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Nintendo DS Wireless Game Roundup 158

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the touch-and-go dept.
ImaNumber writes "Brittlefish has posted a nice roundup of the major multiplayer games currently available for the Nintendo DS. They make their picks on which ones have good wireless play and which ones just added it in as a gimmick." From the post: "If you have 2 Nintendo DS's or you know someone else who has one you've probably played some multiplayer games. And you want more. But which games are worth buying with the incentive of good multiplayer?"
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Nintendo DS Wireless Game Roundup More

Nintendo DS Wireless Game Roundup

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  • For a narrow definition of game.... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rblum ( 211213 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:05PM (#13429610)
    At least Nintendogs is missing. What about PictoChat? There's more to wireless gaming on the DS than the few games that are listed in the article....

  • Profit! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:07PM (#13429622)
    1. Write a few words about a Nintento DS Game.
    2. Include link to Amazon.com with referral.
    3. Post blog link to Slashdot.org
    4. ???
    5. Profit!

  • Wireless Game Roundup? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:07PM (#13429625)
    Well, they would be a lot easier to round up if they had wires in the first place, now wouldn't they?

    Aren't there some sort of leash laws?

  • text (Score:4, Informative)

    by bazonkers ( 744424 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:07PM (#13429628)
    DS Wireless Roundup

    August 29th, 2005

    If you have 2 Nintendo DS's or you know someone else who has one you've probably played some multiplayer games. And you want more.

    But which games are worth buying with the incentive of good multiplayer? Here are our notes on some of the most popular games out right now:

    Advance Wars: Dual Strike
    Advance Wars: Dual Strike Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!

    Get this game. This is hands down the best game for the DS available right now. And with 8-way multiplayer it will satisfy your wifi hunger. Bonus: The ability to draw your own maps makes this a game that has a great replay value....draw a map and let your friends download it.
    Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars

    Bomberman DS
    Bomberman Wireless Rating: 4 Bars!

    The first 8-way multiplayer game available for the DS. Loads of fun with lots of people, but if you are planning on only having a 2-way game most of the time it probably shouldn't be your first pick. However, with a lot of players this can be great fun. Especially if all the players are using the mic to call out battle commands.
    Wireless Rating: 4 out of 5 bars

    Meteos
    Meteos Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!

    This game makes for some great 4-way puzzle action. There is nothing finer than watching your Meteos launch and seeing them collide with someone else's planet. This game is great wireless fun, in addition to the loads of single player fun you'll have.
    Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars

    Metriod
    Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt Wireless Rating: 4 Bars!

    The first console FPS that feels right. 4-way multiplayer action is very good on this demo, and with the recent announcement that the full version will have Internet play we can only expect more from the Samus Touch N' Kill department. My only beef with the multiplayer on this game is that the game is too dark. Of course, maybe that is just an excuse to why I am not any good at it. You probably already have this game, since it probably came with your DS, but after playing it in multiplayer mode it will make you want to buy the full version when it comes out.
    Wireless Rating: 4 out of 5 bars

    Nanostray
    Nanostray Wireless Rating: 2 Bars!

    2-way multiplayer and not terribly fun at that. Two players can play together to kill the bad guys, but not to help each other out...only to score points. The person with the most points wins. This is very limited and only huge fans of this genre will find any long-term playability in it. It would be nice to have a mode that allowed two or more players to play the main game together. It would also be nice to not have to use the download play if both players have the game.
    Wireless Rating: 2 out of 5 bars

    Polarium
    Polarium Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!

    A 2-way puzzle game that actually has a pretty fun multiplayer mode. If you can get past the plain graphics this game will have you and a friend swearing at each other in no time. Of course, if you have more than one friend with a DS you will probably want to look at other puzzle games like Meteos or Pop Puyo Fever instead.
    Wireless Rating: 3 out of 5 bars

    Puyo Pop Fever
    Puyo Pop Fever Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!

    This 8-way puzzler is the first DS game where you probably won't use the touchscreen at all. It is also the first DS game which appears to be marketed directly at girl gamers. If you can get past that (and you should try), you'll find an addictive puzzle game that has great wireless play. This is also a great game to play with your wife or girlfriend. They'll really love it when they start kicking your butt. And they will start kicking your butt.
    Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars

    Super Mario 64 DS
    Super Mario 64 Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!

