Animal Crossing engages players by giving them tools to do whatever they feel like, a large part of which is designing clothing, wallpaper, flags, and even dialogue to personalize their towns. Mario Kart DS has customizable emblems. And then there's Drawn to Life, which looks like the ultimate example of the in-game drawing tool, with the whole game designed around player-created characters and items.
What is it that is so captivating about putting your own work into a game? We were really amused by the Drawn to Life demo, specifically because we got to watch our creations move while we were still creating them. But why are our crude scratchings often so much more interesting to us than professionally-designed art? Or is it just us?
Those Nintendogs are adorable creatures. Sometimes they seem almost ... real. Well there's at least one guy in Japan having serious trouble distinguishing life outside the screen from life inside the screen. No dogs were harmed in the making of this video, but one carpet needed a damn good clean. After the credits we go for a little drive Mario Kart style.
All week, we've been sharing our favorite games with you, as well as snippets of our personalities outside the fanboy sphere. Now you know that some of us weren't really huge handheld fans before the DS, that at least one of us is terribly silly, and most of us seem to dig cats, in some way or another. But forget the trivial details -- how do our favorite games stack up against the critical darlings? We offer this side-by-side comparison to wrap up Fanboy Favorites week, and we hope you've enjoyed this closer look at not only the DS Fanboy staff, but some of the best that the DS has to offer.
All this week, the DS Fanboy staff is letting you in on a few of their favorite titles. Each day, a different member of the staff will present their personal top five DS games along with a snapshot of their gaming paraphernalia and habits, in an effort to provide our readers with a little more information on the tastes and personalities of our writers.
As the lead blogger of PSP Fanboy, one might be questioning why I'm here. It's true: I love my PSP and take it everywhere (except the shower). But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy Nintendo's handheld. I've grown up with Nintendo handhelds, owning every iteration of the Game Boy ever. My stash of Nintendo valuables would make any Nintendork jealous. Now that I'm older and spending less time arguing in message boards, I've learned that true gaming bliss comes from having access to all the games I can get. Hopefully, you feel the same way too.
So please, take my "top five" list as an olive branch to end the bickering between the two Fanboy sites.
All this week, the DS Fanboy staff is letting you in on a few of their favorite titles. Each day, a different member of the staff will present their personal top five DS games along with a snapshot of their gaming paraphernalia and habits, in an effort to provide our readers with a little more information on the tastes and personalities of our writers.
If there's anything that can be said about my life -- and that includes my gaming life -- it's that it's messy. I'm messy. I have all this organizational garbage that's supposed to make it easier to store and find all my stuff, but see, I keep accumulating more stuff, and so I need more organizational items ... it's a vicious cycle, and it's part of why I love cartridges. I know where the box is for Clubhouse Games. It's about three feet away as I type this. I could get it, but why? Clubhouse Games goes in and out of my beloved handheld so often, I usually just leave it here on my desk along with the other games I'm interested in at the moment, and I don't have to worry about it getting all scratched up because it isn't delicate like some pansy disc. This makes me happy. I have to be more careful with CDs and DVDs ... but that doesn't mean there aren't a few stacks of discs around my workspace. Believe me, if it's at all stackable, I'm gonna stack it, and to hell with the consequences.
Of course, the problem with the size of DS carts means that sometimes I lose my Clubhouse for a while, and that makes me unhappy to the extreme. Luckily, there are other games that can distract me ....
"Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday, come on down to the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track for some wild, no-rules racing action! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of Mario Kart-style toy racing excitement! Watch some of the best drivers in the business, including YOU and YOUR FRIENDS, take on one of the toughest tracks there is! You'll see twists and turns, thrills and spills, only at the Mario Kart DS Slot Car Race Track! Pay for the whole seat, but you'll only use the edge."
Wow, we didn't even buy one of these slot car sets and we're already having fun with it. Anyone up for simulating the Mario Kart experience in ... well, not real life, but miniature fake real life?
According to our Game Night polls, Mario Kart DS is probably the most universally popular DS game -- or maybe it's just the one more people have. But what's your favorite? Which DS game really makes you want to get in there and fight it out online? Do you like fragging in Metroid Prime Hunters, or the versatility of Clubhouse Games? We'd love to hear about it.
You might have noticed that there was a conspicuous hole in our look at some of this year's most exciting games. Whither Diddy Kong Racing, you asked, tear-streaked faces turned up to the sky as you shook your fists in rage and dismay. Okay, maybe we're a little dramatic, but it was missing, and here's why: we wanted to take some time to get intimate with Diddy Kong without the pesky interference of so many other droolariffic games.
After Rare went to the dark side, we never thought we'd feel the shining spotlight of their love again, but it looks like they've come crawling back for a piece of the DS, and all may be forgiven. Even though Diddy Kong Racing DS is an enhanced port of the (beloved) N64 game, the mere fact that it's happening makes it a contender for this year's single most interesting game.
Is it cold outside? December just seems like it should be chilly, but no matter the weather outside, you can get cosy inside with Modojo's picks for the best winter wonderlands ever to fill a handheld screen with white stuff.
Unsurprisingly, Mario Kart DS pops up on the list, with its wintry stages. They're pretty, sure, but this blogger fears taking to the ice almost as much as she does the dreaded Rainbow Road, and a pox on whoever picked it at the last Mario KartGame Night. A pox!
The full list does boast a few surprises, though The Legend of Zelda: The Oracle of Seasons (pictured) wasn't one of them.
