2 days with the DS

[The Prince of Darkness]

First things first I am loving it so far, and I have only checked out Meteos and Kirby both on single player only. The system itself is a damn slick piece of work. I mean it is not sexy like the PSP, but it definately holds its own in the coolness department. The people that have checked it out so far seem to think that it is some fancy palm pilot, but then they see the games and they are like"holy crap you can now game with a touch screen". So far my non-gamingfiend friends seem to be more impressed with the DS rather than the PSP. As far as what I think---first the screens. They are definately big enough to get the job done, and I have not even played anything yet that really incorporates the second screen into gameplay. The sound is also better than I thought it would be. It definately had me doing a double take to make sure that I was still gaming on a Nintendo system. Finally, the controls. I have only checked out the touch screen so far because I refuse to play Meteos with the button controls. Hell, I will probably not get to check the d-pad and buttons until I get Mario Kart, and that is if I get Mario Kart. Anyway, the touch sreen works great once you get used to the fact that you are gaming with a touch screen.

Meteos. I had a tough time getting used to it and figuring out what to do because I have had Tetris style games embedded into my brain for my whole life. The only thing that Meteo has in common with Tetris is falling tiles. I still think, after my brief time with Meteos, that I like Lumines a little better. Meteos is probably a neater concept, more inventive, and has more modes than Lumines, but there are two things that stand out for me in the comparison. First is the atmosphere and music. The beats and atmosphere are just more impressive in Lumines. I mean sure the tiles and background change in Meteos as you progress, but I just don't think that the whole atmosphere changes the way it does in Lumines. The second thing that I have noticed about Meteos is the luck factor. Is it me or sometimes when the stack gets too high can you just take the stylus and move it up and down the row without really paying attention to what you are doing and still get lucky with some launches? That takes a little something away from the game for me. Don't get me wrong, though. I am certainly not knocking the game because I love it, but I am just making the initial and inevitable comparison.

Kirby. I have only played it for about a half hour total because I have been concentrating on Meteos, but man I must say that Kirby must be what Nintendo had in mind when they invented the DS. What a cool idea...a combination of Marble Madness and Donkey Kong. Again it was weird getting used to the feeling that you are not actually controlling Kirby with the d-pad, but instead controlling the environment around him as he progresses naturally. I literally only made it through the tutorial and first two levels of the first world, but I really thought it was fun.

[trebor]

Well, it sounds like you are really enjoying your DS. I'm buying one on Sunday, when the price-cut goes into effect.

Which color did you pick up? I'm going for the silver one, myself, because that's the color my wife wants and she'll be inheriting it when I buy an all black version when it is released.

Also, if I buy only one game, should it be Kirby or Meteos? I assume Kirby is more short-term, but finite, fun, while Meteos has long-term appeal because of infinite replayability.

[Aylmer]

I love my DS too. I'm really thinking about eBaying my PSP. I have Lumines, but the depth of Meteos is amazing.

Just today I ordered a couple of new things from Lik-Sang for the DS, and I haven't even gotten Electroplankton yet. One is a 3rd party movie maker/player for the GBA that also works with the DS. It differs from the Nintendo Play-yan in several ways. The main thing is, you can create/rip your own content with the included software. The ad says that anything Windows Media Player can play, can be converted and played on the DS/GBA. Best of all, it was only $25.

I also ordered Yakuman, since it is highly unlikely that it will ever see an English translation. Yakuman is a Nintendo game, based on Mah Jong (an addiction for me), and has Mario and other characters in it. It's very popular across the Pacific, and it should be a blast.

Polarium is a great stylus only Puzzle game, very unique and fun, that you may want to take a look at.

[The Prince of Darkness]

Well, it sounds like you are really enjoying your DS. I'm buying one on Sunday, when the price-cut goes into effect.

Which color did you pick up? I'm going for the silver one, myself, because that's the color my wife wants and she'll be inheriting it when I buy an all black version when it is released.

Also, if I buy only one game, should it be Kirby or Meteos? I assume Kirby is more short-term, but finite, fun, while Meteos has long-term appeal because of infinite replayability.

Yeah everyone was right about the DS. It is sweet, and I bet it will be my favorite of the two handhelds when all is said and done. I bought an imported white one, and it is seriously cool looking.

As far as which game to buy---dude I would buy them both. It seems like Meteos will keep you busy forever, but I think that Kirby is a better representation of what the DS can do. Plus I don't know if I would say that Kirby is short lived. I have barely scratched the surface, but there is one thing that I have noticed. Due to the nature of the game(the fact that you have to draw to get yourself to certain places) I have already missed some stuff in the first two levels. It may be one of those games that you will want to go back and collect everything the second time through.