    4-way Yoshi action. Race against the other players to get as many stars as you can before the time runs out. And you can, uh, stick out your tongue and, uh, eat the other players. Then spit them out. Uh, yeah. Anyway, the multiplayer is fun, but not fun enough to j

  • Rate of technology acceptance? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by frostyboy ( 221222 ) <benoc@[ ]m.mit.edu ['alu' in gap]> on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:07PM (#13429630) Homepage

    Is it me, or does it seem like these nifty handheld things from (Sony and Nintendo) are not catching on very fast? I am a console owner, and plan to upgrade whenever the PS3 comes out and all that jazz, but I have felt pretty much zero interest in these new handhelds, at least among my friends and peers.

    Maybe I'm just in the wrong demographic, but I remember when the Gameboy came out oh so many years ago and we all rushed to the store to grab one. It just doesn't seem like people are that excited about having one more handheld device to carry around.


    Come see one of the world's oldest webcams: www.mitwebcam.com [mitwebcam.com]

    • Re:Rate of technology acceptance? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Parham ( 892904 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:16PM (#13429701)
      The DS is doing pretty well, but that's because it's fairly different from a standard hand-held. But speaking generally, there isn't much you can do with a hand-held to make it really interesting. You can only boost the graphics and sound so much before they start eating batteries. There are limits to hand-held systems I guess. However, like I said, the DS does a good job because it's different (and somewhat unique) from other hand-held systems. It is like a Palm, but as a console, it's new.

    • Re:Rate of technology acceptance? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I kinda agree about slow acceptance. I don't know anyone who plays handhelds in all honesty.

      My brother is currently in the hospital and he's probably going to be there for a while, so the other day I bought him a used GameBoy SP. I bought two RPG's and Zelda. I toyed around with it for quite a while and quickly realized the appeal these handhelds have over consoles or PC games. They are very nostalgic and fun. They don't drown you with k00L Gr4f1X. They have to rely on playability instead of glitz. I'm prob
    • I have one, and three of my friends already have one. My girlfriend absolutely wants one. Once the online stuff like Mario Kart and Animal Crossing come out, more of my friends plan to get one. I think that with the cost of the new consoles - $400 if you want a decent Xbox 360, possibly the same price for the PS3, games projected to be $60 or more - handhelds are going to be more and more attractive to people. They are small, don't take up much room, don't require a TV, and can be played anywhere. They are
    • It is because they scratch an itch that doesn't really exist. If you ask gamers if they would like to have a handheld that played 3D games well, with a nice color screen, could play movies/pictures/etc. had flash media support, wireless gaming... every one would say YES! with drool oozing from the corners of their mouths. But they don't want everything that comes with it, and gamers think that the world of reality doesn't enter into the gaming industry. The truth is all of those features add up to higher ha
      • it's a little off topic, but in response to your mention of AI, i think people aren't asking for better AI in the sense that it is a "perfect player", rather in the sense that it acts more intelligently, makes intelligent decisions...reacts to dynamic environments in a realistic way (where "real" is the term to designate interacting with the environment in the way that a real "person" would...e.g. not able to see through walls or have eyes on the back of it's head, but listen to "sounds" that your player m
        • I understand what you are saying, but even that is not truly what gamers want. A "Perfect Player" will kick your ass every time, even without cheating such as seeing through walls or tracking your button presses. The only reason games are fun is because you can win, given enough time you will figure out a pattern or discover the key to success. True AI has imperceptive patterns that you could spend years and never figure out, and if it is an adaptive AI that learns you will never figure it out.

          Computers are
          • Actually, if you understand chess search algorithms it is not too difficult to "pwn" the computer at the hardest settings. It is interesting you mention chess, as there is no fast, "human-like" algorithm which can mimic a grandmaster-level human player; there are only brute-force algorithms which rely on searching millions of permutations of possibilities and pick the best one making very simplifying assumptions regarding how you will react to plays.

            And for the record, I, for one, would love to play a co
            • Then apparently Kasparov and his ilke must be pretty dumb to be beaten by such "simplistic" algorithms and you vastly superior.

              I'm not trying to bag on you too much but I highly doubt you are beating Deep Blue anytime this century. Similarly I truly doubt you would put more than a couple days into a game where you got your ass handed to you each and every time. Sure it would be good training as an *option* but no sane human would ever want this to be the ONLY option. It truly isn't fun.
              • Deep Blue can support far greater search depths than your average electronic chess board / program. Also, I never claimed I routinely or easily beat Deep Blue. I was just trying to point out that the algorithm is very simple and easy to exploit if you understand it. I routinely beat my electronic chess board on the hardest setting.

