User Review Computer

Review cover GBAtemp - The Largest GBA + DS community on the Web (Computer)
User Review

Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): November 5, 2002
  • Release Date (EU): November 5, 2002
  • Release Date (JP): November 5, 2002
  • Publisher: shaunj66, Costello
  • Developer: KiVan
  • Genres: Website
  • Also For: Computer

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

Review Approach:

Sometimes frustrating, but most often times engaging and fun. There are very few other hacker-type sites that have the legitimacy and accuracy of GBAtemp.
So, the website itself is getting reviewed by a regular user on the internet? Let's take a look-see!
A lot of guys here review games, toys, tech stuff, and consoles, but today I thought I'd give the site itself the rare opportunity of being reviewed by yours truly. I'm not gonna be too terribly wordy about the whole thing, but I will offer my opinions on the site.

GBAtemp was created all the way back in 2002, and while it has a "no warez" policy in effect now, it was distributing Game Boy Advance ROMs and ROM hacks when it first started. However, it was short lived, bewcause by the time the forums came around, the site admins got together and decided to call it quits on pirating games altogether. Since its inception, the site has gone through many changes, adding features like news, blogs, reviews, Q&As, tutorials, group forums, and even a dedicated chat!

The main feature is the news. There are some very interesting articles, most of them very well written, and usually less biased than most other sites that try to sway you into thinking one way or another. Many of the articles are about gaming, naturally, but occasionally it covers other things techy, like stuff about Windows. Many of the articles are about popular mods to games and homebrewed consoles, as well as gaming tech projects that achieve recognition, like the Analogue Pocket or the world's smallest N64. This is by far the most interesting part of GBAtemp, and while I don't read every article, I always find something several times a week that I'm interested in.

Then, there's the forums itself. You have a little bit of everything here - Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and even PC, to name a few. They now have sections to talk about politics and finance, and the Edge of the Forum is a crap-posting section where almost anything goes. While I have started several forum topics and questions that have gone unnoticed (or, should I say, they have many views but no responses), I get the best results responding to an already existing topic. Now, more and more people are joining the forums asking questions, so I wouldn't be surprised if I get new answers to my questions from 2019 sometime later!

The most underrated feature I believe is GBAtemp's newest addition to the site - forum groups. Groups are like the main forums, except anybody can create and moderate their own instance of the forums, sort of like Mastodon sections or Discord servers. Think of a topic - if there isn't a group for it, you can make one! There's several like Edge of the Forums, but also some dedicated specifically to certain groups, whether it be a specific game console, a role-playing game, or even a topic of interest (like comic books or gardening). This makes GBAtemp seem more personable, like a site you want to visit to hang out and talk to complete strangers more comfortably about a topic - it's kind of like exclusive clubs on GBAtemp! They can even have their own calendars and photo galleries! What's not to like about Groups?

Then, there's the live chat. It seemed like a nice feature at first - not only do you get to talk to people nearly in real time, you can also create your own chat channels to talk in. Unfortunately, it seems to attract a lot of trolls and can sometimes get spammy. I guess you could say that it's just the nature of being able to chat live, but I've gotten more of a bad experience with GBAtemp's chat than even on Discord, which is a shame because there's several good folks on here! I usually just keep the chat feature off anymore.

There's the tutorials section, a nice place to go when you need to know how to jailbreak a console or use homebrew, or even play an unmodded console normally. Thing is... this doesn't seem that much different from the forums itself, really. A lot of the tutorial posts are unsorted, and while you can go to a specific console, there isn't dedicated sections for that console category (i.e. sub-categories), and there aren't a lot of consoles to choose from (albeit the most popular ones are here). So, it really just doesn't seem too terribly useful - maybe earlier on when GBAtemp was younger, but not anymore.

If you like blogging, GBAtemp's got you covered. Each GBAtemp member can also make their own blogs, and with the latest edition of the site, you can make more than one category for your blog posts! I've found I've never needed more than one, but it's a nice addition for those who have a lot to share. You can even personalize your blogs with fancy title pictures and your own "about the author" card at the bottom of each blog post.

As for customizing the site itself, you can have your own personal GBAtemp experience. You can choose from several themes (custom theming is no longer possible, unfortunately), adjust the site width, add to your "about me" page, and if you donate via patronage, you can unlock being able to add a custom banner and color scheme for your profile page!

