Well, imho they do work on the DS. Especially with the great Touchscreen controls, which only people with weird fingers would hate. What I don't know about is the atmosphere, though. I think it's nigh impossible to create a truly immersive atmosphere on the DS. Even with headphones... The soundeffects often have too low quality and you are distracted by other things too easily.

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Possibly, but I probably won't be buying it. I hated Metroid Prime Hunters (and I'm a Metroid fan). I thought the FPS controls were awful, not just because they were so erratic, but because they were actually physically painful! The way the DS is held in one hand and having to use the D-Pad to move and L button to fire at the same time just doesn’t work and after a while becomes agony. The DS simply isn’t designed to play games like this because, as you press down on the L button to fire, your thumb starts to slip off the D-Pad and you therefore aren’t able to move in all directions and it makes combat impossible! You’re constantly having to adjust your hand whilst playing. You also have to keep stopping your play because the uncomfortable position of your left hand gets too much to bear (though this was on a Phat, maybe it's better on a Lite).

Also, though the 3D graphics were very good, they were still only "very good.... for the DS" and I found it a real strain on the eyes having to make things out on such a small screen and with such blocky graphics. Sure the DS can do 3D, but I think it's best when it sticks to 2D.

All in all, I just don't think FPSs really work properly on the DS. I think the reason we all got excited about that Hunters Demo (all those years ago) was because we were only playing it in short bursts, therefore the pain aspect didn't come into play.

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I actually think that the FPS for the DS ARE a good idea. It has expanded a lot the universe of the handheld gaming thanks to the innovation of the DS even more.
It seems, though, that the game companies aren't really sure about it, and i believe that is the reason why there's not a generalized effort in developing this kind of games.
I've played Metroid Prime Hunters with the stylus. It IS painful (yes, even on the DS Lite Hamster). I've also tried playing it with a thumb stylus, and this combined with the control scheme of the MPH was in my opinion the most natural way to play it. I think that you might need long fingers (I do) to feel it the way I did, but my point is this: maybe the only thing lacking to the FPSs for DS is a simple accesory such as a thumb stylus to make it work.
In my case at least, i feel that the hand crams problem is solved. Maybe it'll work too for some of you.

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I want Moon to excel in every way possible. I like Renegade, I like the unique IP, and I like what I've seen of the game so far.

But I'm not sure if I'm going to like actually playing it. I tried to play Dementium, but the control scheme (and save system, come to think of it) was so clunky and cumbersome that I very quickly lost interest.

I'm not sure how Moon is going to handle the control scheme. I'll give the game the benefit of the doubt, though I'm still not convinced enjoyable FPS gaming is possible on the DS.

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FPSs work on the DS very well, you just can't play them for hours on end without your handing cramping up a bit. So basically short bursts of gameplay here and there, wait isn't that what handheld gaming is all about?

Really looking forward to Moon.

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I've always hoped for a killer FPS for the DS. Call of Duty 4 almost hit the mark but could have done with a few more missions. I've not noticed any major problems with controlling, being left-handed I use the ABXY and R buttons to move and shoot, with my left index or middle finger to aim. I can use the palm of my left hand to brace the bottom left edge of the console this way. Only drawback is then my fingers occasionally block my view of the bottom left screen if it has maps, items or whatever, but I've never experienced hand cramps.

I think elend has a point about immersiveness though. I did find it pretty hard to get into Dementium, for example and I think the way its presented on the console played a part in that.

So yes, looking forward to Moon!

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It's not the perspective or the mechanics that is an issue, it's rather that I don't believe an action game is the right answer in such a format. Having to cram your face into a DS to see distant enemies and hold it in the requisite cramptastic manner is a bit much.

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I believe that Metroid Prime: Hunters LOOKS like a triple-A title. If you look at the other FPSs available for the DS, they look more like they were lifted straight from the PSOne. At best, they resemble a N64 game. Hunters, however, looks like a PSP game. The art direction is amazing, the environments are masterfully created and the platforming sequences control well. The controls can get tiresome after a while, but I guess this can't be helped.

