Light Shield Advance Brings Handheld Gaming Out Of The Dark Ages
David A. Dodson

Arctic Light Shield Advance

Wish you could play your GameBoy Advance in less than perfect lighting? Tired of freaking out anytime dust, fingers, or anything solid gets remotely close to your game screen? Well fear no more; those prodigious people at Pelican have set their slide rules to stun and come up with a solution to both problems with their Light Shield Advance.

The Light Shield Advance anchors itself snugly to the top of the GBA . Flipped up, it's an adjustable game light that draws power from the Advance's power port (for which it provides a pass-through for link cables). The brightness of the bulb can be modified via dimmer switch or turned off completely with the unit still attached. Flipped down, the Light Shield's plastic shell rests flush on the deck of the GameBoy, covering and protecting the Advance's LCD screen from both dust and scratches.

But how good is it really? Not bad. The light is bright enough to play by even in total darkness. Any glare can be easily taken care of by adjusting the angle of the light or by dimming. The on-off switch is also a nice touch. The only drawback is the Light Shield's use of an incandescent bulb. This type of light has a much higher energy demand than LED lighting and a significantly shorter life span. However, using the dimmer switch and turning off the light when not needed will help considerably.

Overall, this is a great product. Any shortcomings presented by the filament bulb are more than overcome by light control features and the superior protective qualities of the plastic shell. The Light Shield Advance comes in three colors (Arctic, Glacier and Indigo) and will set you back about ten bucks. You can get one almost anywhere games are sold, or online at one of the retailers listed at www.PelicanPerformance.com