Mad Catz GBA Armor Case

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CNET Editors' Review

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The good: The Mad Catz GBA Armor Case is sturdy and can hold a Game Boy Advance SP with room to spare.

The bad: It would've been nice to have an area to store the GBA SP's AC adapter. The plastic clasp can be a pain to open, and there's no handle or shoulder strap.

The bottom line: The Mad Catz GBA Armor Case can hold the GBA SP and a decent number of games securely, which is all we want a case of this class to do.

Review: The Game Boy Advance SP has been a pretty big seller for Nintendo, due in no small part to its reliability. The system's clamshell design protects the screen and buttons quite well (unlike that of the original GBA and the Micro), but that doesn't mean the system is completely immune from damage. The $10 Mad Catz GBA Armor Case adds a second layer of defense to keep your SP safe--but does it offer anything extra?

The GBA Armor Case measures 6.5 inches high, 4 wide, and 1.5 deep, which makes it a little too big to

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The Game Boy Advance SP has been a pretty big seller for Nintendo, due in no small part to its reliability. The system's clamshell design protects the screen and buttons quite well (unlike that of the original GBA and the Micro), but that doesn't mean the system is completely immune from damage. The $10 Mad Catz GBA Armor Case adds a second layer of defense to keep your SP safe--but does it offer anything extra?

The GBA Armor Case measures 6.5 inches high, 4 wide, and 1.5 deep, which makes it a little too big to fit in most pockets--we would've liked a shoulder strap for the case. It's comprised of a stainless steel exterior with a foam rubber interior. The exterior is tough and sturdy and while it won't turn heads, it's far from ugly. The interior is quite tight--there will be absolutely no room to move your GBA SP at all. Happily, Mad Catz did create a second compartment where you can store three extra games, in addition to one you can leave in the SP itself. There's no room for any other accessories (read: AC adapter), which would've required a much larger carry case. The plastic clasp that keeps the case shut is the unit's only notable flaw. It's flimsy and rather hard to open--you're likely to hurt your fingers more opening the case than playing a marathon WarioWare session.

That said, the aforementioned design flaws are easy to overlook when you consider how well the case serves its primary purpose: the Mad Catz GBA Armor Case will carry and protect your GBA SP on the road. In the end, that's all we really ask for in a carrying case. Hide Review

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