Maybe if there was a way to develop a FPS that could be played by holding the DS sideways (book style), the problem with the controls would be solved. But I can't see how people would fire the guns this way... unless you have to blow on the mic to shoot the bullets or use a special slot-2 peripheral (similar to the one that comes with Guitar Hero). I don't see this happening, though.

Let's wait for Quake Arena... maybe John Carmack can develop a clever FPS (of all guys, he is THE one for the job).

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Call of duty 4 for ds was good i was just missing online play and the multiplayer map could have been bigger too But Call of Duty and the new 007 games are build on the COD4 engine so hopefully one of them will have online play (i hope one of them have Capture the Flag too)

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Hunters convinced me that FPS work on the DS (works best with a Thumb Strap of course).

So lets see what this game can do now...

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I enjoyed Dementium's controls. It worked for the survival horror genre. It was hard to get accurate shots off but that was fine when your character is shaking in his boots. Plus I liked how they assigned run to just double tapping on the d-pad. It felt natural to me.

I look forward to moon. I just hope that they add a little auto-aim to make it easier.

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Call of Duty 4 was a decent FPS for the DS. I think the DS is very capable of supporting a good FPS, proof in the fact that it can run Quake and Doom, both good FPSes :P Seeing as the genre is sparse on the handheld space, I welcome a new contender.

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It seems to me (and from reading these posts most everyone else) that FPSers suffer from 3 problems:

1) The controls. Unlike consoles our controls are built right into the machine and can't be switched out with a 3rd party controller built for fpsers. I've never tried a thumb stylus but then I never seemed to have problems with hand cramps playing Dementium and Hunter either. They are unforgiving of mistakes though.

2) Screen size. I think the DS is capable of incredible graphics, but the size of the DS screen means there is a threshold where more detail just becomes more distracting on that small screen. I also found myself hunched over the DS just to see everything...bad for my back. Not much they can do about the screen size either unless they come out with a peripheral that plugs into the GBA slot and can be hooked up to a television....mmmmm:)

3) Onscreen 'noise'. This is related to screen size. The DS being what it is I don't think we're going to see massive online battles of 24 players going at it. This also comes into play in solo play with massive mobs of enemies filling the screen. As Dementium demonstrated..the DS can handle FPS only with small numbers of enemies onscreen at the same time. This limits the scope of FPS for DS.

Can the DS do FPS well? Absolutely...we just can't expect (at least I don't) a console quality FPS for our little portable. At least not yet.

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I haven't seen a lot of 3D on the DS, but what I've seen makes me think that even Doom level graphics would be stressing its capability too much. It can display that kind of 3D, but not at a decent framerate. So that means either a simplified environment, which wouldn't be much fun for an FPS, or jerky movement, which would spoil the fun as well.

Add to that the small screen space (or low resolution, depending on how you look at it), and the controls being too small for long time comfort and precision control, and you have a system that isn't quite cut out for real FPS games.

Maybe a next generation DS will have the power and screen size for it. The controls would still be a problem though. You really need a keyboard for FPS games.

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i liked metroid on DS. cramping was sometimes an issue but it was a good game overall....and to Kimiko. the Gameboy Advance had Doom. the DS could handle Doom with no problem. Most DS games run at a pretty smooth (albeit there are some slowdowns) 30-60 frames per second.

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If I was all that concerned with FPS I would have bought a PSP. I had a friend selling his PSP with 5 games for $100 when I bought my DS. I still chose the DS. Advance Wars FTW. IMO FPS's just don't work on ANY handheld. They work on the PC, and they kinda work on consoles.

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I loved Metroid DS---thanks in part to the Comfort Stylus wrapped around my finger. The art direction was fantastic, but what really made it special was the thoughtful weapons differentiation, which kept you thinking even as you were shooting---this gun is good for this enemy, but bad for that one, and so on. Unfortunately, that's just what Dementium lacked---it was a straight hierarchy of bad to good weapons, with no real strategy involved. Hopefully, Moon won't repeat that mistake, but I'm pessimistic. It seems like to make up for the DS' lack of hardware oomph, you really need to give an FPS some strategic or narrative depth, and so far, Renegade hasn't seemed up to that.

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