The next eight days in handheld games

Like a cat surrounded by a pack of rabid Doberman Pinschers, the GBA isn't going down without a fight and seems set on having one final burst before its inevitable demise, judging by its current release schedule.

If only the PSP and DS, supposedly the Doberman in the above sensationalist analogy, could show as much determination.

It's eerily quiet on the release front for those two as we enter the summer holiday period, although Sony's machine can at least claim to be taking its annual break after ensuring its customers have something substantial to play: tomorrow's Field Commander should keep most people busy for the next few weeks, at which point we can expect normal service to be resumed. And if strategy isn't your idea of holiday gaming, then there's instead PSP racing action of two very distinct kinds in Formula One 06 and Juiced: Eliminator.

No such luck for DS owners, who are just left sizzling in the sun with the prospect of Monster House.

No, with six, varied releases – the kind of quantity it last enjoyed in its heyday – this week belongs to the good old GBA. Make the most of it, because this time next year we could be standing over its mangled, decomposing corpse.