Nintendo DS Blowout All the info. and hands on impressions of 18 games including Metroid Prime Hunters, Wario Ware, Inc. DS, Super Mario 64x4 and more!

If the N-Gage used video game technology to create a phone, then the Nintendo DS uses cell phone/PDA technology to create a game system. Nintendo revealed its latest hardware to the world this morning -- the Nintendo DS is a two screen portable system with a stylus writing stick that players can use as a controller for the lower screen.

The system has a standard button layout as well, with a d-pad, four face buttons laid out in a plus formation like the Super Nintendo controller, and two shoulder buttons. All the buttons on the system are very small, especially the shoulder buttons that are less lengthy than those on previous portable Nintendo systems.

The DS also features backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance games, and even has two separate cartridge slots so it is possible for both a DS and a GBA game to be in the system at the same time -- and possibly work in conjunction with each other according to a Nintendo employee we spoke to. Nintendo DS is not backwards compatible with older Game Boy systems like the Game Boy Color.

Other features for the system include Wi-Fi wireless support for up to 16 players (the hardware will be on the E3 show floor with units connected with cables for multiplayer play, but this is only for E3 purposes -- retail units will only support Wi-Fi), built in voice recognition, a headphone jack, and battery life around the same length as the Game Boy Advance SP.

We got a chance to try out 18 different games using the DS prototypes that will be at the show starting tomorrow, so we've summarized each below. We should state that only the first four titles in this list are actual confirmed games that will be available; the rest of the games here are at the show as technology demos, and we don't know if the developers intend to make them into complete games.

Super Mario 64x4:

Despite the pronunciation, it's not about monster trucks -- it's a four-player battle game starring Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi that takes place in the Super Mario 64 world. Or at least one area of that world, as you play in the area in front of the main castle, racing the other characters to gather stars placed around the map. If one of your opponents gets a star, you can punch him to make him drop it, so it becomes like a battle mode of sorts. Because of the placement of the buttons, it's a bit difficult to push the punch button while running (which you'll want to do often), but otherwise the controls will feel mostly familiar to Mario 64 veterans, though Yoshi's double jump in 3D does feel a bit odd if you're used to it in 2D.

Graphically, the game doesn't look quite as nice as the N64 version of the game, but it has the same general feel and certain details may even look better in the DS version upon close inspection, so we're quite impressed with the 3D technology on display.

Apparently there is also a single-player version of this game. We haven't seen it yet, but it is supposed to feature the same four characters and let you switch between them at will. We'll be back on that one once we hear more, since it seems like a more traditional Mario 64 port.

Metroid Prime Hunters:

There's a reason this is called Metroid Prime Hunters and not Metroid Hunters -- it's a first-person shooter along the lines of its GameCube brother, which is an impressive feat graphically, but even more unique in the way the controls work since the game takes full advantage of the stylus control stick. In fact, you don't even use the face buttons at all. To move, you can move forward and strafe with the d-pad, while to turn you push the stylus onto the screen and move it left and right. If you hold the stylus on the screen the entire time, it gets easier to get used to, but we wonder just how accurate players will be able to be with this setup when the game comes out. Since you have no buttons, to shoot an enemy you tap the stylus on the screen, which seems to work pretty well. The L button lets you lock on to enemies when you get close to them.

We tested out a multiplayer mode, though there may be a single-player quest in the game as well. The multiplayer allows four-player battles, where you move around on the bottom screen and can see a map on the top screen. You can turn into the morph ball by tapping an icon with the stylus; hit the icon again and you go back to walking. The game also features a startlingly nice introductory CG sequence of Samus that is very short, but shows the DS can do extremely high quality video.

Wario Ware, Inc. DS:

Think the Wario Ware you know and love, and change your input device from a d-pad and buttons to a stylus and that's what this game is. You still have tons of quick microgames and Wario taunting you along the way, but the games are very appropriate for the controls: scratch the stylus back and forth quickly to reveal Wario's head on a penny, chop objects flying at you, draw a kanji -- it all works superbly since this is the type of game that just makes sense to use with the stylus.

DS Pictochat:

It's less of a game and more of a writing program where you can write messages and send them to friends, and it works okay in its current form, but we don't see a ton of practical use quite yet. If this technology was applied to a game like Pictionary, it could be neat, but thus far, it's just a writing application.

Pac-Pix:

One of the crazier applications of the hardware, this lets players draw Pac-Man, and as soon as they make the Pac-Man shape, he starts moving. Then they can draw straight lines, and when the moving Pac hits these walls, he turns to follow the walls. You then have to eat as many ghosts as you can. If you don't continually create new walls, your Pac will go off the screen. It's a very simple program, but seeing the drawn Pac automatically start moving after you finish drawing is quite impressive.

