Tapwave Zodiac 2 Handheld Review

[TheGAMESHARQ]

Can you put emulators on this thing?

And if so which emulators can it handle?

[squirm13]

I am getting a tapwave, until now, i did not know how powerful, it is, i found games on amazon, etc, so i will get some, its easier to get games for this, then the gizmondo.

[CaptainAshra]

i just found this little thing for $50. its missing the stylus, but still great.

[m15granger]

I heard you mention this on tvlandandlust 's channel and I had to come check it out. You're right man, it does run well on here!

[legorocks3]

Is the tapwave any good?

cause lots of people are saying now that it's underrated and should have been recognized more and stuff

[Airking11]

Im waiting for a portable system that is easy to get and affordable and emulate ps2 games, it's not that hard to build something powerful enough to do it considoring ps2 came out in 1999

[anicentwarinator1990]

@Airking11 i think there is a portable system for ps2 not sure though,but there is one for ps1 the first playstation,i would suggest look on amazon or ebay my best guess, and or just look on the computer and type ps2 portable handheld system

[Airking11]

a jailbroken ipod touch 3g or 4g is sooooooo much better, ipod touch is the best pocket computer/ portable game system

[greasedupgamer]

badass little divice

[Shretters]

I have a Zodiac 2 (beside my HTC HD2, Ipod Touch 4g) and it still makes me sad that Tapwave wasn't able to get these things of the ground. The concept is amazing and the controls are still the best I ever played a game with.

[SofaKingWeTodEd666]

I've got balls of steel!!! LOL

[NESRULES111]

Man, this thing is AWESOME! I currently have a PalmOne Tungsten T5 that I have been using for playing games, but the control sucks, what with the 5-way navigation and all. Seeing this makes me wanna go and get one to replace my T5, especially seeing that you can play Duke Nukem on it. There's a site with apps for playing the original Duke 3D and Doom (look up ZDoomZ), and trying it out, it looked really promising, and since the Zodiac use PalmOS, I'll give it a shot. BTW is it Wi-Fi compatible?

[kennyluo159]

where can u get 1

[wesley12106]

how come in some videos you whisper but in some like this you talk loud?

[ps3tna]

damn the graphics look almost as good as like ps1

[pinky315]

you better do a duke nukem forever review when and if it comes out but it supposidly comming in febuary damn gear box make it happen

[Gizmondo23]

When I saw it in Stargate I went crazy! They also used and OQO in Stargate.

[mechayamcha]

399$ for that peice of shit? it looks like game boy advance graphics. and i'm a huge old school fan so don't say i don't appreciate classic games. but 400 bucks 1 year before the psp came out in japan for less then 200$.

[MrWrestlingfanno1]

is that also a cell phone ?

[Tchay777]

joystick is a tilt joystick correct? And how would it compare to say, the gamecube analog stick?

[puggster]

i ws gonna get one of these but the gizmondo caught my eye first lol

still you can play games like that on the gizmondo too with the emulators etc

i had quake ad everything running on it :)

anyways enjoyed the review and the gizmondo one also :)

good job!

puggz

[trinidadparaminman]

great review! i remember seeing the ad for zodiac in oct 2003 EGM magazine and saying "this will have nintendo shaking in their shoes!"

OOOOOO BOY i was wrong! XD

[gmodesike]

wtf is up with the first 56 seconds of video?! show the damn unit instead of the wall

[gamemaster14neo]

I personally bought this just to play Duke Nukem Mobile in my quest to get every duke nukem game for every system. The cool feature of the Zodiac that I do not believe you mentioned is it has rumble support. I think its an awesome feature that no other handheld that I have features. Plus you can always bet on duke. Sadly my battery doesnt last long but that doesnt matter I usually play it at home so I can have it plugged in.

[alien92able]

wots the tomb raider games name 4 this consal?

[Britishdude1]

This looks more like a PDA than a portable gaming device to me.

[AWriterWandering]

I remember actually wanting to buy this system back in the day. It seemed so cool with being both a game system and a PalmOS PDA.

[SniperStorm7]

This would have been a great system, looks much better than a DS and has more functionalities, I would kill to have on of these.

[GeneStarwind09]

Duke Nukem port looks a bit inferior. Shotgun animation is incomplete. Still, looks like a good console overall and I'll add it to my collection soon enough.

[Juggla17]

Damn! Another system I really wanted years ago but again never managed to get one. So much better then Nintendo had and still has. I'd take a Tapwave and a Gizmondo over a Nintendo DS.

~fin~

[AimalCool]

Tapwave Zodiac came in Oct 2003, Sony PSP and Nintendo DS in Dec 2004.

Even though, so many pressure came towards the Zodiac.

