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DS Daily: Addicted
My name is Chris Greenhough, and I'm an ... an ... Advance Wars addict. I can't put it down. I think about it constantly. While eating. While walking the dog. While out with friends. While waiting for buses. Every second of the day, I crave it. Occasionally, I'll even sneak in turns while blogging, surreptitiously hiding my DS in my coat pocket. An odd pot-shot at an anti-air unit here, a strike on my opponent's Dusters there. All while my colleagues aren't looking. I'm a mess.I need help.But sometimes, simply sharing can help. So let's do that. What do you play far too much of?
DS Daily: Who's got their skin on?
GelaSkins' awesome range of DS skins got us thinking about decorating our handhelds all over again, but who out there has already skinned their DS, and which design did you opt for? Better still, have any of you customized your own DS skin? If so, now is your chance to show it off (pictures are a must for this DS Daily, obviously), and perhaps even earn yourself some internet fame!** Amongst the people who read DS Fanboy comment threads.%Gallery-20794%
DS Daily: Ritualistic
We know all too well about how regular life can get in the way of gaming, so we were wondering: is there a set pattern to when you play your DS? Perhaps you play late at night in bed, just before nodding off? Or does your handheld only really appear on the journey to work? Maybe (god forbid) you're the kind of gamer who likes to play DS first thing in the morning (to us, planning sorties before coffee is madness)?Alternatively, you might just play whenever the hell you like. Damn students.
DS Daily: Taking the lead
News that Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth is to get his very own Gyakuten Saiban game was greeted by much hollering in the DS Fanboy dungeons. A number of our staff have genuine fixations about the brooding, dandified lawyer, and they're not alone.But now Edgey has his own game, which other secondary characters do you reckon deserve the same treatment? We'd rather you didn't say Luigi, as that's a bit obvious, and anyone calling for Luke of Professor Layton fame plainly deserves an electrified cattle prod to the face. Those two aside, choose away.
DS Daily: Return to Hope Hospital
Good old Trauma Center. Preposterous storyline, not even remotely medically accurate, and a difficulty curve with all the consistency of lumpy custard. But hey, despite its flaws, we quickly fell in love with Atlus' unconventional surgical sim. It was one of the very first DS titles to really use the touchscreen convincingly, and the execution was, on the whole, superb.And now -- rejoice! -- there's a sequel planned, complete with improved surgical tools and a lower difficulty level for scalpel jocks like us. That's all well and good, but is there anything that you'd like to see done differently in Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2?
DS Daily: Super Bangai-O Brawlers
There's a considerable number of DS games out there that we cherish, but Super Dodgeball Brawlers and Bangai-O Spirits must rank amongst our greatest obsessions.By a happy coincidence, both titles recently released within days of one another in Japan, so the next question is obvious: as the U.S. still has a couple of months to wait for these gems, did you buckle under the pressure and import either? If so, we'll be happy to place our extreme envy to one side for the time being, and listen to your impressions! We're nice like that, see.%Gallery-16997%%Gallery-14440%
DS Daily: A less-than-perfect solution?
For so long, the prospect of a Guitar Hero game on the DS was a source of intrigue to this blogger. During long, sleepless nights, I would ponder how such a game could reproduce the magic of the home console versions with just two screens, the DS's tinny speakers, and no guitar peripheral.Yesterday, Activision revealed its solution to these conundrums: the "Guitar Grip." The idea seems straightforward enough: plug the above accessory into the GBA slot of your DS, grab your guitar pick stylus, and strum away on your touchscreen while pressing buttons to coincide with cascading on-screen notes. Fair enough. Considering the limitations of the DS, this isn't a terrible idea.But here's what irks me: a considerable -- no, a huge -- part of Guitar Hero's appeal is the guitar controller itself. When I'm (cough) "rocking out" on one of the home console versions of Guitar Hero, I'm Brian May on stage at Live Aid, at least in my head. In reality, of course, I'm a deluded cretin, but the point still stands: Guitar Hero is at its best when it's letting us live out our rock star fantasies, and that's fun. Yours truly is going to struggle to get the same sensation of being a total rock god just by plugging in the Guitar Grip. I hate to say this but ... perhaps Guitar Hero should have stayed on home consoles, if the Guitar Grip truly is the best solution. Is that too harsh?
