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Nintendo DS Wireless Game Roundup
ImaNumber writes "Brittlefish has posted a nice roundup of the major multiplayer games currently available for the Nintendo DS. They make their picks on which ones have good wireless play and which ones just added it in as a gimmick." From the post: "If you have 2 Nintendo DS's or you know someone else who has one you've probably played some multiplayer games. And you want more. But which games are worth buying with the incentive of good multiplayer?"
At least Nintendogs is missing. What about PictoChat? There's more to wireless gaming on the DS than the few games that are listed in the article....
1. Write a few words about a Nintento DS Game.
2. Include link to Amazon.com with referral.
3. Post blog link to Slashdot.org
4. ???
5. Profit!
Well, they would be a lot easier to round up if they had wires in the first place, now wouldn't they?
Aren't there some sort of leash laws?
DS Wireless Roundup
August 29th, 2005
If you have 2 Nintendo DS's or you know someone else who has one you've probably played some multiplayer games. And you want more.
But which games are worth buying with the incentive of good multiplayer? Here are our notes on some of the most popular games out right now:
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Advance Wars: Dual Strike Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!
Get this game. This is hands down the best game for the DS available right now. And with 8-way multiplayer it will satisfy your wifi hunger. Bonus: The ability to draw your own maps makes this a game that has a great replay value....draw a map and let your friends download it.
Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars
Bomberman DS
Bomberman Wireless Rating: 4 Bars!
The first 8-way multiplayer game available for the DS. Loads of fun with lots of people, but if you are planning on only having a 2-way game most of the time it probably shouldn't be your first pick. However, with a lot of players this can be great fun. Especially if all the players are using the mic to call out battle commands.
Wireless Rating: 4 out of 5 bars
Meteos
Meteos Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!
This game makes for some great 4-way puzzle action. There is nothing finer than watching your Meteos launch and seeing them collide with someone else's planet. This game is great wireless fun, in addition to the loads of single player fun you'll have.
Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars
Metriod
Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt Wireless Rating: 4 Bars!
The first console FPS that feels right. 4-way multiplayer action is very good on this demo, and with the recent announcement that the full version will have Internet play we can only expect more from the Samus Touch N' Kill department. My only beef with the multiplayer on this game is that the game is too dark. Of course, maybe that is just an excuse to why I am not any good at it. You probably already have this game, since it probably came with your DS, but after playing it in multiplayer mode it will make you want to buy the full version when it comes out.
Wireless Rating: 4 out of 5 bars
Nanostray
Nanostray Wireless Rating: 2 Bars!
2-way multiplayer and not terribly fun at that. Two players can play together to kill the bad guys, but not to help each other out...only to score points. The person with the most points wins. This is very limited and only huge fans of this genre will find any long-term playability in it. It would be nice to have a mode that allowed two or more players to play the main game together. It would also be nice to not have to use the download play if both players have the game.
Wireless Rating: 2 out of 5 bars
Polarium
Polarium Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!
A 2-way puzzle game that actually has a pretty fun multiplayer mode. If you can get past the plain graphics this game will have you and a friend swearing at each other in no time. Of course, if you have more than one friend with a DS you will probably want to look at other puzzle games like Meteos or Pop Puyo Fever instead.
Wireless Rating: 3 out of 5 bars
Puyo Pop Fever
Puyo Pop Fever Wireless Rating: 5 Bars!
This 8-way puzzler is the first DS game where you probably won't use the touchscreen at all. It is also the first DS game which appears to be marketed directly at girl gamers. If you can get past that (and you should try), you'll find an addictive puzzle game that has great wireless play. This is also a great game to play with your wife or girlfriend. They'll really love it when they start kicking your butt. And they will start kicking your butt.
Wireless Rating: 5 out of 5 bars
Super Mario 64 DS
Super Mario 64 Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!
4-way Yoshi action. Race against the other players to get as many stars as you can before the time runs out. And you can, uh, stick out your tongue and, uh, eat the other players. Then spit them out. Uh, yeah. Anyway, the multiplayer is fun, but not fun enough to j
Is it me, or does it seem like these nifty handheld things from (Sony and Nintendo) are not catching on very fast? I am a console owner, and plan to upgrade whenever the PS3 comes out and all that jazz, but I have felt pretty much zero interest in these new handhelds, at least among my friends and peers.
Maybe I'm just in the wrong demographic, but I remember when the Gameboy came out oh so many years ago and we all rushed to the store to grab one. It just doesn't seem like people are that excited about having one more handheld device to carry around.
Come see one of the world's oldest webcams: www.mitwebcam.com
Who is General Failure? And why is he reading my disk????