So there you go! That's not everything the site has to offer, but it's the things that stand out most to me! I hope you enjoyed this review - let me know what you guys think!

Verdict

What I Liked ...
  • News articles are interesting, never boring.
  • Groups are very versatile and open to all kinds of topics.
  • Blogs are customizable, and you can have more than one blog category.
  • A lot of theming options.
What I Didn't Like ...
  • Questions posted in the forums can sometimes go unanswered for a long time.
  • Chat is less moderated, and thus invites more trolls and spammers.
  • Tutorials is not well sorted, and doesn't seem that much different from the forums.
-
Gameplay
You don't play on GBAtemp!
9
Presentation
Very professional looking; it's engaging and surprisingly entertaining.
10
Lasting Appeal
This site's gonna be around for a while, yet. The staff is friendly, but also very dedicated to the well-being of the site.
9.5
out of 10

Overall

GBAtemp is, by far, the best gaming hacker/modder community on the planet!
  • Like
Reactions: Xdqwerty, shaunj66, gamefan128 and 1 other person
sarkwalvein
What about the trading area / WTB/WTS threads that you can only access when you are above 100 posts?
I had a nice experience there, I was able to buy a second hand hacking device in there some 10 years ago from a fellow temper.

(I mean, this are of gbatemp also exists)
 
Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): November 5, 2002
  • Release Date (EU): November 5, 2002
  • Release Date (JP): November 5, 2002
  • Publisher: shaunj66, Costello
  • Developer: KiVan
  • Genres: Website
  • Also For: Computer
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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Site & Scene News

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General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    @SylverReZ if you could find a v5 DS ML you would have the best of both worlds since the v5 units had the same backlight brightness levels as the DS Lite unlockable with flashme
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    but that's a long shot
  • The Real Jdbye @ The Real Jdbye:
    i think only the red mario kart edition phat was v5
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    A woman with no arms and no legs was sitting on a beach. A man comes along and the woman says, "I've never been hugged before." So the man feels bad and hugs her. She says "Well i've also never been kissed before." So he gives her a kiss on the cheek. She says "Well I've also never been fucked before." So the man picks her up, and throws her in the ocean and says "Now you're fucked."
     +2
  • AncientBoi @ AncientBoi:
    :O:ohnoes::lol::rofl::rofl2:
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    lmao
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    anyways, we need to re-normalize physical media

    if i didn't want my games to be permanent, then i'd rent them
     +1
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    Agreed, that why I try to buy all my games on disc, Xbox anyways. Switch games (which I pirate tbh) don't matter much, I stay offline 24/7 anyways.
     +1
  • AncientBoi @ AncientBoi:
    I don't pirate them, I Use Them :mellow:. Like I do @BigOnYa 's couch :tpi::evil::rofl2:
     +1
  • cearp @ cearp:
    @BakerMan - you can still "own" digital media, arguably easier and better than physical since you can make copies and backups, as much as you like.

    The issue is DRM
     +1
  • cearp @ cearp:
    You can buy drm free games / music / ebooks, and if you keep backups of your data (like documents and family photos etc), then you shouldn't lose the game. but with a disk, your toddler could put it in the toaster and there goes your $60

    :rofl2:
  • cearp @ cearp:
    still, I agree physical media is nice to have. just pointing out the issue is drm
     +1
  • rqkaiju2 @ rqkaiju2:
    i like physical media because it actually feels like you own it. thats why i plan on burning music to cds
  • cearp @ cearp:
    It's nice to not have to have a lot of physical things though, saves space
     +1
  • AncientBoi @ AncientBoi:
    Nor clothes 🤮 . Saves on time, soap, water and money having to wash them. :D
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @rqkaiju2, Physical media is a great source for archiving your data, none of that cloud storage shiz.
     +1
  • AncientBoi @ AncientBoi:
    [squeezes @SylverReZ onto a physical media, then archives you in my old stuff box] :tpi::rofl2::tpi:
     +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg4rfeX4m_E
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @AncientBoi, Lmao
     +1
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    guys, should i change my pfp to one of these or keep it the same?
    iu

    iu

    (i guess i could change it to one of my other pfps too, but i just want to see what you guys think first)
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @BakerMan, Up to you.
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    smug sonic time lmao
     +1
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Chronic The HempHog
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @Psionic Roshambo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oRUCkAbPn0
     +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtapU5nI6G4
     +1
    SylverReZ @ SylverReZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtapU5nI6G4 +1