Since rumor first spread of Nintendo's bizarre, dual-screen contraption, most people didn't get it. Two screens? Why? Who's the second one for? Then it was revealed that the second screen was a touch pad—an alternative for game control. Huh? What's wrong with an analog stick or even a D-pad? It was all kind of silly, or perhaps even a hoax. The Nintendo DS was the duck-billed platypus of handheld gaming, and odd as it is, we now know it's real. And it's brilliant.
D-pads and thumbsticks are both interfaces, but the touchscreen is hands on. You're not touching a device that manipulates the events on screen. You're right there with your fingers, actually touching the action. It's difficult to truly understand the difference on paper, but after only a minute of drawing trampolines under a falling Mario to keep him airborne, you sense the possibilities.
Is the DS gaming perfection? No. The buttons are a tad too close together, and an analog stick would still be nice for some games. But the back-lit, 3D graphics are gorgeous, and the wireless multiplayer is a blast, making the DS an impressive little machine, even without its innovations. Will this new platypus replace the common duck? Nah. But there's no reason we can't have both.
Super Mario 64 DS (E) (4 stars)
Nintendo
Nintendo DS
Super Mario 64 was and is one of the greatest games of all time. It brought Mario to the N64, invented the 3D platformer genre, and pioneered the analog stick ... which the Nintendo DS doesn't have. Though you can get used to the stylus or D-pad control schemes, those of us who remember our first jaunt with the 3D Italian will be longing for the intuitive control of that thumbstick.
Aside from that nagging problem, the game is as glorious as ever. Even more so, since all-new levels and the addition of three playable characters with unique abilities practically make it a new experience. Though the main game wastes the second screen on maps, some un-lockable mini-games hint at the touch-screen's true potential.
Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt (rating pending) (4 stars)
Nintendo
Nintendo DS
The typically slow and methodical interstellar bounty hunter, Samus Aran, is in a hurry to dazzle you with the effectiveness of the touch-screen in a series of time trials. Though technically just a demo included with the hardware, First Hunt assures us that frantic first-person shooters will kick serious ass on the Nintendo DS.
As you race against the clock to blast metroids, you enjoy precision targeting, courtesy of the stylus, similar to the seamless control afforded by a mouse in PC shooters. In addition to a map, the lower screen houses touch-sensitive icons for weapon and morph ball changes. Though the single-player modes are brief, even for a demo, the multiplayer is fully functional, more or less, and ready to pit you against any DS owners within 100 feet.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].