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Tags: ds
I finally gave in and bought a Nintendo DS (an impulse buy/Game Couch expense/hurricane supply). Technically, it’s the DS Lite and quick Internet research tells me that it’s 2/3rds the size of the original one and roughly 20% lighter. It is Polar White in color, which looks like the same color as the amazingly thick Health and Safety Precautions Booklet accompanying it. The start-up screen advises reading it (every time), which is rather alarming.
Of course playing it can give me seizures, but I’ll also be subjected to repetitive motion injuries and eyestrain. Past the stop-or-you’ll-go-blind warning is this helpful hint, “When using the stylus, you do not need to grip it tightly”– I think Dan Savage offered similar advice a few weeks ago. There is also a chance of skin irritation which may be connected with caveat regarding battery leakage.
Anyway, I’ve been playing Battles of Prince of Persia which takes place between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. Says the manual, “A mighty General, a massive army, and a deck of cards are at your disposal, ready to vanquish your enemies.” Doesn’t this conjure up memories of Wellington’s Follow the Queen maneuver at Waterloo, Rommel’s Canasta Gambit and Custer’s disastrous Old Maid defense?
Hating aside, the game rocks so far. It’s a tile-based tactical strategy game which uses cards drawn randomly from a deck to issue orders. The units (swordsmen, archers, cavalry) follow the traditional paper-rock-scissors balancing act, but the random cards let you bolster your troops (or weaken the enemy) with wicked Arabian magic and determine the number of orders you can issue in a round. A full review will follow, but so far I’m impressed with the game and it was cheap.
I also picked up Trace Memory which Adventure Gamers raved about (under its import name Another Code) and Amanda bought Animal Crossing: Wild World which means that she and Aramis can virtually clean house, shop, garden, and fish together using our wifi (or something like that). I dunno, they say it’s fun. Aramis would have picked up Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, too, but it was OOS.