frame rate. Sadly, due to said decision, it was unreleased and considered lost until this year. Now that a cracked version is available, it's a wonderful way to play the game, especially considering how janky the original is and the borked controls - sorry, in the days before twin analogue sticks, console shooters were handicapped by their controls. 

In some cases, though, there is official emulation available. Amiga Forever and C64 Forever are emulators for their respective formats that contain legally licensed ROMs. This is something of a biggie as if you want to use something like PCSX 2, you'd need to locate your own PS2 ROMs, something you can do if you own a PS2 but more problematic (legally) if you do the on-line option. Official ROM emulation for is limited to specific formats but for fans of either of Commodore's most popular computer ranges, these are definitely worth a try. Depending on the package you opt for, they aren't expensive either. 

So settling on emulation from a PC is one way to keep playing these old games. There are more still, and console manufacturers (both past and present) have taken this path. Nintendo released the Mini-NES and Mini-SNES consoles, cute little representations of their 8 and 16-bit home consoles with a bunch of included games. Emulator based and suitable for modern TV's, their only real downside was the inability to add additional games from Nintendo themselves. There are "alternative" methods of fixing that - again, you'll need to Google that. NEC released the PC Engine mini which did a very good job as well, whilst Sony completely fucked their PlayStation Classic by focusing on the presentation of the system itself but not the quality of the emulation included in the box. Sega's Megadrive Mini was another decent attempt, making up for the horrendous licensed machines from AtGames. One slight niggle for all of these is the curated collection approach. Out of the box, you can only play what the manufacturer has included, so to a fair degree, more obscure titles are never going to be included in the mix.

A wonderful trio of handhelds

Talking about emulation would not be complete without mentioning the Evercade. I've posted a couple of times about this here and here, and it really is a nostalgia-fest using emulation. Less limited than the above systems, it uses cartridges so the library of titles is ever-growing. It's also not limited to a specific format which adds to the variety of games you can get on it. Be warned though, you may find out that sometimes, just sometimes, that nostalgia kick is not worth revisiting. A lot of early Atari 2600 games really, really do not play well today. Others, however, very much do play just as well. 

Still room for more Evercade carts as and when they are released.

There are other options for emulation too, and this is where the Anbernic RG351P and it's ilk come in. These relatively cheap machines come in various form factors - handheld, traditional box under the TV, tabletop arcade machine and so on, and rely upon some variation of emulation to run old games. A lot, including the one I bought, are supplied with a ton of games and you can also add your own. On these devices, you can enjoy games up to the 32-bit era with no problems at all. So what's not to like? Well, those games. The ones that come supplied. Legally, a no-no. The ones I add, well, since I own the original disc, then there is an argument for fair use, but still, it's an iffy area as I am still making a copy when I "archive" the ROM.

As you can see, there are many options that provide alternatives to aged hardware that has met its maker. Does this mean that old machines should be binned now? Certainly not, and let me be clear, hardware preservation is just as important as that of software. However, as time marches on, there will be fewer examples of the original systems to play games on, which given human nature means those surviving examples will command an even heftier price. Okay, you'll not get the feel of the original controller (GX4000 and CD32 fans rejoice!) but you will be able to play the games and it's the games that are the point. Some paths are legal and fine, the (specifically curated) mini consoles, the Evercade and the honest politician-like available Analogue kit. Others less so, and this is something that maybe the industry as a whole should address. After all, look at the options out there and tell me people aren't making money off the passion for retro gaming. Hell, the Amiga market alone has bespoke hardware galore, some at relatively low prices but unicorn levels of availability (looking at you, UnAmiga) whilst others can be bought but cost a small fortune (the Vampire boards). That, however, is a whole different discussion and one not for now. In the mean time, however you do it, enjoy playing these old games because that's what they were created for. 

P.S. If anyone is interested, the card game that's sneaked into the pictures can be found here.

