E3: Nintendo DS Impresses

We all can remember months back when we first heard the news of Nintendo DS. The only information we knew was the Dual Screen capability. What we didn’t know is the powerful technology that’s inside Nintendo’s most innovative machine ever.

The 10% platform has exceeded everyone’s expectations. With built in Wi-Fi, Touch Pad, Voice Recognition, 2 back-lit crisp screens, plentiful of buttons, great comfort while holding, and a very sexy design, the Nintendo DS is surely to become the next must have Nintendo handheld. And to top it off, its backwards compatible with Game Boy Advance. However whether it can play original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games are unknown as of now.

E3 has finally come and I finally get to touch Nintendo’s new baby, and without a doubt, I can easily say, this is the most innovative and impressive handheld machine that I have ever seen. The touch pad is flawless and while the touchpad is not necessary for games to use, it provides for a better gaming experience for gamers to actual feel like they are in the game.

Voice Recognition is also hidden somewhere in the Nintendo DS, but we were unable to try it out as Nintendo didn’t have the Voice Recognition software showable at the show; most likely due to it being very loud on the floor.

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DS Demo’s

Submarine

The Submarine DS demo is a great way to show off how users can easily interact with the game. While it is a demo, its easily shown how great games will be created using this type of control scheme with the touch pad. Using the touchpad I was able to control the speed, angle, and whether to rise or sink underwater. To use these functionalities on the touchscreen were sliding bars that controlled what the submarine did. By sliding the bar on the bottom left I was able to increase or decrease the speed. The angle of the submarine was controllable with two vertical sliding bars. And lastly I was able to control whether the submarine needed to rise or sink.

All while I’m using the touchpad the submarine interacts with the players on the top screen by doing what actions I perform. And like a huge submarine it performs very slowly, so the user will have to learn how to predict and get spot on timing so to not crash into the local coral on the bottom of the ocean floor.

A very impressive DS demo and I for one can’t wait to see it turn into a real game and see all the creativity it will spawn from future DS games.

Carving

Carving was a very impressive DS Demo that showed the sensitivity of the DS touchpad. Players first began the DS demo by selecting what type of material I wanted to carve. You could either choose marble, metal, wood, or even a watermelon to carve with.

Once the material was chosen you were able to carve into the material to create different designs. Once carved to your liking you could then view your design in full real time 3D. You could zoom in or zoom out, rotate it from side to side, or flip it around. Then after that you could go back to carving and perfecting your design.

While it would be hard for this to evolve into its own game, it could easily be used for future DS titles such as Animal Crossing DS. Imagine having to go to a workshop in Animal Crossing and having to create your own furniture such as a bed or a table. I could even see this being used in Wario Ware DS where you must carve a lamp or some other design.

Carving DS Demo was a great way to show off the sensitivity of the DS touchpad and I can’t wait to see what it evolves to or what future DS games will use this great technology.

DS Pikachu

I’ll be blunt. The only reason I played this Demo was to get a chance to win a Pokemon Plush. I did win a Pikachu toy, which I’ll cherish everyday, but the DS demo of DS Pikachu was a very cool and surprisingly fun demo.

Due to time being very limited to play the Nintendo DS I didn’t have time to get a full hands on with DS Pikachu, but I did get to play and complete a very good minigame. The minigame involved being trying to pop balloons that come up from the bottom of the screen that Pikachu creates. The goal of the minigame was to pop all the fast rising balloons as quickly as possible without letting any by.

It started off very simple with a balloon rising up every now and then, but then it got up to an amazing 20+ balloons rising from the bottom of the screen trying to escape into the sky. Using the stylus, you press down on the touchpad where the balloons are to pop them. Like I mentioned before, it started off very easy and then the difficulty increased very rapidly.

After the demo was over I was able to interact with Pikachu and scratch his stomach to make him feel happy. The DS Pikachu is most likely to be a DS version of Pokemon Channel where interactivity with Pikachu and keeping him happy by playing games is the key to having fun. I wish Nintendo had the Voice Recognition playable, as this would be a great title to interact with Pikachu and friends by talking to them and giving them commands.

I will try to go back to the DS booth to get a more hands on with the Pokemon Channel like title to give a more indepth hands on, but as the line to the DS area increased beyond two hours, chances are I will have to wait til tomorrow morning.

DS Games

Metroid Prime: Hunters

Perhaps the best Nintendo DS game at the show is none other than Metroid Prime: Hunters. Being developed by NTS, Metroid Prime: Hunters is using the Metroid Prime engine on the GameCube but with it being scaled back just a little bit.

Whether or not this game will be only a multiplayer game is unknown, but without a doubt, I can say that MP:H is one of the best multiplayer games I have ever played on a handheld machine.

