The DS's touchscreen technology has allowed us to indulge in some truly unique activities, from painting tanks to DJing to slapping women. Seriously, who would have guessed this kind of thing was the future in 2003?
Which control scheme do you tend to prefer in your DS games? Do you like (well-done) touchscreen controls, or would you rather use the d-pad? Some games offer you a choice -- can you think of any times when you used the opposite of what you usually prefer, because it felt right for that particular title? Or, when given the option, was there ever a time the opposite of your usual preference won you over? Final Fantasy III comes to mind here for us; when we first tried it, we weren't much for navigating with the stylus (though we typically enjoy stylus-based play for convenience), and yet after a while, using the stylus just seemed to make more sense.
Yesterday, over on Wii Fanboy, we spent a little time discussing some of the best control schemes we've seen so far on the new console. We thought that today might be a good time to get the DS readers in on the action, since after all, the handheld has really brought a lot to the table. What games do you think have really made the best use of the touchscreen? How about the mic? Best games overall? No real rules or categories here -- just talk up what you've liked best about what the DS has to offer.
Have you purchased any sort of DS stand? We admit, it's something we've thought about, but haven't gotten around to (there are so many games to buy instead!), but there are more of you than there are of us, so certainly (maybe!) someone has one. If not, have you also given it some thought? What kind of stand would you like? We can definitely see the benefit for stylus-only games.
You'll find no truer supporters of the Final Fantasy Tactics franchise than the DS Fanboy staff. We've spent far too many hours with the PS1 and GBA titles to ever turn our backs to the series. Reading IGN's recent interview with Yuichi Murasawa, the director of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, however, left us scratching our heads over Square Enix's handling of the upcoming SRPG. What was supposed to be a hype-building preview of the new FFTA game sounded more like a list of unimplemented features and expectations that the development team didn't meet.
Pocket Gamer issued some DS demands recently, with their list of titles that should already be on the handheld, but aren't. While they offered up some interesting candidates -- a good place to start the discussion -- we'd love to see you guys start throwing out ideas on all the games that could be. Sure, a GoldenEye or Mario Paint DS could be really excellent, but there are a lot of games out there. What do you think might benefit from the touchscreen, the WiFi, or both? Last time we discussed the what-ifs, we talked only about franchises ... but this time, anything's game.
Touch-screens have been around for quite some time; why, we can nary remember a time when our fancy high-tech bowling alley didn't use such contraptions as input devices. Attaching one to a portable game system was certainly innovative, but not exactly ground-breaking in terms of new technologies. Multi-touch, on the other hand, is a relatively new and possibly exciting feature that might find its way quite soon to the PC consumer market. For an excellent demo of its capabilities, check out this video.
Austrian developer Sproing's PC game, Undercover: Operation Wintersun, has just been released in Europe and now the company's announced a prequel for the Nintendo handheld. The new title, Undercover: Dual Motives, adds a second character in keeping with the "dual" theme. Secretary Audrey joins researcher-turned-spy Dr. John Russell in the investigative action title. The current game follows Dr. Russell as he investigates a German nuclear threat in 1943, and all we currently know is that the DS game will follow the good doctor in his early years.
Siliconera has a nice breakdown on how the touchscreen-exclusive controls will work on the DS. By tapping on the screen, you'll be able to make Mario dribble, with the faster you tap naturally causing him to up the speed of his dribble. While in possession of the ball, swiping the stylus across the touchscreen in the direction of the basket will cause Mario (or whichever subsequent character is holding the ball) to shoot the ball. On the opposite side of the ball, swiping the stylus across the touchscreen in the direction of your opponent will cause your character to attempt a steal on the ball.
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
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Bleach: Dark Souls |
Oct 6 |
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Legend of Kage 2 |
Oct 6 |
| Crash: Mind Over Mutant |
Oct 6 |
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Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals |
Oct 6 |
|
My Japanese Coach |
Oct 14 |
|
Korg DS-10 |
Oct 14 |
| Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 | Oct 14 |
| FIFA Soccer 09 | Oct 14 |
| Populous | Oct 14 |
|
Rock Revolution |
Oct 14 |
|
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia |
Oct 21 |
|
Theresia |
Oct 21 |
| Spider-Man: Web of Shadows | Oct 21 |
|
Away: Shuffle Dungeon |
Oct 21 |
|
Tornado |
Oct 21 |
|
Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon |
Oct 21 |
| What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver | Oct 21 |
|
MySims Kingdom |
Oct 28 |
| Ninjatown | Oct 28 |
| The story |
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Lock's Quest review |
Reviews |
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BTS: Cakemania |
BTS |
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