Shock 'n' Rock 4-in-1 Accessory by Nyko Technologies Reviewed by David Dayton (DavidDayton@bigfoot.com) Released: June/July (?) 1999 MSRP: $25.00 Height: 3.74" (with GBC, 6.5") Width: 4" Depth: 1.5" Weight: Battery Life: 6 hours Sound+Vibration, 7 Vibration Only, 8 Sound only, 10 if used only as a battery pack Use with: Game Boy Color +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Opening Snide Remarks: Basically, this is a combination battery pack, rumble pack, amplifier and grip. Slap this puppy on and your GBC is slightly bigger that the original Game Boy. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Impressions: When I saw this in the store, I had to have it. Anything that offered rumble and amplification and required no external batteries appealed to me (yeah, I'm cheap). Once I got the sucker home, I tore open the box, tossed aside the seven language manual poster thingy, and removed the strange, quasi-Atomic Purple doohickey inside. The small purple rectangle features a recessed bay with two battery terminals, which fit snugly into the battery compartment of the GBC. Below the base of the battery bay are two speakers and a small mike plug that fits into the GBC earphone jack (used for both the amplifier and the rumble feature). The GBC power port is unused and neatly blocked off. Hated: After I charged the contraption overnight with the provided AC adaptor, I turned it on, hoping for some neat rumble effects in my games. I tried Metroid II...and Super Mario Land 2 ... and Zelda... and various other games. To make a long story short, I was quite disappointed with the rumble. When it did work, it was lousy, or rumbled merrily along with the background music, making the game difficult. To get the rumble to work, I also had to turn the amplifier volume nearly all the way up... no real volume control there. I haven't tried the Pulse Pack, or any other Game Boy rumble devices, but this just wasn't worth it. Liked: I would have returned the unit, but I had just found a copy of Lock 'n Chase, and it seemed like a shame to waste a full battery charge... several hours later, I decided that I loved the amplifier (I always thought the GBC speaker was pretty quiet when compared to the original GB) and that the textured rubber grip on the unit made the Game Boy much easier to handle. Even without a decent rumble feature, I was beginning to like this thing. The unit can be used as simply a battery pack, with the GBC using its own speaker, but when you use the amplifier or (shudder) rumble feature, you must flip a small switch on the side of the unit. A decent red LED lights up when the amplifier/etc. is activated. As long as it is, more power is being used up... so remember to always turn off both the GBC and the Shock 'n' Rock power switches when you are done playing! On the base of the device is a vibration sensitivity dial (useless), the vibration on/off and amplifier on/off switch, a headphone jack, and the power port (this is one of the few third party battery packs that won't reset the system if you plug the provided adaptor in while playing). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Improve: Get rid of the rumble device and reduce the price... or replace it with a screen light/magnifier. $25 stills seems a little much. Oh, and increase the battery time. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Final Words: I still have the Shock 'n' Rock, although I haven't tried the rumble feature since I bought it. At $25, it is just slightly more expensive than your typical battery pack, and includes an excellent amplifier and a much better grip on the system, not to mention a decent AC adaptor. It's much more compact than other add-ons I've seen, and the amplifier draws power directly from the battery pack, so you never need batteries! If you don't already have a battery pack, or you can pawn your old one off on some 10 year old Pokemaniac, grab this thingy. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Score: 94% +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Secrets: The instructions come in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and Russian.