We've tallied up the votes and our Game Night title has been chosen. We'll be meeting up in the same room as last week, at the same time. All of the details, including the results of the poll determining what game we'll be playing tonight, are after the break.
Been buried in Wii news all week? Never fear, because we're here with the best and brightest from last week at DS Fanboy. Your Week in Nintendo recaps the week's most notable stories, based on relevance and reader support. For the week of November 13th through November 19th, don't miss:
5) The DS on British airwaves
We love us some ads, and this awesome new UK television spot is one of the best we've seen lately. From a good selection of games to a realistic portrayal of a gamer on the go, Nintendo proves that DS lovers are alike no matter where or how they play.
4) New footage from the forthcoming Naruto game
So good, one commenter thought it was a Wii game. This is one video you won't want to miss, whether you're a fan of the anime or not. If the game lives up to the graphics, you'll be a fan soon anyway ....
3) The Final Fantasy III reviews roll in
The reviews for the redone FFIII are in, and the scores are somewhat surprising. Looks like some people think old school RPGs should remain a thing of the past. But let's try to remember that high seventies doesn't mean we should all go the seppuku route. Not everything should get a perfect score, after all ....
2) Games 4 Girls?
GameStop's new Games 4 Girls display is causing a stir across the 'net. Should we be encouraging anyone to play some of these? Cooking Mama, sure, but That's So Raven? No wonder there's a dearth of female gamers.
1) DS Fanboy announces the first Game Night
And this week's biggest news is right here! Join us on Tuesday for chatting and a few rounds of Mario Kart. Stay tuned for further details about the upcoming hour of power.
When gamers choose, the DS wins! A few awards, at least. And oh, shall we ever covet them. At the Golden Joystick awards, wherein most winners are chosen by the gaming public, Nintendogs took home Family Game of the Year and Girl's Choice, and New Super Mario Bros. snagged Nintendo Game of the Year. Poor Mario Kart DS was the bridesmaid of the day -- nominated for several awards and winning naught but a big goose egg. Oh well. It still reigns in our hearts.
Here we have a video of a guy passing his DS through an external circuit board and adjusting the system's internal clock speed. Assuming that this isn't an elaborate fake, it's interesting to see how Mario Kart DS behaves at different clock speeds. At the overclocked rate, it practically transforms into F-Zero. Anyone that's tried to run old DOS games on a newer PC may have encountered similar speedy results. All this begs the question:
And they're all playing Mario Kart DS. Shortly after a dramatic website countdown hit six digits, Nintendo has officially announced that their Wi-Fi service has managed to ensnare over 1 million hapless users. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, all those users represent more than 27 million game sessions. That's certainly an impressive number, but we expect it to grow even further once Metroid Prime: Hunters finds its way into the hands of eager online gamers. The total number of hours that will be lost to Nintendo's Wi-Fi nexus in the next few months is nigh incalculable.
A while back we asked you to tell us how good you really were at Mario Kart DS. Now we might ask you to prove it. You see, the guys over at DS Meet, one of a few sites that allows users to share their friend codes and meet new players online, have implemented a cool new online tournament system. It allows you to join up with existing tournaments or create your own, all via a reasonably easy to use interface.
Once you've created a tournament, the site will automatically take care of rostering (though you can manually alter this as well) and keeping track of the friend codes of those competing. You also have the option of having a forum to discuss and coordinate matches with your fellow DS players. The onus is on the tournament operator to keep track of everybody's scores though, so a level of honesty may be required if you're going to take charge of a tournament. Being thebest Mario Kart DS players in the known universe, we're all about the honesty.
Mind you, it's not all about the snaking. With support for Animal Crossing's various competitive activities and the upcoming Metroid Prime: Hunters, it's about fishing and shooting too. It's also about competing with people from all over the world. How about a DS Fanboy reader Mario Kart tournament? Can we have a show of hands from those who would be interested?
Animal Crossing engages players by giving them tools to do whatever they feel like, a large part of which is designing clothing, wallpaper, flags, and even dialogue to personalize their towns. Mario Kart DS has customizable emblems. And then there's Drawn to Life, which looks like the ultimate example of the in-game drawing tool, with the whole game designed around player-created characters and items.
"Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday, come on down to the 
According to our 
Is it cold outside? December just seems like it should be chilly, but no matter the weather outside, you can get cosy inside with Modojo's picks for the best winter wonderlands ever to fill a handheld screen with white stuff.
When gamers choose, the DS wins! A few awards, at least. And oh, shall we ever covet them. At the Golden Joystick awards, wherein most winners are chosen by the gaming public, Nintendogs took home Family Game of the Year and Girl's Choice, and New Super Mario Bros. snagged Nintendo Game of the Year. Poor Mario Kart DS was the bridesmaid of the day -- nominated for several awards and winning naught but a big goose egg. Oh well. It still reigns in our hearts.
And they're all playing Mario Kart DS. Shortly after a dramatic website countdown hit six digits, Nintendo has officially announced that their Wi-Fi service has managed to ensnare over 1 million hapless users. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, all those users represent more than 27 million game sessions. That's certainly an impressive number, but we expect it to grow even further once Metroid Prime: Hunters finds its way into the hands of eager online gamers. The total number of hours that will be lost to Nintendo's Wi-Fi nexus in the next few months is nigh incalculable.
A while back we asked you to tell us 