DS Daily: Making music
With Korg managing to squeeze its MS-10 synthesizer onto the DS, and Taiko Drum Master: 7 Islands' Adventure set to offer us access to all manner of percussive instruments, Nintendo's handheld now supports an impressive assortment of instruments. There are still gaps waiting to be filled, however, so which other instruments would you like to see emulated on your DS? Anyone else up for playing a spot of stylus-based violin?
DS Daily: Do you still read gaming magazines?
Thanks to the internet and, hey, sites like this one, gaming magazines have been read the last rites on numerous occasions in recent years.This saddens us, and not just because we're nostalgic old fools. Magazines still prove useful to us on an almost daily basis. For one, we write about their contents quite a lot. And for this blogger, they make excellent bathroom reading (taking a DS on bathroom breaks is out of the question. It's unhygienic, and the DS has never mixed well with water). There's a healthy, dog-eared pile of old Edges and other assorted publications in the bathroom of Casa de Greenhough.What did you used to read? What do you read now? And do you think gaming magazines have a bright future, or are the print dinosaurs heading for extinction?As a cheeky aside, we'd like to use today's DS Daily to remind you good folks about DS Fanboy's new twitter presence. If you're a fellow twitterer, join us at twitter.com/dsfanboy and read all about our lives as we laugh and cry our way through each blogging day. You'll discover who hates who, who's sleeping with who, and who has plans to overthrow Alisha and David as blog leads.** Rather boringly, the answer to all of these is "nobody."
DS Daily: Finding time
This blogger has spent the last few days boring the rest of the staff rigid about the wonders of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The game has rapidly flown up my list of DS favorites, thanks in no small part to its charming, Miyazaki-esque art style, engaging story, and (of course) wonderful puzzles.But here's another reason why I love this game: its length. It took me around ten or eleven hours to complete, which is just right. For me, Layton doesn't outstay its welcome, and it also happens to be the perfect fit for my schedule. Of course, now it's over, I'm clamoring for MOAR LAYTON, but I'll just have to be patient.How about you? Are you the type of gamer who is happy to dedicate seventy or eighty hours to an RPG, or do you prefer games of Layton's size?See also: 2008's Biggest Blips -- Professor Layton and the Curious Village
DS Daily: Embarrassing!
We've probably all got an embarrassing album or three in our music collection, or a film that makes us totally cringe in our DVD pile. It's the sort of thing that can lead to this kind of fumbled explanation/lie when a friend sees it:"Yep, that copy of Lady in Red: The Very Best of Chris de Burgh is ... um ... yeah, that'll be my aunt's. You know, she really needs to pick this up. What, that autograph on the front? Weird story: She is also called Chris."But what about games? Are there any entries in your DS collection that would make other people titter, or are you an extremely fussy, selective shopper? Incidentally, anybody who confesses to owning a DS game with a "z" at the end gets a cookie for honesty.
DS Daily: St. Valentine's Edition
You'll have to excuse us if we seem a little spacey or preoccupied, but today is the day of lurve. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to cast your DS aside.In fact, we're curious: does the DS figure at all in your Valentine's Day schedule? Hey, we already know the little guy can inspire closeness! Perhaps you intend to face off against your partner in a romantic round of Tetris or Advance Wars, or team up to tackle Professor Layton's more devilish puzzles together, pausing only to gaze into one another's eyes.Maybe you've decided against giving traditional presents that eventually die or are consumed, and intend to give the object of your affections a DS-related gift (or card)? Maybe you're giving them an actual DS. Is anybody giving their loved one a whole DS? That's crazy. Even if it would totally win our heart.
DS Daily: Is color enough to justify a second DS?
Would you ever buy a second DS, solely because you like the color? It sounds silly, but time and again this blogger has come close to shelling out for one of those Enamel Blue Lites that appeared exclusively in Japan, only to back down at the last minute. It may sound like a fairly ridiculous reason to purchase a second version of any gaming system, but then gamers aren't always rational people, and DSes are desirable and just about cheap enough to justify impulse purchases.Of course, some of you might well be purchasing a second DS in the very near future, as the cobalt blue DS Lite hits U.S. stores today. If you are, tell us about it!
