DS Lite Buyer's Guide

In the 19 months the Nintendo DS has been available, its library has quickly grown into one of the best available for ANY platform - console or mobile. Things were pretty dismal for the first six months or so, but around last fall things picked up significantly with the release of Mario Kart DS, and the steady flow of AAA titles hasn't let up since.

In fact, the DS's line-up is now so robust that new DS owners, unable to resist the allure of the super-sexy Lite redesign, might have a hard time knowing where to start. Which of the older DS titles are still worth considering? What games make the best use of the system's innovative touch-screen controls? Which hyped up games should be avoided?

That's where your handheld fanatic friends here at Modojo come in. We own every DS game worth owning (and plenty that aren't), and have prepared a handy guide to tell you what DS games are and aren't worth your money. Games have been sorted into three categories: Buy, Consider, and Skip.

A note: this guide only features high-profile DS releases - the ones you new owners are probably curious about. So when we tell you to skip Nintendogs but then don't mention Super Black Bass Fishing or Elf Bowling 1 & 2, that's because it's a given that those latter two titles simply weren't worth talking about. If your DS game of choice was left out entirely, let us (and our readers) know with the comment form on the right.

Every new DS owner will probably want at least a couple touch-centric titles to see what all the fuss is about, so let's discuss them first...