P.P.S. Yes, eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that I am a Broken Sword fan. Broken Sword I and II on PC-CD-ROM, Broken Sword II for the PlayStation, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon for the PlayStation 2, Broken Sword The Shadow Or The Templars: The Director's Cut for the DS, and Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent's Curse for the Switch (and on the XBox downstairs too). 

I even stalked Revolution's offices in York!

The RG351P - handheld gaming perfection?

For the last couple of years, I've been watching videos on YouTube about retrogaming handhelds. These are typically Chinese manufactured with a price varying between £30 and £200. Whilst they follow the same basic template: ARM CPU, mobile GPU, a modicum of RAM and a screen of varying quality, their form factors have been numerous, from some copying the PlayStation Vita to others a model of the Game Boy family from the year dot, whereas a few follow their own path - the Powkiddy RGB20 for example. What they all have in common is the ability to run some variation of emulator-supporting operating system and a distinct lack of regard to intellectual property.

What you get in the box

Now, you can buy theses handhelds from AliExpress but, if you're familiar with that online retailer, it can be an "interesting" experience. Use the manufacturer's store and you should be good, though as always with AliExpress, shipping times can range from days to literally months. However, there is a UK-based retailer, DroiX, that sells a range of these handhelds and, after checking out various online reviews, I ordered the Anbernic RG351P from them for £79.95 plus £5.99 next working day delivery. A note here, I ordered this on a Saturday, so expected delivery on the following Tuesday. The order wasn't completed until that day so it arrived (via Amazon courier, not DPD) on the Wednesday. While they technically fulfilled the delivery timescale, it's not what I expected and if I were to order again, I'd save a couple of quid and go for the 48 hour tracked delivery. Other than that, no quibbles about the order or the goods received.

So, what does £80 get you and what exactly is the RG351P?

The device itself is the follow up to the RG350P/M models (the P signifies a plastic casing, the M a metal one). You can still buy these (£74.95 and £94.95 respectively) and there are valid reasons to choose the previous model over the newer one (mainly the CPU and type of emulation offered), but you'll need to check out the many YouTube reviews for that. There is, by the way, a 351M which will set you back £129.95 but other than the case and built-in Wifi, has no real differences to the 351P. The 351P is supplied with a USB-C OTG adaptor and an 802.11n WiFi stick, so you still have online access. 

The 351P is delivered in a study box reminiscent of those used by Apple for their iPhones, bearing line drawings of the device on two sides, a guide to the various controls and ports, some basic specs and a contents list - this includes the console itself, a charging cable and a dinky little instruction manual. The OTG adaptor and WiFi stick, along with a plastic screen protector and a couple of screen wipes, are not mentioned on the box but were included in it.

The packaging is quite nice and there's a foam pad protecting the device fascia whilst in transit. As for the device itself, it is 152x71x18mm and weighs 340g. The 3.5 inch screen has a resolution of 480x320, a 3:2 ratio that is perfect for Gameboy Advance emulation but stretches anything with a traditional 4:3 ratio. You can switch to a 4:3 ratio but that gives you black bars on either side of the screen - either way, it's a bright and punchy display. Personally, I don't mind either ratio so it's up to you whether this will be an issue. As for the rest of the specs, we have a 1.5GHz ARM-based CPU (the RK3326), a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 1GB of RAM and a 3500mAh battery, allowing up to 8 hours of play. 

The top of the device - 2 x USB-C, audio jack and L1/L2/R1/R2 buttons

Holding it in the hand, the build quality is rather good and I don't have any concerns about sturdiness. I am sure the M will travel better but you'd still need a screen protector and for the price difference, I think the P is better value. Controls-wise, we have two analogue joysticks that have a decent feel, not too loose, not too stiff, that also act as L3 and R3 when clicked. The shoulders have two buttons a piece (L1, L2, R1 and R2) which are nice and clicky. The front of the device has a good D-pad, four regular buttons and separate Start and Select buttons. These work well and aren't spongy. On the right hand side, you have a volume wheel, whilst on the left you have the power button. The base has the reset switch, dual speakers for stereo output and the memory card slot, able to take up to 256GB capacity cards - a 64GB card is supplied, containing the OS and about 2,500 ROMs across the various supported formats. On the top of the device, aside from the shoulder buttons, there are two USB type-C ports (one for power) and a 3.5mm audio jack for headphones. One final note on the hardware, I ordered mine in black but you can also get them in purple and white.

