Nintendo DS Review

TVG was fortunate enough to attend last weekâ??s fanciful European debut of the Nintendo DS, and walked away smugly with our own unit tucked away under a shoulder whilst we braved the dangers of carrying a bag emblazed with the DS logo through the dark streets of London.

The short â??informalâ? presentation beforehand was a chance for David Yarnton, General Manager Nintendo UK to shout about the success of the recent DS launch across the US, whilst confirming that an equally impressive launch is currently shaping across Japan, with over 2 million pre-orders to date. Despite stopping short of revealing the all important info that European fans want to hear, namely the price and release date, TVG has since learnt that the month of March can well and truly be put down in your diary.

A short video presentation highlighted the future direction that Nintendo wish to take with the DS along with some of the games currently in development, and we have to admit that itâ??s a very bold decision by Nintendo. Exasperated by the increasing time and resources needed to create videogames, Nintendo seem to want to take a step backwards to a time when games were purely focussed on one thing, namely â??funâ?. Our first few hours with the DS brought memories of classic Nintendo flooding back; itâ??s almost a return to the quirky image that encompassed them back in the 80â??s, a time when things were far more... simple.

A lot has been made of the â??innovativeâ? nature of the DS, an aspect that Nintendo have themselves been keen to push. Such touches as the dual-screen, voice recognition and touch capabilities are heralded by the Japanese giant to usher in a new style of game along with new ways to play them. The risk taken by Nintendo is certainly a great one; if the games released push the boundaries and invent new experiences for gamers then the rewards could be great, however weâ??re going to need more then maps/radars on that second screen and an assortment of shallow but admittedly fun, stylus-challenging mini-games to ensure the DS doesnâ??t run the risk of becoming labelled as a gimmick. Although Nintendoâ??s history in the handheld market has been largely without fault, the mere mention of the Virtual Boy is enough to send anyone for the hills; however despite both the DS and VB aiming to introduce innovative features to gaming, thereâ??s one thing that separates the two formats â?“ the DS has been exceptionally designed and doesnâ??t suffer from insurmountable flaws that prevent you from enjoying the experience.

Our personal concern is that having grown accustomed to technology and the realism that this brings with the current generation of home consoles, whether the masses will take to this or be persuaded by the â??PS2 in your palmâ?. As weâ??ve stated many times before, videogames in the truest sense of the word are becoming a rare thing; you only need to look at the attention generated by Halo 2 compared to the likes of Super Mario Sunshine to realise that games have changed, as have the demands of the people playing them. Will people prefer drawing a picture of Pac-Man and the direction he must face in what is shaping up to be a truly â??uniqueâ? take on the classic franchise, or be overwhelmed by the prospect of playing the likes of Gran Turismo 4 on the PSP???

The proverb that a system is â??only as good as the games on itâ? has taken less prominence in recent years, as technological differences between the formats narrow and third-party publishers insist on bringing their games to every format known to man; however more so then ever, the DS success is all about the games created for it. Nintendo want new experiences on the DS, and so itâ??s up to the developers to come up with new ideas and concepts to flaunt the format. Having safely got to the train station without attracting the attention of too many people interested in my DS bag, I had arguably more fun on the ride home with the various mini-games on Mario 64 DS then the actual port of the classic Nintendo64 title. Games such as WarioWare DS and Pac-Man DS seem ideally suited to the format, however whether or not the masses are tuned into â??quirky and funâ? remains to be seen. Thatâ??s not to say that the DS wonâ??t be without itâ??s fair share of cinematic, immersive games akin to those weâ??re playing at home; you only need to play the bundled demo of Metroid Prime: Hunters to realise that the DS can hold its head up high in this department, however just relying on standard titles such as a racing game or sports games wonâ??t push the innovative features of the DS and could weaken the perception of the format â?“ developers really need to be given the chance to create new experiences with this, and not rely on brands and franchises.

Right rant mode off, itâ??s time for an actual look at the hardware.

The DS comes from the same school as the GameBoy Advance SP; forget the toy like look of the original GameBoy Advance, as the Nintendo DS could equally be at home in the hands of kids in the playground and execs at a boardroom. The unit keeps in style with the silver finish of the SP, and the first impression is that itâ??s a lot smaller then we originally thought. It might be hard just to slip into a top pocket like the GBA SP, but you can easily pocket it into a coat and itâ??s nice and light so you donâ??t have to worry about it when youâ??re on the move.