Using the touchpad, d-pad, and the L trigger players can roll in a ball, shoot, lock-on, charge, obtain upgrades, and battle it out against 3 other players in a full fledged 3D Metroid environment.

The control scheme is as follows. By pressing rapidly on the touchpad you can constantly shoot and by pressing and holding down on the touchpad you are able to use the charge beam. The touchpad also acts as a way to change your perspective by touching near the bottom, top, left, or right to be able to look in the proper directions. By combining the touchpad to change perspectives with the d-pad to walk around the controls are very simple and use to have great multiplayer fun. By pressing the touchpad near the lower left you can activiate the ball and roll around. And of course, by pressing the L trigger you can lock on to other players.

The Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS was not being used for this game because of showroom interference but Nintendo reassures that the speed of the game is not affected by using Wi-Fi.

Without a doubt Metroid Prime: Hunters will be a great launch title for the system and I cannot wait for a more indepth version of the game!

WarioWare Inc. DS

We all knew that when the Nintendo DS was announced a Wario Ware Inc. game was sure to follow. The possibilites of using the touchpad, dual screens, and even a voice recognition for Wario Ware are endless.

Wario Ware DS is exactly what we all have imaged. Only acouple of minigames were playable, but out of those I am very impressed.

One had you use the touchpad to control a net to gather all the bees, one to draw katakana symbols using the touchpad, another to control a cage like device to free an animal inside, one to use the touchpad to slice your way through various items such as watermelon, wood, metal, etc. Another had Wario throwing barrels at you from the top screen that you had to interact with on the bottom screen.

Combining voice recognition, touchpad, and two screens, Wario Ware will never be the same.

Super Mario 64 x4

Awhile back IGN revealed that Super Mario 64 was being shown on the Nintendo DS to show the capabilities of the system. Whether or not what was being shown was either Super Mario 64 or Super Mario 64 x4 is unknown and really inevitable. Super Mario 64 x4 looks almost exactly as good as its Nintendo 64 predecessor, but its totally different. Its four-player multiplayer.

Hardly anything was shown in the playable demo of the game except that like Metroid Prime: Hunters the Nintendo DS were hardwired to each other and not using Wi-Fi due to show room interference. Using connectivity between the systems players were able to play as either Mario, Wario, Peach, and Luigi. The object of the game is to collect the randomly created stars throughout the entire area that exists outside the Super Mario 64 castle. The area outside is an exact copy of the outside of the Super Mario 64.

By using the d-pad, touchpad, and the A B X Y buttons, I was able to control luigi to fly, triple jump, and run. Using that I looked at the top screen to control the character and at the bottom was a map to show where the newly created star appeared at. The game sounds simple and sadly is really is. I for one cannot see this being a stand alone game simple for playing with others to collect starts to win.

I’m hoping that Super Mario 64 x4 contains the original version of Super Mario 64 and multiplayer is thrown in as well. While not totally original, it would be a great launch title.

Pac-Pix

Pac-Pix to be blunt is a very simple and unique game. The developers obviously wanted to show off the abilites of the touchpad with this game. The game plays exactly like Pacman but with a huge twist. At the beginning of the game you draw Pac-man using the touch pad and once drawn the ghost appear and you control the direction of Pac-man by drawing lines in the direction you want to go. Wanna go down? Simple draw downward on the touchpad with the stylus and Pac-man will move down.

I am not 100% clear if this is a working title or whether this is a demo to show off a game or more definitive, a Pac-man game, but with more development it will become a great single player game and with the abilities of Wi-Fi, I’m hoping they will take a Pac-man Vs. route and allow three players to play at the ghost in the same form by drawing them and controlling them with the touchpad.

Hopefully more about Pac-Pix will be revealed soon.

Bomberman DS

Bomberman has appeared on every console known to man and the Nintendo DS continues the Hudson legacy. As a huge fan of Bomberman I can easily say that Bomberman DS is a great game to play on the DS.

Using the d-pad and the A B X Y buttons players can control Bomberman to obtain upgrades, throw bombs, kick bombs, and run around killing other players by dropping bombs.

Players will be looking on the bottom screen to show a 2D 1/2 view of Bomberman, while the top screen shows off the systems capabilties of 3D by viewing Bomberman in a zoomed view in full fledged 3D. It is truly eye candy to see this.

Only one Nintendo DS with Bomberman was shown, but it would insane for Hudson not to include Wi-Fi support for multiplayer action. The levels on the demo only allowed for four players to battle it out, but with Wi-Fi integrated into the Nintendo DS I am hoping Hudson will find a way to include support up to 8 players or even up to 16 players for some great multiplayer fun!