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Ten DS Games That Should Be Made

marcellizot writes "Even though the DS is already blessed with a large and varied library of great titles, its hard not to wish for the games that should be, and the games that probably will never be. Nintendo's little white pandora's box of quirky interfaces seems destined to forever remain pregnant with possibility, no matter how creative the developers get. To vent their desires, Pocket Gamer has assembled a canon of forgotten gaming heroes and oddball fancies that would make a good fit for Nintendo's dual-screened play thing."

12 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Just friggin port Starcraft already by Sciros · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The stylus and control pad are enough to play Starcraft on it. The second screen might not be all that useful, so they can just use it to track scores or units or research progress or whatever else you don't need to click on. With the DS letting you play anyone in the world via WiFi and the controls to make it work, Starcraft can experience a resurrection as a handheld game.

    I know I'd buy it.

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    I like basketball!!1!
    1. Re:Just friggin port Starcraft already by DivineOmega · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I agree. Real-time strategy games are more possible on both the DS and Wii due to their controller's being able to so easily emulate the functions of a mouse. The lack of a mouse-like device I think is something that really holds back consoles from the RTS genre.

    2. Re:Just friggin port Starcraft already by stoolpigeon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      you can't resurrect what isn't dead. i never have trouble finding a bunch of kids on battle net willing to kick my ass.

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      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    3. Re:Just friggin port Starcraft already by bjourne · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That will never ever happen. Why?

      It would be to fun.

      If they released Starcraft for the DS, everyone would buy it. Everyone would play it forever and ever. They would then enjoy that game so much that they would not have to buy new games. Nowadays, studios do not make hard and challenging games because they do not want to keep people occupied. Instead they make games that last for X numer of hours, where X is the smallest number possible while still making the customer believe it got its moneys worth.

      You can keep on dreaming but there will never be any good RTS for the DS or a challenging chess game either for that matter.

  2. Ten Things People Should Give Me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    1. A new car.
    2. A million dollars (a lot of people want this one, so make sure you do this!)
    3. A hotter wife (I hope some good plastic surgeons are reading this and pick it up..)
    4. A smarter boss (the current upgrade packages are too expensive!)
    5. Prehensile tail.
    6. Bat wings.
    7. A flying fortress (it doesn't make sense, but it would be cool, yeah?)
    8. A longer attention span.
    1. Re:Ten Things People Should Give Me by bradkittenbrink · · Score: 3, Funny

      WHOOSH!!!

  3. Re:RTS with local play by tomstdenis · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd pay money to play the original Command and Conquer [sans cutscene movies] on the DS. Bonus points for half intelligent but not super tough A.I. and hell maybe a random map generator.

    Also the original Warcraft (with some unit limits lifted) would be fun too.

    Tom

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    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  4. Monkey Island! by jackster1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Oh my god, how much would I love Monkey Island on DS. I've got to say, the old Lucas Arts games were amazing. Even one of the newer-ish ones was good (Grim Fandango), although Monkey Island 4 wasn't as good. I really hope LucasArts brings Monkey Island to DS, but they seem to have turned their backs on adventure gaming for now, although maybe something like Monkey Island would appeal to casual gamers, something the DS appeals to aswell.

  5. Sure, I'll Karma whore. by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 4, Informative

    We're a greedy lot here at Pocket Gamer. Even though the DS is already blessed with a large and varied library of great titles, we can't help but wish our lunchbreaks away over the games that should be, and the games that probably will never be.

