Game Boy Color Gives Some Old Games a New Look

By AARON CURTISS

Jan. 18, 1999 12 AM PT

It’s been two months since Game Boy Color hit store shelves. And although the little rig delivers on all of its technological promises, most of the games just don’t measure up.

Call me picky, but did we really need yet another variation of “Tetris”?

Game Boy Color is clearly a machine with lots of potential. It extends the life span of the system by at least another couple of years and allows players to revisit games they might not have played in nearly a decade. The vastly improved screen gives even old games a new look.

I spent a recent weekend getting reacquainted with old favorites such as “RoboCop” and “Solar Striker”--games that my eyes long ago refused to see on Game Boy’s old screen. For that, I’m grateful. But not eternally.

For the most part, Game Boy Color’s launch lineup was underwhelming. The games I’ve seen since then haven’t done much to wow me either. The problem: too much reliance on former glories and not enough new stuff.

Consider “Tetris DX.” It’s “Tetris” in color. Curious, I popped my old “Tetris” cartridge into Game Boy Color. While it didn’t render all the colors of the DX version, it did a fine job of producing a few splotches of red. Besides, how much color does one really need in a puzzle game such as “Tetris?”

For new Game Boy owners who don’t have “Tetris,” the color version is a beaut. It’s the classic, addictive game of combining falling shapes to eliminate lines. And the color certainly does look nice. It’s definitely the sort of game that’s worth $30. But for the rest of us, there’s nothing new here--except a few colors and a different soundtrack.

New color does visual wonders in “The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX.” (Again with the DX. “DX” must be code for “old game repackaged with new colors.”) Actually, this one doesn’t bother me at all on one level. But on another, it’s even more annoying than “Tetris DX.”

“Link’s Awakening DX” does the best job of any early titles to exploit Game Boy’s color capabilities. Dozens of colors appear simultaneously and all appear bright. Fast-moving objects don’t blur, and fine details become apparent.

As a showcase title, “Link’s Awakening DX” works. It sets a visual standard for other games to meet. Even old fans should appreciate the way environments come to life--especially compared with the black-and-white version.

Again, though, “Link’s Awakening DX” is an old game. New players get a great game for a fair price. But unlike “Tetris DX,” which has considerable long-term play value, I can’t imagine many people willing to shell out $30 just so they can see in color a game they’ve already played through.

Adventure games such as “Link’s Awakening DX” are about the adventure, about discovering the secrets and defeating the bad guys. Granted, this version has some new features added, but it is substantially the same adventure.

Frustrated by Nintendo’s offerings, I went looking for third-party games that might put the machine to better, more imaginative use. After asking the local game store clerk what was selling, I walked out of the mall with “Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle” and “Gex: Enter the Gecko.”

Sound familiar? Both are rehashes.

On beefier systems such as Sony PlayStation or Nintendo 64, “Gex: Enter the Gecko” is the kind of game that can keep players captivated for hours--if for no other reason than the environments are so pretty to look at. If ever a game made use of color, “Enter the Gecko” was it.

But with a screen capable of displaying 56 colors simultaneously, there was no way Game Boy Color could reproduce that kind of rainbow. Even so, I would expect a better show than what I got. “Enter the Gecko” is only nominally a color game.

It’s a primitive side-scroller that doesn’t even look or play as well as some of my games from the early 1990s. What made Gex such a likable character were his smarmy dialogue and irascible behavior. What makes him such a bore on Game Boy is that all of that is gone.

As side-scrollers go, “Enter the Gecko” is fine. I just expected more.

“Pitfall,” although suffering from the same poor use of color, is actually quite fun. This version derives from the 16-bit title of a few years ago--although none of the lush coloring shows itself on Game Boy.

There are the obligatory scorpions and gators and swinging vines, but the levels seem fresh and new enough to hold interest. It’s the perfect game to play between classes or waiting for a flight.

Times staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Monday in The Cutting Edge. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Essentials

Tetris DX

Platform: Game Boy Color

Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB* rating: Everyone

Price: $29.95

Bottom line: Tetris in color

Gex: Enter the Gecko

Platform: Game Boy Color

Publisher: Crave Entertainment

ESRB* rating: Everyone