Rare Tapwave Zodiac 2 Handheld Review Follow-Up

[lostgemini2000]

U should do a review of the tiger electronics "gamecom" handheld

[SillyHatVideos]

haha I remember being in middle school and I saw an ad for this and i thought this was amazing.

Then I saw the PSP.

[HotGritz910]

I had one of these, it was pretty cool bad then. the system just didn't had top quality games..if it had third party game support it would have been a great gaming handheld

[Gayestskijumpever]

I like your dog! Nice programming!

[sohoringleader]

I have one of these. It only had 128MB of memory - but you expanded that with SD cards so you could have a couple of GB if you wanted. And because it has TWO SD card slots, you could have the extra memory in one and use the other to play games.

I love the Zodiac. It feels nice and well built in your hands....the brushed metal case feels better than any gaming handheld ever built. The shoulder buttons are nicer than the PSP ones to IMHO. Screen is 320 x 480 too - same as iPhone until iPhone 4.

[88starkiller]

one word, subscrible, nice vids ;)

[dogeymon83]

The thing only had a mere 128mb internal storage!!!!

[trinidadparaminman]

@dogeymon83 yeah but this came out late 2003, at that time 128 mb was a lot of storage!

[dogeymon83]

@trinidadparaminman - It was a lot of space for game saves. But for games, it was pathetic. Even back in the day. I would have at least hoped for 512MB. But 128 being the "large" model?? There's no excuse.

I only say it in terms of nowadays. Unless you really have an interest to develop games on this, or just want to collect it, for functionality alone, there are devices today that blast Zodiac out of the water.

[dogeymon83]

Battery life was terrible. And it's woefully outdated nowadays. I don't recommend getting a zodiac anymore

[JackBandicootsBunker]

More than an N-GAGE or Gizmondo with superior features, this is like the predecessor of the PSP, as it had a lot of eatures that inspired the PSP. Plus, its tech specs would be superior than those of the N-GAGE.

[erikvind]

isen't it just a N-gage with a bigger screen. seems like the same games.

[ladawg81]

well if it has a good processor and runs on 32 mb sd cards then the games will have a lot of data. for example nes roms were tens of kilobytes. psp games range from 100 mb to 1.5 gb. ps1 games range from 60mb to 1 gb.

[Pervypriest]

"Lets kickass and chew bubble gum, but I am all outta gum"

That's my fav phrase from the duke

Cool graphics it looks pretty capable..

Thanks for the review, I am glad I subbed to your channel:)

[justin12399]

Reminds me so much of the Gizmondo

[ladawg81]

@justin12399 jizzmondo

[illustriouschin]

I think everyone is forgetting that the Zodiac is the handheld console of choice of SG-1, this thing can do everything from hacking into alien computers to scanning for alien parasites in a body to playing duke nukem and tony hawk!

[otakblitz]

hey gamester81 im a really huge fan of old video game systems and im looking 2 get one of these but... i dont know where or how i can obtain one and some games could you tell me where i could find one cheap. and do the have emulators for this now ?

[hellboy0o]

you and classic game room are the bomb!! keep up the good work =]

[ryanc519]

this is like a psp wanabe

[Shretters]

@ryanc519 Hahaha, Sony wishing they had the design of the Zodiac. Believe me, I have both and the Zod plays better and looks better. To bad Tapwave went under, it had serious potential!

[ryanc519]

@Shretters The design aesthetically looks very much dated in my opinion. Graphics-wise is sure not up to par with the psp.

[Shretters]

@ryanc519 I understand it may look that way, but the Zodiac is made out of real metal, not the cheap plastic stuff of the PSP. The controls are far better than the PSP controls and give a better feel. Sony just has more games and the PSP is far more powerful and the games look better. A mix of both would be a great mariage tough :)

[ryanc519]

@Shretters PSP2 :)

[VINTAGEVIDE0GAMEGEEK]

my dads dad was killed by da zodiac killa

[xXxFutanarixXx]

i didnt know abouth this thing

its not bad at all

nice review man

tnx

[mrgamerguy94]

that is so cool, especially the fact it can hold two games at once

[Ryoga2K]

That thing actually looks like it's actually pretty decent! I like it, I'm going to check it out, thanks for your reviews man.

[SteveTheMeek]

pretty cool, better than Gizmondo anyway!

I never got into the handheld systems though, I owned a Gameboy back in the day, but traded it after a month of disappointment.

It's not real gaming on a stupid portable machine, alright!

[lemonlimestiv]

i can't believe that i never even heard of this one!

[LordoftheToms]

pokerstars sucks bro.