                Deep Blue beat Kasparov in a tournament one time, after Kasparov beating it the year before. Also, in the match Deep Blue won (1997), it was not a completely shutout. Deep Blue
                • Apparently "Deep Blue used a team of grandmasters to help prepare its opening book specifically against Kasparov" ...
                  basicaly I'd say it's insane to compair deepblue to my PC playing a RTS game.
                  I want an AI that is not insanely good, because it knows where all my buildings / troops are, I want a good AI, that plays the game fairly, and is able to beat me... with out cheating me... and that I can dumb down so that I can beat it with out it becoming a total retard,
                  for example in a RTS I was playing once I ha
      • You nailed it... the reason the GameBoy is and has been the hand-held king is fairly modest cost, functional but not processor expensive graphics and enough oomph for serviceable but not killer AI. Combine that with impressive battery life and you have a winner.

        If you look at the failed challengers to the GameBoy reign you quickly notice how much better most of the units were *on the superficial* aspects that everyone thinks are important. Turns out portable gaming is more about portability (imagine!) and a
    • I'm not a big fan of either (and own neither). However, the DS is said to be selling very well. Partly price, and partly qality titles. For example, if you go to Gamespot.com and look up the 10 highest rated games Nintendo averages an 8.2* where the PSP titles only manage a 7.49.
      *I counted the 3 Nintendogs variations rated as 9.1 as a single title. The PSP has some potential but thus far many games have been derivitives of PS2 titles that weren't that great to begin with. Lumines and Wipeout Pure have be
    • Maybe I'm just in the wrong demographic

      Depends. I find my DS nice, because I always end up with a great deal of spare time sitting in lobbies or on road trips and it helps me kill time without having to lugg a laptop around. That and I've got a group of 20 something friends who all have DS units at their house so we can play a mean game of Puyo Pop Fever.

      However, the games are more for those who nostalgic for the sprite based games (like bomberman) or kids who aren't at that point where they are counting fr
    • I remember when the Gameboy came out oh so many years ago and we all rushed to the store to grab one. It just doesn't seem like people are that excited about having one more handheld device to carry around.

      Same here. I just had to have one to play in the back of the van on those oh-so-long road trips and vacations.

      Now? Now I'm the one driving, the only time I have to play games is at home!

      We're just not the target audience for handhelds anymore, and both sony and nintendo would be wise to remember that
    • "Is it me, or does it seem like these nifty handheld things from (Sony and Nintendo) are not catching on very fast?"

      I'd hardly call 10 million units between the two companies as 'slow acceptance rate'. Part of me wonders if you know more gamers now than you did back when the GameBoy came out.
    • In Japan, the DS is outselling every other piece of video game hardware - combined.

      It's doing pretty well in America, too. I've got one, as do most of the guys my age that I know. Sales numbers are good over here.

      And I can honestly say that I don't know anyone with a PSP - though that's obviously anecdotal and doesn't mean anything.

  • Is anything bad? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by (A)*(B)!0_- ( 888552 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:07PM (#13429636)
    Wow - they seem to like all those games pretty well. When the lowest score is 3 out of 5, and most games score a 4 out of 5 then your scale is wrong. It should be on a 3 point scale, with most games getting a 2.

    Did Homer Simpson review these games? Five thumbs up for everything!

    • Nanostray (the lowest rated) received 2 of 5 as a total score :P
    • Nanostray got a 2.
    • Nanostray got 2 bars. Personally, I'd have given Zookeeper at most 3 bars, but YMMV.

      I think Advance Wars was slightly overrated also, but I wasn't clear if the writer was considering only the multiplayer aspect but also letting bias for the single player creep in.

      For the most part though, these ratings are about what I'd give.

      8-player Bomberman rules. 2-player Bomberman, the board is a little too big.
      Meteos plays great 2 to 4 players.
      Puyo Pop is great from 2 to 4. Haven't tried 8, but that feels like it'd
      • I think Advance Wars was slightly overrated also, but I wasn't clear if the writer was considering only the multiplayer aspect but also letting bias for the single player creep in.