Did Homer Simpson review these games? Five thumbs up for everything!
That's always been my problem - finding someone else with the DS. I see them on "House" - but not in real life. One other guy I know has a PSP, but that's about it. I don't know if it's where I life, the fact I'm a 32 year old guy who's got three kids (who think that Daddy's DS is very cool, mainly because I won't let them come within 10 feet of it - that's what the GBA is for
Is this just an issue where I'm outside the age curve, and if I was back in college these portable systems would be "all the rage"? [sarcasm]I mean, I guess I could go troll the junior high schools looking for Pokemon opponents, but my wife tells me it's a little creepy to hand around the school asking the kids if they want to play a game with my pocket computer.[/sarcasm]
Ah, well - at least as my kids get older, they become more challenging gamers (my daughter almost beats me at chess now, and I think I can get her trained as a good 'Soul Calibur' competitor with more time - at least before she starts noticing boys or something.).
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
From TFA:
WarioWare: Touched Wireless Rating: 3 Bars!
An interesting 2-way fast-paced "party game". The first few times through this game will keep you on your toes as you try and figure out what to do in each mini game, but after you learn what to do on all the games it becomes simple recollection. If you own the game the multiplayer is nice, but with only 2 player capacity and limited replay value this isn't going to go to the top of many people's lists.
Wireless Rating: 3 out of 5 bars
Weird, even without ZERO multiplayer options (a shame, really), it still manages to get "3 out of 5 bars"?
As somebody's said already, the problem with both DS and with PSP is that it's really not easy to find other people playing them. But that should change soon - That's why the Wifi Connection service is coming out. Also, a note: Since when does WarioWare have wireless capabilities?!
A wise man once said, "wtf h4x."
How about PictoChat? That has its own product ID code, and thus qualifies as a game. PictoChat was packed at this year's Otakon, with 50 people online at once. I'd call that a successful wireless game.
Multiplayer updates to:
*MIDI Maze (aka "Faceball 2000") - the original multiplayer FPS that is still kid-friendly. Perfect for a DS.
*Todd's Adventure in Slimeworld - old multiplayer hit from the Atari Lynx and the Sega Genesis. Obviously, a FPS update would be needed on the PSP, but possibly the sidescrolling method might still be useful on the DS.
*Warbirds - great dogfighting game. Was really addicting playing against 8 other players on the Atari Lynx. Definitely worth updating yet still retaining the title's charm.
*Battlewheels. 'Nuff said.
And finally...
*Duke Nukem Forever - Considering the development at this point is probably so far behind for the current and nextgen consoles, why not sell the title as an exclusivity to either of the handheld platforms? C'mon, 3DRealms, Sony, and Nintendo.
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
It would really have been nice had they given a bit more information about these games - some can be played with only one copy of the game, others require each person having their own copy.
That, however, is by far the biggest strength of the DS, and the feature that, to me, puts it far above the PSP when it comes to multi-player gaming: multiple players off of one copy of a game. There are many times when your friends would play a game, but don't like it enough to own it. Or, the other way around, where you don't want to buy a specific game, but still enjoy playing it multi-player.
One of my friends picked up Bomberman, and now we can all play together off of his copy, and it is great fun. Sure, the PSP has fancy "console-quality" graphics and whatnot, but when I have a copy of X game and nobody else does I'm still just sitting there playing it by myself.
As well, while I'm certainly not the type to say things like "games used to be better in the old days!" and whatnot, most of the games for the DS are fun yet simple games that can easily be understood and played, and can be enjoyed by almost anybody, gamer or not. My girlfriend, for example, isn't overly thrilled by my PSP, but nearly every one of my DS games she's played she has loved.
I'm almost glad the system isn't a 3D powerhouse, because instead companies seem to be concerning themselves with making a game that is fun instead of a game that pushes the graphics but forgets about the gameplay. I think the PSP and DS actually compliment each other, instead of directly compete, and that's the best possible scenario in my opinion.
I think there's a simple reason why no one knows anyone a DS and especially a PSP. That is handhelds are designed for kids. Here's why:
1.Most adult gamers will go straight from home to work, then back again everyday, and you shouldn't play video games at work. Kid's have recess, and hang out away from home to avoid parents. And, if you're going to play games at home, you might as well use a console or PC on a larger screen.
2.Most kid gamers already have a GBA, so why would their parents shill out for another more expensive system?
The other demographic (of which I'm a part of) who would by a portable system is the gamer (any age) that likes innovative games. That's why I like the DS, and think PSP is a joke.
PS. I'm also in University, so when i'm stuck on campus, it's nice to pull out the portable system.
4-way Yoshi action.
Ok now that is just sick.