[TheSpyChecker]

LOL this game...its a .java game...my sony ericsson w610i can play it..and it sucks ass...compared to the original dn 3d

[Saltydko]

sd card thiner

[SuperSZ]

Thanks for making this video. There aren't a lot of videos about this console. =) 5/5

[dogeymon83]

Top Reasons not to bother with Zodiac:

1. Old technology - only works with old cards. Only get a measly few gigabytes to work with this old thing

2. D-pad is shite.

3. Commercially released games are re-releases of moldy old PC games, which often don't run well or control well. Playing Doom 2 on this thing is a joke. I can't control it well at all.

4. Emulators could be its biggest strength, but the d-pad ruins it.

I'm not a fanboy of Sony, but the PSP blows this thing away

[videogameobsession]

Of course the PSP blows it away.. this came out in 2003 and didn't have a multi-billion dollar Japanese company backing it. :P I'd say from the games I've seen, this thing easily blows away the DS in terms of graphics anyway.

Is the pad really that bad? It looks like the Neo-Geo Pocket stick, which I still think is one of the best on a handheld. The Duke Nukem game looks like it runs great to me.

I'd like to get one of these for MAME since the PSP doesn't have a decent port of that.

[dogeymon83]

@ videogameobsession - YES THE TAPWAVE DPAD IS BAD!! It only remotely compares to the Neogeo Pocket one. The Neogeo pocket one clicks precisely, has a rubber bumper to disable diagonals, and is contour curved for your thumb.

The tapwave zodiac's feels flimsy, doesn't feel very precise and accurate, and it completely round on the top.

[dogeymon83]

@ videogameobsession - The PSP came out only a year or so later. It's not like Tapwave was so ahead of the game exactly. I'm sure the Zodiac had potential. But the d-pad poses a big problem for enjoying classic console emualtors. Its just not very good quality.

And seriously, DOOM 2 on this system is practically unplayable. You can't even move Up diagonally in it without your player spinning around in circles. And I configured the d-pad in setup like millions of times.

[YamiAnubisX]

I actually had a chance to try a Zodiac handheld and it was at a store known as Comp USA, a computer store, which sold alot of high tech devices and back then they actually were selling Zodiacs. I wanted one mainly cause of the specs, it had and it had a big touch screen.

The device was quite amazing. When PSP came out, I fell in love with the PSP, mainly cause of the big screen and graphics.

[JasonJ25]

Thats a cool system. How many games are out for that and can you easily get them still?

[Gamester81]

I'm not sure how many games were released for it, but every once in awhile they sell on ebay. The system is hard to find though.

[gshowguy]

According to Wikipedia, if I read correctly, 16 games were released for the Zodiac (and only 200,000 Zodiacs were released worldwide).

Its library's better than the Gizmondo's, that's for sure!

[cymrank]

the game number for the gizmondo is about 60 with homebrew downloads,also the gizmondo is astounding quality,(but it was 2 years later than the tapwave).

[TechzoneTV]

@Gamester81 I have one of this..got it back in 2005...but what i didn't realize is that this kind of device was rare.. :\

[AimalCool]

@JasonJ25 Go to the Tapwave Zodiac article in Wikipedia. It shows all the games for the console in one of the sections.

[FedorovAvtomat]

This thing was a monster and to an extent still is. I use mine mostly as a PDA/portable media player. I suggest the TCPMP player for videos if you ever use it for that.

[drakgrotta]

ah nice review!

[Mr12345678910kid]

if you have any extra video consoles even fake ones like the polystation can you donate some i want to start making console reviews its ok if you say no

[th3d3storoy3r]

is it just me or does it look like a PSP

[nookie077]

I don't think this guy's anti Nintendo....he's more pro everything gaming related. But getting back to this system: The screen is amazing! it's so clear it looks like it's been recorded on a PC and then framed with the hands and casing for a realistic effect, haha.

[Gamester81]

I see you're a Nintendo Fanboy. If you watch my other videos you will see that I'm a big fan of the Nintendo as well. This system was superior to the GB advance when it comes to graphics etc. It just didn't get the support of the developers as you mentioned, which killed it.

[jonnybryce]

spec wise it was superrior, it had better graphics capability, a bigger screen, a real analog stick, it's just a small company device so people weren't that confident or interested in backing it.

[videogameobsession]

Hehe.. I love Nintendo, but my DS Lite broke after about 3 months and I treat my VG systems and games with EXTREME care. For example, my NES from 1985 is still working perfectly! As is my Gameboy (1989). The DS Lite is very fragile though and mine broke from just opening it as normal. On a related note I've never had a Sony product die on me. I own 5 PSX systems (don't ask) and they are all perfect.

Gamester81, cool video man. I might want to get one of these for the collection!

