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Nintendo DS Reviewed, Internal Structure Exposed
Pascal writes "Lik Sang received an initial batch of Nintendo DS systems and went ahead with their own hands-on reviews. Apart from some interesting GBA SP accessories cross-testing and their own impressions about the new Nintendo baby, they also had one of their traditional open-up sessions, exposing the guts of the new handheld to the public." Kotaku has a look from earlier in the week as well.
I was originally holding out for a PSP; I think Nintendo's overall game library on the GBA is abhorrent, and since the DS is more or less its big brother, I assumed it'd be more of the same.
That said, while I was digging around for info on Shining Force 3 tonight (yeah, the Saturn game), I somehow wound up at a list of games sleighted for the DS, and saw that Squenix is working on a new Secret of Mana game. Sold!
I glanced at the clock, it was only 7:50, so I ran down to the local EBgames and gave the display model a try. Sales guy was really cool; he even took it off the display stand for me to play so I didn' thave to hold it at an akward angle. And for the record, the thumb strap pointer is infinitely more comfortable than the stylus. At least in Metroid.
What a cool machine. It's a tad large, and it'll take a bit of getting used to, but the control scheme for the Metroid demo was superb - way better than the one used for the GCN Metroid games. The DS felt really solid and well-built, and just has a really polished feel to it, even though there really isn't any one feature that stands out.
So, I plunked down the $150 for it on the spot, and picked up copies of Guardian Heroes and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Darkness (yeah, GBA games, but it'll play 'em). The DS launch list is still a tad anemic (with Mario 64 DS being the only game I was interested in, but it was sold out), but they seem to have some really solid titles coming down the pipe; the line-up is stylisticly more remeniscant of the SNES than, say, the GBA or GCN.
I've got to say, I'm certainly not a Nintendo fan, but I'm very pleasantly suprised by the DS. I'm especially excited about the wireless multiplayer (I spend a lot of time in airports/planes), and the ability to share games, and play multiplayer games when only one person has the cart. AWESOME idea!
The download capability only supports downloads of up to 4 MB (the DS has only 4 MB of RAM). This is much better than the GBA limit of 256 KB, but isn't enough to transfer a whole game.
I suppose if you had some sort of downloader software and a flash cart it might work, but at that point, just put the ROMs on the cart directly.
> Does this mean you can play multiplayer internet games?
Yup - 802.11b. Nintendo has 2 type of wireless protocols, it's own short-range version and wifi. You can play internet games between DS running the same game cartridge and also, using the short-range system, play hosted games between DSs - 1 DS transmits the game to the others! (Of course this is what it CAN do - the game has to support it).
> What about email and web? Surfing the web would be easy with a touch sensitive screen.
Talk is that it's in the pipleine from a 3rd party.
> And not just at home, at wifi hotspots?
Yup - as long as it's open access, I hear (I'm #1 in line at my local store, but they still have yet to get them in).
I'd be very interested to see how you can get it to talk to a closed network - my home Airport is locked-down, and I'm not about to open it...
You don't seem to know what uClinux is...
It's designed to run on embedded microcontrollers, often with even less ram then the DS has.
There is already at least one port of uClinux to the gba.
The DS can run gba cartridges, so, DS can already run this port (maybe requiring a few changes to accomodate the new bios, etc).
Of course, the gba port doesn't make use of any of the new DS hardware-bits such as touchscreen, second lcd, etc,
but, the point is, linux is very much possible on DS with uClinux.
Well, Metroid comes with 5 control schemes. One is a dual D-Pad sort of setup, where the actual D-pad on the left serves for movement, and the buttons are look direction (feels a lot like the original Goldeneye). The other are all D-Pad and touch screen, both right-handed and left-handed.
The default control scheme lets you use the D-pad (on the left) for movement, the stylus or thumb thing for aiming (using your right hand on the lower touch screen), and all your controls/weapons (morph ball, etc) are also on the touch screen. You fire using either shoulder trigger.
It's a bit odd to get used to holding the unit and using the stylus at the same time. The thumb stylus helps quite a bit. I got used to it pretty quickly, though.
The PSP uses Sony's memory sticks. The "deluxe" Japanese bundle comes with one as well as head phones and other goodies.
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
It's "NUS", for "Nintendo Ultra System"