Never expected nintento to have a "hot coffee" style cheat on a Mario Game.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I am an incoming Feshman in college and I hang around with all sorts of people. I have met one person that has a PSP (out of a few hundred probably), A few who were tryin to do those online free PSP things, and noone that had a DS. It could just be noone talks about it. But I doubt that, some of my friends sit and chat about news on /., so I don't think they would avoid talking about their fancy new portables.
it's all the buzz at primary, middle, and high school.
A lot of kids can't have - or aren't allowed to - raise puppies/dogs, so my guess is this one is going to really do well - to the point where people will sign up for "dog-walks" and "puppy training".
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
This article fails to differentiate which titles offer WiFi internet gaming versus those which only offer local (DS-to-DS) wireless play. Networking two DS's locally isn't news; wireless simply makes it easier than with the GBA and allows more simultaneous players. The real news is the possibility of gameplay over the internet, an area in which Big N is still falling down on the job (tho Hunters' internet play was recently announced, thank goodness).
WarioWareTouched has multiplayer, its however 'two person on a single DS'-multiplayer. Can't remember what multiplayer games are included, but one is a simple ping pong game where one player plays with L and the other with R.
does anybody know if a web browser is in the works? ive tried the psp one, and it isnt very practical... i've always thought a good solution would be to syndicate rss feeds in to a user friendly nintendo-style page. right?
This is really bothering me, the only two player game I've got on my copy of warioware is the ping pong. Is it a toy you have to win or something to get wireless multiplay? Did they just make it up? *confused*
Why not fork?
It does have a ping-pong minigame. But it dosen't use Wi-fi. Infact it's a game where two people play on the same DS. One person uses the L button, the other person R.
That Ping Pong game is the only "multiplayer" game in WarioWare Touched, AFAIK. Both players have to hold the same DS, each player manning a different shoulder button. Terrible waste of potential, but I'm sure a WarioWare Mega Multiplayer Online DS XD is in development.
IGN has a good list of games that can be played by multiple people with only one cart using the GBA. This isn't wireless...it's wired multiplayer but it's still a pretty good and interesting list to check out. It's a bit dated so I'm sure they should have more on the list but I thought it might be of interest since we are talking about handhelds and multiplayer.
Here it is http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/358/358050p1.html
My Xbox Live Gamer Card
WARNING: Do not play multiplayer for this game - it is utterly pointless.
Ridge Racer's gameplay is really smooth, and while playing multiplayer, you do not ever see any lag (or screen skipping). BUT, for some reason or another, there seems to be a certain delay in the game. For instance, if I'm speeding past my opponent, he won't see it on his screen until a few seconds later. This means, there are certain times during the game where we both can be in first place. Additionally, sometimes I purposely bump my opponent but on their screen, they have a clear path.
I'd give the game a 1 out of 5 for multiplayer - as the races never reflects its true state... leading to confusion in real-time.
This needs to happen, the stylus makes it feasible at least.
...But I digress. TREMBLE PUNY HUMANS!ONE DAY MY SPECIES WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
... than it's GBA Cousin. I read a review of Advance Wars for DS ... and bought a second GBA SP.
... well y'know what I mean ...)
.... ok I'll calm down. Links to GBC and lower.
After thoroughly checking out all current protable consoles I have access too (PSP, DS, GBA SP) I've come to following conclusion:
PSP Upsides: Tres Cool. Looks extremly sexy - also with the power off. Moreso with power on. Grafics simply rock. Has MP3 and memorystick + little PDA apps - nice for non-palm owners (I have one). Wireless.
PSP Downsides: Price. Price/can-be-dropped ratio is bad. Game prices. Load time. Disk based media (vulnerable).
DS upsides: Has a close-cover. Touchscreen is what everyone was waiting for. Chip based media. Media small. Downwards compatible 'drives'.
DS downsides: Ugly. Screen(s) too small/device to big (pick one). Buttons flimsy.
Touchscreen use is implemented so badly in the line of games I wanna chop of heads over at nintendo *all* the time. I mean what are these people thinking. They've got a frigging TOUCHSCREEN and the thing is more complicated to operate than my Palm? Give me a break!
The way Nintendo has nearly neglected the possibilities of the touchscreen up til now is a pure insult to customers. DS Need for Speed Underground for instance just screems for being shoved into the developers rectum. Hard. Same with Advance Wars Dual Strike. AW2 GBA with two screens. Great. How long to port? 15 minutes? These Developers deserve a clobbering for this crappy implementation of games. Sorry, but I'm NOT buying. If there ever was a product where Nintendo did a fuckup that they deserved to go broke over, it's this one. Get some developers and built games that actually use the touchscreen, add downward conectivity and a smaller case that doesn't look entirely like some shitty MC Donalds toy. Then come back.
