CycloDS Evolution Review

[t3chvest]

This is what I don't understand.

It's not THAT much more expensive than the other cards, so I don't know why everyone is complaining about such a high price tag. Yeah, there are a few cheap cards, but the average card isn't THAT much cheaper. I bought my cycloDS + 2gb Kingston for $80 after shipping. That little bit you're paying for is for the better features and the added bonus of expandability.

The DSX has been a flop, had crap support, is MUCH more expensive, and has the highest review on here... What justifies that higher review? I understand the initial review was done with the 4Gb, but things change.

Just curious as to why the DSX was put in front of the Cyclo.

Anyway, beside that, I thought it was a great review, thank you.

 

[sueil]

What stores are selling this baby?

I got mine from ModChipStoreThey shipped it the next day after I ordered and it arrived a day early(today). I would recommend getting it from them because I had no problems. The card from what I see so far is awesome. Got it to replace my M3Simply which the spring broke after having it less than a week. I think I am gonna be pretty happy with it.

 

[quartercast]

I think you people should stop being angry at the staff. I don't believe they are biased and we have already been told that the reviews are soon getting re-scored.

They ARE being re-scored, under a regime where for some reason the Evo can never get a higher score than the competing R4, and for no apparent reason! BTW, do you remember the re-scoring of DS-X was supposed to happen 4 months ago? What happened to that?


I think if people suspect bias, as long as they can back it up, they should be free to cry 'BIAS!' Reviews are not to be taken lightly, reviews can make or break a product. As I said in a previous post, I think the scoring system here is far from transparent, and the ability to view a detailed scorecard would give much more credibility to this 'score'.

 

[Bungoo]

t00 bad the ds-x is still better than this cart. Alot of ppl have b33n saying that the Cyclone is the 1st to actually support download play, which is wrong because I have b33n using my DS-X to have my brothers download mario kart and tetris off me. The download play works perfectly for the DS-X and I really do recommend it because they had just fixed their problem and is working marvelously.

 

[Sweater Fish Del]

Personally, I think number scores should be taken out of all the reviews. Just let people read the review and decide for themselves how they think the card sounds based on the text of the review. Why do we need some number to tell us how good the card is when we've just read a multi-page review and watched helpful videos? Tacking some arbitrary score onto a written review is totally superfluous, especially if the review is well-written and comprehensive as the GBAtemp reviews usually are. In fact, it's more than superfluous, it's distracting and counter-productive as 87% of the replies in this thread prove.

Removing number scores from all GBAtemp reviews would solve all the problems people have alluded to in this thread and make the site more truly professional.


...word is bondage...

 

[Destructobot]

^^ Agreed.

 

[quartercast]

Hear hear!

 

[t3chvest]

t00 bad the ds-x is still better than this cart. Alot of ppl have b33n saying that the Cyclone is the 1st to actually support download play, which is wrong because I have b33n using my DS-X to have my brothers download mario kart and tetris off me. The download play works perfectly for the DS-X and I really do recommend it because they had just fixed their problem and is working marvelously.

... I wish they'd hurry up and invent a technology that would allow me to reach through my monitor and slap people.

 

[IBNobody]

Here's something to consider.

The R4 and Evo are closely matched in specs, and the Evo does have an advantage. Going by features alone, the Evo should have a higher score. But... The R4 has become the baseline, and its 9.0 score now includes all the updated features as well as the team's dedication to the product. Shouldn't continuous support (such as a quickly released fix for Zelda that also includes auto-DLDI patching) rank higher than slow-motion or lighting adjust?

Shaun's comment alluded to this in his response to my question on how the R4 review compared. He also said that if Team Cyclops keeps supporting the card, the Evo's score will be improved.

If you look at just specs, it is reasonable to rate the Evo over the R4. But I hope this message shows you that it's also reasonable to rate the R4 over the Evo when looking at the big picture.

- N

(And if you're considering buying the Evo, wait a few months and see how their updates progress. If they get real-time saves working and have released post-launch updates, the card will be a safe buy. This is my strategy.)

 

[Phantastic]

Zelda worked for CycloDS without needing a patch. The Cyclo team actively listen to suggestions on the forums, and quickly fix any problems that come up as soon as possible.

 

[grubbymitts]

t00 bad the ds-x is still better than this cart. Alot of ppl have b33n saying that the Cyclone is the 1st to actually support download play, which is wrong because I have b33n using my DS-X to have my brothers download mario kart and tetris off me. The download play works perfectly for the DS-X and I really do recommend it because they had just fixed their problem and is working marvelously.


... I wish they'd hurry up and invent a technology that would allow me to reach through my monitor and slap people.

I t0t411y 4gr33.

My CycloDS should arrive today

Then just got to wait for my microsd and I'm happy!!!!

 

[xilo]

Here's something to consider.

The R4 and Evo are closely matched in specs, and the Evo does have an advantage. Going by features alone, the Evo should have a higher score. But... The R4 has become the baseline, and its 9.0 score now includes all the updated features as well as the team's dedication to the product. Shouldn't continuous support (such as a quickly released fix for Zelda that also includes auto-DLDI patching) rank higher than slow-motion or lighting adjust?

