I've been working hard to track down good software for the GP2X ever since picking it up a few weeks ago. While there is a large library of emulators and ROMs, I meet few of the requirements that make using ROMs "legal." I'm working to collect more information on the legality of ROM usage and such but for the time being I want to limit myself to free and open source software and games.

Beat2X for the GP2X is one of the first fully functional games I've come across that is both well polished and extremely playable. (that's not to say there aren't more this is just the first I found.) If you're familiar with Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero you'll probably recognize the concept pretty quickly.

The game itself is concentrated around music. As the music plays you're shown keys that need to be pressed at certain times coinciding with the rythm of the song playing. The closer you are to the correct beat in the song, the more points you get. It's an extremely simple yet addictive form of gameplay that has proven its enjoyablity across multiple genres.

On the GP2X the style works great. You'll basically be using the button pad, and in some cases the shoulder buttons, to play along with the music. At this time there are several music packs which you can download as well as instructions on how to create your own.

Each of the mission packs I've played is sufficiently challenging. You'll be happy to find that the more you play each the better you get. Learning the music behind the level is key to getting through it but sometimes you'll find that even a familiar level can become challenging when you miss a beat.

As for expandability, I've got all the current packs downloaded and have been working through many of them. Each has sufficient re-playability and some of the songs are good enough to get you playing a level just to hear the song. If you enjoy games like DDR you'll get a kick out of this for sure. For folks who aren't familiar with the series, or just want to check out a free game, it's definitely a great grab for the GP2X.

One of the curses of being an early-adopter is not having enough money to adopt everything you want early. As Gadzooki points out you can often save alot of money by just waiting awhile.

Take Shadow of the Colossus for example. When the game was first released, roughly one year ago, it was a full priced PS2 title. Today, you can grab it on Amazon for $19.99. The same is true for Dragon Quest VIII which is now bargain priced. Just by waiting a few months the money that could have spent on two of these games wil now buy four bargain titles.

The concept suggested by Gadzooki travels over to consoles as well. First off there was the price drop on the Nintendo DS. Nintendo also is notorious for releasing newer versions of their console as soon as a month or two after initial release. Waiting a couple months could net you a black console over a white, a brighter screen, or even a small console (see the GBA vs. GBA SP). There are even rumors floating around that the new XBox360 will not only sport a better processor but a cheaper price and potential bundle setup.

Waiting a while also gives you some pretty solid recon on games, consoles, and gadgets. Early Nano buyers complained about easily scrached cases. XP when it first launched was buggy and broken, and even games like Lego Star Wars The Original Trilogy for the DS proved to be far less developed than versions for other consoles. Let us not forget the XBox360 ring of death that even yours truly has experienced.

For early adopters its a double edged sword. Yeah, it's great to be able to show off new gadgets or get in on the ground level of a console. Instant gratification though is not something that has ever proven to be the best.

Gadzooki's article claims to help you save $1000 per video game console through a few simple rules. If you think you can practice temperance or just want to save some cash, head over to the site and give it a read.

OK - if this weren't hosted on the South Park Studio's website I'd call shenanigans but it looks like I'm gonna have to make sure to watch South Park this Wednesday.

Apparently, South Park for 10/4/06 will be based around World of Warcraft.

Here's a direct link to the .mov file hosted on the South Park Studio's site.

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Earlier this week I got my hands on GamePark Holdings' GP2X personal entertainment player. For those not familiar, the GP2X is a Linux-based audio, video, and gaming device aimed at homebrew development. What that essentially means is that the GP2X, while meant to primarily be a gaming console, is a cheapish personal media player with a few extra bells and whistles.

Now, don't think that it's Linux in a handheld because it ain't - Linux developers, though, should feel at home with game and application development.

Chances are you're asking yourself where this stands in relation to the DS or PSP. Right off the bat I can tell you that while the GP2X is pretty close in size to the original GBA, it's closest rival would be the PSP. With the built in media player, picture viewer, MP3 player and text reader it hits a few bases where the DS is lacking. Unfortunately, with its lack of Internet connectivity, smaller screen and much smaller game library it doesn't quite meet up with either of the more popular mainstream gaming consoles.

So - what makes the GP2X worthwhile? First off, the GP2X can read SD memory cards up to 4gb. Unlike the PSP, with its demanding filestructure pre-reqs, you can place images, music, or videos ANYWHERE on the card for later viewing. There's also an eBook utility which allows you to view text files and eBooks if you don't mind reading off an electronic device.

As you can see the menu system is pretty straight forward. Under each of the sections (except "Settings") you get the ability to browse the GP2Xs onboard 64MB memory or the SD card. Just browse to your file and you're set to go.

With compatibility you're looking at a couple of different format types. Music wise you can play OGG and MP3, for Videos you've got MPEG, XVid and Divx encoded AVI files, and for images you've got GIF, JPEG and PNG. While you can't play songs off your iTunes or Napster library without stripping the DRM you can play burned CDs (hint hint) and most videos.

The other great GP2X feature is the community. Between the extensive Wiki and the file archive you can track down software and games. The GP2X also runs emulators which allows ROM collectors to take their games on the go. If you've got a good collection of MAME roms you'll love this. If you've got other types of roms your emulator is probably supported too which is nice.

Priced at $179.99 through Lik-Sang it's not cheap but worth it in the end - especially for emulator fans. If you've picked one up already, or you're thinking about getting one, stay tuned. Over the next few weeks I plan on including some reviews of GP2X specific software. I also hope to put in a few tutorials on video encoding to make life a bit easier for beginners.

If you've got any questions or would like me to cover something specific please let me know.

Late last week I broke down and bought the GP2X Console from Lik-Sang. If you've been reading for awhile then I'm sure you know it was one of the devices that's been on my wish-list for some time. Though the ability to run emulators really isn't high on my list of features, the ability to play a large variety of media types, read e-books and run Linux are all very appealing.

With any luck I'll be unboxing it soon and am looking forward to possibly videoblogging the experience. If you have a GP2X and want to share some suggestions or thoughts please do!