[apmadalp]

Hey John first of all i wanted to say once again i'm a big fan! I hate to use you forum for this but I know alot of game fans are on here. I left a funny rhyme about chris bores on the comments on AVGN christmas video. He blocked me and cut my subscription. I'm a really big fan of him. For how reckless he acts in his video he was quick to block me. I'm still a fan but I was shocked when this happened. I've wrote bad stuff in chris bores comments and didn't get blocked. What is up with AVGN?

[TinyTitian]

wow how Ironic I was looking threw a old game star magazine so i could find the name of the zodiac to youtube a review of it after watching your gizmondo review and before I do that you have a zodiac 2 reveiw lmao

[qbertaddict1]

Why don't you show the homebrew and emulators that were made for the device? They add a lot to the device

[terocity]

Damn, that space game's UI looks just like Freelancer's

[zillzultraboy]

This actually looked pretty cool. I wonder why it didn't catch on? Nice big screen & the button layout was dope too. Decent graphics as well [for the time period]...

[De5con]

wasn't thinking of a Playstation Portable until you mentioned it, although this would be cool to have if I was choosing between the two I'd go with a 'Playstation Portable Go'

[cloudwalkerty]

this could come back

[L1Games]

Very cool. How have I missed your channel??

After watching a few of your other videos, I subbed. Good stuff!!!

[phreakindee]

First time I've ever seen that version of Duke Nukem in action! I've been meaning to get a Tapwave Zodiac for the longest time, just to be able to get that game and complete my Duke collection. Thanks for showing this, you pretty much never see any Zodiac action at all online.

[vintagevideogamegeek]

I'm sure I've seen your first video but it's been so long I've forgotten. I remember the Palm Pilot craze but they never appealed to me. Same with the smart phones. I just don't see a need for them.

[themegamancave]

Man, Ive never actually seen one of those in person, how hard are these to come by???

[RobSnake]

'its fred, the youtube phenomenal' damn adverts..

[CornGamyes]

too bad sony cant make the psp come with an outer case like that

[KevinLieber]

It's the handheld for lawyers!!!

[Gamester81]

@KevinLieber LOL nice one Kevin.

[manbruv]

I had spyhunter on the PS2, I loved that game.

[Wootsickles]

@manbruv That game was sick as hell man. I played that game for about 2 days straight.

[AftComet]

Which jackass pressed the dislike button?

[Gamester81]

@AftComet probably my ex girlfriends did. lol

[Iridetrikes]

@Gamester81 haha!

[ladawg81]

@Gamester81 you had 4 exgirlfriends? prolly cuz you give your games more attention. giggedy!

[FOZproductionz]

@AftComet butT

[dextercremer]

@AftComet try 4 jackasses! lol

[ShinigamiKiba]

Man I LOVE it when you do follow up videos on some of these systems.

Awesome review, thanks.

[xStamos]

lol.."let's get the flap outta here" That seems like a nice way to hide vulgarities.

[DoctorJ1337]

Cool video i absolutely love this channel but i want to see more handheld reviews like this one cause u have an awesome collection

[foofighter244476]

Wait I thought the Tapwave Zodiac never came out, let alone a second one!

[rafciominator]

The way you said "Aaaand" in 2:22 kinda creeped me out :D great video though.

[PickYourVenom]

wow, this is what the psp should've been, an upgraded version of this.

[lotsofgames]

Great system review John! I am also looking forward to the new Duke Nukem game as well.

[roozie11]

@lotsofgames the new Duke nukem game will not come ever

[xdankboi420x]

actually that looks pretty decent i would soooo hit that up

[VideoGameExplorers]

SpyHunter on the GameCube is amazing.

[De5con]

I'd use that today, wonder if it can catch a "wi-fi" signal

[classicfps]

@De5con No wifi for one of these, you have to hunt down a very rare SD card that supports wi-fi, and those things are double the size of a normal SD!

[goldenretrogames]

That white border around the screen would really annoy me after a while.

[TheUndert0ker]

Well this looks like a total waste of money, unless you are a seriously hardcore collector. That's why I subscribe, to see these rare, obscure systems without having to pony up my dollars only to find I've wasted them, lol.

[mlurz4957]

so are duke nukem and tony hawk official games

[shiro518]

i own a zodiac 2, since launch

the zodiac 1 had 32mb of storage and the zodiac 2 had 128mb. this was the only difference beside the physical color of the two units. it could support up to a 2 gb sd card

there are already several emulators for the system look in to ljz (now ljp) and there are ports of quake (zquake), doom (called zdoom) and hexen (zhexen). there where many planed games for the system that were never finished or released like tomb raider, terminator and neverwinter nights.

[bewts420]

Cool system, I'm sure I'll look back at my android phone and laugh at how I thought it was so amazing.