The bottom of the device - speakers, memory card slot and reset button

The manual is a small, folded sheet that contains everything you need to know about the device, though the text is tiny and people with less than stellar eyesight may struggle. Still, it does the job in a concise manner.

The manual - it does the job.

Switching on the RG351P and getting to the emulator front end takes a few seconds, but once you're there, navigation is mostly swift and responsive. My device shipped with the EmuElec front end, but there are alternatives to this which can improve the experience. However, that would require formatting the included card and losing the included ROMs. You'd also need a PC to hand so you could save stuff onto that. Emulation itself is handled by RetroArch, so you have access to its features such as save states, screenshots and the like.

The front end is simple to navigate

The following systems are emulated and, as noted above, you get some ROMs included. That's handy. 

Nintendo -  DS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NES, SNES and N64.

Arcade - Final Burn Neo, MAME, CPS I, CPS II and CPS III.

Sege - Genesis (presumably US titles only) Megadrive (presumably Japanese and European titles only), Game Gear and Dreamcast.

Sony - PlayStation and PSP.

Bandai Wonderswan Color.

MSX.

NEC PC Engine.

NeoGeo. 

NeoGeo Pocket.

Each format comes with it's own list of games

As you can see, there is a ton of choice here and you can add your own (legally acquired) ROMS by taking out the memory card and copying them on to it via a PC. I added my copy of Metropolis Street Racer for the Dreamcast just to see how it would play and it went about as well as expected. You see, whilst the RG351P is good for most of the above systems, it's not quite powerful enough to handle the Dreamcast or the N64. Even the PSP is iffy. MSR gave me somewhere between 19 and 32 frames per second which is patchy at best, as well as some audio glitches that didn't make it fun to play. Oh well, I'll stick to ReDream on the PC for that one. 

MSR - frame counter to top right. 30 fps is a rarity.

On the whole though, this little handheld copes well with most of the supported systems and should give you between five and eight hours of play time depending on the system being emulated: the more powerful the system, the lower the battery life. Indeed, stick to the original Sony PlayStation or earlier systems and you'll get a great mix of battery life and smooth performance. Adding my copies of the PlayStation games Exhumed and Star Fighter 3000 to the card allowed me to experience these great games again without being tied to a desktop or being overly worried about the battery conking out. Also of note, original Game Boy games are a revelation, the difference between the RG351P and the original hardware actually makes these games fun to play because they're not a murky green/yellow smeary mess. 

UN Squadron 

A note on the ROMS supplied on the card. These may not be in English and there is some repetition as well between arcade titles and home console conversions (for example, UN Squadron is featured on the CPS I, SNES and the Neo Geo), but on the whole, there is such a range of 8/16 and 32-bit software that you'll struggle to ever find yourself stuck for something to play. The same point can also be made for system options - there are numerous settings that can be changed to your satisfaction.

Star Fighter 3000

The RG351P is not the perfect handheld though. There's that screen resolution as noted above, but in reality, it's not that much of a problem and the convenience of portable gaming outweighs the slightly stretched image. It can't handle the N64, PSP or Dreamcast well, and that latter system is one that I would love to have on a handheld. One day, that will be the case. The RG351P is a little cramped and those with larger hands may struggle to access all the controls easily. Even my (not so large) hands were suffering a little from cramp after a couple of hours of sustained play. It's not heavy though, which stands in its favour. There is also no dedicated HDMI out so if you want to experience retro gaming on a larger screen, you'll need to find another option. Then again, if you have a PC, you can easily download RetroArch for that and, well, you get my drift. For a lot of the emulation, the screen resolution is just fine, but on a few of the later systems, especially the Dreamcast, things look a bit naff as the screen can't deal with the higher in-game resolution.

Streetfighter something or other.

