We've had Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the brain recently. It's an important title for us, because it can prove that Sonic is a worthwhile gaming character again, much like his golden days. But, that's not to say there aren't a few things that scare us about this game.
For one, Sonic is entirely out of his element here. He'll be in his first RPG, but we totally trust Bioware when it comes to the role-playing games. Also, there's Bioware's promise that we'll do the impossible, which has us incredibly worried. That's not to say there aren't things about the game we're incredibly excited about, like the targeting rings shown in the latest video for the game.
We're kind of stuck at a crossroads, as we're very hopeful this will be a great game, yet fearful of Sonic's latest endeavors in games. How about you all? Are you as worried as we are, or are you certain this is going to be a great game?
A frequent complaint among DS owners is the sheer number of DS games -- there are always more great titles than we can afford! This year has already been packedwithgreatness, and there's more coming down the pipe. It begs the question of how much we could spend on the DS if money was no object. $500? In minutes. $1000? Perhaps. How much could you spend, if you knocked out your entire wishlist? If you bring accessories into the mix, we could probably knock out Fort Knox.
The great thing about handhelds is that you can take them anywhere. Do you, though? Oddly enough, we find that we play the DS the most in the comfort of our own homes.
Where do you spend the most time with your DS? In your home? Or maybe while you're commuting, or traveling? Let us know where you clock in the most hours.
During last week's DS Daily, which asked about games with bad stylus controls, one of our readers gave us an idea: what about games with unnecessary or gratuitous microphone usage? We're all tired of blowing into the mic (or worse -- shouting into it) for no good reason, but which DS titles are the worst offenders?
On the other side of the spectrum, and there any games that you think incorporate the mic well?
Recently, Capcom discussed the Guinness world record for "Most Number of Games in a Single Series," currently held -- handily -- by their Mega Man series. We doubt that when Keiji Inafune and his contemporaries decided to make a game around the concept of "Astro Boy, but in a blue suit," they thought even for a minute that their action-platformer would be the most prolific franchise in the history of games -- and yet it is.
Do you think that after all the spinoffs, spinoffs of spinoffs, cameo appearances, and new characters, there's still life in the franchise? We're of the opinion that there's definitely more to be done with the original Blue Bomber, if only Capcom would do something.
My name is Chris Greenhough, and I'm an ... an ... Advance Wars addict. I can't put it down. I think about it constantly. While eating. While walking the dog. While out with friends. While waiting for buses. Every second of the day, I crave it. Occasionally, I'll even sneak in turns while blogging, surreptitiously hiding my DS in my coat pocket. An odd pot-shot at an anti-air unit here, a strike on my opponent's Dusters there. All while my colleagues aren't looking. I'm a mess.
I need help.
But sometimes, simply sharing can help. So let's do that. What do you play far too much of?
Okay, folks, the next few months are going to be absolutely, 100% crazy hard on our wallets. With some very awesome looking titles coming around the bend in May and beyond, we were wondering how you were preparing yourself? Super Dodgeball Brawlers hits this month, which will be an absolute must-buy for everyone, as well as some other quality titles (Drone Tactics, Puchi Puchi Virus). Still, it's nothing compared with how difficult June will be for our bank account.
What're you most looking forward to in the coming months? The summer is going to be great for DS gamers, so what are you waiting on and how excited are you for it?
Perhaps it's just our affinity for electric gadgets in general, but as we set up our DS for its routine charge, we wondered if many of you out there also had your handheld on a prescribed regiment of "the good juice." You know, the kind of juice you can jack on with.
So do you have a special place set aside for charging? Do you not play that often and only charge when necessary? Charge in the car? How do you keep the games going on your DS?
Just yesterday, we were talking about some of the worst offenders in stylus-based controls, so it's only fitting that today, we should discuss the best. But let's not focus on the obvious answers. With adventure games, for instance we expect good stylus controls; point and click isn't difficult when your method of input is a pointer with which you click things. What are your favorite other games that use primarily stylus controls? Elite Beat Agents and Ouendan come to mind; while it seems like the stylus would make rhythm games ridiculously easy, these games manage to keep it fun and challenging while presenting a great interface. We're also fond of the punishing brutality of Trauma Center, which made us swear the first time we sewed bad stitches and got lectured about it. The recent NInja Gaiden: Dragon Sword boasts stylus swordplay that is unstoppable. But that's just the tip of a very large iceberg. For as much as we complain about bad stylus controls, so many games do it well.