        Having spend hundreds of hours on Advance Wars 2, I think I can safely say that the article does not overrate multiplayer. Even if it changed absolutely nothing in the game over the GBA version, it'd be so, so cool....
    • There's a fair amount of selection bias here; crappy games don't even get mentioned. Just so you know, this is not a comprehensive review of all DS wifi games. In particular, Ping Pals, a generally worthless "game", has no mention. And pictochat goes unmentioned as well.

      When PC gamer mags dont review junk shareware games, nobody (other than the authors) claim foul play. Of course, a webpage generally doesn't have the space restrictions that a magazine does. So I guess it's really just a lack of due dilligen
    • You won't get free games to review, if you give negative reviews. Play the game, ride the gravy train, and sell out to The Man.

  • That's my problem (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel.johnhummel@net> on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:13PM (#13429675) Homepage
    If you have 2 Nintendo DS's or you know someone else who has one


    That's always been my problem - finding someone else with the DS. I see them on "House" - but not in real life. One other guy I know has a PSP, but that's about it. I don't know if it's where I life, the fact I'm a 32 year old guy who's got three kids (who think that Daddy's DS is very cool, mainly because I won't let them come within 10 feet of it - that's what the GBA is for ;) ).

    Is this just an issue where I'm outside the age curve, and if I was back in college these portable systems would be "all the rage"? [sarcasm]I mean, I guess I could go troll the junior high schools looking for Pokemon opponents, but my wife tells me it's a little creepy to hand around the school asking the kids if they want to play a game with my pocket computer.[/sarcasm]

    Ah, well - at least as my kids get older, they become more challenging gamers (my daughter almost beats me at chess now, and I think I can get her trained as a good 'Soul Calibur' competitor with more time - at least before she starts noticing boys or something.).
    • Well as a 39 yr old father of 2, I'll probably be picking up a 2nd DS because of the increased demand. I picked up Nintendogs for my little guy and it turns out my 17 yr old daughter can keep her "paws" off it (bad pun). The DS was mine, but my kids have taken it over. What's a dad to do?
      • Do what Nintendo wants you to do. You know you want to.

        Actually this is possibly *the* reason why Nintendo will continue to outsell PSP by a huge margin. It's fairly inexpensive, so if you have even the slightest incentive to pick up one or two more for multiplayer within the household you most likely will.

        I have a feeling one or two will be added to our household soon (already have one and love it to pieces).
        • I agree 100% I've even thought about buying another one for our house so I can play some multi player.

          I don't think it's a bad thing either. At $130 a pop you can buy 2 DS's for only slightly more than 1 PSP and with $30 games, no required memory card, and the slew of good multi player games it's really a good deal.

          I'm really excited to see what the next year will bring to the table for the DS. It's already hard to beat this system for bang for the buck. I can only see it getting better.
    • That's always been my problem - finding someone else with the DS.

      I think Nintendo is realising this and thats the point of the upcoming ability to be able to tap into any WiFi wireless point to play multi-player games.

    • It depends on your social circle.

      In my gaming group, we've got about six DSes now - the host and I bought ours the same weekend, and within a month everyone else was sick of fighting over the limited supply for Meteos battles and just got their own. :)

      Obviously if you're a 32-year-old guy who doesn't have a local video gaming group, this is going to be a bit trickier - the only place I've been to where you could be reasonably sure of finding random people with a DS or PSP was the Penny Arcade expo last week

  • Weird article. Warioware has no multiplayer option (Score:5, Informative)

    by PhiberOptix ( 182584 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:17PM (#13429710)
    From TFA:

    WarioWare: Touched Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!

    An interesting 2-way fast-paced "party game". The first few times through this game will keep you on your toes as you try and figure out what to do in each mini game, but after you learn what to do on all the games it becomes simple recollection. If you own the game the multiplayer is nice, but with only 2 player capacity and limited replay value this isn't going to go to the top of many people's lists.
    Wireless Rating: 3 out of 5 bars


    Weird, even without ZERO multiplayer options (a shame, really), it still manages to get "3 out of 5 bars"?

  • PictoChat (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    How about PictoChat? That has its own product ID code, and thus qualifies as a game. PictoChat was packed at this year's Otakon, with 50 people online at once. I'd call that a successful wireless game.

  • Games I'd like to see on the PSP or DS (Score:5, Interesting)

    by The Lynxpro ( 657990 ) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [orpxnyl]> on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:23PM (#13429765)
    Multiplayer updates to:

    *MIDI Maze (aka "Faceball 2000") - the original multiplayer FPS that is still kid-friendly. Perfect for a DS.

