SomeGuyWithDSL

... with SD card slot. Edit: SD card "support not the drives." Bummer. Translated page, near the bottom: BabelFish'd Asian news site

Also wanted to make sure you knew that Age of Kings for the DS is not a RTS like the PC inspiration, but has been redone as a turn-based game in the same semi-historical setting ... just in case you overlooked it for that reason.

Oh, and I haven't taken Tetris DS online yet. NO WPA SUPPORT in the DS, which the rest of my network is running at the moment, and NO MAC OS SUPPORT for the direct-to-DS USB wireless bridge. Gah. Time to check on the neighbors

Well, this morning I picked up Tetris DS, as well as Yoshi's Touch N Go and Pac N Roll. After an initial play, they all seem like good solid games. Pac N Roll has got to be similar to the DS Super Monkey Ball ... how does it compare? I think Age of Kings or Advance Wars DS is up next on my purchase list. Thanks for all your help so far.

I got my DS Lite this morning. Saw the DS Rumble Pak online, which is in a standard GBA cart. The GBA slot on the Lite requires the cart to stick out by about half an inch. The DS Lite does come with a nice, matching half-height filler cart. I was wondering if anyone had been inside a DS Rumble Pak yet, and if it could be transplanted to the inside of the filler cart. That way if I was playing a DS game with Rumble Pak support, I wouldn't have the cart sticking out. My instinct says that because its a mechanically rumbling device, it is probably designed to brace against all four sides of the cart, meaning the board inside takes up the whole GBA cart interior. If that's just blank bracing area, though, that can be taken care of.

Thanks for all the recommendations so far, folks. I'm not stuck in the past, that's just how I typically like my portable games. I've been updating every generation with home consoles, including standing in line on 11/22 for an Xbox 360. Maybe the DS will be the one that updates my portable tastes to something more sophisticated, or maybe I'll fall in love with something like Meteos and be asking this same question in 5 years when I make my next portable purchase.

Thanks. Any experience with The Rub Rabbits!, its sequel?

I'm 25, and I've been out of the portable gaming scene since I got my GameBoy Pocket on launch day. I couldn't stand it any longer when saw the DS Lite ... it matched my iBook. I managed to Buy One Now on eBay for 15% over JP retail with free shipping from another guy here in Texas. Not too bad. It should be here tomorrow. Anyway, I now need some DS game recommendations. My portable gaming preferences are quick, simple, on-the-go titles. That usually boils down to puzzle, platformer, and sports genres. The "out there" games of the DS interest me, too, like Electroplankton and Wario Ware (loved it on the GameCube). As an old GameBoy owner, the new Tetris DS looks like a must-buy for me, as does the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Any help from those of similar tastes? I thought the old folks at the AtariAge home would be the perfect ones to ask!

#10: Vicarious Visions

About Enter the Matrix ... The game's control scheme was not set up as typical modern 3rd-person dual analog controls, with the left stick moving/strafing and the right stick rotating the camera/turning. On top of that, Shiny forgot to include ANY customization of those controls, which left the game nearly unplayable for people stuck in a dual analog rut ... like me. I thought the game seemed like it might be enjoyable, the graphics were pleasing (especially as one of the true HD games on the Xbox), and the integration with the movie storyline might have been nice ... but I could not stand to play the thing. I felt like someone had opened the Control Options on a favorite game of mine and switched them to Legacy Southpaw or something ... with no way to change them back.

Just today I found new "WD-40 Pens" that dispense the classic degunker in little marker sized streaks. Perfect for removing sticker residue.

I disliked this question: Well, if the gamers don't have their 360 hooked up for online access, they're not going to be playing against anyone that has the new download. There's no need to "balance" it. There is the minute possibility of them system linking with the system of a friend that has Live, but this is unusual and system link is, unfortunately, disappearing anyway. I think in that situation they would just disable the downloaded content on the Live system.

Headhunter (the first one, DC version ... I guess it was the same in the stateside PS2 version).

Wow ... is that a MERLIN strapped to the panel?

I, at least, was referring to consumers underappreciating it as evidenced by sales. BG&E sold like crap in spite of numerous publications printing things like "for crying out loud, people, go buy this game!" It's $5 at most places now, and I have yet to meet another person in real life that bought the game. Everyone to whom I have loaned it, however, was thrilled. Same goes for Metal Arms ... great critical review and dirt-poor sales.

Most recently, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System Psychonauts Otogi 1 & 2 and a second mention of Beyond Good & Evil.

GamerTag; GM80 Playing all 360 for now, PD0, CoD2, Madden 06, and DOA4 as well as most XBLA games. Friends list is wide open at the moment.

Was reading this page mentioning the new Coby V•ZON portable DVD payer for kids, with "SEGA games" built-in. I thought at first they must have stuck a Genny-on-a-chip in there, but as I was glancing at the screenshots it didn't strike me as 16-bit material (edit: plus the final screen says "Plays 8-bit Sega games" ... didn't see that til now). Then I noticed there are only two buttons and a D-pad, which would indicate Game Gear / Master System instead of Genesis, if it is in fact based on some previous hardware. Has there been anything with a GG or MS on a chip before? I guess it could be ports to a NES chip, but that seems like a waste. Anyone recognize the game in the first shot? Maybe we could compare it to the original? Second shot looks like a game selection screen with ECCO currently selected.

The "Munchers" and "Sticky Bear teaches ..." series both stick in my mind from my childhood Apple days. They were darn fun at the time, and I remember what they taught. It's all in the simplicity, I think. Certainly didn't replace "good ole' book learnin'" though.

I was afflicted with that for a while, a couple of years ago ... even went so far as to track down Wheel of Fortune 2, the PC Link and the Internet cart (and bought a USR serial modem just to try it out.) Then I finally succeeded in completing the set when I scored a Compete.com link cable off of usenet, and sold the whole thing about a week later. I couldn't believe how much time I had invested in finding a dang link cable.

Well, if it is exactly the same game as the 32X version then I can tell you I think it is pretty fun. I bought the 32X for this game and the Virtua ports, and was thrilled even with the D-pad controls of the Genesis. I imagine it would be even better with the stick and throttle I think I see in that photo. It is basically the graphics of X-wing on the PC, with a quick arcade shooter feel instead of the "space sim" design. Each mission is straightforward and objective-based, but a heck of a lot of fun and dang hard, too.

If you're talking about licensed, NTSC US releases then NHL 2K2 was the last for the Dreamcast. I remember reserving the only copy my GameStop received.

10. Epic Megagames

Getting a little obsure for my blood now ... 25 is Sunsoft.

DOA4 is excellent, if you're a fan of the series (which I am). I finished the story modes for each character yesterday. I just wanted to warn you that, like most recent Team Ninja games, your game save is "managed" and apparently cannot be transferred from a Memory Unit to the HD. If you do end up getting a hard drive at any point in the future, you'd have to start over if you wanted your DOA4 game save on it. Might as well stick with that Memory Unit