Tungsten Filaments

I received a Nintendo DS for my brithday from Jenny & Long. I wasn’t really expecting it. But looking back, all those conversations with Long about what I thought about the DS were a big clue. The color is officially “Electric Blue”, which in my book is the best shade of blue ever. It changes from blue to purple, depending on the light source. Under fluorescent lights, it’s purple. In sunlight, it’s blue.

So what do I think of it? One word, “Surprising”. Like, “Wow! This is really quite fun. Who knew taking Tetris Clone #64 and letting you use a stylus would keep you up at night?” It really is a charmer. It’s really well designed also. I have the original Gameboy Advance, and using that for extended periods would make your hand hurt. The DS is of a similar size and more rectangular, but it’s comfortable. Making use of the extra plastic, it has a wonderful set of speakers. And I love how it has two slots for cartridges, one for DS games and one for GBA games. The wrist strap even has a little piece of plastic that you can use as a stylus. They were really thinking when they made the DS. Plus I love the logo.

As for the negatives, it’s a little chunky. It’ll fit in your pocket, but it’s fat. And I think the stylus is too short.

I rented two games, Meteos and Advance Wars: Dual Strike. Out of the two, I enjoy Meteos the most. It’s a puzzle game, like Puyo Pop or Dr. Mario, except it’s up to you to save the universe. Advance Wars is just like the previous Advance Wars, except the presentation is amazing. I’m still at the beginning in Advance Wars, and the characters just keep talking. I just want to go blow stuff up.

And you want to know the best part of the DS? The sleep mode. You’re playing a game, and you don’t want to play anymore, just close the lid. It’ll sleep. You don’t have to power it off or anything. And when you want to resume, just open the lid and you’re back where you were. No menus or anything. Also, I think it’s powered by a tiny imp. The battery life is incredible. I got it on Thursday, and after the initial charge, the battery status is still green.