Booting up the system for the first time presents you with a variety of settings to choose from, including entering a nickname, birth-date and favourite colour; each of which are either designed to identify you during wireless multiplayer bouts or PictoChat and personalise the interface when you first switch on the system.

When turning on the DS youâ??re presented with a health warning message, before the snazzy interface boots up and allows you to either load a DS game, a GBA title, activate PictoChat or engage the Download Play mode, which allows gamers to play multiplayer with only one cartridge on certain games â?“ Super Mario 64 allows this feature, however the demo of Metroid Prime: Hunters requires every unit to have a cartridge.

If a little on the small side, the two screens present a crisp and clear image that creates the sensation that games are running at a higher resolution then they actually are. The sound quality emitted through the two speakers is of a good standard, although it lacks a little clarity on its loudest setting and begins to sound a little tinny. Thankfully however you can easily plug-in a pair of headphones without the requirement of a special adaptor as with the GBA SP, although SP owners will be pleased to know that you can use various AC Adaptors and other devices from that format on the DS. Beside the headphone socket is the Microphone slot, which within the manual also indicates the potential of future â??headsetsâ?.

The DS supports GameBoy Advance titles only, so youâ??ll be keeping onto that GBA if youâ??re still passionate about your GameBoy collection. Youâ??re free to choose which screen you want to use when playing GBA titles, although weâ??re a little surprised to note that thereâ??s no immediate way to connect the DS to the GameCube, as it lacks the required port - presumably the Nintendo Revolution will connect wirelessly to the DS. Referencing the manual once again, it teasingly suggests that the GameBoy Advance slot can be used for â??GameBoy Advance Game Paks or Nintendo DS accessoriesâ?.

The format feels sturdy and solid when you flip it open and close, and in true Nintendo fashion it fits in your hand perfectly, with the d-pad and face/shoulder buttons placed exactly where you need them. Sadly weâ??ve only been able to test out Nintendoâ??s titles at first, both of which offer a variety of control methods to suit your choosing. Naturally you can play with the typical set-up of the d-pad and various buttons; however itâ??s not entirely why you bought a DS for and negates one of the biggest features of the format. Thankfully the stylus works suitably in the gameâ??s weâ??ve played thus far, although as one of the Nintendo girls pointed out, certain games such as Mario 64 DS utilise the hand-strap to far greater effect. A little nodule on the hand-strap allows you to lasso it around your thumb and use that for greater accuracy in games that require continuous smooth motion, such as that needed to control characters in Mario 64 DS. In the aforementioned classic N64 port weâ??ve encountered a strange few oddities that mar the overall experience from a control point of view; however weâ??ll leave that for you to find out in our review of the game.

One particular area that has become something of a major bitching point between Sony and Nintendo is that of the battery life, with David Yarnton excitedly pointing out that the DS will â??last youâ? during the presentation. In a little under the week that weâ??ve had the DS we have had to recharge the battery twice, both of which have given between the 6-10 hours that Nintendo promised before launch. The recharge takes around 4 hours, although this is considerably lengthened if youâ??re trying to play at the same time.

As far as the wireless capabilities go, weâ??ve only been able to test out PictoChat in the relative confines of the after-show party. The chatting application is fun and a neat little addition to have built into the system, although the constraints of the room prevented testing the extent of the distance possible. The real issue we have with the wireless communication and more specifically PictoChat, is whether itâ??s feasible outside of the playground; sure we can see lots of kids having fun in between lessons, but itâ??s hardly the equivalent of turning on your Xbox and playing anybody else in the world thanks to Xbox Live! or replace txting on your mobiles.

Sadly due to a lack of software that supports the voice recognition capabilities of the DS, weâ??ve been unable to check out this feature of the hardware; itâ??s certainly a little strange that Nintendo didnâ??t have something out there to exhibit everything from Day 1. Weâ??re a little disappointed that the DS doesnâ??t offer any ability to just record your own messages or scribble down notes; however this is probably more targeted towards PDA owners and not the game-obsessed market that Nintendo is trying to target.