Nintendo DS

[Guest]

[saruman]

so has anyone gotten one.what are they like? i have only played one in my local game store but they seem good enough.i'm still holding out for the playstation one though

[Roz]

There's a couple of threads on this:

http://www.theyakshack.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=1256

http://www.theyakshack.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=546

i'm still holding out for the playstation one though

Oh dear

Oh dear oh dear oh dear!

What do you suggest we do with Cian? Well - we could kill him. Then it would be a case of "meat's back on the menu boys"

[MakTheYak]

No no no. No. The DS is the smart money. Two screens? How can it go wrong? Touch screen! How cool...? The only thing the PSP has going for it is the largeness of the screen. Against it is the size of the games, the battery life (2.5 hours or thereabouts, so I hear) and load times (you're gonna get that with optical media vs chip based games). Also that lovely screen is going to get scratched the instant anything comes into contact with it! Which would be a great shame. The DS and Mario 64 / Metroid Prime: First Hunt is where it's at

[saruman]

i say kill me but by trading card . i would be eternally happy if my death report said"death by trading card" and also the letter i am about to write saying that if i die with in the next year its all Roz and i want the death penalty for her. as you know i'm accident prone so good luck Roz

[MakTheYak]

Grr you'll have to get through me first!

[saruman]

cool i shall go in tomorrow and see about getting one.don't you just love birthday money from relations you never see! and the ones who havent gotten used to the Euro so double everything are the best.soch as instear of 50IRP sending 100 euro

[Roz]

lol well that's very kind - the Euro must be very confusing - rather like being permanently on holiday cash wise.

Have a play around with one in the shops, the great future games for the DS will be Zelda and full metal alchemist, but current ones like Yoshis touch and go, and Metroid are amaaaaazing

[saruman]

cool i will do and thanks for the advice

[Geek Boy]

The DS and Mario 64 / Metroid Prime: First Hunt is where it's at

Nope, gonna have to disagree with you there my friend.  I've had both for a while now and the PSP is definitely the better of the two.  Especially now I've got music and photo's AND LOTR running on the memory stick - the EXTENDED VERSION.  And it's not a UMD movie disc either.  Show me a DS that can do that.

I got Yoshi's Touch and Go the other week and although extremely clever it is damn hard to make any significant progress.  The baby Mario bit is short and exists to determine how many eggs Yoshi can carry but the Yoshi bit is one long continuous level.  Drawing clouds with the stylus whilst trying to avoid enemies and obstacles requires mucho concentration!  And you can blow into the little microphone to make things move out of the way but I haven't quite got the hang of that yet.  I can see young kids struggling with this and yet that's exactly who it's aimed at.  I also got Meteos which is the sister game to Lumines on the PSP - looks good but as yet no chance to have a play with it.  Received excellent reviews in Japan by all accounts.

At the end of the day it's down to personal choice but I'm not totally convinced about the touch screen on the DS.  Very few games have made maximum use of the feature so far and I can see it being a novelty more than anything else.  The PSP is genuinely "next gen" and with the movie/music/photo capabilities it could almost consign the old iPod to the back of the cupboard.

Oh, there are rumours circulating that there will be a Gameboy Advance SP 2 at some point in the not too distant future...

[MakTheYak]

Interesting you didn't say anything about battery life though... I think the battery life on the DS is exceptional but I've heard the PSP is like 2.5 hours. I suppose it's like this: if you are not sick of traditional games using the same old tired formats and you don't plan on taking your portable out of the house then the PSP is for you. However if you are looking for something a bit different and innovative which you can take on long journeys with games of the usual high quality that is expected from Nintendo and their subsidiaries and play all the excellent franshises that make Nintendo what it is then you want the DS!

I suppose it's just a matter of opinion in the end.

[Geek Boy]

Well in terms of "tired formats" I think you could aim the same argument at the DS - so far we've had a bunch of re-jigged N64 games!  Yoshi's Touch & Go is the only truly innovative piece of software so far and I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with it.  Meteos on the other hand is absolutely superb - I've been playing it for a couple of days now and none of it really makes any sense but it's very addicitve!  You have to line up similar blocks in rows of 3, 4 or 5 horizontally or vertically at which point they blast off up the screen and destroy the blocks above them when they hit the top.  Sounds easy but some blocks are more powerful than others so huge chunks of "scenery" can either go all the way up or just a short distance before they start to fall again.  You can line up blocks as they fall back down the screen to get rid of more or you can position them so they create chains when they land back at the bottom of the screen.  There are all sorts of play modes (you can play against 3 computer opponents, the aim being to defeat them before they do the same to you) as well as a story/challenge mode where you have to complete specific task in order to progress.  And there are power ups as well a la Bomberman.

Battery life on the PSP?  I've been getting between 4-6 hours depending on the application which I think is fine for train/coach journeys.  If you saw one in action I think you'd be impressed especially the multimedia aspects - maybe I'll bring it to Memorabilia with me on Saturday and you can take a look...

[Roz]

Cool - although Mark has a raw nerve where Nintendo is concerned and loves their work and is a tad defensive- so don't be offended , but to some extent I am too as I am a big fan as well.

We are still waiting for our Touch And Go - it was dispatched at least 10 days ago from Canada

I'll tell what we've been doing whilst we've had a friend over to stay - we've been playing Zelda 4 swords, you need a hefty amount of equipment to play, a game boy advance per player, connection lead each and a Gamecube, oh and a copy of the game of course , not to mention at least 2 people to play (preferably 4) but it's well worth it - I've not played a game anywhere near as good in years!

Not since Golden Sun in fact (I'm a big fan of portable gaming as a general rule so this is something of a breakthrough).