Shaun's comment alluded to this in his response to my question on how the R4 review compared. He also said that if Team Cyclops keeps supporting the card, the Evo's score will be improved.

If you look at just specs, it is reasonable to rate the Evo over the R4. But I hope this message shows you that it's also reasonable to rate the R4 over the Evo when looking at the big picture.

- N

(And if you're considering buying the Evo, wait a few months and see how their updates progress. If they get real-time saves working and have released post-launch updates, the card will be a safe buy. This is my strategy.)

How does this even affect another carts initial score? When the R4 came out, the company was completely unknown. No one knew if they would continue support or not. How should this affect a carts base score when you can't even predict the future? Also, Team Cyclops has shown to be very interactive with the community, even more so than the R4 group. The fact is, it's not reasonable to base something you can't predict into a review. It should be taken for what it is and if it fails in the future, rereview it accordingly. And as it is right now, there's no denying the Cyclo is a better product than the R4 and also has great support. Solid scores really shouldn't be used in these reviews either. They should break it down and show us how they get these scores. Maybe then it would be easier to understand their logic when rating a cart.

Also, the staff has been talking about rereviewing carts for months to adjust scores according to reflect present day representation. But, where are they?

 

[IBNobody]

How does this even affect another carts initial score? When the R4 came out, the company was completely unknown. No one knew if they would continue support or not. How should this affect a carts base score when you can't even predict the future?

They aren't lowering the Evo score because it hasn't been supported. They just haven't given it any extra points yet. And if the 8.7 score is relative to the R4's 9.0, they had to take into account R4's stellar support.

Also, Team Cyclops has shown to be very interactive with the community, even more so than the R4 group.

That may be true now, but remember that the DS-X guys were active and helpful in their community prior and shortly after launch. You can't help but be leary, especially when Team Cyclops dropped support for their last card.

That being said, the Evo should be considered a clean slate. If the unit gets continual support, it should get a bump up in ratings or some sort of gold star.

QUOTE

They should break it down and show us how they get these scores. Maybe then it would be easier to understand their logic when rating a cart.

That's a good suggestion, but I don't think the results would clear anything up. Instead of people griping over the total score, you'd have people griping over each subscore.

What they should do, actually, is implement a user-voting system that uses a rolling average score. Your vote would fall off after 2 months, allowing you to re-vote and reassign a higher/lower score.

 

[bobrules]

On a five star basis, r4 gets a 4.5, Evo gets a 4.4. How big of a difference is that. You decide.

 

[quartercast]

On a five star basis, r4 gets a 4.5, Evo gets a 4.4. How big of a difference is that. You decide.

On a 1 star basis, R4 gets 0.9 stars, while Evo gets 0.87 stars. That's 0.03 of a star difference!! What a great argument!!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Yeah, I can't believe how low this score is. Being the resident R4 bum-boy, I'm not being biased in my opinion, but shouldn't this deserve more than the R4?

 

[bobrules]

I think this is the starting score, and we'll see a re-score after few updates
(if there are any).

 

[freakygeeky]

t00 bad the ds-x is still better than this cart. Alot of ppl have b33n saying that the Cyclone is the 1st to actually support download play, which is wrong because I have b33n using my DS-X to have my brothers download mario kart and tetris off me.

No one said the Evo was first, they've said that the Evo is the first to provide 100% download play capability. Try playing Yoshi Touch&Go (or Nanostray, or Big Brain Academy, etc.) on your DS-X.

QUOTE(Bungoo @ Jun 21 2007, 09:33 PM)The download play works perfectly for the DS-X and I really do recommend it because they had just fixed their problem and is working marvelously.

Yeah, it only took them two months to fix the "teething issue". LOL. Tried to play SimCity DS on that DS-X yet? I'm sure they'll release an update that fixes that problem - in 2008. And when that update comes, it will probably temporarily break a bunch of units.

(I am a not-so-proud owner of a 4Gb DS-X since October 2006)

 

[Timo710]

Well, this device is better then the M3 Simply, More functions and stuff, and you give it a lower grade? This has been the best flashcard I've seen up to date!

 

[Vengance]

[EDIT] I reread your conclusion, and I think this line does it for me. - "I'd definitely recommend the cart to anyone seeking a slot-1 flash kit, but if you're already content with your current slot-1 solution, unless you're really interested in one of the above features, you should perhaps think twice before considering migrating. But if you're in the market for a feature rich slot-1 solution, I'd suggest you consider the CycloDS Evolution."
[EDIT]I will leave my original post up.

---Original Post---

I don't have any flash carts or anything for my DS. What should I buy, an R4 or the Evo?

I read both reviews, and the -text- of the reviews definitely makes me think the Evo. The -score- for the R4 is higher, however.

So, a conundrum. Shaun, rather than whine too much, I just want to ask you: Why do you think the R4 is scored higher than the Evo? Which would you buy right now if you had nothing of the sort for your DS? Why?