Goofy Games on the DS

Goofy Games on the DS by Geek Woman

The Nintendo DS has become one of the showcases for goofy and innovative games. The unique Japanese games for the DS are creative and take advantage of the special features that the compact but multifunctional handheld console has exclusively. The name “DS” comes from the dual screens. They are used in some games independently to add control and other incomparable functionality. There is also a touch sensor in the bottom screen, which permits the player to draw and tap with a pen shaped stylus. At first I didn’t see how this unusual toy was going to work out against the very competitive Sony PSP.

It turns out that he DS is more than a hyped up etch – a – sketch. It has very good communication features. Gamers can find each other and connect not charge at any wi-fi, hotspot. The wireless works with most net works. A few games permit more than one player to play together using the same cartridge. Some games will be taking advantage of the communications features of the built in microphone.

In a crazed jaded world the simple catch phrase “Touching is good.” is simple brilliance. Once again a master stroke of insight like that leads to a successful product line. At Nintendo they aren’t just aware of the “cute factor” they exemplify it. The cute factor of Nintendo characters is going strong this retail season with all the ribbon candy sweet offerings for the DS.

Not long ago they gave us Kirby’s Tilt n’ Tumble for Game Boy Color that was one of many unique game experiences from those guys. In that one what you did was to tilt the Game Boy in order to move the Kirby ball along through the mazes. Tilt sensor technologies inside the handheld GBC were employed to use the Nintendo handheld in an original way. They then also used similar game play in Wario Ware: Twisted and Yoshi’s Universal Gravitation.

Weird as Wario. In February of 2005 the Nintendo DS version of Wario Ware came along. The series features more than 180 little micro-games that last about five seconds. You can play the micro-games with the touch screen. This is where it gets really goofy. You might have to do things involving farm animals. Or even unravel a roll of toilet paper. You might have to blow up a doll to have it do sit ups. Or one strange use of the microphone is the parrot. It parrots back your voice. the variety and speed of these images make a very zany and fun time waster. It has its own art style, which isn’t beautiful, but it doesn’t have to be.

Meteos was released in June 2005 and it is produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi who did the nicely cell shaded Space Channel 5. The game is designed by Masahiro Sakurai of Nintendo’s HAL Laboratories. In it there are more than 30 planets and game-play has lots of diversity. There is enough variety for re-playability with this game. There are also many unlockables. It has a dream like quality it that lures players into an addicted trance. There are clever animations and artwork, and all stylus game-play. It even has a trippy level “Startrip.”

This past June the Kirby Canvas Curse story began when a sorceress changes his world into a painting. It is an artistic game. so that when she then transforms Kirby into a ball you have to use a Magic Paintbrush to make rainbows and squiggles to get around with. This has very unusual themes and ideas for game-play that will appeal to younger people girls and women. It is another weird games that somehow manages to be fun. These games are like electronic Quaaludes for the mind.

An exciting addition to the Animal Crossing series will be released around December 5, 2005. It will have online play via Nintendo’s upcoming Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Up to four people can be inhabiting the town on the same cartridge. Game play consists of things like foraging for goods to keep the local museum rolling in paintings, fossils, fish, and insects. It looks like this will be an enjoyable little RPG. It seems like it is imaginative and engaging. We’ll see how that turns out.

There is one very strange game that has all ready been released in Japan. Frankly it doesn’t seem to be like much of anything else. It is exciting to see that totally new genres are coming out of the odd collection of features on the DS. In January the US will finally get the release of Elecktro Plankton. This wacky experience is different than anything else. The varied Electroplankton themes have players interacting with marine creatures and the environments. The result isn’t shooting them up, but making sounds and melodies. It isn’t any difficult composition creation. You don’t have to know how to play music in order to enjoy the soothing new age chime tones. Random touch-screen taps make harmonious fun in Electroplankton. It comes from Japanese musician Toshio Iwai. It might be huge here like other musical games have been.

There are several bundles and Special Edition DS Hardware that are for sale right now. There is of course the highly sought after pink Nintendogs Best Friends Special Edition that includes the game and other extras. Teal Nintendo DS Nintendogs Bundle Nintendo is also offering a special bundle of the Mario Kart DS racing game with the new Nintendo DS color, Hot Rod Red. There are now many colors to choose from in both the American and Japanese versions of the DS. There is Electric blue, Teal, Candy Pink, Pink Pearl, Snow White, Graphite, and classic Silver.

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I'm Geek Woman, a freelance video games journalist and author. Please buy my book First Person Feminist, by clicking the Book Tab above. I write honest game reviews and editorials. I interview women in the games industry, female gamer clans, and gamers. I provide articles about women in video games, as well as technology and gadgets. Grab my RSS Feed, follow me on twitter.com/geekwoman and plurk.com/geekwoman

Note : Unless mentioned otherwise, all games I review are rented from Gamefly.