I shall look forward to a play of the PSP at memo, we'll be by the big YakShack banner around Chris' table

[MakTheYak]

Yeah please bring it along - I'd love to have a play on it.

I don't have a problem with them re-releasing Mario 64 at all as I never managed to get too far on it the first time around, and now we've got 30 more stars to find, 3 extra characters and all those cool mini games! I'm still hooked and I expect I still shall be until I've got all 150 stars. I think I'm on 126 right now so I'm pretty close!

[Roz]

lol all I've done so far is play the ,mini games and I've loved it - they could have made some of those minigames multiplayer I think because the Multiplayer is a bit limited with only 4 tracks to try  

[Geek Boy]

Hey guys, don't get me wrong, I love Nintendo as much as you obviously do.  In fact Playstation was a dirty word in this household until a couple of years ago.  I just think Ninty need to re-evaluate their markets and who they are aiming their products at.  They are very protective of their intellectual properties and I think it has done them more harm than good.  I'd love to see the Final Fantasy guys have a go at the Zelda licence for example.  Unfortunately you only have to look at Namco's recent interpretation of Starfox to see how things can get messed up a little.  But if Nintendo had done the new Starfox game, would it have been any different to previous incarnations?  Or would it have been child orientated once more?  Not that that's a bad thing - there's a little child in all of us on some level but I've been getting a little fed up of games lately because they just keep recycling old ideas.  EA are the worst and yet people get suckered into the latest Fifa or F1 year after year after year.  Personally I think Nintendo should ditch hardware (the forthcoming Revolution console for example) and concentrate on software for the other platforms.  They can't catch up with Sony or even Microsoft now so I don't see the point in trying.

And I agree about the mini games in Mario - much more fun than the main game.  Actually Mario Party on the DS would be great fun don't you think?  It's coming out for the GBA soon so the DS version can't be that far behind.

I'll will bring the PSP - I got Wipeout Pure yesterday and it is wonderful.  And I hate the Wipeout games!!!

[MakTheYak]

I definitely don't think you can dismiss the Revolution until they've actually announced it and what it does so differently. It could just be the shot in the arm the games industry has been waiting for. You never know!

Bring along your DS as well for a bit of multiplayer action

[Roz]

I just think Ninty need to re-evaluate their markets and who they are aiming their products at.  

To be fair I'm still loving my SP more than my DS (because of above mentionned Zelda addiction and am currently playing Zelda - the minish cap, so my DS is definitely understretched at the moment (I wish that damned Yoshi game would arrive, videogamesplus are usually pretty quick).

Although I do have the most stylish DS this side of ... well... anywhere

http://www.theyakshack.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=1781

 if Nintendo had done the new Starfox game, would it have been any different to previous incarnations?  Or would it have been child orientated once more?  

Good point, although in many ways I think that Ninty are starting to move away from this a bit - bearing in mind they let Zelda get a little "childish" but thankfully they are doing a gorgeous proper 3D one again next time and I can't wait (although I will have to and probably 'til early 2006.

Personally I think Nintendo should ditch hardware (the forthcoming Revolution console for example) and concentrate on software for the other platforms.

I'd be pretty devastated to see them go the way of SEGA - this is my CHILDHOOD on the line here (well the bits I remember of it - by the time I actually met Mark I hadn't picked up a computer game for about 4 years - my how things change

Bring along your DS as well for a bit of multiplayer action

I might be wrong but GB wants to come to Memo to peruse and possibly purchase cards, he's going to need a bag big enough to bring all of this stuff we're asking him to


P.S. You wouldn't happen to remember to leave Yoshi in your DS if you do decide to bring it along would you?? We STILL have not had our copy

[MakTheYak]

I don't know how people can think of Nintendo as childish when there are games like Resident Evil 4 on the 'cube which has been dubbed best RE game ever and one of the best GC games this year if not to date. Not that I'm into that sort of game - I like my games to be fun, rather than scary. But it's definitely not childish, for a GC exclusive...

[Geek Boy]

Well perhaps to intimate that Nintendo titles are "childish" wasn't quite what I was trying to say but if you look at the characters (Mario, Yoshi, Kirkby, Banjo, the Starfox crew, Link to a degree, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, Pikachu) they are all designed to appeal to children.  The fact that all us grown-ups love them too is a bonus for Nintendo and I think perhaps we are the ones keeping Nintendo going these days.  Kids want cool and flashy (like the PSP) and Nintendo doesn't cut it for them in that respect.  Yes Resident Evil 4 is "adult" but I view that as a shock tactic rather than something that fits into their demographic.  It was like having Link in the GC version of Soul Calibur 2 - he didn't fit.  You expect violent titles on the PS2 and I can't help but think Resi4 is a cry for help rather than a change in direction.

Revolution will still have Mario, Zelda, Pokemon etc but no matter how incredible the spec I think Nintendo have lost the respect of the games developers as a result of past mistakes with licencing, media formats (the old cart vs CD argument when the N64 came out).  And what use is a new machine if it just troops out the same old stuff?  How many more versions of Mario Kart do we need especially if they are as bad as Double Dash?  Better to put the money into developing for other formats and be judged on the content of the games rather than entering another hardware war.  Nintendo have always prided themselves on content and it's their biggest strength, something that can just as easily be demonstrated on other formats.

I'll bring as much as I can carry Roz!  Although I'm not looking to spend money tomorrow an Anthony Daniels Evolution auto would be nice... and a lightsaber  

[Roz]

It was great to have a play, and guess what - when we got back Yoshi had finally landed on Mark's doorstep!!! So guess what he's doing now   I haven't even got the KETTLE on yet!

Did you get the lightsaber you were looking for? It did look pretty cool - but where the heck do you keep all of this stuff? It had wall mountings but it's not something you want in your kitchen (although it might be handy for bullying people into helping with the washing up!)