I’m not a gamer , never have been¹. The only game(s) on any of my computers are what comes from the manufacturer. However, I got a GameBoy Advance SP for Christmas (I put it on my list) and I’m really enjoying it.

I’ve been very impressed with the GameBoy unit itself. Great battery life, simple controls (two buttons is about all I can or want to handle), decent screen, and nice and compact.

When I play a game, I don’t want to think that much. I also don’t want to spend a lot of time – about 5-10 minutes max. I’ve gotten a couple of games and most of them have a 5 minute mode.

• Madden Football 2005 – the 2 minute drill is perfect, who wants to play defense anyway?
• Tiger Woods Golf – I mainly play practice rounds, about 3 holes a session.
• Mario Cart – time trials are my friend.
• Dr. Mario – I’ll admit it, I can’t get past level 2 (or 3 or whatever it is).

My only gripe is with the start-up time (especially for the EA Sports games) is way too long. When I have a minute or two to waste playing a game, I don’t want to waste the first 30 seconds on splash screens. 🙂

Anyway, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my new gaming toy and have been playing with it a couple times a week.

1. I had the original Nintendo system as a kid, but didn’t play it that much. In particular, I never got into any game with a plot. [up]