Where the RG351P really scores for me is the ability to play a ton of older titles (and add more from my own disc collection) without spending the equivalent of the GDP of the average European nation. I love collecting physical games and the associated hardware, but space and cost mean that's just not practical. That also doesn't take into account the maintenance that these systems sometimes require - I have no inclination into getting into re-capping and soldering. 

Overall then, the RG351P is a bloody good handheld gaming machine that, whilst it doesn't have the biggest screen, the most powerful chipset or perfectly ergonomic controls, manages to do well enough in each of those categories, and others, to be a great jack-of-all-trades. For the price, the hardware is very good, and if you want more heft, the M version is out there too. The software is easy to navigate and, unless you really dig deep, simple and straightforward. 

You can buy the RG351P from a number of stores on AliExpress (including the manufacturer's store) but I bought mine from DroiX and they promise much more rapid delivery. The choice, as they say, is yours.

The Blaze Evercade - 7 Months On

You may recall a post I wrote seven months ago about the Blaze Evercade, a then new entrant into the handheld gaming console market. Well, after steady use of the device and a thorough play through of my ever growing cartridge collection, I thought it time to give you an update on what's good about the Evercade, what's bad and what could be improved. 

The original box. It's kept in a safe place.

The good to begin with and it's pretty much as I said in my original post whilst noting that the build quality has stood up to some heavy use, the screen remains as good as ever and even the battery life has held up to around the three and a half/four hour mark even with fairly steady use every week. Controls remain as responsive as ever and I still really like the hardware. One improvement that has been seen is the ease of which cartridges can be swapped, it's loosened up enough not to be an issue any more. Also, revised firmware has been issued so that controls can be remapped. A small feature but one that some have found very useful, so kudos has to be given for listening to the customer and providing that support.

As for the bad, well, there's not much to say. Really, there is nothing that I would call the Evercade out for after several months of use. The only feature I really haven't used more than once is the HDMI port, which is down to me not being overly bothered about connecting the console to a TV, but as I said, that's just me. It's still a nice feature to have.

Improvements, well, that's a more difficult one to discuss. Whilst I would love Evercade to offer a couple of improvements, I am very aware that this is a device aimed at a specific price point and any changes made to the original hardware might affect that price point so adversely that it would defeat the purpose of the device in the first place. First of these would be a proper glass screen cover, rather than the plastic cover that currently ships. A bigger battery would also be lovely but the current one does the job well enough. Finally, a metal cased version would be fantastic but I am sure that would bump the price up into an area that Blaze would not be comfortable with. As it stands then, these are moon on a stick wishes but hopefully there might be some revised hardware in the future. As it stands though, what you can get now is very, very good. 

The complete collection... so far...

Games then, and when I purchased my Evercade, I managed to bag the first nine cartridges. As you can see from the pictures above and below, I have caught up with the release schedule since then and now have all of the currently available carts. And really, it's the most recent four carts that show the true genius of the Evercade system. 

The packaging of the carts still looks cool!

Starting at cart number 11, we have the double pack of Xeno Crisis and Tanglewood, the former an indie  twin stick shooter, the latter a Kickstarter funded Megadrive title that has since gained a wider release. Compared to the other carts, two games might seem a bit stingy but when it's two titles of this calibre, the equivalent of £7.50 per game is brilliant value indeed, especially when you consider the full price of the titles are £15.99 and £13.99 on Steam respectively.

Who doesn't love a bit of Dizzy?

Then you have cart 12 - The Oliver Twins Collection. Who amongst us as 8-bit computer owners used to look forward to some of the games in this collection? The range of Dizzy titles, both old and new is worth the price alone but you also have classics like Super Robin Hood, BMX Simulator and Firehawk! And if that isn't enough, all proceeds from this cart go to the National Videogame Museum - that's icing on the cake, so to speak. 

I wanted an Atari Lynx just for this game.

