As well as having an unhealthy passion for retro-gaming in general, those of you who know me personally will also be aware that I'm an absolute sucker for Direct-to-TV (DTV) games. I possess an enviable collection of plug-and-play battery-operated gizmos, and every time a new one is released I have to get it. My interest was recently raised when I came across a full page advertisement for Logic3's 'Gamespower 50' whilst browsing through an old copy of Retro Fusion magazine. Won over by the manufacturer's description ("The Gamespower 50 - A Portable 8-Bit Gaming Console With 50 Built-In Games!") and intrigued due to the unit utilising it's own 2.5" TFT screen as well as giving the player the ability to connect the console to a regular TV, I immediately logged on to Amazon and ordered one.

Two days later it arrived in the post, and I have to admit that on first impressions the unit looked like a good buy for the thirty pounds it cost. The GP50 packaging was of a similar standard to other DTV units (note that the screenshot shown here actually contains a different model to the one that I purchased), but Logic3 get bonus points for also providing a wrist strap, a felt carry case, a properly printed manual (briefly detailing each of the 50 games), leads to connect the unit to a TV *and* batteries - which is something most manufacturers miss. (I can still remember the feeling of disappointment at Christmas upon opening my Capcom DTV and realising that I had no batteries in the house).

My worries began when I scanned over screenshots on the packaging - the graphics were very NES-like (I initially guessed/hoped that the GP50 would actually be an illegal NES-clone with a load of pirated games, similar to those shoddily made 'Super-Joy' DTV toys you see at car-boot sales), but there wasn't a single game I recognised. Well, actually that's not quite true - there were screenshots of various *genres* of game that I recognised - but then the memories of the infamous Cascade Cassette-50 spectrum compilation came flooding back.

Upon switching the unit on the GP50 plays a rather naff sounding chip tune, the TFT screen comes to life and the user is presented with a splash screen displaying the Logic3 logo and URL. After pressing one of the four buttons, the menu screen pops up and there's a seven-page long list of unfamiliar game titles listed alphabetically. The first game on the list, 'Aero Engine' was the obvious first choice, so selection made and away we go - straight into the game - no intro, title-screen or instructions...

...and it has to be said, this is where it all falls down. Aero Engine is a good example of the quality of the games on the GP50 - it initially looks like Gradius or R-Type or any other 80's scrolling space shooter, but that's where the similarities end. The graphics are glitchy, with a lot of sprite clashing and on-screen flickering, the sound is terrible (more on that later) and the game just isn't any fun to play. So a few minutes later you reset the unit and select another game. And then you repeat the process until you've gone through the whole list and realise that not only have Logic3 robbed you of your hard earned cash, but also of the hour or so of your life you've just spent trying to find a reason to keep this poorly-executed mess of a games console.

The rest of the titles include rough and ready clones of Breakout, Light Cycles and Space Invaders, a Lawn Mower simulator (why?!), various 'matching' puzzle games and an assortment of one-screen platformers that may look like Bubble Bobble or Lode Runner, but sure as hell don't play the same. The game controls are sluggish in their response and most of the games are rendered practically unplayable as a result, but the worst thing is that many of the titles use the same graphics and sound - there's only about half a dozen different chip tunes spread across all 50 games (although there is fortunately a volume control so you can turn the sound off). Even more unforgivable is that a few of the games are actually identical in nature, but just feature alternative graphic tile-sets and level designs!

The unit itself is solid and essentially well designed (very similar in appearance to the Nintendo GBA Micro, albeit a little fatter), but the adapter to plug the games console into a TV is sadly not. The cable is just under two metres in length (which is good), but the jack that connects to the top of the GP50 is very loose and in practice it's difficult to use the console in this mode without the lead regularly popping out (bad). Also, the picture quality is absolutely awful. The colours are faded and pale in comparison to the picture on the small screen and the quality is grainy and blurred - however, at least this partially hides the unbelievably poor clashing and scrolling on some of the games! The GP50 also has a headphone socket next to the TV-output one, but as the mono sound is terrible across the board I saw little point in bothering to check if it actually works.

In conclusion, it saddens me to say that the GP50 is a missed opportunity. If only Logic3 had presented their design to the company behind the highly successful C64 DTV (or any of the other DTV manufacturers), we could have ended up with an awesome new retro toy on the market. As it is, the games on the GP50 are buggy and amateurish, and as stated previously I can't help but be reminded of the dreadful Cascade Cassette-50 compilation. If only Logic3 had actually officially licensed some decent - and more importantly - popular games, it could have been a massive success. Avoid.