    *Todd's Adventure in Slimeworld - old multiplayer hit from the Atari Lynx and the Sega Genesis. Obviously, a FPS update would be needed on the PSP, but possibly the sidescrolling method might still be useful on the DS.

    *Warbirds - great dogfighting game. Was really addicting playing against 8 other players on the Atari Lynx. Definitely worth updating yet still retaining the title's charm.

    *Battlewheels. 'Nuff said.

    And finally...

    *Duke Nukem Forever - Considering the development at this point is probably so far behind for the current and nextgen consoles, why not sell the title as an exclusivity to either of the handheld platforms? C'mon, 3DRealms, Sony, and Nintendo.

    • Re:Games I'd like to see on the PSP or DS (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Pxtl ( 151020 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:32PM (#13429840) Homepage
      You missed the most obvious thing: the DS is the first console with a real pointing device and a screen for each player. That means strategy games are finally feasible. I want to see all the classic RTS titles - StarCraft, Z, Total Annihilation, Metal Marines... plus, the turn-based biggies too, like Master of Magic, X-Com, and Master of Orion II.
      • Just hearing about Master of Magic brings back so many memories. That would be an awesome game to have on a hand-held like DS...
        • Master of Magic, Darklands, Covert Action...Not only would I enjoy some of these games as simple ports to a handheld, but every year that passes I'm surprised that someone hasn't started releasing modernized versions of the Microprose catalog. That company put out so many great games, and in several genres, that it was ridiculous (and expensive since I bought nearly every game they ever released, sometimes multiple times). :)
          • "I'm surprised that someone hasn't started releasing modernized versions of the Microprose catalog. That company put out so many great games, and in several genres, that it was ridiculous (and expensive since I bought nearly every game they ever released, sometimes multiple times)."

            Well, let's track down who would own those titles today. Microprose (guess they never got around to changing their name despite that lawsuit from MicroPro) sold out to Hasbro Interactive. Hasbro Interactive (and especially its
            • I loved Gunship - so much so that I used to call up Microprose monthly while Gunship 2000 was in development. My favorites of their simulation line were F19 (the stealth fighter from Lockheed that was in contention with the eventually accepted F117), F15 Strike Eagle II (loved the combination of sim and arcade action in that one) and Red Storm Rising. Red Storm Rising was a particular favorite which I bought three times (twice for the C64 and once for the PC) because it had a real "thinker" feel to it. I
              • "I loved Gunship - so much so that I used to call up Microprose monthly while Gunship 2000 was in development. My favorites of their simulation line were F19 (the stealth fighter from Lockheed that was in contention with the eventually accepted F117), F15 Strike Eagle II."

                My contention is that the alleged F-19 Stealth Fighter is in fact the still underwraps secret plane known to conspiracy theorists as the "Aurora."

                Time or Newsweek broke the story on the leak when (who was it, Testor?) the model plane hit t
      • Oh my god...the idea of starcraft for my DS just got me so excited i wet myself...
      • Apparently an Age Of Empires II port is is in development: http://ds.ign.com/objects/736/736742.html [ign.com]

        Whee!
      • "You missed the most obvious thing: the DS is the first console with a real pointing device and a screen for each player. That means strategy games are finally feasible."

        How about M.U.L.E.?

      • I guess the resolution is to small for starcraft, who knows, maybe the next gameboy?
        UFO would be great.

        Anyway, there is ScummVM for the NDS I think, so atleast you can play things like Monkey Island II.
    • You got me to thinking about Gauntlet 3 for the Lynx. I had that game but I never got a chance to play it multiplayer. Was it 8 player? I know you could pick from ten different characters and I found the list of characters online. Elf, Valkyrie, Wizard, Warrior, Pirate, Gunfighter, Samurai, Android, Nerd and Punkrocker. Gauntlet 8 player would have been pretty cool. I remember the Lynx pushing the more than 2 player multiplayer aspect...it was just that almost no one had a Lynx to play with. Finding
      • "You got me to thinking about Gauntlet 3 for the Lynx. I had that game but I never got a chance to play it multiplayer. Was it 8 player? I know you could pick from ten different characters and I found the list of characters online. Elf, Valkyrie, Wizard, Warrior, Pirate, Gunfighter, Samurai, Android, Nerd and Punkrocker. Gauntlet 8 player would have been pretty cool. I remember the Lynx pushing the more than 2 player multiplayer aspect...it was just that almost no one had a Lynx to play with. Finding 8 peop
    • I would kill for a multi-multi player remake of Galaxy 5000 or Rock and Roll Racing... Those are two of the most fun, replayable games I've ever played, and I think they'd work very well on a portable with wireless multiplayer. I'd definitely consider getting a DS if there were something like this.
    • Oh yeah, it would be *perfect* for the DS! With download play, you'd only need one cartridge to play the legendary eight-player modes.

