Nintendo DS - Too Advanced to be Just a Game Boy
Written: Nov 28 '04 (Updated Mar 28 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: awesome 3D graphics, rechargeable battery, wireless gaming, two screens, promising line-up for 2005
Cons: terrible launch-day game releases, rather clunky in size, does not support GBP or GBC games
The Bottom Line: The Nintendo DS is a very attractive handheld system. The only thing that keeps it from being an amazing system is lack of good games as of now.
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| vadimio's Full Review: Nintendo DS Console |
The Nintendo DS is the newest handheld console to hit the market. The DS sports a sharp design, terrific graphics, two screens, wireless multi-player options, a touch screen and much more. In essence, the DS is a beefed up GameBoy with tons of new features and it becomes the first portable system to have good-looking three-dimensional games. At a price of $149.99, is the Nintendo DS worth your money?
The Design
When you open up the box and hold the DS in your hands for the very first time you will notice that the DS is a rather bulky system. I measured the unit with a ruler and found out that the system is roughly 6 x 3.5 x 1 inches, which is nearly twice as large as a GameBoy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS folds in half, therefore it features a clamshell design. This is a good design for this unit as it protects the two screens and prevents accidental button presses.
The unit itself is a nice metallic gray color that portrays a sense of maturity and advanced technology. When you open the unit you will notice one screen above the hinge and one screen below the hinge. Both sides of the top screen are surrounded by stereo speakers that enhance the auditory experience. To the left of the bottom screen you will find the power button and the directional pad. To the right of the same screen you will locate the rectangular Start and Select buttons on top and the A, B, X, Y buttons in the middle arranged in a diamond-like shape. The lower portion of the unit also has two LEDs, one of which indicates whether the unit is on/off and whether the battery is low, while the other lights up when the battery is being charged. I felt that the directional pad was terrific because it was fairly sensitive and provided good feedback, yet the four face buttons were not to my liking because I found them to be too small and bunched together.
When you fold up the unit and look at the top and bottom, you will notice all sorts of slots, jacks and controls. On the bottom you will find the volume control that adjusts the volume, a headphone jack, a microphone jack and a slot for GBA games. The two shoulder buttons (which are quite comfortable to use), the slot for DS games, the AC adapter jack, wrist strap attachment and stylus holder reside on top.
The Dual Screens
The focal points of the Nintendo DS are the two screens. Both of the screens are three inches in size (diagonally) and both of them are reflective TFT color LCDs with 256 x 192 pixel resolution. This basically means that the screens are large and that their resolution is rather sharp. Although a few games can get pixilated at times, the screens display very bright and colorful images. The fact that they are reflective means that it becomes substantially harder to see what is going on in direct sunlight and that you must adjust your viewing angle for maximum pleasure.
Having two screens obviously leads to a multitude of gaming possibilities. In most games, the top screen is where most of the action will take place while the lower screen will display less important information such as dungeon maps, your location in races and so on. How developers will utilize the two screens will dictate the success of this handheld system. I've seen some interesting things being done with them, for example, in the opening video of the Metroid Prime Hunters demo you will see Samus Aran displayed in 3D. The interesting thing about this video is that the upper screen displays Samus' upper body while the lower screen displayed her lower body, thus turning two screens into one. Contrary to popular beliefs, keeping track of both screens is not very difficult and it does not cause motion sickness for me.
The most remarkable thing about the DS, however, is the fact that the lower screen is touch sensitive. This allows you to do a multitude of things in games and applications. You can input text like you would in a PDA via a virtual keyboard or with the Microsoft Paint-like features in Pictochat. You can control characters in games, for example, in some games the backwards/forwards movement and strafing sidewise will be taken care of with the directional pad while the touch screen takes care of aiming. In order to utilize the touch screen, you can press on it with your finger, a stylus or the wrist strap. The strap has a small plastic pad that can be worn on your finger that is designed to be used for games that work better with a sliding type of control. The touch screen is very sensitive and works well, although it does take some time getting used to. Since I have experience with PDAs, using the stylus felt natural, however the plastic pad takes time getting used to. I am confident that Nintendo will develop lots of games that will take advantage of this touch screen and this will make the DS really stand out.
The Package
The Nintendo DS comes in a fairly large box. When you open it up, you will find the DS itself, a wrist strap, an AC adapter, two styluses, an instruction manual and a copy of the Metroid Prime Hunters demo. The demo is found on a game cartridge that it the same size as a SD memory card that you would traditionally use to store extra files on a PDA or digital camera. The packaging for DS games is different from the packaging for GameBoy games, as the cases resemble smaller version of the Xbox, GC and PS2 hard cases. These cases are slim and durable, unlike the large cardboard boxes that contain GBA games. When you turn on the DS for the first time, it will ask you to input your date of birth, nickname, date, time and language. After you have confirmed everything, you must restart the system and then you are good to go.
