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Home > Games > Nintendo DS > Preview [3] |
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Nintendo DS hands-on preview [3]Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demoThe Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo was impressive. We participated in a deathmatch over the wireless network. One Nintendo DS hosted the game and three other players joined. The demo looked polished, sounded good and ran smoothly, although controlling the Metroid character in "ball mode" proved challenging in some parts of the game map. The game demo has several control modes that use the touchscreen and stylus controls to varying degrees. One mode lets players shoot at whatever you tap on the screen. Fans of first-person shooter games will probably enjoy using the touchscreen and stylus to control what they see onscreen in the same manner that they use a computer mouse in PC games, conventionally called "mouselook". The touchscreen was responsive and accurate enough to play the game. The single-player training mode was also enjoyable with engaging maps full of hostile aliens and tunnels, ramps and obstacles to overcome. The full version of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is slated for release in 2005. Super Mario 64 DSSuper Mario 64 DS is another game that will be available on launch day. It is based on the classic Nintendo 64 title where you -- playing as the character Yoshi -- explore a castle and the worlds within paintings hanging on its walls to find other Nintendo characters like Mario and Luigi. The game ran smoothly and will especially appeal to fans of the original game. Up to four players can play, although we weren't able to test the multiplayer mode. Nintendo says that only one copy of the game is necessary to play in multiplayer mode, with the Nintendo DS unit that has the physical game card in the media slot acting as a game-server. The game also comes with six mini-games that you can play if you have a few idle minutes but not enough time to play a full level. The games use the touchscreen to achieve various tasks, such as sorting different colored bombs into separate containers while they flow onscreen with increasing speed and frequency, shooting rocks in a curling game, and keeping Mario aloft in a series of platform-style jumping games. Spider-Man 2 DSSpider-Man 2 DS was the third game we looked at. It can best be described as a 2.5-D (vs. 3D) side-scrolling action game with three dimensional environments that you move through on a two-dimensional plane. The main use of the stylus is to shoot webs to navigate through the maps and attack bad guys. The audio on Spider-Man 2 DS is the feature that grabbed our attention, which seemed to take advantage of the stereo speakers on the Nintendo DS. More Nintendo DS games on the wayNintendo says that there will be 10-12 games available within the first 35 days of launching the Nintendo DS, presumably including the two titles and bundled demo we previewed. Nintendo expects 20-25 games will be available for the Nintendo DS by Mar. 31, 2005. Nintendo says that 124 games for the Nintendo DS are in development by 45 different studios. It also says that Nintendo developed/is developing 20 first-party DS games, with 120 titles in development by third-party game developers. Nintendo says that a SEGA game for the Nintendo DS -- called Feel the Magic -- is in development and "uses all the features" of the Nintendo DS. Presumably this means the touchscreen, wireless networking and software download capabilities. The Nintendo DS launches in North America on Nov.21 with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US $150 and CAD $200.
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