Nintendo DS Handheld Console review

   

  

  

Click on the image to buy the Nintendo DS

 

Platform: Electronic Game

Delivered FREE in the UK when you select Super Saver Delivery

 

Amazon.co.uk Review of the Nintendo DS Handheld Console
The Nintendo DS is no ordinary console. What on the face of it appears to be merely an upgraded Game Boy Advance is packed with a suite of never-before-seen features which make it unique within the gaming world.

The most obvious new feature is the two screens (DS stands for dual screen), the bottom of which is a touch screen. This makes an enormous difference to the way you play and interact with the game, as you use a stylus or the handy thumb strap to control the action.

The way this works in a game varies enormously, with first person shooter Metroid Prime: Hunters using the touch screen and D-pad to create a control system that’s just as responsive as a PC keyboard and mouse. Other games, like Yoshi’s Touch & Go, have you actually drawing on the touch pad to create platforms, while other games use the extra screen to display inventory or map info.

But there’s more to the Nintendo DS than even that. It also has a built-in microphone (one new medical game has you operating on patients with the touch screen and reassuring them everything’s going to be okay via the microphone) and it can be connected wirelessly to sixteen or more other consoles. Not only that but some games and utilities even allow it to connect online via Wi-Fi.

Although the Nintendo DS is far more powerful than the GBA – it can display 3D graphics somewhere between a Nintendo 64 and the GameCube--it is still backwards compatible, so you can play all your old GBA games in single player mode on the same console.

With a battery life of between 6 and 10 hours the Nintendo DS gets pretty much everything right. With a range of games that seem to offer far more originality and imagination than any other home or portable console this is could well be the most exciting new console of 2005. --David Jenkins

 

5 out of 5 stars ds, October 15, 2004
Reviewer: james from england harrow
The Nintendo ds is the coolest i want to get it as soon as it comes out it doesnt say any thing about it now but i will tell you about it
Dual Screens: Two LCD screens offer one of the most groundbreaking game-play advances ever developed: experiencing a game from two perspectives at once. Imagine the possibilities. In a racing game, drivers might see their own vehicle's perspective on one screen and an overall track view on the other. In a role-playing game, the action could take place on the first screen while the second provides a reference for a player's tools inventory. Game play also could use both screens at once, offering a giant boss for heroes to defeat. In the future, games could be created allowing users to play games on one screen while text messaging other Nintendo DS users on the other. Each 3-inch screen can reproduce a true 3-D view and is backlit to assure comfortable play in any lighting condition.Touch Screen: The lower screen will offer something never before provided by any game device: PDA-like touch capabilities. Players no longer have to rely on just buttons to move characters or shift perspectives. They can navigate menus or access inventory items simply by touching the screen with stylus or fingertip. A software-based keyboard might even allow the screen to be used as an input center for games and messaging. The possibilities are limited only by developers' imaginations. The screen will have a tougher film cover for durability, and will come with a stylus.Microphone: An available microphone port means that in the future, players might need only to tell their games what to do. Nintendo DS software could identify everything from voice commands to hand-clapping. Players might be able to move their characters simply by telling them which way to go. The voice capabilities also could allow gamers to chat with one another over the Internet while playing.Wireless: DS users will be able to connect with a local wireless network of up to 16 players. Nintendo's guaranteed range is 30 feet, but will extend far beyond that depending on circumstances (30 to 100 feet). It assures high response rates required for real time game play, and will make use of both IEEE 802.11 and Nintendo's proprietary communication protocol, which provides low battery consumption. Players will be able to chat and play games without any connecting cords, completely untethered. The DS technology also provides for a wireless LAN connection, which could allow a theoretically infinite number of players to connect at a hot spot and compete at a central game hub on the Internet, even if they're thousands of miles apart.

Wireless Game Sharing: If software developers desire, multiple players can compete in wireless games, even if only one person has a game card inserted. Players could also test-play games for themselves as long as they stayed connected.

3-D: With the newly developed graphics engine, nintendo DS can reproduce impressive 3-D renderings that can surpass images displayed on the Nintendo¯ 64. Games will run at 60 frames per second, and allow details like fog effects and cel shading.

