What's the best handheld games machine to get?
Nintendo DS or PSP?
Are Gameboy games compatable with nintendo DS?
Is there a decent site anywhere giving the low-down on these two?
The DS can run GBA games. As for which platform is best, it depends what you want. For my money, the innovation and fun-factor of the DS pisses all over Sony's offering, which is mostly "more of the same" that you already have with a PS2. And although some DS games border on tech-demo territory, the stylus can be excellent (for example, Zoo Keeper will make you never want to play any Bejeweled-style game with a mouse again, and Kirby: Power Paintbrush simply wouldn't be anywhere near as good if done any other way). The DS Lite is also cheaper than the PSP.
Ultimately, what do you want from a hand-held console?
GameBoy Advance games play on the DS. The DS is a great machine with some innovative games and I love it.
The PSP is a great multi-media piece of kit, which I use to play ripped movies, music, photos, and I play games...but not that many.
So, for gaming (at the minute) the DS wins. For full-funtionality and upgradeability (with software patches) the PSP is brilliant.
agreed, at the moment the DS is the better gamin g option.
It has the GBA compat which is a big bonus for us with all our sons older games.
I only have old BW gameboy games-
I was looking for a handheld games machine.
What about games-wise, what's around- what's hot, what's not?
Footy games(both player and management), strategy, rpg, platform, retro?
Unfortunately, the DS can't play Game Boy or Game Boy Colour titles, which is why I picked up one of the new model GBA SPs.
As for games on the DS:
Footy games -- not much, I'm afraid. There are a couple of rather duff titles out, but you're best waiting for Winning Eleven DS which should be out in the next few months. It looks to be a good handheld version of the Winning Eleven series.
Strategy -- Advance Wars: Dual Strike is a must, one of the finest turn-based strategy games of the past few years. Age of Empires: The Age of Kings is good, but there's a bug with the software that has caused some problems for some players - though it can apparently be worked around. The Settlers is coming to DS soon, as is another turn-based strat title called Daisenryaku: Great Strategy, which looks like a more realistic version of Advance Wars. I believe a version of Panzer Tactics is also coming soon.
RPG -- The big titles are taking a while to cross over from Japan, and as typical with RPGs it's taking a wee while to get a decent library going, but over the next few months you should be seeing:
Final Fantasy III DS - a stunning remake of the NES original, complete with 3D graphics and CG sequences.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - another FF title, but this one is supposed to be a multiplayer title. Think Gauntlet meets Final Fantasy and you're close to what this should be.
Contact - a quirky little RPG from the studio that made Killer 7, similar in tone to SNES classic Earthbound.
Magical Starsign - a cute RPG, the sequel to the GBA classic Magical Vacation.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - a witty, fourth-wall smashing action RPG starring the two plumbers.
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - the latest in this massively popular series. It looks to be an evolution of the Pokemon series, implementing features like Wi-Fi battling, so if you like them you should love this.
Tales of the Tempest - another gorgeous 3D RPG.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - a Pokemon-like title set in the Dragon Quest world.
Children of Mana - a nice, old-fashioned dungeon crawler in the classic Mana series.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime - an odd little action RPG set in the Dragon Quest world.
Platform -- Simply put, buy New Super Mario Bros now. A mix of classic & new, and one of the best platform games of the past five years. After you've blasted through that, pick up Kirby: Power Paintbrush for a new take on the platform genre ("paint" your own platforms with the stylus) and Super Princess Peach for a bit of old-school fun. Kirby: Squeak Squad and Yoshi's Island 2 are both due soon, and they look like being good old-school fun. If you want to stretch the definition, you could also include the stunning Mega Man ZX and both Castlevanias - Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin - here as well.
Retro -- Not sure quite what you mean by this...
Retro= Space Invaders, Tetris, Pac-Man, Asteroids etc etc
How does the psp measure up games-wise, how do the graphics, sound, controls etc compare
:: the DS can't play Game Boy or Game Boy Colour titles
Well... not quite. If you grab a flash cart, you can run the likes of Goomba (which plays practically every GB mono game) and Goomba Color (which is less good); yes, it's emulation, but it works!
Footy games: Pro Evo's on the DS soonish. The GBA game Total Soccer Manager's basically Player Manager from the Amiga.
Platform: I agree with everything Amstor said. NSMB is fun, and Kirby: Power Paintbrush is excellent.