[Pimpcessmoneymaker]

Awesome review of the Tapwave Zodiac 2.......I saw one on Ebay go for $229 dollars.....

[8comicbooknerd9]

This kind of reminds me of the game.com. Ahead of its time features wise yet still loses out. Holds two games at the same time. Relatively unknown among gamers today. Also some surprising titles considering how unknown it was!

[NEScapades]

Man I've never even heard of this before. Cool little handheld John.

So the game SD cards were sold @ retail or you bought them digitally and put them on your own blank SD's? I couldn't really see the face of the cards when you popped them in.

[Aeutlutian]

at 1:43 lets get the "flap" outta here,, lol,, cracked me up,

[Hardak666]

Great upload, never knew about that hand held, thanx for the info!

[Robloxian182]

thumbs down if these thumbs up comments are retarded

[noideac]

now why can't the PSP have a thumb stick thats actually good?

[gamemaster14neo]

I have one of these, even got the box and everything, I just wish the games werent so rare. I only have Duke Nukem Mobile but after all thats the game I bought it for.

As far as storage, the system doesnt have internal storage it uses the ram memory for storage, 128mb in the zodiac 2 and 32mb in the zodiac 1. Both systems were the same form factor but the 1 was gray.

I love the rumble on this and wish more gaming handhelds would have it.

[awesomecdiperson]

Mine seems to have an AWFUL battery life for some reason. I also can't find very many games for it

[SOLIDSNAKEXXX360]

try real estate or the stock market if you want to invest, even in this crap market youll make more money than video games

[redroweneht]

@SOLIDSNAKEXXX360 He does because it's his passion, not because he is trying to get rich!

[0rionsaint]

Pretty impressive for 2003. The games look just as good as the DS.

[0rionsaint]

Wow how easy was this system to hack back in the day? You just copy the games on to any SD card?

[NathanIsReallyBored]

32 MB (Zodiac 1)

128 MB (Zodiac 2)

[numberninteynine]

DAMN, the N-GAGE has better graphics than this!

[Satadrian]

It seems to be as powerful as a GBA, but less fun :-/

[SamanthaCarterFan01]

It looks cheep...

[justsaymint]

how do u find out about all these obscure systems

[Leethellama]

Great review the games seem to run choppy.

[SpinTheDemon]

WOW I want one :( Great Video!

[rippinreffers]

this thing is fucking awesome!! ive never heard of it but wow!

[Mamonuth]

never heard of this before D: looks pretty good actually.

[dolfsvlog]

very interestin! this may persuade me to buy a PSP lol. This system is interesting, though.

[aflyingturd]

This would have been cool in maybe 97 or 98. But 2003? Those graphics and hardware capabilities were awful.

[Soukyugurentai]

How many games were released for it? Any good ones besides Duke Nukem?

[sonicsteev]

coool!

[TheLoadingScreenz]

Reminds me a lot of the N Gage (or something like that).

[WWETNABRAVES]

Thanks for the review. This thing actually looks pretty cool. The screen seems to be very high quality.

[OnThatPowder]

i own 3 of these

[OldSchoolNYCGamer]

I never seen this before John, this looks really awesome = )

[TheRpgGuru]

Its crazy you did a review of this.. I just got mine out of the closet, charged it and started playing, then i jump on youtube and see this, great review by the way

[GamingExtreme187]

its 3gb i have 1

[ap3xdotexe]

Great to see a follow up. Never knew it supported Palm OS games.

graphically it looks quite similar to a GBA

Always been interested in this system back when it was roughly first released.

I was in a more underground systems kick like the GP2X etc.

[sagat4]

Close to getting the model 1 back in the day but was put off by my experiences with my Palm M515 and Palm in general

[XC0MB4TXEV0LV3D]

Hmmm mybe the DS had some influiences from this.

[m2dff]

are games easy to get? i mean after you acquire the console.

[iPhoneSk8er8000]

that would of been huge if it would of been advertised more. Because the games are so small and cause the graphics look awesome. Damn its just sucks that it didnt.

[MPSecare]

ps1 emulator would be bad ass

[TheEpicGamerReviews]

Darn it i saw 1 at a yard sale for 7 bucks but the girl didn't say it was a game system!!!

[xyanide1986]

The hardware actually looks pretty damn good, except for the battery life. It might even be better than the Ngage that came out later if I remember correctly. The 'games' are probably the same caliber you'd see on phones: repetitive and little gameplay. At least the Ngage did have some decent titles, I think you could've done a little comparison between the 2.

[henryblazer20]

interesting!

[mgloco88]

wow the graphics are better than i thought.

