In all my time of gaming the only gaming platform other than a PC I ever owned was a GameBoy Pocket, nearly a decade ago. That finally changed last friday as I received a package, containing my new Nintendo DS Lite. That’s right, I’ve just gained todays most popular handheld gaming device - and so far it actually seems to be pretty cool. I’ve played some Brain Training and Tetris DS against my sister with download play, but lost rather convincingly at both (hey, she’s had it for over a year!). Other than that I’ve spent just about all of my, rather limited, NDS time on Bleach: The Blade of Fates which is a cool beat ‘em up game based on the popular anime that you’ve probably heard of/seen already anyway.

After seeing screenshots and videos on various gaming sites I was a bit worried for the visual quality, but after giving a couple of NDS games a go I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. While the little handheld device certainly has it’s limitations, most of the developers seem to go for a very good stylish approach paired with smooth animations and drawn or even anime-like cutscenes, for a visual experience that’s actually not bad, not bad at all. What really caught me by surprise however was the sound. It’s surprisingly loud and there’s loads of it! It’s nothing like my old GameBoy Pocket with midi-sounds, but rather the games seem to feature full-on soundtracks and tons of voicework, especially so for Bleach.

As you might expect this means that The Game Drone will start featuring some Nintendo DS Lite action as well. PC gaming will remain my focus, as it’s still what I do and enjoy most, but you might see the occasional entry on something Nintendo sneak in between the rest. Oh yes, that picture of a DS you can see in this entry is indeed what my DS looks like. I’ve got the silver edition, which might not be as cool as cobalt-blue or Suzie’s crimson look, but has a sort of elegant style of it’s own. Although I really only got it because it was the only one available at the time…

Now where did I leave that DS?

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