Games – Ren Reviews the Nintendo DS

I’ve owned the nifty new Nintendo DS for over a week now, so I feel I can offer a descent review, even though I’ve only played two games on it so far. So here we go.

First of all, the shape of it. Overall I find the design to be good, though there are a few minor annoyances. The unit itself is larger, moving back toward the general size of the original GBA, with about half again the thickness I’d estimate. The two screens are good, set to be easily viewed and switched between. It folds out and back in easily and feels sturdy. It should hold up well to normal wear and tear. I’ve had a few chances to gauge their performance outside and have found it to be a weak point. Inside the screens are brightly lit and very easy to see. The touch screen is, however, harder to see outside, as is the top one. Though I haven’t done my own extensive tests to better define the extent of their outdoor usage and how to optimize viewing. With the SP, having the sun at your back was the best position. So far I haven’t confirmed that to carry over to the DS.

One of the annoyances is the weight. With two hands, the weight is easy to bear, though with one hand, while using the stylus, it can be a little uncomfortable over time. I tend to hold it with by thumb low against the front, my other fingers splayed across the back when(playing Urbz) I’m doing one of the mini games that revolves around the stylus or poking around the menus, status screens and map. But the discomfort my thumb gets is minor and not enough to really detract from my play experience.

The touch screen itself is very sensitive. You don’t have to press hard to get a reaction. Even now, with a screen protector over it(got protectors yesterday) it’s still responsive to the stylus. Hopefully most will refrain from pressing too hard with the stylus, to keep from damaging the touch screen with too much pressure.

The stylus is a simple piece of plastic. Perhaps the only reason you might need it is for the tip, which looks to be made soft to prevent damage to the touch screen. Just about anything can be used, but one should take care in what they press on the touch screen to keep from damaging or scratching it with hard or sharp objects. The adjustable thumbpad, included on the end of the wrist strap, offers another means of interaction, where the thumb can be used without smudging the screen and with greater control than the thumb alone. The stylus slips right into a little holder in the back, locked in lightly to be easily retrieved, without being shaken free by handling of the DS itself. I might have thought it a good idea to have a second, since the DS comes with two stylus’, to keep the second in a place where it won’t be easily lost in it’s capacity as a backup.

There’s a small microphone below the left edge of the touch screen, close to the player. I haven’t tested it yet as so far I haven’t any software that takes advantage of it and for now I don’t have any interest in Feel the Magic, the concept game from Sega that makes use of all of the DS’ feature bells and whistles. But from a review of that game, I’d surmise the mic does its job. The DS comes with a normal headphone jack, thankfully. No more need for a converter to plug in the ‘phones. The stero speakers are a bit more powerful than the GBA SP’s, still easily drowned out by ambient noise. But they sound delightful in a quiet room.

The DS can accept the new DS games and GBA games, but breaks compatibility with Gameboy and Gameboy Color games. You can pick, through options menus, which screen will show GBA games as they take up only one screen. The DS games themselves have shrunk down in size again, even as they’ve risen in quality of content. They’re now as small as tiny some forms of digital camera media. Easier to loose, but also easier to carry in bulk within a small space. The GBA game slides in like they always have, while the DS games are pushed in to click lock and must be pushed in again to be unlocked for extraction. Very secure.

The controls are standard, though expanded. Instead of two play buttons, there are four now. A and B as well as X and Y, bring it a step closer to the common standard of consoles. The buttons are responsive, though the R and L shoulder buttons might be a little unwieldy to use, depending on how you hold the DS. So far I haven’t had a need to use them a lot, so I haven’t gotten a true feel for them. Perhaps after I get Mario 64(likely in 2005) I’ll get a better sense of them.

And now, the games. First off, the internal software on the DS. PictoChat and the internal default software on the DS make it more than any previous Gmaeboy has been. When you first turn it on, hearing the wizzy new tone that replaces the old Gameboy *bing* you have to tap the lower screen to acknowledge a health and safety warning. Annoying, but minor. You have to enter some basic data at the start. A name by which you’ll be known in chats and perhaps will show in multiplay(I rarely play multi). You make sure the date and time are good, you select a favored color, which will be the color used by the interface in some places.

Once that’s done, you can modify other settings. One of those being if you’ll have your DS in auto or manual mode. This being a good addition. In manual mode, the default interface will pop up again whenever you turn it on. In Auto mode, the Ds will go immediately into the current inserted game without delay. So if you don’t have any use for the default interface, you can bypass it entirely. I’ve not tested to see which game is chosen if you have a GBA game and a DS game inserted, but I surmise that the DS game holds priority by the virtue of basic logic.

You can select which screen will show the GBA game in the options, change date and time, user settings and calibrate the touch screen One of the annoying things about the options is that when you’re done modifying them, you can’t go to the game. For some reason, the only way out of the options is to quit and thereby shut off the DS. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.