Sound: The 16-channel sound allows for greatly expanded use of voices and music, and a richer, more immersive game experience. Stereo speakers providing virtual surround sound, depending on the software. A plug for headphones transmits stereo sound.

Battery & Power Management: The battery is rechargeable and the unit features a low-energy-consumption design. The Nintendo DS also has Power Management functions of Sleep mode and Standby mode. In Sleep mode, players can stop and resume game play whenever they like. If the user receives a message from a friend or user nearby, Nintendo DS activates itself from Standby mode. Lithium ion battery delivering six to 10 hours of play on a four-hour charge, depending on use; power-saving sleep mode; AC adapter.

Processing: The unit will run on two processors, one ARM9 one ARM7.

New Media: For its compact cards, the unit uses newly developed semiconductor memory, which allows for lower cost, shorter manufacturing time and memory capacity of more than one gigabit of information.

Dual Slots: Nintendo DS makes a vast library of Game Boy¯ Advance games readily available. Developers could find ways to make new connections between GBA games and DS games. The GBA port could be used for new hardware, enormously expanding the functional expandability of the DS.

Other Features: Embedded PictoChat software that allows up to 16 users to chat at once, embedded real-time clock, date, time and alarm, touch-screen calibration

Another independent review of the nintendo ds handheld console

5 out of 5 stars This is the best handheld in History!!!, November 23, 2004
Reviewer: A Real Gamer from Ireland
I just want to get a few things straight, the Nintendo DS doesn't use gimmicks at all. It is filled with originality. If you think people won't go for it then think again! It is nearly sold out in America and it's been out for 2 days there, in Japan they have preety much Sold out all together! If anything is a gimmick it's the PSP, PSP uses no originality, it takes things from other machines just to embed it in its self. Portable Movie Players, done! MP3s Done! And it has terrible battery Life. DS is more innovated, Touch screen, built in messenger, Exclusive titles, 2x screens, Internet access, Voice recognition, and voive on the Internet! Though its graphics aren't as good as the PSP, they're still awesome. It is an easy system to get used to aswell. Back lights is good too! At the current moment Nintendo DS owns the PSP, and it isn't just an opinion it's a fact! Wireless Internet is great!

and another review of the nintendo ds console

5 out of 5 stars Just Great !, December 1, 2004
Reviewer: paoloett from London
I've had my Nintendo DS from the States for about a week now and I must admit it surpassed my expectations. I didn't know what to make
of that stylus and the touch pad and also I couldn't understand why they limited the graphics expecially considering the competition is serious.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that this little machine it truly is great fun. The moment I started playing those minigames
on the Supermario 64 I thought: that's why you went for this, a gameplay heaven.
This is old Nintendo Magic, I was having great fun playing a type of game I never thought I would play. This second touch screen adds a total new dimension and make new type of games possible. And the graphics are great for an handheld. This machines is an achievement and a victory for gameplay.
I own a PS2 and I struggle to find games that challenge me and that I truly comeback for but I see great stuff coming for this baby. Put simply I'd say the difference between a DS and PSP is this: Nintendo DS is an handheld, the PSP is... a gadget ! (mind you I'll probably buy that too...)

last but not least another review of the nintendo ds

5 out of 5 stars Ultimate gaming experience !, November 29, 2004
Reviewer: A gamer from london United Kingdom
This is THE handheld device . THE ONLY ONE . Look : It' s so innovative that even if you have never liked videogames you should be aware of it . It' s a revolution in the games world . Never before had a console so many totally new features : touch screen, microphone, two screens, 3D ( which are not as good as the PSP's but since the screen aren't as large as a TV you won't see the difference ) ... and best of all : the wireless network, allowing 16 players ( and maybe more in the future, some companies already claim they are able to build 32-players networks ) to join a game with only ONE cartridge, and if you go to a specific place ( a Nintendo official retailer ) you will be able to play with poeple from all over the world ! This is the best gift for Christmas, since a long time, in the videogaming world .

 

 

Click on the image to buy the Nintendo DS handheld console from amazon

 

Nintendo DS handheld console review

sitemap

http://www.lojix.co.uk/