The chances are low that Yume Neko DS will ever make its way out of Japan, but if you're dying for a taste of the adorable cat game, you can check out this Flash demo. There's not much to it, other than petting (or bothering?) a cat and listening to catchy music, but it's still worth thirty seconds of your time.
We're not surprised that poking the cat with the Flash stylus would annoy him more than please him, though. If there's anything Yume Neko has taught us, it's that cats are quite the fussy buggers.
The touchscreen is awesome for certain types of games. Adventure titles, for example, really benefit from the DS's stylus controls.
There are some instances, though, in which the stylus just seems forced, as if the developers added in these controls simply because their game was made for the DS. Most of the time, fortunately, these games will have d-pad options also, but sometimes they don't.
Have you run into any games where the stylus controls were clunky and unnecessary? If so, which titles are the worst offenders?
Screens and videos are helpful when you want to get a feel for a game. Sometimes, though, they do nothing to impress you (especially those DS videos that you have to watch on tiny screens). Then, you actually play the game in question, and it's better than it looks. (We're not just talking graphically, but gameplay-wise, too).
Have you ever had this experience? If so, which games took you most by surprise?
Roguelikes, specifically the Mystery Dungeon variety of the kind made by Chunsoft (and roguelikes made in the style of Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon game), are booming. The list currently includes three DS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, two Izunas,Shiren the Wanderer, Tao's Adventure, and homebrew games including Powder and Nethack. That's a lot of random dungeons.
Roguelikes are a very strange genre: death as an essential part of gameplay, and extreme difficulty in general, are unusual for the DS, and things like random dungeons seem archaic at first. If you've gotten into one of these, were you always a Mystery Dungeon fan? Or did the explosion of Mystery Dungeon games on the DS get you interested?
GelaSkins' awesome range of DS skins got us thinking about decorating our handhelds all over again, but who out there has already skinned their DS, and which design did you opt for? Better still, have any of you customized your own DS skin? If so, now is your chance to show it off (pictures are a must for this DS Daily, obviously), and perhaps even earn yourself some internet fame!*
* Amongst the people who read DS Fanboy comment threads.
This weekend, we had to do something that made us feel horrible, but in the end, was for the best. Like that scene in Old Yeller, we had to put down one of our DS carts (Mario Kart DS, oddly enough). You see, all of the inserting and ejecting of the cartridge with our DS caused something to get loose in there and now the cart cannot be read by the system.
It got us to wondering about this happening to others, namely you all, who probably play their DS a lot more than we're able to. So have you played a game so much this has happened? Have you never heard of this happening? What's your oldest DS game?
We've had Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the brain recently. It's an important title for us, because it can prove that Sonic is a worthwhile gaming character again, much like his golden days. But, that's not to say there aren't a few things that scare us about this game.
A frequent complaint among DS owners is the sheer number of DS games -- there are always more great titles than we can afford! This year has already been 
During 
Perhaps it's just our affinity for electric gadgets in general, but as we set up our DS for its routine charge, we wondered if many of you out there also had your handheld on a prescribed regiment of "the good juice." You know, the kind of juice you can jack on with.
Just yesterday, we were talking about some of the 
The chances are low that 
The touchscreen is awesome for certain types of games. Adventure titles, for example, really benefit from the DS's stylus controls.
Screens and videos are helpful when you want to get a feel for a game. Sometimes, though, they do nothing to impress you (especially those DS videos that you have to watch on tiny screens). Then, you actually play the game in question, and it's better than it looks. (We're not just talking graphically, but gameplay-wise, too).
This weekend, we had to do something that made us feel horrible, but in the end, was for the best. Like that scene in Old Yeller, we had to put down one of our DS carts (Mario Kart DS, oddly enough). You see, all of the inserting and ejecting of the cartridge with our DS caused something to get loose in there and now the cart cannot be read by the system.
