I was very lucky this Christmas in fact Santa brought me everything I wanted and a few surprises. Whilst on a train a few months ago I saw a girl working her way through 'Brain Training' with a peculiar looking pen and started to become curious at the same time however I started to read stories of people obsessed with gaming on their DS's and knew I'd never become a statistic so asked my mum and dad for one this Christmas. The thing is that like most girls (Ok so I am nearly 23) I wanted the pink DS and nothing else.
My dad mentioned on a regular basis that the pink console was hard to get and I may have to look at another colour…but in true style I stamped my feet and shouted "I want a pink one". I was delighted Christmas day to see that I did in fact have a lovely pink DS and the screams of joy could be heard from miles away!
OK so after the shock of actually getting my DS I opened the box and looked at it for a few minutes scared to break it. The setup was rather easy and the stylus was easy to get used to. I had been worried about using the stylus (the pen thing) as I didn't want to scratch the screen.
BOX CONTENTS ------------------------ A quick look in the box and I was disappointed. There was no case or wrist strap and I did think the console would get damaged without it. Not that this is really a problem as the cases can be purchased for as little as £4.99.
In the box I had a charger, the DS Lite itself and a spare stylus. There was a manual but as of yet I have not used this as the set up was very straight forward.
THE DS ----------- The DS has two screens the one of the top is a normal screen as you would get on a TV, mobile phone or standard console the one of the bottom is rather intriguing as it is interactive…by this I mean you can touch it with the stylus instead of pressing buttons. I have used my finger a few times when playing games as it is easier than handling a stylus but obviously for more accurate activities such as drawing or writing the stylus is required. I have seen spare styluses around which could be useful as I am always losing things.
The DS is very lightweight and measures about 10cm by about 5cm and is about 2cm in depth. I find this particularly useful as I can easily slip it into my handbag and play it on the bus on the way to work each day.
The day after I got my DS for Christmas the other half went into the sales to buy one…unfortunately they were as hard to get after Christmas as they were before and my partner ended up getting a PSP. He now seems to think his console is better and he isn't far wrong in a way. The DS comes in a variety of colours from white, pink, black, silver and there have been limited edition colours in the past. If like me you are more attracted to the appearance than the actual gaming ability then you will love the DS. I have found that many of the games for the DS are focussed at young girls and its quite hard to get a good action packed game for a good price...the PSP however hosts many games from Sonic the Hedgehog to Tomb Raider etc. I love Mario so really the Nintendo DS is a great console for me. The console also has the ability to link wirelessly to other DS users which is great for anyone wanting to play against another DS user.
I grew up with a Gameboy and absolutely loved it. I was never into Playstation at all and found the D-Pad and buttons very easy to get used to, however even beginners will find it easy.
SETUP ---------- The setup was very easy and unlike my mum could insert the date and time with few problems. My mum on the other hand very new to technology and computers required the instruction manual but has now discarded it in the box as she is used to the console.
CHARGING --------------------- I have charged my DS 3 times and have managed to get about 7 hours play from each charge. When the DS is charging a red light appears and when it has charged fully the light will go completely. I was surprised to get this as I had expected it to turn green when it had charged fully.
GAMES ----------- As previously mentioned there are many games available for the DS I have just finished playing Super Mario Bros and absolutely loved it. It's my birthday in 2 days (yes new years day!) and I have been told not to buy any games for my Ds in case someone has already bought them. I couldn't resist the urge to buy Ice Age 2 tonight though off Play.com. I have hamsterz which is similar to Nintendogs and I find it a very 'boring' game as its just about looking after a hamster…but smaller kids would enjoy it.
I have played my mums Deal or No Deal and her Brain Training and know that after my birthday will be going out to but both of these for myself. Games range between £10 and £30 which is very expensive when you think about it. I cant see myself buying many full price games as I consider £29.99 to be too much, but then that's just me.
As I mentioned above however the games do seem to be widely aimed at youngsters particularly girls with games like Bratz, Dogz, Catz etc being very popular. You can obviously get more action packed games but at the more expensive end of the spectrum.
SUMMARY ---------------- I do love my DS and feel it's been a great present. I have spent the last 6 nights since Christmas day frantically playing with my DS and despite my thoughts of not becoming obsessed I did in fact get highly addicted to the game. Now that I have completed my game I can get on with new year!
More details
Instruction manual
Very useful
Manufacturer Support
Very helpful
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
for role-playing games, to view maps for your favourite strategy game, or see racing action from two perspectives at once Navigate menus or access inventory items s...
Featured merchant
very helpful
very helpful