Retro... The new Tetris is all right (and Zoo Keeper should keep fans of old-fashioned puzzlers/arcade games engrossed). The revamped Rainbow Islands and Bubble Bobble are, on the other hand, both total shit. Your best bet?if you get a DS?is actually to scour the GBA bargain bins. There are some fantastic retro games and compilations for that platform, including: Boulder Dash EX, Bubble Bobble, IK+, Konami Arcade Advance, Namco Museum, Pac-Man Collection, and Speedball II. Most of those should be ten quid or less these days. And if you get a flash cart, there are homebrew remakes of 1942, Arkanoid, Android 2 Android, Berzerk, Bruce Lee, Bust-a-move, Cauldron, Chip's Challenge, Llamatron, Nebulus, Space Invaders, Thrust, and more!
Control-wise, both consoles have their plusses and minuses. The Lite's d-pad is meant to not be great, but the PSP has issues with button placement. In terms of sheer grunt, the PSP is a far more powerful system, which means technically superior graphics (although not necessarily "better"), but, for me, this is outweighed by the DS's touch-screen. Also, the clam-shell design means your screens are safe, unlike the PSP's thumbprint attraction screen.
Personally, I'd say to get a Lite, a flash cart, and some cracking, innovative games. Or you could just buy a PSP and play the same old shit you've got on your PS2. It's telling that pretty much everyone I know is raving about the DS (despite initially being very sceptical about it), but the only people raving about the PSP are talking about its multimedia capabilities, and not the games.
The Lite d-pad hasn't given me any trouble, though I have heard there may be issues with a couple of batches. I've found the d-pad and buttons on the Lite a vast improvement over the DS Fat, with the shoulder buttons being a particularly nice improvement.
I must admit I haven't had enough experience with the PSP to comment fully on its control setup, but the little time I did put it left me feeling that the analog nub wasn't particularly great. There's also the issue - perhaps overcome by now - of developers wanting to basically dump across their PS2 titles which led to what I felt was a lot of pretty shovelware.
Get a DS quick and go to your nearest COMET to see if they have a bargain bin...mine STILL has Advance Wars DS for ?12!!!!!!
And get Mario Kart too...it was with this that I fianlly 'got' Nintendo.
A cock.
Oh, Mario Kart DS... what a fucking blinding game. Even with the limited matchmaking for online play, it's still a blast - and it looks gorgeous on my DS Lite.
garageman...?
the online on the DS is nice...
With Amstor on all of that.
I guess i would also add Animal Crossing (hard to explain but just ace.. my wife is addicted to it).
Nintendogs.. my son loves it.
Brain Training... not a game really but great for keeping me occupied. Son enjoys testing himself too.
PSP: it is more powerful but aside from the media capabilities jusrt seems to offer teh "same old same old" for games.. justget the fully functional on PS2.
yes, it's emulation, but it works!
Are these emulators just restricted to the DS? I'll hopefully be getting a Micro at some point, and I know there's no support for original/Color Gameboy games. I'm not really bothered about playing any Color games, but there are some cracking mono puzzle games I'd still like to play.
Wils -
I think there's a thriving emu scene on the GBA/Micro as well, so with the right equipment you should be able to play older titles.
Great! Fingers crossed that the purple Micro becomes available over here (although I'm rather taken by the green one that's appeared).
:: Are these emulators just restricted to the DS?
In terms of scene maturity, it's the other way around. The GBA emulation/remakes scene is far more impressive than the DS one at present, and there are plenty of great GBA-based emulators (which, of course, work fine in the DS's GBA mode). Check out the website I co-run - http://www.gbafan.com - for more info on the emulators. Homebrew stuff can be found at http://www.pdroms.de and http://www.gbadev.org
Goomba (the GBA mono emulator) is practically perfect in terms of compatibility, and it adds a number of extra, useful features to GB mono games.
well I've got 6 plus DS games that I enjoyed every minute of(still playing New Super MArio Bros, 2D heaven), and as every one else has said while the PSP is technically better(graphics, sound, storage) most of its games are scalled back versions of PS2 games and very little original content.
IN saying that there are a couple of decent titles on the PSP(but graphically noithing that couldn't be done on the DS).
Any one played Loco Roco - the most charming little game ever, all you have top do is tilt the screen to roll a little blobby dude(the LOcoRoco)left and right as he rolls around he sings and makes cute little noises and faces, I think NIntendo might be a little enviouse of Sony over this one, it really has that Ninty charm. The only other PSP game I lake is Lumines which is a cool music puzzle type game.
