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DS Lite Buyer's Guide

So you finally broke down and bought a DS, eh? Welcome to the fold. Check inside to see which of the hyped-up games deserved the hype, and which you should pass on. We've prepared the perfect DS library for you...

...Continued From Page 1

Buy

Trauma Center
Trauma Center features arguably the most compelling use of the touch screen yet. Gamers play as a young surgeon who begins by performing simple operations like removing glass shards from a patient. Things quickly escalate in complexity and difficulty, however. Trauma Center is a damn hard game in later scenarios - almost too hard. It's such a perfect illustration of "the DS difference" that it belongs in every DS owner's library, regardless of challenge. Stylus control makes the surgeries fun, fast, and frantic. It's a perfect example of a unique gameplay experience that simply can't be gotten elsewhere.

Kirby Canvas Curse

Kirby Canvas Curse proves that some real, genuine creativity (it seems hard to come by in this industry these days) can generate a platform game that's entirely stylus controlled yet still deep, lengthy, and full of replay value. The sylus is used to "paint" a rainbow path, which the pink puffball then follows. Draw ramps to make Kirby jump, loops to inrease his speed, etc. The game has a huge amount of underappreciated replay value, to boot. Every level has three hidden medals to collect, and can also be completed in one of two challenge modes: time trial and paint trial. The latter tasks gamers with getting through a level while using the stylus as little as possible, and is our favorite. A great value.

Consider

Yoshi Touch & Go
Yoshi Touch & Go is extremely fun and surprisingly addictive - after a year it's still in our regular gameplay rotation - but it isn't a must-buy, regardless. Yoshi trots through the side-scrolling levels on his own, and its up to you to keep harm out of his way. Tap the stylus to have him toss an egg, or drag it to create cloud bridges over gaps or enemies. Like Kirby, the stylus control feels very natural and genuinely feels fresh. The problem is that there's no adventure. There's four unique modes, and while they do all have their own unique feel, that's still all there is to the game. Once you've seen all four modes, you're then just competing to set new high scores. The value of the cart, compared to some other DS offerings, is questionable. Still, it's a perfect game for short gaming sessions, and one that gamers are likely to come back to frequently.

Rub Rabbits

The sequel to Sega's DS launch title Feel the Magic, Rub Rabbits is a collection of zany minigames that manages to avoid the "zany minigame" pitfall of becoming tiresome or repetitive far too quickly. The experience is still too rough around the edges to give it a solid "buy" endorsement, but gamers wanting to give their DS screen some (minor) abuse through frantic rubbing, tapping, or swirling should consider Rub Rabbits. The game features several crazy single and multiplayer modes, giving the cart a good value.

Skip

WarioWare Touched!
Unlike Rub Rabbits, WarioWare Touched is a collection of zany minigames that DO fall into the pitfall of becoming tiresome and repetitive. Like previous WarioWare games, the "story" mode can be cleared in just a day or two, but unlike previous WarioWares, there isn't much to keep you coming back. No multiplayer, not many bonuses, uninteresting microgames. WarioWare becomes all about the high score once you've seen all the games, but getting high scores in Touched feels more like a chore than it should.

Nintendogs
Sorry, Nintendog lovers. This "game" has its merits, but new DS owners are much better off picking up one of the above games to experience how revolutionary stylus control can be. Using the stylus to play fetch with your dog, teach him tricks, or pet him/her is entertaining - for about a week. After that we realized that there was no actual game underneath this cute and fuzzy exterior. There's no reason to come back other than to get new dog breeds, which behave like the old dog breeds, and new toys, which will mostly act like the toys you already earned. A sequel with more tournies and more reasons to keep gamers' attention is in order.