The default interface itself has a clock and calander as wella s a few status icons in the top screen while the touch screen has the core options. You can select which game to play here(DS or GBA), you can select to enter Pictochat or you can initiate a DS download play session, which is just playing with another person when you lack the game that they have.

Lastly, I muse on the possibilities for the DS. While some have mentioned the DS having PDA-like attributes, I don’t see the DS as close to a PDA yet. It has wireless ability, which is good. It has chat abilities, which is useful, though it’s not too easy to type on a little keyboard with the stylus. But you can do it.

However, the DS has the potential to take on many other features that a PDA has. A game pack that can hold information on it like notes, names, phone numbers and light calendar functions would take it close enough. I’ve no doubt someone could pack quite a lot of information on one of these new little DS carts and since they save games, it’s obvious that they can be formatted to save the simper text data involved. I’ve talked with someone who expressed the potential for online play, should some manner of wireless receiver be made that can connect to a computer and perhaps some light software to connect one DS to another. I don’t know the logistics that might be involved in that, but if it’s doable, it should be done because I think online play or chat are attractive additions. Especially if there is some means of finding other DS players who you don’t know. I’ve also mused what wonders could emerge if an intrepid game maker created a game that used both a DS game pack and a GBA game pack, making for added media for even bigger games.

In conclusion, its obviously the DS has a lot of potential and a lot of possible directions to grow in. Besides and including game playing. It could take on the trappings of a moderate quality PDA, useful to folks like me who don’t really need a PDA for day-to-day use, but could use the ability to jot down a few notes and keep track of a few friends easily. While it has a few annoying factors, overall it’s a steady and robust system giving both greater power for games prettier and deeper than before as well as the option for savvy interface with the new touch screen.

Now, on games there are only two that I have now. One is the Metroid Prime: First Hunt, the mini game that comes along with the DS. This is a nice looking first person shooter that looks like the Gamecube’s Metroid Prime series. Not as pretty, but pretty enough for a portable shooter. What’s more prominent about this game is the addition of five preset means of controlling the game, between normal controls and controls involving the stylus, some for both right and left handers. The stylus control is interesting, though takes getting used to. In it you tap the screen to shoot, shooting at the point which you tap. To look around you press the stylus(or thumb pad) to the touch screen and move it about, while strafing forward, back and side to side with the controlpad. You jump with the shoulder button. The control is certainly hard to get used to, but once mastered could provide a new level of control and precision for shooters on the DS. And if you don’t like it, try one of the other control schemes. All in all a good means of introducing possibilities with a free teaser for the full game coming out soon.

The other game I have is The Urbz: Sims in the City. In general, the game is similar to the prior GBA Sims game. Only expanded with a few more missions than the other had and some new gameplay elements that deepen the experience without breaking it. If you liked the last game, you’ll probably like this one. I waited purposefully for this one, because I had a feeling and was right in expecting the DS version to have more than the GBA version. Noted in Gamespot’s review as: most notably, a unique series of missions involving an ambitious sushi chef, trained monkeys, and a pet show.

The game is set in a friendly way, with the action largely happening in the top screen while the lower screen holds the menus that you used to access by pausing the game. Now you can poke through the options and status screens while leaving the action above unpaused. Useful if you want to poke through your inventory or check quest requirements while your Sim guy or gal is pumping iron or studying a new skill. You can have the map up and see your progress charted through the city by the motion of your little icon on it, a nifty and somewhat useful tool as it also shows where your vehicles are, which you get access to several off over time.

The minigames are another place where the dynamic changes with the DS. Some of them use the touch screen, which adds a new level of intuitive interactivity to the game. In one you trace over a grid of icons, looking for a way to draw a line through icons matching the pattern shown at the top of the screen. The longer the string gets, the harder it is to find just the right cluster of icons on the field. One of the games I’ve found the most interesting is a replacement for the guitar playing minigame from the first Sims game. It was like Dance Dance Revolution in that you were to match presses of the control pad and A/B buttons with the rolling indicators on the screen. There’s a ‘fiddle with the man in red’ game that is similar, but matches a fast paced game of memory more than DDR, using the controlpad and the A button only. The style and energy of it is most amusing to me, even though it’s been a relatively easy game(for me) so far.

Another added feature in Urbz is the inclusion of ‘Xizzles'(you’ll find a playful quasi-hiphop feel to a lot of the game) which are abilities that give you, for example, resistance against the degradation of needs(hunger, hygiene, comfort, etc..) as well as other bonuses, like added conversation options and a bonus on reactions to talk from the opposite sex.

All in all a satisfying, if not groundbreaking sequel to the first Sims game. Hopefully, if they make another, they’ll try and deepen it a bit more. It would have been nice to have a bit of a face lift in the DS version as well, since I’m sure it can present these graphics better than the GBA version is capable of.

Well, there you have it. My grand, if somewhat disjointed and messy review of the DS and the games I’ve played on it. I see great possibilities in store for the DS. I hope Nintendo capitalizes on every one of them to break it in early as the superior of the PSP. Well, superior for my personal gaming needs and desires. 😉