DS Daily: Do you use player guides?
Something faintly unsettling happened to this blogger recently. For the first time since Grim Fandango left me utterly bamboozled, yours truly turned to a guide for help while playing a DS game (one that will remain anonymous, to save the already battered, tatty remains of my gamer cred).As a rule, I don't like using guides. Not because I am fantastic at playing games (any of my opponents at Game Night will confirm that I am rubbish) but because I'm simply happy to sit there for unhealthy periods of time, brow furrowed and stylus poised, and break down the puzzles a game throws at me, come hell or high water. How about you guys? Are you happy to use guides, or do you steer clear and stubbornly try to fight your own way through?
DS Daily: Music to your ears
Recent news that the Tokyo Philharmonic is to belt out a selection of tunes from the Ace Attorney series had some of us fingering our passports and checking April flights to Japan.It also resulted in us taking some time to gaze into the middle distance, and reminisce about some of our favorite music from DS games. Ouendan and the Castlevania games are obvious choices, while Advance Wars: Day of Ruin is a more current favorite, but what about you, readers?See also: 2008's Biggest Blips - Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
DS Daily: How goes the war, soldier?
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is proving quite the distraction. Intelligent Systems' strategy game has occupied our DSes for the last few days, with hours of play already racked up. When we close our eyes to sleep, we only see tiny tank and artillery sprites, moving in right angles across the back of our eyelids.As the game also proved to be a popular choice at our most recent Game Night, we're guessing we're not alone in carrying out late-night, under-the-duvet sorties, so what are your impressions so far? Is Days of Ruin better or worse than Dual Strike, or even superior to the excellent GBA games? Are you focusing more on single-player, or fighting campaigns online? And do you miss Grit as much as we do?
DS Daily: Cheating
It's a depressing fact that cheating will always be a part of online gaming, regardless of your platform of choice. For some time, those of weak moral fiber have been able to grant themselves infinite energy, infinite ammo, and the ability to levitate in Metroid Prime: Hunters (encouragingly, Nintendo claims it is now taking measures to prevent this), while the whole Mario Kart DS/snaking debate has rumbled on for some time (though we know of at least one Nintendo representative who would argue that the method isn't actually cheating, and we're sure many of you would concur).Today, we'd like to hear about some of your own experiences of cheating opponents. Which games do you find attract the most online cheats, and have any of you indulged in this dark art yourselves?
DS Daily: Casual favorites
Generally speaking, casual games deserve the reputation of being lazy, derivative, cynical cash-ins. But there's so damn many of the things nowadays that it makes us wonder: they can't all be that bad, can they?Which casual games have you encountered and found to be not terrible? Any that you've actually ... gulp ... quite enjoyed? Because if so, it's time to 'fess up! It'll make you feel a bit less dirty.
DS Daily: Cheap-ass fanboys
We go crazy whenever we see a game marked down significantly from its original price --- seriously, absolutely nuts. We're just in love with the idea of buying things for cheaper than however much everyone else paid for them. We're pretty sure it's a recognized mental disorder listed in the DSM-IV.We post bargains for accessories and video games here nearly every day, but have you ever actually taken advantage of any of them? And what games are you still waiting for to drop in price before finally picking them up? Tell us now, or this wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man is going to haunt your dreams.
DS Daily: NOM NOM NOM
If there's one activity we enjoy as much as playing DS, it's eating. Naturally then, combining the two results in the perfect lazy afternoon for us, but you have to be careful. As the DS involves rather a lot of touching, greasy foods such as pizza are automatically out, particularly as dirt and grime loves to accumulate on the edge of the touchscreen. This writer also prefers to avoid stuff that can drip easily -- as much as it saddens us, Coke and technology will never be BFF.With these ground rules in mind, I find there's nothing quite like Cool Ranch Doritos and Medium Salsa dip to complement a marathon DS session, while white seedless grapes provide a healthier, almost-as-good alternative. What's your perfect gaming snack?
