Nintendo DSi Review
Review System(s): Hardware
I was a little surprised to find the Nintendo DSi in stock on launch day at my local Gamestop, in fact they said there was somewhere around 40 units available after preorders. I figured what the hell and picked one up, because, well I'm a gadget whore. I'll be honest, I didn't know much about the system other than it dropped the GBA slot in favor of a slimmer design, two cameras and bigger screens. I figured with a new baby here, I'm going to be doing plenty of mobile and impromptu gaming - why not do it in style?
The first thing you'll notice is the DSi has a matte finish instead of the glossy finish of the DS Lite. Gone are the fingerprints and in their place are scuff marks. It's honestly not THAT bad, and I actually prefer the new finish. The button layout is slightly changed as well, gone is the slide power and volume controls, and in their place are digital buttons on the side like a cell phone for volume and a gray power button on the face of the device. A nice touch with the new power button is the ability to tap it to exit a game and return to the brand newDSi interface.
As soon as I turned the system on a new firmware update was available, something which the DS Lite lacked the ability to do, and off I went into the interface. The interface will feel fairly familiar for Wii owners as it utilizes little channels to organize your different applications, and in some cases, even shares the same music and tones. Out of the box you'll find your Cartridge,DSi Camera, Settings, DSi Sound, DSi Shop, DS Download Play and Picto Chat. Using the DSi Shop channel you can download new games and applications to fill out your channels on the home screen. There's a handful of games available now, as well as a free version of the Operainternet browser. These items can be packaged and downloaded the DSi's internal memory or to an optional SD card. I say packaged because Nintendo went all cutesy and decided you need to "unwrap" your download from it's blue packaging shell - complete with bow.
Both systems use Wi-Fi hotspots for internet.
Having more than 1 DS is one of my greatest tools in gaming with the girlfriend, we can play anywhere, since sometimes she doesn't like to sit downstairs to play on the consoles, she'd rather be on the back porch in the fresh air, or at the park.
You guys should do a write up on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles : Echoes of Time (if you haven't already, I think it just came out last month), I did my research here on the previous installment (Ring of Fates) and my research on Echoes of Time on IGN since I couldn't find it here and it seems to have ironed out the grievences in RoF. It has 4 player drop in/drop out coop ONLINE and offline as well, plus you can play with someone who has it on the Wii (tho I hear it stinks since it's a direct port of the DS version). I'm sure alot of people would love Echoes of Time here since they play their DS with their spouses/sig-other.
Total Comments: 6
Comment
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on Playstation 3
Call of Duty: World at War on Wii
AI War on PC
Castle Crashers on Xbox Live Arcade
Pixel Junk Monsters on Playstation Network
View the top Co-Op Games by platform including our family friendly list!
Resources
Im torn upon which to get. Ive been dropping hints right and left that I want a DS for my birthday. If I dont get one as a gift, I'll pick one up soon after. But Im tossed up on it. The DS is cheaper, and if seems the only addition is the camera.
Tell me this. On the DS Lite, can you use the internet and an internet channel? Also, how does the internet work? Is there a wireless router inside the DS? Sorry, I just dont know too much about portable systems, since all I have is a GBA full of dog bite marks that I stole from some punk kid.