DS Daily: The new book?
by Jason Wishnov 
{ Jan 23rd 2007 at 9:00AM }
The adventure genre peaked in the early to mid 90's. And then it crashed. Hard. As it trudged along through the years, essentially dead but for rare gems like The Longest Journey, it slowly faded from the minds of modern gamers.The point-and-click capabilities of the DS have certainly given the once-zombified genre a much-needed jolt. We've seen excellent offerings, including the superlative Phoenix Wright series, the soon-to-be-released Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Trace Memory, Lost in Blue, and a few others (let's not even mention the ScummVM homebrew project). But the DS gives these games something they could have never had in the nineties: absolute portability. It's almost as though these games compete directly with the classic novel, something which has never really been seen even amongst the myriad of gadgets anyone can go out and readily purchase.
Our question is this: how does a DS adventure game compare to that of a classic book? What would you rather whip out on the way to work? Phoenix Wright 2 has had our hearts and minds in a legal grip for days on end. You may not look as smart as those punks reading Vonnegut, but that's okay. You look cooler.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Vinni @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:20AM
I prefer a good book over a copy of Hotel Dusk any day (even though I am looking forward to the latter).
A book just feels right, and it's not a strain on the eyes for prolonged periods of time.
Cyryl @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:41AM
YOU there!! YOU! With the strained eyes!! YES! YOU!
PUT THE DS DOWN AND STEP AWAY FROM IT! Slowly...
YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!
danielle @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:48AM
i work in a bookstore, where i can read practically anything i want on my breaks, free of cost....
and all i do is play phoenix wright. :)
Ethan Duffy @ Feb 18th 2007 6:04PM
How about an easy way to put books on the device? Books are big and heavy, unfortunately, but I really e-paper takes off, because everybody knows books are great, but they're also clunky and socially backward at the moment.
Deuz Augustine @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:49PM
I find it strange that you could consider gaming a replacement for reading. While games can help if you're in need of some narrative action, the two mediums are so different that to compare to the two strikes me as ludicrous.
jt @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:32PM
I don't see books and games like Hotel Dusk to be all that different, especially with the amount of text and narrative found in the DS game. I'd like to see more of it.
But, why pick and choose!? You can now download hundreds of books to read on your DS via Moonshell (a homebrew app) from the MoonBook Project website below. All of the books are public domain, so no legal worries!
http://moonbooks.stonecypher.net/
Kefka @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:31PM
Even though I usually have it on me, i dont play my DS much on public transport, etc. Glare, no sound/headphones, not being on there long enough to make real progress, and not having many quick games...
Nothing to add here really.
andyr @ Jan 24th 2007 9:01AM
My available free time dictates that I have a lot more 30 minutes slots dotted through my day, rather than longer periods. In these free moments lend themselves much more to snapping out the DS and giving Elite Beat Agents a crack, rather than to sitting down with a paperback.
That said, I think the two activities are very different. The DS gives me a quick buzz of enjoyment and achievement. A good book gives me more long term entertainment and takes a lot longer to get into.
When I read a book I expect to learn something about life and the world that I didn't know before. When I play my DS I want to be entertained.
My hope is that these two coalesce so that games start to surprise us and show us things we didn't know before about the place in which we live and the people with whom we share life.