CU Radbacker
So, top ten DS games everyone?
cant go wrong with
- Metroid Hunters
- New Super MArio Brothers
- Meteos
- Advance Wars DS(strategy)
- Kirby
- Age of Empires(strategy)
- Nintendogs(if you're into Virtual pet type things)
- and try Brain Training just to make you feel dumb
CU Radbacker(Brain Age of 45 yrs)
My top ten DS games - out in Europe:
Brain Training
Mario Kart DS
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Metroid Prime: Hunters
New Super Mario Bros
Tetris DS
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Trauma Centre: Under the Knife
Animal Crossing: Wild World
...and, as the DS is region-free, here are five must-have imports:
Ouendan
Jump Superstars
Bleach DS
Mega Man ZX
Mario Hoops: 3 on 3
There are so many good games out for the system now and due out in the near future, but these fifteen titles would be a good start.
Thank god someone else has played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! I am purposely limiting the amount of time I spend on it to make it last.
In no particular order the games I've enjoyed are...
Advance Wars - Addictive and frustrating but never unfair. You will complete missions over & over just for the self gratification of an S ranking. Or is that just me?
Mario Kart - Best version since the SNES. That alone should have you running to the shops.
Phoenix Wright - Bonkers point & click style game where you get to shout objection in court.
Project Rub - Got it for ?8. Bonkers rock solid mini games.
New Super Mario - Too easy for my liking but I'm going back through getting all the coins. Old skool bliss.
Satanist --
Heh, nice to see another Phoenix Wright fan :-) It might interest you to know that the second game in the Phoenix Wright series is being translated & ported to the DS for a release in the West sometime later this year. The fourth in the series - featuring a new protagonist - is in development right now and should be out in Japan this year. With any luck we?ll see the whole series over here before 2008.
Radbacker --
I managed to get down to a Brain Age of 20 once, but mine's hovering in the mid-20s at the moment. Bloody Kawashima wound me up one time by pretending that I had a Brain Age of 85 after I'd blasted through the checks. Great fun in small doses.
Top 10 DS from me:
1. Mario Kart DS
2. Zoo Keeper
3. NSMB
4. Kirby: Canvas Curse/Power Paintbrush
5. Tetris DS
6. Meteos
7. Brain Age
8. Mr Driller: Drill Spirits
9. WarioWare: Touched!
10. Project Rub
For good measure, my top 10 commercial GBA games:
1. WarioWare: Twisted!
2. Scrabble Blast/Scramble
3. WarioWare, Inc.
4. Konami Arcade Advance
5. Mario Kart Super Circuit
6. Mario vs. Donkey Kong
7. Bubble Bobble: Old & New
8. Namco Museum
9. Speedball II
10. Boulder Dash EX
And top 10 homebrew/emulation:
1. Goomba (GB mono emulator)
2. ZX Advance (ZX Spectrum emulator)
3. Bust-a-Move
4. Thrust
5. Llamaboost
6. Herg's Solitaire
7. Berzerk
8. Chip Advance
9. Nebulus
10. Trailblazer Advance
I'm glad someone else mentioned Warioware.
One of the strangest games ever, but so enjoyable.
I do recomend Another Code, great point and click adventure, but very short. Me and girlfriend both completed it over a weekend, so one to rent. But great story and some truely original puzzles.
If you enjoyed Another Code, you might want to keep an eye out for Hotel Dusk -
pics, info and video here - which is from the same developer and due out later this year. Looks promising, with a visual style that reminds me of A-Ha's video for "Take On Me"...
I've seen the previews. It's designed so the DS is held side on like a book. Only worry is that it'll be far too short too.
So it seems I should go for a DS.
Should it be a DS, or a DS-Lite?
When's the next generation of handhelds due, Is there anything in the pipeline, worth waiting for?
Cheers
Whilst I'm here, what else can it do?
I was thinking of buying it from Amazon, with a game for ?109, but I noticed in the reviews that there was one from a chap in Denmark, who said that the recharger was a UK plug, and not European. This is probably obvious, but some Electrical equipment comes with a transformer which you can unplug from the plug lead, and use a 'local' one instead (most radios, this laptop etc etc) Can anyone fill me in/ take a photo of the charger & cables, and post them here?
What do you need to get the Wi-Fi working, what comes in the "bundle" (case, cabels, software etc)?
OK...
I would go for the lite (I have the old one and its fab, but the lite is fabber).
I've charged mine on the continent, so all you need is an adaptor if you get the UK version.
It will come with a stylus (plus spare) and a wrist strap that includes a thumb stylus (for certain games).
If you have a wireless router then the wi-fi 'should' be simple to set-up...the DS does most everything for you. If you don't then a USB dongle is available for a couple of tenners (I think).
An adpator, or can I switch cables?
Ther Lite seems to be the thing to go for- I've read some more reviews now.
