GBA SP: The Gift That Keeps On Givin'

For my son's birthday his mother and I decided to get him a Nintendo GameBoy Advanced SP System. It wasn't that expensive (compared to the Xbox 360 which I would need to sell a kidney on EBay to procure) and the library of games was decent. They are also still making games for the system which is good for Christmas and assorted birthdays. The GBA SP has meant so much to our family. Let me tell you a couple of reasons why.

We've found that one of the great things about this system is that the games are not very expensive at all. New games are around $30 bucks and you can get them used for as little as $10. That's great for Cam who was able to use some of his birthday money to get a bunch of games. Now I own an Xbox and a PS2. Games for these systems are more expensive and used ones aren't much cheaper. The only drawback to the GBA is that you can't rent the games to see if you like them. But that's not much of a problem as we research all the games we buy to make sure that we are getting the really good ones to play. IGN.com is a great place to get this information(its linked to this page on the right). Just look for the editor's choice and you'll get a list of games that have scored high in catagories like graphics, gameplay and re-play value. It really helps to get a decent game that's fun to play.

Considering the size of the system, the games are really impressive. The whole unit is about the size of a pop-tart and it plays all the games I used to play on the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). They look a lot better and all the ones we have played have a few save slots installed so you can save your games. The only drawback to the size is that the screen is VERY small. So after a session of playing for awhile you find yourself in a position that looks a lot like Quasimodo resetting the date on his watch. Nothing a nice stretch and a couple of nicely placed cracks won't fix. Being as small as the unit is we have to keep a close eye on it. We have a two year old that would like nothing better that to take our joyous new plaything and throw it in the trash, toilet, or the other dimension where all the missing binkies, sippy-cups, and lost continent of Atlantis are currently located.

I did mention that this was a gift for our son didn't I? Well he plays it for sure, but from time to time he gets stuck and his parents need to help him. That's what parents are for right? Parents who are anxious to help our son with various harder levels and nasty boss fights. Parents who also end up playing the game until 2 am, long after Cam's asleep. We feel that as parents it's our responsibility to go ahead of where Cam may be in the game. Just to make sure he knows what's coming when he gets there. It's really a service we perform for our kids, rather than a compulsive need to get all the eggs on a certain Mario game just for the principle of it. Being a parent is all about sacrifice.

So if you looking for the perfect gift for your kid, a GBA is a great one. Imagine all the hours of fun he'll have playing it. Truthfully, for the price of the unit and games - it's the best game system I've, er Cam, has ever owned. More importantly though - it has brought our family together in a very special way. Ultimately most important is the fact that just one more level on Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and I'll be the best skater in all of Barcelona...but I digress....