    To vent our desires, we've assembled a canon of forgotten gaming heroes and oddball fancies that make a good fit for Nintendo's dual-screened play thing. Would it help if we said "Please!"?
    10 games we'd love to play on DS
    We want: A LucasArts adventure game collection

    Before consoles and PCs got all hung up on 3D and LucasArts got all hung up on churning out legions of below average playable adverts for the Star Wars cash cow, LucasFilm Games (as it was known back then) carved out a reputation for quality point-and-click adventure games driven by its S.C.U.M.M. engine (that's Script Creation Utility, fact fans). This scripting tool yielded a plethora of adventure romps that would fit the DS's stylus like a glove. We would love to see an adventure game bumper cart celebrating the genre including Maniac Mansion, LOOM, Sam and Max Hit The Road, Full Throttle and, of course, The Secret of Monkey Island. Yes, you can get them on homebrew, but they really need to be tweaked for the smaller screen.

    We demand: Okami DS

    If there is one thing that the DS handles deftly, it's cell shading. Whilst the PS2 version of Okami's beautiful pastel depth may be out of the DS's reach, the scope its stylus would provide for manipulating the washed out dreamscape of Okami is obvious. A DS version with less emphasis on action and more of a focus on Okami's innovative celestial brush and puzzle sections would tick all of the right boxes for the casual RPG fan.

    Give us: Pilot Wings DS

    The game that helped to launch the N64 (and less famously the SNES) screams First-party Nintendo Smash from every pixel. And so where better to grant Pilot Wings a third flight than on what is arguably Nintendo's most Nintendo-ish console to date? Simulating wind to billow a paraglider's parafoil by blowing into the mic would be a great addition, as would the option to plot custom courses through the stages with the stylus (exchangeable via wi-fi, naturally).

    Still want: Sketch Fighter DS

    We've already made some noise about how much we would like Ambrosia's casual gaming gem to grace the DS, but this list would not be complete without a repeat shout in the hope that the right people might be listening. With its simple blasting action, its signature visual style and the option to draw your own multiplayer battle zones, one could be forgiven for thinking that this game was designed specifically for the DS. Ambrosia, if you are out there...

    How about: A board game compendium for big kids?

    The DS already has a fantastic card and board game collection in 42 All-Time Classics. But on the last day of school term, it was always the kids who brought in Operation and Mouse Trap that drew the most attention, whilst the boffins that tried to encourage a round of chess and checkers were left to sit in the corner discussing The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. We want a big kid's version of 42 All-Time Classics featuring the likes of Operation, Jenga (wi-fi possibilities), Mouse Trap, Kerplunk and any other game where the board is the least important part of the apparatus.

    Please: Mario Paint DS

    Mario Paint was a surprise hit for the SNES during Nintendo's 'Let's brand all of our first-party titles with Mario' phase, and paved the way for the ultra rare 64DD series entitled simply Mario Artist. These games enabled you to create images and 3D models, and even offered the option to share artwork via an online communication kit. We've got a stylus and wi-fi now - come on Nintendo, need we say more? You know it makes sense!

    Be crazy not to do: Marble Madness DS

    This long lost arcade classic was also the first game to appear on the Atari System 1, and set the machine apart from its contemporaries as the apex predator console of its day. Ori

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    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  6. Re:Civ4 is possible, if you remove the bloat by DeepHurtn! · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Although I'm a bit of a Civ addict, I haven't played Civ 4 yet because the system requirements are absolutely insane; beyond my laptop, at any rate. There is no reason *at all* for a turn based strategy game to demand the sort of specs Civ 4 does (I've run across stories of people being able to run WoW, but not Civ 4). That's just crappy engineering.

  7. Take Hotel Dusk and turn it up a notch. by Mc_Anthony · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I had huge hopes for "Hotel Dusk: Room 251", a graphic novel in game form. It is actually a pretty good game if you enjoy a decent story. The interesting, interactive puzzles mixed in here and there help set off the story.

    But I can't help but wonder how mind blowingly great it could have been had the creators hired a real, honest to God writer, like Stephen King, or Neil Gaiman, etc... Damn that would be cool. Anyhow, thats my "most wanted"...

  8. Come -on-! by Kamineko · · Score: 3, Informative
    I already made Lemmings for the DS three months ago!


    It was even mentioned on Slashdot!