Well, bugger.
As you may know, the black ('Onyx') DS Lite came out on the 13th, eviscerating my last excuse for not getting one. Picked it up at the Target in Milford while I was visiting Jim (and giving him a ride to Newbury Comics so he could get the new Maiden album), along with Metroid Prime: Hunters. Which I then proceeded to kill my hand with for about an hour right after I got the thing out of the box. The stylus mode is definitely nescessary for things like accuracy, but damn if it doesn't make your hand cramp after a few minutes. But the key thing to remember about it is that it doesn't use any of the buttons on the right side of the machine, which is why I didn't notice until I got home later that night and checked out how damn pretty Metroid: Zero Mission is on the Lite's supernova screens that the R button on the unit I picked up was busted. It lacks the 'clickieness' of the L button, and has to be pushed directly down with a fingertip to even register- a feat that is next to impossible to perform while pressing any of the face buttons, making it very difficult to fire missiles in the GBA Metroids. So I'm gonna have to stop by the Target in Westboro on my way into work Friday night and see if they'll let me do a straight swap for a hopefully-working model. I don't really want to have to go back out of my way to Milford to do it, or worse, have to go through Nintendo's warranty rigamarole. Although I do hear they're pretty good to deal with, compared to most companies. I wouldn't know, as this is the first time I've ever had a busted Nintendo product that I can remember. Still, I'd much rather just pick up a new one than wait on shipping, y'know?
Outside of that (and a slightly crooked bottom screen, but that's not a dealbreaker), it's a pretty damn nice little system. The gloss black shell is a total fingerprint magnet, but it's a damn pretty one. You get good detail on 'em, too. You could practically use it for forensics. Hunters is fun, if a bit obnoxious; the stylus mode is the only way to shoot straight, but the tap-jump is a pain in the ass, etc. I also picked up Trace Memory and Lunar at TRU. Haven't opened Lunar yet, but Trace is entertaining. I've been a fan of adventure-style games back from Space Quest 1 on the ol' Tandy, and the DS really is a superb system for the format. I have to admit that Trace isn't quite up to the old Sierra standards, tho. Maybe it's just that it seems to be aimed a little (okay, a lot) younger than my demographic. The puzzles are pretty basic, some parts of the storyline are painfully transparent, and the little 'quiz' it gives you at the end of each chapter is just annoying. But I'm enjoying it despite that, so what the hell.
Also, there was a big Nintendo Wii presser today that's producing a lot of insipid whining on the games sites I frequent. Apparently selling your new console at launch with a cutting-edge controller, bundled game, and built-in WiFi and online service at no extra charge for $250 and making a small profit on each unit sold counts as ripping off gamers. Being subsidized by a larger corporation and taking it up the ass on each machine sold forever is the only way to go, apparently. Who knew? More important to me was the news that a) the launch assortments would only come in White, and b) Metroid Prime 3's been pushed back from 'launch window' to 'early 2007'. This is actually good news, as far as I'm immediately concerned, as it means I can put off getting one until sometime after New Years without any qualms. I'll get one when either Metroid comes out, or I can get a black one to match my DS, whichever comes last. As long as it's not too much of a wait, anyway... Waiting nearly two years for the DS I wanted was quite enough of that kinda shit, thanks.
Outside of that (and a slightly crooked bottom screen, but that's not a dealbreaker), it's a pretty damn nice little system. The gloss black shell is a total fingerprint magnet, but it's a damn pretty one. You get good detail on 'em, too. You could practically use it for forensics. Hunters is fun, if a bit obnoxious; the stylus mode is the only way to shoot straight, but the tap-jump is a pain in the ass, etc. I also picked up Trace Memory and Lunar at TRU. Haven't opened Lunar yet, but Trace is entertaining. I've been a fan of adventure-style games back from Space Quest 1 on the ol' Tandy, and the DS really is a superb system for the format. I have to admit that Trace isn't quite up to the old Sierra standards, tho. Maybe it's just that it seems to be aimed a little (okay, a lot) younger than my demographic. The puzzles are pretty basic, some parts of the storyline are painfully transparent, and the little 'quiz' it gives you at the end of each chapter is just annoying. But I'm enjoying it despite that, so what the hell.
Also, there was a big Nintendo Wii presser today that's producing a lot of insipid whining on the games sites I frequent. Apparently selling your new console at launch with a cutting-edge controller, bundled game, and built-in WiFi and online service at no extra charge for $250 and making a small profit on each unit sold counts as ripping off gamers. Being subsidized by a larger corporation and taking it up the ass on each machine sold forever is the only way to go, apparently. Who knew? More important to me was the news that a) the launch assortments would only come in White, and b) Metroid Prime 3's been pushed back from 'launch window' to 'early 2007'. This is actually good news, as far as I'm immediately concerned, as it means I can put off getting one until sometime after New Years without any qualms. I'll get one when either Metroid comes out, or I can get a black one to match my DS, whichever comes last. As long as it's not too much of a wait, anyway... Waiting nearly two years for the DS I wanted was quite enough of that kinda shit, thanks.