      So... who owns the rights to it now?
      • "Oh yeah, it would be *perfect* for the DS! With download play, you'd only need one cartridge to play the legendary eight-player modes. So... who owns the rights to it now?"

        Probably whichever party owns the rights to the Epyx porfolio of games. Atari didn't outright acquire their portfolio because the game was licensed for the Sega Genesis a year or so after the game made its debut splash (pun intended) on the Atari Lynx platform. Shall we write to Nintendo or Sony about acquiring the title?
        • Alas, I don't think writing will help. This would require someone in the industry to have the vision to uncover the rights-holder, license or buy the rights, then make the game themselves, most likely. Considering that Slime World is woefully unknown in gaming these days, and I'd have to say the chances of that happening are slim unless one of us starts our own company.
          • "Alas, I don't think writing will help. This would require someone in the industry to have the vision to uncover the rights-holder, license or buy the rights, then make the game themselves, most likely. Considering that Slime World is woefully unknown in gaming these days, and I'd have to say the chances of that happening are slim unless one of us starts our own company."

            Bah. Don't give up. I pestered Atari Corp. each month from 1986 to 1990 about licensing (or acquiring the company) the Atari Games Corp.
            • Hmmm, could be cool....

              BTW, I think the greatest crime is that Slime World's designer is currently reduced to programming Christian educational software. (Well at least it's his own company.)

  • DS really is fabulous for multi-player (Score:5, Informative)

    by shidoshi ( 567151 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:31PM (#13429832)
    It would really have been nice had they given a bit more information about these games - some can be played with only one copy of the game, others require each person having their own copy.

    That, however, is by far the biggest strength of the DS, and the feature that, to me, puts it far above the PSP when it comes to multi-player gaming: multiple players off of one copy of a game. There are many times when your friends would play a game, but don't like it enough to own it. Or, the other way around, where you don't want to buy a specific game, but still enjoy playing it multi-player.

    One of my friends picked up Bomberman, and now we can all play together off of his copy, and it is great fun. Sure, the PSP has fancy "console-quality" graphics and whatnot, but when I have a copy of X game and nobody else does I'm still just sitting there playing it by myself.

    As well, while I'm certainly not the type to say things like "games used to be better in the old days!" and whatnot, most of the games for the DS are fun yet simple games that can easily be understood and played, and can be enjoyed by almost anybody, gamer or not. My girlfriend, for example, isn't overly thrilled by my PSP, but nearly every one of my DS games she's played she has loved.

    I'm almost glad the system isn't a 3D powerhouse, because instead companies seem to be concerning themselves with making a game that is fun instead of a game that pushes the graphics but forgets about the gameplay. I think the PSP and DS actually compliment each other, instead of directly compete, and that's the best possible scenario in my opinion.
    • I think the PSP and DS actually compliment each other, instead of directly compete

      Well... regardless of the technical implementation (of which I agree with you on), they compete in my front pocket (or backpack) where I might be dragging it around, and they compete in my back pocket where the money comes from.

      That last bit makes the PSP a deal breaker for me. Beyond the one time cost for the device itself, I refuse to pay 50$ a pop on games for a secondary platform. My console with the nice entertainment

  • Demographics (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I think there's a simple reason why no one knows anyone a DS and especially a PSP. That is handhelds are designed for kids. Here's why:

    1.Most adult gamers will go straight from home to work, then back again everyday, and you shouldn't play video games at work. Kid's have recess, and hang out away from home to avoid parents. And, if you're going to play games at home, you might as well use a console or PC on a larger screen.

    2.Most kid gamers already have a GBA, so why would their parents shill out for anoth
    • Another University DS owner here.

      The handheld is real nice when the roomie is on the TV. also, it's easier to take with on weekend trips home. Linux leaves me few options for PC games...(not a troll, i don't dual boot for a reason)
    • For carpooling adult gamers, these are good games. The only reason I don't use my SP during the commute is the glare from the sun.