Carts 13 and 14 have the same theme, they cover a total of twenty five titles that were released for the Atari Lynx. The first volume is centred around the developer Songbird, the second volume covers Epyx. Whilst not all of the titles were originally released when the Lynx was supported by Atari, it is great that the later games have another outlet for people to experience them. As someone who really wanted a Lynx back in the day (and eventually settled on the Nintendo Gameboy and, for a couple of years, the Sega Gamegear), these two carts finally allowed me to try out those titles that looked so good in Computer and Videogames, and Mean Machines magazines.

I have waited a long time to play this. It was worth it!

This is the beauty of the Evercade. You can have original titles from long gone hardware as well as newer games developed for those same formats. You can have modern day indie titles that may have passed you buy and you can have collections from seminal (and world record holding) developers. There is such a wide variety of titles available on all fourteen currently available carts that there is pretty much something for everyone, excluding text and graphical adventures but hey, you never know!

Showing off that lovely screen!

The good thing about the Evercade is the extremely low cost of entry. For the list price of £59.99 (€69.99 or $79.99) including one cart, it really is a bargain. If you can get hold of the Premium pack for £79.99 (€89.99 or $99.99) with three carts included, even better. The cart prices are low too, £14.99 (€17.99 or $19.99) which could be described as not far off pocket money levels. Note, I have not received pocket money since the early 1990's and that was £4 per week, I have no idea what children today get. Overall, this very much falls into the affordable bracket.

It gets even better though, as Evercade have already announced four new cartridges due for release in early 2021 with Jaleco Collection 1, Piko Interactive 2, Indie Heroes Collection 1 (which includes the awesome Quest Arrest) and Worms Collection 1. This bodes well for even more releases next year. And yes, I'll be adding these to the collection, though I may have to find another shelf as there isn't enough room left on the current one.

There you have it then, the Blaze Evercade remains a brilliant little handheld gaming machine and one that will give you hours of enjoyment over the already wide range of carts out there. It's relatively inexpensive and the value for money from the carts is second to none. It's certainly been the best value gaming purchase I have made this year and I look forward to their future announcements.

The Blaze Evercade

The Starter Pack and 7 additional cartridges.

The Blaze Evercade originally fell into the "wait and see" category when I first heard about it, as I had owned a couple of  Blaze products in the past and hadn't been overly impressed with them. Yet, as early YouTube reviews appeared, it started to grow on me. The reviews were actually decent - noting issues here and there, but on the whole, I got a very positive impression of the device. My only bugbear was the seemingly spongy d-pad that I took an immediate, if unwarranted, dislike to because of the videos. In the end, though, I took the plunge and pre-ordered the Starter Pack and the other 8 cartridges available at the time.

Delivered by what seemed to be the world's cheeriest postman at 7am last Saturday morning, I quickly disposed of the delivery packaging to reveal this:

Are you not excited by this?

The box is good quality and well designed. It reminds me very much of '80's and '90's console packaging that screams about the hardware and software, leaving you without any doubts as to what you're going to get. True, it's quite "busy" but I think it's a good design for the Evercade. The outer sleeve slides off easily and reveals the console box itself which is more restrained. Opening that box reveals the console in a plastic insert and a small Quick Start Guide. Beneath that is the included game cartridge (Namco Museum Collection 1) and a USB to micro-USB cable for charging. No plug adapter is included but it's likely you'll already have at least a few of those dotted around the house. Nor is a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable included either, so you'll need to buy one if you want to use the Evercade with a TV. One last thing to note, the plastic trays in the box are cheap but do the job, though a far cry from the quality of the cardboard packaging.

I can't fault the design...

...though the plastic trays are cheap.

Out of the box, what does the Evercade offer? A 4.3 inch screen, four main buttons (A, B, X and Y), Select, Start and Menu buttons, and left and right shoulder buttons. On the whole, these feel quite good, though the shoulder buttons do feel a little light but give a decent click when pressed. The d-pad is large and actually very good. Certainly any fears I had prior to using it have gone and I find it works very well. Some have commented about the gameplay button layout, leading to a firmware patch to remap them. That's a personal choice but I'm happy with the way it comes out of the box. Around the device, you have a power switch, cartridge port, micro-USB for charging, mini-HDMI for TV display, a 3.5mm headphone jack and volume buttons. There are also a pair of speakers  on the front that provide decent stereo sound.