I have Wi-fi in the house.
Does it have a USB port?
How are people using emulators on it?
How do you save your progress- (ie memory cards)?
The DS Lite doesn't come with a wrist strap, just the two stylusses. Or should that be stylii?
Am enjoying mine although the wi-fi connection for Mazzer Kart is erractic at my end, even after I thought I had the settings on the router sussed.
This is my second by the way - the first had two 'stuck' red pixels, one on each screen. Gamestation changed it no problem which was quite cool as such problems are accepted on most laptop screens.
Just finished "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow", so am thinking what to get next. And my current Brain Age is 23, though I did get it to 21 a few days ago...
M@
:: I have Wi-fi in the house.
The appropriate games (I only have one) will include config menu. It's all pretty simple if you get lucky, though your router is not guaranteed to work.
:: Does it have a USB port?
Nope.
:: How are people using emulators on it?
Dunno.
:: How do you save your progress- (ie memory cards)?
The carts have built-in memory.
Just get one already! Surely the enthusiasm for the DS on here compared to hardly and PSP posts says it all? I played a PSP once. I was bored.
M@
To answer:
-- No USB port
-- Emulation is a little bit more than I can explain, but this
link should give you some idea of what's involved in preparing your DS Lite to run homebrew and emulators. It's a little more than I'd be prepared to do to my system at the moment, but I'm precious about these things :-)
-- No need for memory cards. Each DS game comes on a small card & save games are written to this. There's normally a limit of 3 or so saves per card, but that's typically more than enough for a gamer, or even a couple of gamers sharing the DS
As for future handhelds, I wouldn't expect a revision or successor to the DS Lite for at least a couple of years. There was a time when it may have been quickly superceded by the next-gen Game Boy, but it's been such a success for Nintendo that I think they'll be supporting it for a good while yet. IIRC the Game Boy Advance launched in 2000/2001 and is still going, and I expect the DS to have the same longevity so it'll probably still be around come 2009.
The PSP is quite possibly going to see at least one revision in its life span - possibly cosmetic, with perhaps a few hardware tweaks - but there are no indications that that will be any time soon. I'd expect it to have a reasonable lifespan as well, but it seems to be in a slightly less strong position than the DS at the moment. I'd still expect it to have another couple of years in it, though.
:: How are people using emulators on it?
By using a flash card, which is a writeable GBA-sized cart. Depending on the model, you either write to it via a USB linker from your PC (supplied) or you use SD media (or something similar), which slots into the cart.
If you're running GBA homebrew, it's just a case of dumping the ROMs to the cart, booting the DS into GBA mode and then running your selection from the cart's menu. If you're running emulators, you often have to "inject" ROMs into the emulator, to compile a GBA ROM (a process that takes seconds and you only need do it once).
DS emulation is mildly more complex. You have to "fool" the DS into thinking a cart's active, whereupon it then reads DS ROMs from the GBA port's flash cart. Whereas this used to be scary as hell (including flashing the firmware), these days it's just a case of sticking a nopass cart into your DS slot and a flash cart with DS ROMs into the GBA port.
Click the link below for an example.
Link: An example
Any recommedations for flash carts? I know this is jumping the gun a bit seeing as I've not even got a Micro yet. :)
I've had a bit of a play with Goomba, trying it with VisualboyAdvance. It *is* a bit good, isn't it?
Goomba is absolutely fab. In fact, I don't play any of my GB mono carts any more?I use Goomba instead. (And if you've a DS or micro, you've got naff-all choice anyway.)
In terms of carts, I have an EZ-F III, which is one of the best for GBAs. Do not order them from the UK, unless you want to get seriously ripped off. Instead, try overseas retailers such as:
http://www.winsunx.com/
http://www.hopebuy.com/
http://kicktrading.ca/
For GBA stuff, steer clear of the SuperCard, because it has major slowdown issues. The G6 Lite has been getting good reviews -- see the link below.
Link: G6 review
Necro.
I got a DS-Lite the other day, (for my son)
also got Brain Training, Lego: Star Wars II, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team (which came bundled).
I can see from Brain Training, that I can download more Suduko, but it doesn't seem to work- I've certainly not set it up to go through my wireless router- how/where/when, do I do that?
(The router works for my PS2)
Any ideas?
google for compatibility. I've had no issues getting the DS to log in to either of the wireless routers I've had. The PSP didn't like my old one though.
My Router should work. (it's listed on the official site)
It appears, that the problem is that Brain Training can't find it.
I'll try mine and let you know how I get on...I didn't know you could DL more stuff...