Btw---what about Advance Wars. That is Tuesday right? I seriously may just pick up my Nintendogs, and wait for a month or so on Advance Wars so Ihave a chance to play what I have already.

[Cuddly Knife]

Kirby has a lot of depth. There are characters that you can unlock when you beat the game, and then you beat it with an unlocked character, you unlock another one to play with, each having their own strenghts and weaknesses. Plus the boss battles are fun oh fun!

Don't forget about all the great GBA games that you can also play on your DS.

[Gadfly2317]

Trebor, between Kirby and Meteos, the only advice I can give is: do you most desire one of the best puzzle games ever released, or one of the most inventive and original 2-d platformers since the first Mario? Meteos will probably have more re-play in the long run, and you can get through Kirby's levels relatively quick, but Kirby offers a LOT of gaming, at least for me. I usually just play through a platformer (like Mario Sunshine) and get enough of the secrets or coins just to see the end, and move on to a new game. Kirby's gameplay is compelling and fun I'm actually hunting down every single last coin, playing through with the unlocked characters, everything.

PoD, congrats again. . .and much jealousy from the rest of us at you now having the coolest color DS. On Meteos, when your screen gets really full you can totally drag the stylus up and down in areas of the screen that are blinking the overflow warning and get some lucky launches, but it is NOT a serious game design flaw as occasional people have made it out to be. It functions really as little more than a panic-button when you're near the end of the game and MIGHT buy a little extra time, or get you out of a tight spot where you've had brain freeze. But there is a lot of technique to discover in this game. I had it for over a week before I figured out there was a way to launch the entire screen of blocks at the same time. . . and that this is how you get your major combo points. There's tons of stuff to unlock, and the multiplayer is first rate.

As to Meteos vs Lumines, for me I've given up trying to figure that out. I picked up Lumines again because I wanted some PsP time before Nintendogs, Advance Wars, Castlevania, Animal Crossing, Lost in Blue, Shogun Warrior, Phoenix Wright, etc start coming out one after the other through the end of the year. Put in about another 10 hours with Lumines, unlocked more skins. . . and all I can say is they are both damn fine addictive games that deliver a strikingly different cerebral experience. I can't even rightly compare them; it'd be like saying which is better, a really great pizza or a really great fettucine alfredo. . .they're both italian food, but there is no "better". . . I feel the same way currently about Meteos/Lumines, they are both puzzle games, beyond that the similiarities are few.

My D-pad has only gotten use for the GBA games. So far I've only bought stylus-based games. Getting the DS early led me to play a lot more GBA games because of the early software drought. You face no such drought.

Last thing: WARIO WARE DS. It's one of the early titles I haven't heard anyone mention. . .really bizarre bit of escapist speedfreak fun, I liked it so much I want to pick up some of the GBA Warioware titles now.

[trebor]

I have to admit, I'm excited for tomorrow to hurry up and get here (tomorrow being Aug. 21st), so I can get my DS.

To me, one of the most exciting features is the screen quality. Based upon what the general concensus is, the DS screens blow away the SP screen. I've got quite a decent GBA library at the moment, so I'm seeing this as a big upgrade for me. This might even sound stupid to most of you, but I'm far more excited about the GBA b/c of the DS then I am about the current DS library.

Also, based on what a lot of you are saying, the sound quality is much better then the SP. This is also pretty exciting, because I think for as nice as the SP is, it has a poor, tinny sound quality.

And finally, I'm all a titter with excitement for the online DS games to be released. I've already got a wi-fi antenna on my modem, so I believe I'm all set to go. I think, overall, Animal Crossing could be the best online game to start, since it will be such an easy forum to meet up with other VGR members in a non-competitive manner.

One thing I've heard that bums me out is that MK DS will only support 4 players at a time online, and now there are so many VGR members who have DS's, it is a bit lamentable.

[Aylmer]

I found that the DS made my GBA games really come alive. I have a GB Player on my 'Cube, but it's still the hassle of firing up a console, swapping disks, etc.

Every GBA title seems to be more playable on the DS. And, it seems like I play them longer as well. Eye fatigue is much reduced with a backlit screen.

Also, I find that battery life on the DS, if you are playing a GBA game exclusively, is about the same as with a GBA. But DS games will drain the battery more quickly.