[lemonlimestiv]

wow a touch screen from back then! why didn't it take off?

[mp4podcastDOTcom]

One of my favorite Duke Nukem lines is when he kills a lot of bad guys he says

"You Guys Really Suck"

LOL

[Bakemon13]

Looks like an upgraded GameBoy Advance.

[svicciarelli]

pretty cool. i always wished the DS had some sort of organizer or calendar built in.

[WhatPixelYouOn]

Oh wow, I used to have one of those. I eventually sold it as they didn't do very well. It's a shame as looking back it's actually a pretty nice device, really comfortable. I bought it just for the exclusive Duke Nukem game, which turned out to be pretty bland really. Emulation was ok, just a lot of games on snes/megadrive ran pretty slowly :(

[timilligan]

One of these days, I'm gonna get organizized!!

[emojo1990]

it uses palm os?

[macbookfan33]

you seriously need better lighting, cant see a thing at times!

[MetalTiger88]

wow, im pretty impressed by that little machine =)

never heard of it before, but maybe i get one of these some day ^_^

[klaudkil]

sooo the nintendo nds is not as totaly new as everybody says.. touch screen gaming already existed

[somoza]

Oh, i never knew about this little device. Thanks for the video. Rating: Awesome

[MrLastkill3r]

Remake Microvision review!

[tvandlust]

Great stuff. I really want to get my hands on one.

[youtubasoarus]

Pretty awesome handheld.

[TheReviewers4u]

According to wikipedia, it has 128mb of internal memory

[gustoThegangsta]

PSP OWNS !!!!!!!!! :P

[retrogamerSam]

That thing looks AWESOME! I want one!!! If only I had the cash :(

[WARSfate]

i have been watching your videos along time and i have watched must (if not all) your videos and its cool seeing you redo some of you old videos

[dsman098]

can you use any emulator on it

[redice1024]

To bad the thps4 game wasnt the ps2 port

[DashJrEX]

....at least it doesn't look like a taco....

[Lachlant1984]

I remember reading reviews of this on Cnet, it really reminds me of the Nokia N-GAGE which I once had, really none of these early game/PDA;Phone products did well at all, nobody was ready for them and most of them were far too expensive, this has changed a bit with the iPhone. I guess a lot of these devices were far ahead of their time and came out before people wanted them.

[LordoftheToms]

that's unique never heard of that handheld before. My favorite handheld currently is the Sony PSP. That finally has some great titles for it.

[jose5080007]

Dude you have some of the craziest things i have ever seen were do you get them.

[comphead1]

@Gamester81 John did you know that gph have released a new gp2x system

[cyclo1224]

another great vid john...iv got 2 great systems i never even heard of before your videos lol

[jfootballfreak06]

I wish I had your life :( will all teh cool gamez.

[0503892811]

ds x psp

[dbc6060]

BTW, is there still a way to get these? (ebay, etc.)

[Gamester81]

@dbc6060 Yes, I got mine off of ebay a long time ago, but every once in awhile they'll show up. You just have to keep your eyes open for them.

[pet0023]

@Gamester81 hello just wondering what do you think is better the xbox kinect or the ps3 move? i have both consoles and dont no weather to get the move or not?

[dbc6060]

@Gamester81 Thank you!

[ORLANDOG5]

@Gamester81 theres one on sale right now on ebay

[TheRpgGuru]

@dbc6060 yeah i bought 1 off ebay a month ago

[Jakkinator45]

lol organizizer

[dbc6060]

This is what the DS and PSP should be.

[PrimeTimeJprime]

@dbc6060 dude answer your phone

[dbc6060]

@PrimeTimeJprime Please elaborate on what you mean by that

[Soukyugurentai]

@dbc6060

A failed handheld?

[dbc6060]

@Soukyugurentai sorry, I was only being funny. Obviously the DS and PSP are 10 times better than this.

[Playalives]

sweet must be an enormous pain in the ass to find games for it though

[pet0023]

THAT LOOKS SO COOL how much did you get it for man?

[Gamester81]

@pet0023 Paid $100 for it about three years ago with all the games you see in this vid. Prices have gone up for these units since, so I'm not sure what they sell for now.

[NOOBNUT08]

@Gamester813:26 It probably more like in the megabyets of on board memory judging by the age of the device. You possibly could expand it with an SD card.

[genx304]

0th

[wobblyman2000]

looks cool

[thesupergamer85]

1st comment lol jk im not that retarded thumbs up if u agree about this

[JackEvanJones]

@thesupergamer85 You are still retarded because you are asking for thumbs up.

[thesupergamer85]

@JackEvanJones whatever

[tsukasa2k6]

@thesupergamer85 how about no :P i thumbed down XD