Domestic DSpute

When I first informed Kara that I had bought a DS, she gave me a look... She knew I was thinking about getting one, but I was pretty undecided because of the cost. As I told her, I defended myself by launching into how I managed to get 195 dollars worth of stuff for only 84 bucks. The accountant was once again satisfied with the ‘good deal’ defense.

In the 15 days from then to now, she’s transformed from a begrudging co-owner of a DS to a DS maniac!! Super Mario 64 DS has some nice innovative mini-games that grabbed her initially. She played them for a week or so before complaining that they get old rather quickly. I reminded her that they were just extras to the Mario game, and not the focus of the cartridge (unfortunately Mario 64 is not her kind of game, so I was unable to put something else in front of her to grow her appreciation of the system... until last Monday.)

Last week we met my mom & sister for dinner downtown. I was killing some time beforehand in EB Games and decided to buy Meteos (one of the games I bought the DS for). What a fantastic puzzle game this is! It’s insanely fast paced, and really could only be pulled off with a touch screen. AND... Kara loves it! There is a “Time War” mode where you try to earn as many points as you can in a set number of minutes, and it’s become a real competition between us to hold the #1 spot for each category.

I claimed the top spots at first, when I was just playing around with the different modes. Kara came to me later and announced that she had crushed my scores. I haughtily informed her that I wasn’t even trying when I made those records, and that I in turn would beat her scores... Well, I did, but it was much harder than I expected. Then on the trip up to Seattle, Kara played and took all 3 of my top scores away again! So, this afternoon I struggled and finally took them back, only for her to take them back once she got home from work. I’ve once again claimed the top spots, but the competition is starting to get rough! The great thing is, if Kara wasn’t fighting me on these modes, I’m sure I wouldn’t have put much time into playing them. But you get such a rush when the 2 or 5 minute game has finished and you quickly dart your eyes to the upper screen to see your score. An involuntary hoot of joy or a groan of disappointment issues forth depending on your performance. And if you were sucessful, then you go tease the other person about how awesome and undoubtedly unbeatable the new record is.

We’ve had Meteos for exactly one week, and we’ve already racked up over 15 hours of play time! I’m sure that we’ll eventually get tired of playing the game (or we’ll make ridiculously high scores that neither of us can beat) but there are still DS games I’m ready to play. Kirby: Canvas Curse is already out (the other DS game I bought the system for) and has already attained the Kara Seal of Approval™ (she played the demo at EB Games and enjoyed it). Then there is Advance Wars: Duel Strike, without a doubt, the system seller for me. That game doesn’t come out until 8/22, but the wait will only make playing it all the sweeter.

And then there’s Nintendogs... I started reading up about it in hopes that it might be a good game for Kara. It looks to be a definite Kara game, but I’ve grown mighty interested in it too! And the terrible thing is, it comes out the same day as Advance Wars! Why terrible? Because I’ll be fighting Kara for the DS even more than I already am. This is the constant double edged sword of getting your wife into games... instead of her nagging to stop playing games and start paying attention to her, she’s tries to get me to stop so she can play instead! I’ve started pushing the 2 DS idea... I don’t really want to shell out another 150 bucks, but it does sound like a lot of fun to play multiplayer Meteos. And there is supposed to be wireless features to Nintendogs, and I KNOW there is excellent multiplayer for Advance Wars (though, that is most definitely not a Kara game; I’d have to find someone else to play with... Phil, come home!!)

Anyway, the DS is officially a successful purchase for us. The touch screen creates some very nice new experiences and the first class Nintendo created games take full advantage of the innovative control possibilities. I also think I timed the purchase almost perfectly. Before Meteos & Kirby (both shipped in June), there really weren’t any games for the system that I wanted. Now, there are both those games, two more in less than a month, and Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Castlevania, Jam with the Band, and Zelda on the horizon.

Now if only they can make a version of the hardware that doesn’t look so clunky...