The best five DS games at E3: Pocket Gamer's picks
They're Nintendo classics, but not as we know them
It's hard to get away from Nintendo's booth when pondering the games we're pencilling in for serious DS time later this year. Nintendo hasn't got the biggest bangs or the least clad babes, but if it wasn't for the queues and the crush, we could happily spend all day in its vast corner of E3.
And despite being overshadowed by its new brother, Wii, DS has had a great E3; the only disappointment really is the lack of new games specifically dedicated to pushing creativity on the touch-screen. Perhaps Nintendo isn't giving rival games publishers sufficient freedom? Or maybe game creators have decided that clever stylus ideas are best wrapped up in more traditional games, like the upcoming Zelda? We'd also like to see more games for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
But we're probably being picky: DS owners will be spoilt for choice in the next 12 months – here's a good starting point. The DS top five at E3 2006
| New Super Mario Bros Out any minute in the US and due at the end of June in the UK, New Super Mario Bros has already been heavily trailed by a teaser video campaign (as if it needed it!) But that hasn't stopped E3 goers flocking for a burst of early pixel perfect Mario 2D side-scrolling action. As big, bright and bouncy as always but with lots of new ideas, this is Mario Bros powered-up for the DS generation. More Mario Bros>> |  | |
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| The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Nintendo's past Zelda roleplaying games are amongst the best games of all time, so what's a pocket version to? Well, go big on the touch-screen for starters. The E3 demo had you steering your boat and firing cannonballs with a tap of the stylus, before letting you maraud around on dry land. Here the touch-screen combat was equally slick, particularly when you let your boomerang fly. Another of the many nice touches is the way you can use the touch-screen map to record your own notes.
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| Yoshi's Island 2
In this classic revival you're an indestructible dinosaur who carries babies on his back through perilous platform-strewn lands. But the babies aren't a one-way deal: Baby Mario, Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong all give Yoshi different abilities, such as enabling him to float, or enhancing his range of combat moves. Yoshi's Island was great fun a decade ago, and while the new version doesn't make much use of the touch-screen, we still think this dinosaur was well worth digging up.
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| Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Sneaking away from Nintendo's booth is worth it when you come across the likes of this Castlevania sequel. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the DS was fabulous, but Portrait of Ruin could top even that. Its two playable on-screen vampire hunters combine magical forces in splendid fashion (we're crossing our fingers for a two-player co-op mode), and while it isn't graphically spectacular, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin's darker 2D graphics makes a welcome change from the Smarties-styling of other DS games. More Castlevania>> |  | |
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| Star Fox DS Sorry, we've been dragged back to Nintendo's offerings. But why not, when it is resurrecting its older games with such flair? This just-announced but already playable Star Fox mixes the best of the old (shooting! more shooting!) with the new (stylus space ship steering). We love the between mission touch-screen space map too (although we hope the random battles don't get tedious after a few hours). Basically, we'd be amazed if Star Fox DS doesn't turn out to be a DS essential. More Star Fox>> |  | |