[Saltydko]

WOah thats a lot'

[mattrules44]

@zukirider202 so are you saying the dreamcast sucked? if so then i will have to kill you

[Britishdude1]

@zukirider202

My NES broke on me :(

And further more there were many systems released over the years that were graphically superior to what Nintendo had at the time. Nintendo was just very good at obtaining 3rd party Licensers.

For example

The Sega Game Gear was more powerful than the GB and the GBC.

The Atari Lynx is also in the same boat.

The PSP is loads more powerful than the DS.

The Turbo Grafx 16 was more powerful than the NES

The 360 and PS3 is more powerful than the Wii.

etc etc etc.

[SURPLUSNiNjA]

@Britishdude1 you see the thing is, graphics doesn't really mean much. Look at the Wii, it doesn't even support HD and it kicks the shit out of PS3 and 360 in sales.

[Britishdude1]

@SURPLUSNiNjA That was kinda my point.

[m15granger]

@Britishdude1 Hey man, google 72 pin connector for the NES. This is most liekly your problem. You might not even have to replace it. I simply cleaned mine. They're about $10 new and there are plenty of youtube videos on how to clean or replace them. I had the same problem. Fixed now :]

[BabblingHats]

@Britishdude1

It's all about the games not the system

[Crazywredd]

@zukirider202 u are very stupid read about something before u speak r-tard

[mechayamcha]

@zukirider202 you're an idiot the game gear that came out in 1990 had better graphics and hardware then the nes which was nintendo's current system at the time. it also had better graphics then the game boy and game boy color which came out 8 years later. nintendo used to have a all the 3rd party game support in the 80s and early 90s. now all they have for wii and ds is shovelware.

[ThePhoneUpdate]

@zukirider202 I loved Nintendo's consoles, I personally think they killed it with the Wii - I do agree that the Advance was one of the best portables though, and man.. the DS is awesome too! I just wish they'd get their home consoles sorted out!

[thevideoguy666]

wow, an FPS on a handheld!

[Hal566]

how do you find and research these obscure systems? :o

[dsman098]

how do i get one

[Gamester81]

I picked up mine on ebay a little while back.

[Squadalha]

Cool.

[Squadalha]

Have it rumble feature?

[Gamester81]

Yeah it rumbles.

[gav1230]

this looks awesome

[johnTRAN93]

is this more powerful than the psp and ds.

[trinidadparaminman]

i really wanted to buy one back in 2003 but i knew this would fail because it was only available for purchase on the zodiac's website (i think), it had a poor library of games and the nintendo ds and sony psp was just 1 year away.

the zodiac got great hardware reviews but you can't compete with nintendo and sony!

[sharkinfested]

The Zodiac was my favorite portable. I used to for work as it was a regular palm based PDA, but I also used it for games, music, movies and TV shows. It was awesome! Sadly mine died a couple of months ago.

[Gamester81]

That's too bad that yours died. Have you tried getting it fixed?

[sharkinfested]

No. I moved on to the iPod Touch. The Touch is ok but I miss the Zodiac.

[sinistermoon]

Very awesome! I've never heard of this thing before but I suddenly want one.

[gamerjr92]

How much did YOU pay for it? it seems pretty cool.

[Gamester81]

With 10 games and the case, I paid about $150 for it with shipping.

[gamerjr92]

very nice.

[vandilize]

ahhh, I used to rock this along my n-gage lol. memories...

[mojohookbarb]

what was the reason why it didn't take off?

[Gamester81]

There are two main reasons I believe it didn't take off. First was the price tag. $399 is a lot to spend for a handheld. Second it was mainly marketed to the business professionals as a Palm Pilot device, and not really as a gaming system.

[mojohookbarb]

i see. that's even to much now-a-days for a hand held counsil. thank you for responding. great reviews and i look forward to seeing more.

[trinidadparaminman]

it didn't take off beacause as you said it was expensive and as i said in a previous post, the nintendo ds and psp was about 1 year away and people was much more excited about them than the zodiac cause of the much stronger game developer support.

[blueswan1984]

Actually the handheld is called "Zodiac" and it was made by Tapwave. Good review though!

[Gamester81]

You're right, thanks for the correction.

[budf1]

First game reminds me of wolfestine 3d looks exactly the same

[nathanallan1]

I remember the handheld that Samantha Carter used, no WONDER it looked so familiar!! Love me some Stargate!!

[PinbobPictures]

I heard it vibrating when you were hit. Was it actually vibrating?

[Gamester81]

Yeah the system does vibrate.

[vintagevideogamegeek]

SG-1 was great until RDA left the show.

[vintagevideogamegeek]

I get confused between Duke Nukem, Doom, and The Rock.

Did you ever play Rise of the Triad on the computer? That was a sweet-arse game.

[Gamester81]

Nah I never played Rise of the Triad on the computer. I'll have to check it out. I also enjoyed SW Dark Forces as well for the comuter.