Start up screen.

The console itself is well built and quite sturdy, measuring approximately 18cm x 8cm x 2cm. It's not overly heavy at 250g and fits nicely into your hands. The plastic is not textured though, so may get a bit slippy.

The screen, certainly on the highest brightness, is well suited to sunlit rooms. whilst on the low setting, it's very comfortable for playing in darkened areas. The screen ratio in games is usually 4:3 as that's their original ratio, which leaves black borders on either edge of the display, but full screen can be selected from the in game menu, as can save and load states for each title. A note of the full screen option - this appears to just stretch the image across the full width of the display that makes a lot of the titles look just plain wrong, so for me, the correct aspect ratio would be the original 4:3 for a lot of titles. Whilst I am on the subject of the screen, the viewing angles from either side are okay, but the vertical angles are pretty poor - not that this is much of a problem as this is a single player system, regardless of whether the titles offer two player options.

The screen is very nice.

The Starter Pack comes with one cartridge, the Namco Museum Collection 1, containing 11 titles. These include PAC-MAN, Galaxian, Dig Dug and Xevious. This is without doubt the best cart to pack in with the console. Given who it is aimed for, these four titles will evoke a heavy sense of nostalgia and draw you in straight away. As for the rest of the titles on this cart, most I hadn't heard of but Star Luster is a forgotten classic in my humble opinion. I also ordered all of the available cartridges at the same time as the console and, as with Namco 1, whilst there were some titles I was familiar with, there were many I wasn't and discovering these was a joy in itself. Several additional cartridges have been announced for the Evercade, taking the total up to 14 at the time of writing and more are planned. These include two Atari Lynx Collections, The Oliver Twins Collection (which not only supports the excellent National Videogame Museum, but also brings back several Dizzy titles), and a Xeno Crisis/Tanglewood double pack, evidence that the Evercade could be a good home to Indie developers as well.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the cartridge packaging. It's lovely. It holds the cartridge securely and the included colour manual for each cartidge provides instructions and a bit of history for the individual games. They are a nice touch and take me back to a time when packaging actually meant something. I don't know about you, but games manuals were often as important (and entertaining) as the games. The cases also look great on the shelf too...

Console gaming how it used to be.

The manuals are very polished and a lovely touch.

Sorry, Bazcardz, you'll have to move when more carts arrive...

Downsides? Well, I would like to see a better quality screen cover, glass instead of plastic. This is a handheld and people will travel with it. I wouldn't feel comfortable shoving this in a rucksack without the accompanying carry case which, by the way, I haven't bought. Battery life could be a smidge better - four hours just doesn't seem quite enough but it's not a major problem either. The only other issue is the cartridge slot itself - it's very tight to fit the carts in and taking them out can result in some worrying creaking from the body of the console, depending on how you leverage the cart out. Evercade have said that it gets looser with use (Oh, Matron!), but I can't help but think that there could have been an alternative mechanism used other than friction. Oh well, it's not a deal breaker and just means you have to take a bit of care, which is no bad thing.

So having played with this for a week, I am happy with the Evercade. The design and build quality are very good and the games selection is varied and entertaining. True, it can be a bit hit and miss depending on the cartridge but let's be honest here, how many compilations (be it music, games or whatever) have you bought where every title was to your liking? The current range of titles covers an awful lot of retro gaming and as noted above, there are plans for several more. Certainly, I get the impression that they're in it for the long run. With the control layout, there would be no issues with games from systems as modern(!) as the Amiga CD32 and the 3DO being released, and I am sure the Evercade could handle those with ease. I would love to see the likes of Guardian and Star Fighter 3000!

You can order the Evercade from Funstock.co.uk, Argos and Amazon. If you are a retro gaming fan and like the idea of a portable console that covers legally emulated games, then have a look at this. For the price, £59.99 for the starter pack, it's a lovely little system and one that I hope to see supported for a long time to come.