The Battery
The Nintendo DS has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that can be replaced by users. You can recharge the battery by plugging in the AC adapter and letting the unit sit idle for about four hours. After this, you can play the DS for 6-10 hours. If you are playing games the whole time then it is must closer to 6 hours, but if you are fooling around with the Calendar or you are using Pictochat, then the battery life becomes closer to 10 hours. If you close the unit without shutting it off, it will automatically pause your game and go into 'Sleep Mode', which is a good way to conserve your battery. According to Nintendo, the battery will last around 500 recharges, and after that it is recommended that your replace it. Five hundred recharges should last you a good 2-4 years, and since a replacement battery costs only $15, you shouldn't worry about it.
The Wireless Network
Nintendo DS owners can connect over a local wireless network of up to 16 people to compete against each other in various games or to utilize certain applications such as Pictochat. Pictochat is an application that comes with every DS and allows people to chat with other another using the virtual keyboard or by drawing with a stylus. The extent of the wireless network is up to 100 feet, which actually isn't that much. Unless you are doing this by secretive means in a classroom or something, then it is easier to just walk up to the person and talk to them instead of using the DS. I've heard that if you are in a hotspot in the future you will be able to talk to gamers all across America in the chat rooms in Pictochat, but as of now I'm not sure if this is available or not.
The wireless network also allows gamers to face-off against each other in gams that support multi-player. Some gamers require everyone to have a copy of the game, while others transmit levels of a game to the second DS via the wireless transmitter, and this allows you to play multi-player with a single cartridge. I tested out the multi-player by heading out to Best Buy and having my friend use the in-store DS while I used mine, and all of the multi-player action was extremely fun and I experienced no problems whatsoever. The only bad thing is that you can't play the GBA games wirelessly and you can't use the link, therefore all GBA games lose their multi-player functionality.
The Games
The Nintendo DS supports DS games as well as GBA games. As I have previously mentioned, there are two separate slots on the unit. Unfortunately, the Nintendo DS does not support GameBoy Color or GameBoy Pocket games. However, the inclusion of the backwards compatibility with GBA games helps out the DS tremendously, as the current DS releases aren't top notch.
The Nintendo DS has two processors: one ARM9 and one ARM7. These are higher-end processors used in some PDAs and it gives the DS a lot of power. This power translates into the first handheld that can handle 3D renderings. The graphics in all of the games are on par with the graphics that you will find in Nintendo 64 games, which is an impressive achievement. The upcoming PlayStation Portable handheld will surely exceed the DS in the graphics department, but as of now the DS is a remarkable achievement.
The most important thing, however, are the games that you can play. As of now, the Nintendo DS does not feature a very solid line-up. Obviously, Super Mario 64 DS is the game of the moment. This game is single-handedly selling the DS, as it is a revamped version of the ever-popular Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64. The only other available games as of now are Madden NFL 2005, Spider-Man 2, The Urbz: Sims in the City, Feel the Magic: XY/XX and Asphalt: Urban GT. None of these games are spectacular, although the thrill of playing a 3D version of Madden with an actual commentary on a handheld might be a selling point. As you can tell, the quality of the available DS games isn't top notch, and you shouldn't expect any AAA titles in 2004.
Next year will be a far better year for the DS, as Metroid Prime: Hunters, Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing DS, Advance Wars DS, Sonic DS, Viewtiful Joe, Harvest Moon DS, a new Zelda game and a new Super Mario Bros. game will all be released. Hopefully, Nintendo will develop these games and not simply port a bunch of Nintendo 64 games. There will also be some games that will truly take advantage of the DS' technology, namely Wario Ware Touched, Yoshi's Touch & Go and Kirby's Magic Paintbrush. I can't wait to see how these games will turn out.
The Accessories
As of now, the only available accessories from Nintendo are replacement batteries, styluses, wrist straps, AC adapters and a battery cover kit. Most retail stores are also selling a DS starter kit for $14.99 that contains Safe Screen protection films (to prevent scratches), Game Buds earphones and a Road Power Vehicle Adapter. As of now, I don't recommend purchasing any of the available accessories. In the future, I'm sure that they will release an add-on microphone to take advantage of the sound recognition function that the DS contains.
Overall, the Nintendo DS is a very interesting system. Recently, people have been giving a hard time and they have been saying that Nintendo needs to bring something new to the table. I believe that the Nintendo DS is exactly what Nintendo needed, as it is the most innovative thing to hit the gaming market in years. A touch screen, wireless networking, two screens, 3D graphics and sleek design is what the DS brings to the table. It's obvious that the DS is by no means a perfect system - it's a bit clunky and the current releases aren't that great. It's possible that the Sony PSP will become more popular. However, Nintendo got a head start this time around, and for $150, it sure is one interesting system.
Related Products:
GameBoy Advance SP
Sony PSP
Recommended:
Yes
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