      You can also link with others after work or doing lunch, many of the people I work with are also gamers (although few have DSes).

  • Unbelieveable... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @03:37PM (#13429903) Homepage
    4-way Yoshi action.

    Ok now that is just sick.

    Never expected nintento to have a "hot coffee" style cheat on a Mario Game.
  • it's all the buzz at primary, middle, and high school.

    A lot of kids can't have - or aren't allowed to - raise puppies/dogs, so my guess is this one is going to really do well - to the point where people will sign up for "dog-walks" and "puppy training".
  • does anybody know if a web browser is in the works? ive tried the psp one, and it isnt very practical... i've always thought a good solution would be to syndicate rss feeds in to a user friendly nintendo-style page. right?
    • There isn't enough onboard memory on the DS :-\

      It would be nice if somebody would release a PDA game cart with a browser and other PDA features, perhaps it could come with a GBA card that can be used only for extra memory. That would be kinda cool.

      Even on the PSP I have a hard time surfing some sites or opening more than 2 tabs because of the amount of memory on it.
  • IGN has a good list of games that can be played by multiple people with only one cart using the GBA. This isn't wireless...it's wired multiplayer but it's still a pretty good and interesting list to check out. It's a bit dated so I'm sure they should have more on the list but I thought it might be of interest since we are talking about handhelds and multiplayer.

    Here it is http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/358/358050p1.html [ign.com]

  • Personal review of Multiplayer Ridge Racer DS (Score:4, Informative)

    by WordUpCousin ( 735088 ) <chiajunk@NospAM.gmail.com> on Monday August 29, 2005 @04:30PM (#13430325)
    WARNING: Do not play multiplayer for this game - it is utterly pointless.

    Ridge Racer's gameplay is really smooth, and while playing multiplayer, you do not ever see any lag (or screen skipping). BUT, for some reason or another, there seems to be a certain delay in the game. For instance, if I'm speeding past my opponent, he won't see it on his screen until a few seconds later. This means, there are certain times during the game where we both can be in first place. Additionally, sometimes I purposely bump my opponent but on their screen, they have a clear path.

    I'd give the game a 1 out of 5 for multiplayer - as the races never reflects its true state... leading to confusion in real-time.

  • StarcraftDS (Score:3, Interesting)

    by macz ( 797860 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @04:30PM (#13430328)
    This needs to happen, the stylus makes it feasible at least.
  • This game is fantastic, I picked it up last week, and am moving through the campaign mode right now. I had to spend the weekend with the in-laws and was able to get some good play time in (yay for hand-helds). The two front war is a great use of the Dual Screens which really adds to the game-play. The Tag-Team CO Power is pretty important to wining a match, as it lets you get two turns in a row, plus both of your CO's Super powers. Make sure your CO's have complimentary skills and use them in the correc

  • There are more multiplayer games (Score:3, Informative)

    by Rolman ( 120909 ) on Monday August 29, 2005 @05:06PM (#13430663)
    Being that the DS is not region-coded, there are some more multiplayer games you can import from Japan. Some of them will never come this side of the pond and some don't require strong language skills (note that Rakubiki Jiten can actually help you improve said skills).

    • Jump Superstars (Smash Bros.-style Fighting)
    • Mr. Driller (Puzzle)
    • Egg Monster Heroes (RPG)
    • Lost in Blue (RPG)
    • Yakuman DS (Puzzle)
    • Egg Monster Heroes (RPG)
    • Prince of Tennis (Sports)
    • Yawaraka Atamajuku (Puzzle)
    • Rakubiki Jiten (Puzzle)
    • Ouendan (Action)


    The list is not complete and there are more multiplayer games coming soon. Too bad I don't have the time to put an Amazon Japan referral site to make some profit from /. as well =)
  • Um some of those games aren't even out yet. Also Metroid prime hunters has been delayed for the Nintendo wifi connection network.
  • I've previously made my thoughts known [slashdot.org] on the DS and frankly I haven't been too impressed with it.

    That was up until I had a chance to try Kirby & Advance Wars DS.

    Wow. I'm picking up one up in the next couple of weeks....I'll admit when I'm wrong and I was wrong. This thing can work well when the games are properly designed.

    Here's my question:
    Is this a list of DS to DS games (basically like a wireless link cable)? I have read that the unit is capable of playing against units that aren't in yo

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