Nintendo DS - FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Well today my Nintendo DS finally showed up and I wanted to share my first impressions with you all (including pics etc). First of all I want to clarify to ANY UK importers that the GBA SP battery charger DOES indeed work with an import Nintendo DS with no problems at all. There is no need for a step down converter etc. This is great news for people who own an SP and want to import.

TOUCHING IS GOOD
Hmm.. I'm not so sure it is.. the actual Nintendo DS although looking rather nice in pictures with its silver finish and metallic look is in actuality rather cheap and plastic. I have to be honest the overall finish is nice but it does feel rather clunky and ... well... plastic. What was I expecting I suppose. In comparison to my GBA SP I'd say the SP actually feels like a more expensive and refined piece of kit. I'm not sure why, given the aesthetic components are relatively the same... the main one being silver plastic. That said it is rugged enough, though I can't help but wonder if that hinge will hold up.. all in all it's similar to the GBA SP Hinge, so if you've broken one of those handle your Nintendo DS carefully.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX... an AC adapter, 2 x stylus (one in the Nintendo DS itself and a spare), a wrist strap with the weird thumb pointer which can be used in place of the stylus, a pre-loaded version of wireless instant messaging software PictoChat, and a demo of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, featuring three single-player tutorial levels and three multiplayer arenas for wireless first-person shooter combat. (ok so when taking this pic I forgot to include the wrist strap).

YOU'VE BEEN SET UP
Setting up the Nintendo DS is a doddle, it asks for your nickname, your favourite colour, the time, date and your birthday.. hmm.. wonder what happens if you switch it on on your birthday hehe. The touch screen works smoothly even prior to calibration and the calibration process is again super easy, just touch the red crosses on the screen accurately with the stylus.. and that is that!

METROID MUCH HYPE
Popped in the little cartridge and.. well it's certainly a nice looking title, and it sounds good too. But it's not my thing. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm left handed or whether I'm just a tad useless at this particular title but after only a relatively short time playing it my right hand was very sore indeed and the DS felt really cumbersome. I was holding it up however and not leaning on something so perhaps that was the problem, overall though I couldn't see myself playing this whilst waiting for a bus. On the upside for lefties, nintendo appear to have listened to our pained cries and made the controls (at least on Metroid) double sided. By that I mean you can either use the directional cross controller for movement OR the 4 buttons on the right which act in the same manner. That said it still felt... slightly uncomfortable, but then that is part of the reason I will be returning to this article a few days in to give an update as it may well be I am just not used to it.

Thanks to the incompetence which is 'Import Madness' the other games I'd ordered have not appeared. Nor has the second DS, this coupled with the fact a 2 day delivery has thus far taken 8 days means this is a company to give a HUGE swerve to. Not that that has much to do with the DS itself, but it's a handy hint for those of you wishing to import.

GBA GAMES
Looking at old GBA games on th DS was actually a great experience, they looked brighter and the sound is amazing, of course this is probably down to the fact the DS screen is backward lit as opposed to the GBA which is front lit.. this means the DS screen is sharper and better illuminated, the title I looked at was Donkey Kong Country 2 and it was far better than I had recalled. Although you clearly don't buy a brand new machine to play backward compatible games, it is great to see these older titles looking and sounding as best they can. When setting up your DS you can choose which screen you wish to play your GBA games on. Add to this the dedicated cartridge port and you're on a real winner if you are a big GBA games fan.

UP TO THIS POINT
I'm going to have to leave it at that. I'll be adding to this as soon as the second DS and games arrive. I'll then let you all know how the pictochat function works and how games play and feel. And that my friends is that.

BACK AGAIN... A Few Days Later...
Well I've had the beast a few days now and as the old saying goes.. what a difference a day makes.

UNDERWHELMED
Ok I admit it, I was underwhelmed... perhaps it was my mood when it arrived, perhaps I had other things on my mind, perhaps it was the fact Import Madness %$£$^*&! up my order and a 2 day delivery took 9 days, whatever it was I didn't give the little fella time to grow on me.. I was in a word.. hasty.

Yes of course I could re-edit this article and make out like that wasn't the case, I'd certainly look smarter for it, but it's far more interesting to do a comparitive. So now I'm going to talk about the machine a few days in and a game in the slot.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GAMES PEOPLE
I'm a big believer that the games on a platform will make or break it. And the DS is no different. As I received no games with it, only the metroid demo and of course the built in picto chat there was only so much I could do with it. Then Mario DS arrived....

Firstly I have to say THANK GOD they've replaced the old cardboard cases with a nice new two thirds sized DVD style case (pictured). I have a box full of crushed GBA and N64 boxes, victims of moving house etc, they're the bane of my gaming collection so this is a godsend.

BACK AGAIN... AGAIN... Months later and now it's out in the UK too!
The DS has been out in the UK for some time now and so I return to this article with further impressions and just perhaps a little useful information for you new DS adopters.

GAME COVERS
It's not a big thing to ask for standardized game case sizes is it? So why do the UK try and be clever? Why are the UK DS cases fatter than the US and Japanese cases? It's not big and it's not clever!! The US and Japanese (DVD Width) cases are much more pleasing to the eye... yes it's a complaint, but I need one for this update because you see... I have no others.

GAME RELEASES of 'NOTE' (hoho a pun.. as you'll see)
Since purchasing the machine I've racked up a few nice additions to ye olde collection and we cover them nicely in our DS REVIEWS section. If you like your Donkey Kongas, Gitaroo Men and the like you may just want to check out our review of Band Brothers (Japanese Import) which is a lovely little music title that I hope gets a release either stateside or in Europe (UK) becasue the language can put off non import savvy gamers, all in all definitely one to check out over at LIK SANG.

News of the new 'online' network play has got me all in a tizzy and I'm very much looking forward to the release of Animal Crossing DS, though I fear I shall become a hermit on its release... not that that will matter if I can visit friends town all over the world without leaving my living room!!

That's all for this impressions update my little chickens.

BACK AGAIN... AGAIN... June 2006!
Where to begin. This little machine has (imo) shown the way in gaming. The games releases since the last update have been nothing but astounding. The interface has shown that you don't need to stick to the old and known and you certainly don't need to ridicule or fear it when you hear things are changing, change, in this case, is very, very good.

The release of the DS Lite is almost here for US and European gamers, the screen will be better, the console lighter / smaller, if you don't have a DS yet, wait a few weeks and purchase the Lite, you won't regret it. The release of Animal Crossing Wild World was everything I had hoped (see discussion here), it utilised the DS in wonderful ways, as did other great releases recently, such as Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Another Code: Two Memories, Mario Kart DS, Brain Age, New Super Mario Bros and more.

In short, if you're a gamer and you don't own a DS, get one, you won't regret it. It's an amazing machine with amazing capabilities and it really turns gaming on its head, in a good way. If you're tired of the same old same old appearing on all other formats, get the DS for a nice change. This is what gaming should be about, innovation, fun and more fun.