Nintendo DS Blowout (Continued)

Mario's Face:

Very obviously a tech demo, this lets players play around with the Mario face as seen floating around previously in Super Mario 64 (as well as Wario's head in a similar style). Players can rotate the face, stretch it, and stretch it so it sticks and looks all awkward. They can also swap between a normal polygonal look and a toon-shaded look at any time. On the top screen, Mario and Wario walk around in their 2D forms, and when one goes down a pipe, they show up as the head on the bottom screen that you can manipulate.

Table Hockey:

A very simple take on Air Hockey, the game uses both screens to simulate a long playing field and lets you hit the puck back and forth with the stylus. Because you use the stylus to hit the puck, it feels a lot more like a real air hockey table than it ever would using normal buttons.

Special Effects:

Like a fireworks show, this tech demo featured various colors and explosions on screen, but isn't as graphically impressive as some of the normal games like Mario 64x4 and Metroid, so we're not sure it serves much of a purpose.

Pac 'n Roll:

This second Pac-Man demo on display is also very unique and should last longer as well. It shows Pac and the ghosts in an isometric 3D view on the top screen, and you can move around that screen. The tricky part is that to move, you manipulate a giant image of Pac on the bottom screen. You use the stylus to move spin the giant Pac image on the lower screen and then he rolls around on the upper screen in the direction you spun him. The Pac image on the lower screen is essentially a track ball (which old school gamers will remember from games like Missile Command) that you can roll around, causing your Pac to roll around on the upper screen.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Nightmare Troubadour:

We didn't spend a mountain of time with this one, but it seems to be rather similar to the other Yu-Gi-Oh games, except you can use the stylus to select cards and things of that nature in a 2D setup on the lower screen, and then everything shows up in 3D on the upper screen. It shows that the system works well to manage card games and things like that.

Submarine:

Like a slow retro shooter, Submarine gives you a bunch of menus and dials on the lower screen, and then a side view of the submarine ship on the top screen. You can shoot torpedoes, rotate, and do other things like that on the upper screen by pushing buttons with the stylus on the lower screen.

Sonic:

Less of a game than most of the DS products on display, the Sonic demo simply shows Sonic running on a set course. You can't control him, but you can control the camera angles in real time. The demo also tells you to move the stylus back and forth rapidly to make him speed up. The stand out feature of Sonic is that is simply looks fantastic. At first glance, you could mistake it for Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast. With a closer look, you can see that the ground is not as smooth and the textures have the overlaying squares look of a PS1 game, but with the motion blur, it looks great.

Balloon Trip:

The name may be generic, but this was actually one of the better games we tried. You see Baby Mario falling from the sky, and using the stylus you have to draw lines of clouds to guide him on his way down. There are coins to get and enemies to avoid, so you have to draw the clouds carefully so Baby Mario bounces in the right directions and gets coins while remaining safe. The game ends once you hit the ground level, but the two screen setup gives you a decent view of the way down since both screen combine to create one.

Carving:

As it sounds, different objects appear on the top of the screen spinning very quickly, and you use the stylus like a wood chisel, slowly cutting into the spinning objects so you can carve them into whatever shapes you desire. It's a nice feeling when you first start to carve, but the game is over quickly.

Egg Monster Hero:

Coming from SquareEnix, this appears to be a strategy RPG, though we couldn't get a good feel for it in our limited time. We do know there are tons of character sprites on the screen at the same time and you can make them all jump around and attack enemies, so it's impressive technologically.

Bomberman:

The bottom screen looks like a standard 2D Bomberman game, though you can use the stylus, which shows up as a cursor like you are using a computer mouse. The top screen shows the game represented in 3D, and looks like the more recent Bomberman adventure games.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed:

You fly around on the upper screen and can switch your character by using the stylus on the lower screen. The standard d-pad controls your movement and basic controls, though we didn't put in enough time to figure out what your goals are in the game.

Pikachu:

Reminiscent of the N64 game where you could talk to Pikachu, this demo has Pikachu come up close to you on the screens and ask you to play with him. You can stretch his cheeks with the stylus to make him happy, and then you can play various games with him, such as one where you get a xylophone on one screen and have to play along to a song to please Pikachu. Another of these games lets you pop as many balloons as you can as they rise to the top of the screen, in a race against time. Despite this being one of far too many DS games on display to involve balloons in some way, it's a fun little mini-game.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in 1UP.