Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Yet Another SEGA Handheld
By James Grahame
To tell the truth, I'm getting somewhat tired of the deluge of vintage SEGA titles built into cheap "X-in-1" game units. Until now, my favorite has been the little Coleco SEGA Classics unit that includes a somewhat random assortment of Master System and Game Gear titles.
The brand new AtGames SEGA Mega Drive handheld ($40) could turn out to be the best of the bunch. It features twenty 16-bit SEGA Genesis games in a case that looks like a reworked version of the original Coleco model.
The unit includes:
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Arrow Flash
- Columns III
- Crack Down
- Decap Attack
- Dr. Robotnik´s Mean Bean Machine
- Ecco
- Ecco Jr.
- E-SWAT: Cyber Police City Under Siege
- Flick
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe
- Jewel Master
- Kid Chameleon
- Ristar
- Sonic and Knuckles
- Shadow Dancer – The Secret of Shinobi
- The Revenge of Shinobi
Like the Coleco unit, The new AtGames design features an A/V output that switches off the screen and allows you to play on a real TV. The mini console is powered by 3 x AAA batteries and features a crisp backlit LCD display and a headphone jack. Battery life should be respectable.
About the only issue is the audio quality: a number of users have commented that the sound is OK, but not identical to the original 16-bit Genesis console. I'll be watching for these to go on sale, because I'd love a portable Genesis. [thanks for the tip, Raleigh!]
Sega Mega Drive Portable [play-asia.com]
