Nintendo DS - Where to start?

[Matt KB]

Interested in picking up a DS, as a few of the titles I've seen at E3 look ace.

Where is the best/cheapest place to get one from? Gameplay have DS Console + Super Mario 64 + FREE Logic 3 Starter Pack (PVC Case, USB cable, earphones) for a solid price (?124.99) but I would sell Mario as I'm not interested in that. Also I am sceptical about that Logic 3 Case - is it fairly safe for the DS ie good protection, and room for games, the headphones etc.

I would need a carry case as noted, with room for everything.

Games wise, I don't really ever like going for Japanese releases because of the language problem (and even if knew what everything did, it would bug me). That said, I REALLY want Electroplankton, so am happy to go for the Jap release of that (which has headphones IIRC?).

Other games wise, I have played the Metroid demo before and IMO it doesn't suit the DS at all well. I would be more happy to play game that didn't rely so heavily on all out action with a dicky control scheme. I am looking forward to Mario Kart DS at Xmas though. Also I love Advance Wars 1 and 2, so am looking forward to that, and it looks ideally suited to the DS. I'm thinking then, puzzle type games (but perhaps not) may be my best bet, so recommendations balanced with price suggestions will be appreciated

[Chief H]

I spent ages deliberating over a DS and serching for the best possible price and stuff but, at the end of the day, the best route (and the one i took) was to just play it straight and go out to buy one for ?100 in the shops. Not sure about cases - i'm a lazy bastard so i found an old soft bag that came with my now-unused minidisc recorder and that is almost a perfect fit, offering padding without being too big (i dislike having to carry around big, unwieldy cases. defeats the point of designing the system to be small imo) and i keep my games in one of those free plastic wallets you get for storing railcards in from the ticket office. job done.

Games, i'd say zoo keeper should be top of your list, given your inkling towards puzzle games. of course, this depends on you actually liking zoo keeper, but i feel it's an awesome showcase of how a puzzle game can work so effortlessly on the ds. another good starting point is polarium, if you like brain-scratchers that have you pondering over single puzzles for ages. touchscreen input can be a little pickier than ZK, and polarium is admittedly a worse game, but it's a great introduction the the ds and to using the stylus, especially since copies of it can be found for very cheap - it's relatively short lifespan make it quite popular as a resold item.

Both these games should be pretty cheap to find, both second and first hand - play.com does them both for ?18 and when i got my ds from game it was an extra ?15 for either of those two titles (ie a ?115 bundle) which isn't bad either.

[The Glider]

I took a while to decide & eventually just bought one from my local GAME. (Which was handy because it had a few dead pixels so I was able to go back to the shop the next day & change it).

As for games, I'm a puzzle nut, so I plumped for Polarium, Zoo Keeper & Mr Driller. I'm currently loving all three games, although I'm finding that Zoo Keeper & Polarium make my eyes go wonky after a while. They're both great for a quick 5 minute go, although that 5 minutes can easily turn into 60 minutes.

[Matt KB]

Polarium looks a bit bland to me tbh.

I might check out Zoo Keeper. I quite fancy Puyo Puyo Fever as well tbh.

I do fancy one colour other than Silver though as well. But that's not a huge deal.

Anyone know where to get Electroplankton from then with that nifty pack with the headphones? Isn't it cheap somewhere. PlayAsia?

Also, what do people do about carry cases? Is there a good one around?

[The Glider]

I got Electroplankton from YesAsia.com for about ?23 inc. shipping. I think it took about 10 days to arrive.

Don't be put off by Polarium's looks - it's quite a fun little game. Maybe pick it up super cheap from 'somewhere' ?

[Julio III]

Polarium is an awesome game. I'm currently hooked on it. The two different modes in it are good and should keep you entertained for a long time I think. It definitely doesn't have a shorter lifespan than most DS games

[Balou]

Does the Pal Nintendo DS also play imports? And what storage medium does the DS use anyway?

[Dazzla]

Yes it plays imports. All DS's are universal, they all play games from anywhere. Storage medium is DS carts (which are about the same physical dimensions as an DS card) and GBA carts.

[charlesr]

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=38526

[VR46]

Woolworths are doing DS & Zoo Keeper for ?104.99 (in store), Toys R Us might be worth a look.