Get ready to enter a new generation of portable gaming: The Nintendo DS and its two screens, one with touch sensitivity, expand the possibilities exponentially. When closed, the clamshell shaped unit (available in silver or black) is 5.9 inches wide, 3.3 inches long, and 1.1 inches tall—roughly the size of a Pocket PC. The two 3-inch-wide semitransparent, reflective, TFT-color LCD screens display images beautifully, with a 256- by 192-pixel resolution, a 0.24-mm dot pitch, and 260,000 colors. Graphics quality and performance are light-years ahead of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance; some of the cinematic cut scenes in Spiderman 2 were simply breathtaking.

The bottom screen is touch-sensitive, so the unit comes with a stylus (and a spare). Having two screens is a treat that adds a new dimension to game play. In Super Mario 64 DS, for example, the bottom screen shows a map while you play on the top screen, and you can move your character through the map by dragging him with the stylus. Many mini-games are included with Super Mario 64 DS, most of which demonstrate the touch screen's possibilities.

The Nintendo DS also has two wireless communications options at its disposal: 802.11b and a proprietary format. Its wireless range is approximately 30 to 100 feet. You and up to 15 friends can use an embedded application, PictoChat, to communicate by sharing a drawing surface and chatting over a wireless connection. Other built-in features are a clock, a calendar, and an alarm that gets progressively louder after it goes off. When powered on for the first time, the DS asks for your name, the current time and date, your favorite color (which is then set as the background), and your birthday.

Stereo speakers are enclosed in the top panel, one on each side of the screen, to provide positional sound during game play. The DS also has a headphone jack and a built-in microphone. Its lithium ion battery is rated for 6 to 10 hours of game play and takes 4 hours to charge; we found that the battery lasted eight and a half hours during informal rundown tests. A power-saving sleep mode is activated when the unit is closed. As with other portables, it's a good idea to charge the battery before you use your DS.

The DS ships with a playable demo of Metroid Prime Hunters, and roughly a dozen other games are now available, including Super Mario 64 DS, Madden NFL 2005, and Spiderman 2. Nintendo estimates that by the end of March 2005, up to 25 games will be on the market. And finally, there's good news for longtime Game Boy fans: The Nintendo DS is backward-compatible with all 550 or so GBA games.

More game system reviews:

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.