Games to expensive (especially for that
DS games barely better than GBA counterparts (see above)
Doesn't lan-connect to GBA line or lower (that was the final turn off for me).
GBA SP Upsides: Small (A whole LAN party kit is still very small). Fairly cheap. Looks cool. (All colors you'd whish for. And then some.) Ten bazillion games that use the entire device. Concole controls difficult for complex games but bearable and actually put to good use - not like that DS Touchscreen fuckup Nintendo has been doing up till now
GBA SP Downsides: Lacking Schoolyard 'new toy' value for sad and sorry wannabees. No real headphone jack. (To be fixed with the Micro)
Bottom line:
A GBA SP. Or two. Doen't make you look silly in public, is affordable and is a seasoned product. Maybe a DS SP will do it. Untill then I've got two SPs and a set of games to have fun with my friends or daughter everywhere. And I'm still cheaper off than with any other.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
This game is fantastic, I picked it up last week, and am moving through the campaign mode right now. I had to spend the weekend with the in-laws and was able to get some good play time in (yay for hand-helds). The two front war is a great use of the Dual Screens which really adds to the game-play. The Tag-Team CO Power is pretty important to wining a match, as it lets you get two turns in a row, plus both of your CO's Super powers. Make sure your CO's have complimentary skills and use them in the correct order (ie start with the missile attack, the follow up with the tank blitz) They even added a few new units to the game which fill in some gaps that were there nicely. Unfortunatly I don't know anyone who stuck with the DS after the PSP came out. Most of my gaming friends fell for the glitz of the package of the PSP rather than the proven track record of Nintendo mobile gaming. Hopefully as more and more great games like this one come out for the DS and well nothing continues to be released for the PSP, they will come back and I'll be able to try out the multiplay.
The list is not complete and there are more multiplayer games coming soon. Too bad I don't have the time to put an Amazon Japan referral site to make some profit from
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!
In the future, I recommend keeping your breakfast cereals outside of the bathroom.
Um some of those games aren't even out yet. Also Metroid prime hunters has been delayed for the Nintendo wifi connection network.
I own both a PSP and a DS, so I'm impartial in regards to my ownership.
That being said, I hate it when people slam the PSP because of its lack of wireless play off of one disc. That's simply not true.
I own the Japanese PSP version of Panic Bomber, and it supports wireless play on one PSP. The back of the game case even advertises that option.
I don't have my PSP system with me at work, but if you look through the main PSP menu, you'll see the wireless download play option.
If you're going to praise the DS for this feature, the PSP deserves praise too, once they get more games to support it, that is.
I have 2 cars, but I take the bus to work and back every day. It saves a bundle on gas, and it gives me time to sit back and enjoy my Nintendo DS. I actually have more time to play the DS than to play my home consoles.
Well, despite liking the game myself, and despite the fact that it isn't a real 'true' FPS, you probably do not want to play Geist (Nintendo GameCube).
They've got surprising accuracy from far away when you pop in view. However, once they start moving in, they do some crazy things. Dancing around, reloading, not shooting at nearby dangers as they prance forward.
It's a cool game in other regards, but the major hurting point is the 'AI' during the FPS phases.
I guess the resolution is to small for starcraft, who knows, maybe the next gameboy?
UFO would be great.
Anyway, there is ScummVM for the NDS I think, so atleast you can play things like Monkey Island II.
Deckard Cain
Annoying prick... no D2 on DS please, thank you.
-everphilski-
Yeah, Advance Wars tops that list easily. I love mine, but the multiplayer is so much better than just the wireless. The hotseat mode ensures that you can have multiplayer fun even without more than 1 DS.
Oh yeah, it would be *perfect* for the DS! With download play, you'd only need one cartridge to play the legendary eight-player modes.
So... who owns the rights to it now?
hey yo, this shit should be funny like +5
who would'a thought nintendos still alive
after going up against MS and Sony
multiplayer where its at, go find ya homies
I've previously made my thoughts known on the DS and frankly I haven't been too impressed with it.
That was up until I had a chance to try Kirby & Advance Wars DS.
Wow. I'm picking up one up in the next couple of weeks....I'll admit when I'm wrong and I was wrong. This thing can work well when the games are properly designed.
Here's my question:
Is this a list of DS to DS games (basically like a wireless link cable)? I have read that the unit is capable of playing against units that aren't in your immediate area (ala Xbox Live). If that's true, are these games all capable of it? Any answers on this would be appreciated.
Humbly doing a 180 over here....
If you could be anything you want, I'll bet you'd be disappointed.