I have now had approximately 48 hours with the new Nintendo DS handheld. With only one full game and one demo game currently in hand to play, it is hard to gauge the worth of the Nintendo’s new handheld … but what I’ve seen so far is sweet.
Measuring 5 7/8” wide, 3 3/8” tall and 1 1/8” thick when folded, the DS is not quite as compact and easy to carry as the GBA SP. But with the increased size comes some extras. When unfolded, the first feature players will notice are the two screens. (Thus the DS or Dual Screen system moniker. Duh!) The upper screen is a color screen with back-lighting. It has nice resolution and brightness. The lower screen boasts all the features of the upper screen, plus it is touch sensitive. Small stereo speakers flank the upper screen. And joy upon joys, there is an earphone jack right up on the front edge where it is easy to get to and no adapter to buy. Also on the front edge are the instantly-readable slider volume control that was introduced on the GBA SP, microphone input and cartridge slot for GBA games. On the back edge are a stylus storage hole, DS cartridge slot and power input jack. The charger for the internal battery is the same type as used on the GBA SP.
Controls for the DS consist of the standard digital cross-pad introduced way back in the NES days; A, B, X and Y action buttons; and right and left shoulder buttons. Rounding out the system controls are a Power button to the left of the lower screen, Select and Start buttons to the right and a small microphone for voice recognition. All of the controls are very responsive and comfortable.
New for a handheld game system: the first time the Nintendo DS is booted up the system will take the user through a system initialization process. Date and time are set, the user’s name and profile are established. The system is then powered down and is ready for normal operations.
Like all cartridge systems, it is strongly recommended that the DS’s power be turned off before inserting or removing cartridges. Both a DS and a GBA game can reside in the unit at the same time because of the separate media slots in the system. Only 1 5/16” wide, 1 3/8” tall and just over 1/8” thick, the cartridges for the DS must be the smallest media ever developed for a game system. When inserting a cartridge into the DS media slot, the cartridge first slides in easily and then encounters a spring. Continuing to push after encountering the spring, the user will feel and even hear a soft “click” as the cartridge is locked into place. A gentle push to the top of the cartridge elicits another click and the cartridge pops up for easy removal.
The Nintendo DS is configurable. At default boot-up the DS will offer the user options of what they would like to do. In the upper screen is a clock and calendar. In the lower screen are touch sensitive areas to choose to run the DS game currently in the slot, the GBA game in its slot, engage in a Pictochat conversation with another DS user nearby, participate in DS Download Play, or reconfigure the system and change settings. If the user wants, this can be reconfigured to automatically play games that are inserted into the media slots at power-up. DS cartridges are given priority over GBA cartridges if both are inserted. The screen that GBA games are played on can also be configured. The default is the upper screen, but if the player is more inclined toward the original GBA layout, the lower screen may be used.
Playing the Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo game (included with every system), the user gets an immediate education on what makes the Nintendo DS different from every other handheld gaming experience so far: the touch screen as game controller. This Metroid game is very similar to the Metroid Prime games of the GameCube. The DS puts its unique stamp on the game by using the touch screen as the control for the aiming cursor, jump and item selection menu as well as displaying the level map. The upper screen shows the game’s main action. The game is played by holding the DS in the left hand with the thumb on the directional pad for forward/back and strafing movement and the left index finger on the shoulder button to fire the selected weapon. The right hand is used to manipulate the stylus to aim the weapon, jump and make in-game selections on the lower screen. This game shows great promise and I’m really looking forward to the completed product. After only a short while the controls become so intuitive you cease to register them as different from the norm at all. While I can see my hand is going to need some training to hold the unit in one hand while manipulating the face controls and stylus without cramping, I’m confident this will happen as more time is logged with the system.
From 1989 to 2004 all new Nintendo handhelds would play all cartridges made for past models. Fifteen years of backward compatibility ends with the DS. The DS will play only games specifically designed for the DS or Game Boy Advance cartridges. Original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges will not work in it. Of course just being GBA compatible will give the DS an instant game library that Sony’s upcoming PSP will probably never be able to equal in numbers.
In my opinion, when in Game Boy Advance mode, the DS performs as a better GBA game player than even the GBA SP. The back-lighted screen is crisp and displays GBA games the best you’ve ever seen them.
