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DS Daily: Keeping it pricey
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Jan 22nd 2009 at 9:00AM }
We're always talking about bargains, and with good reason, but today we want to discuss the other end of the scale: your most outrageous, costly gaming buys.We're talking about the $980 you dropped for that rare Hot Summer Phat, or the $90+ you put on your flatmate's credit card for Electroplankton. Obviously, it'd be nice if you could keep this DS-related, but you're welcome to mention non-DS rarities you forked out for.
DS Daily: Where in the World ...
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 21st 2009 at 9:00AM } 
... has your DS been?Your DS likes to travel, you know! It enjoys seeing new cultures, and meeting new people. We know because it told us.
So today's question: where in the World have you taken your DS? Has anybody's handheld travelled with them to all seven continents? Well, okay, Antarctica is probably a tricky one, but ... has your portable seen the other six? If so, it's seen more of this planet than us!
DS Daily: Your maximum playload
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 15th 2009 at 9:00AM }
For what it's worth, this blogger's personal limit appears to be three. Currently, the list includes World of Goo, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (after a decade away), and Fallout 3 (my dirty secret: I also own a Xbox 360). Meanwhile, an imported copy of Chrono Trigger DS is being neglected, simply because I couldn't cope with another game where I need to keep close tabs on the story. Yes, I am ashamed.
What's your maximum playload?
Gallery: Chrono Trigger
DS Daily: Fluent yet?
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 8th 2009 at 9:00AM }
A few months have passed since the last language trainer, My Japanese Coach, debuted on the DS, so now seems like an apt time to ask: if you bought one of the DS's numerous language titles, are you still returning each day to learn new lessons? Has the DS made you feel confident enough to converse with real people on the streets of Paris/Tokyo/Madrid?Oh, and as this is sort of related, did anybody ever pick up the hilariously inappropriate Spanish for Everyone?
Gallery: My Japanese Coach
DS Daily: Winners and losers
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 6th 2009 at 9:00AM }
There's a lot to love about multiplayer gaming on the DS, but playing nicely is also important, reader!With this in mind, how do you, as a gamer, take winning and losing? Are you a gracious victor, full of consoling statements for the vanquished, or do you love nothing more than gloating in the faces of the fallen?
Likewise, are you capable of losing with grace, or do you get stroppy and sulky?
Gallery: Show and Tell: The more the merrier
DS Daily: Kickin' ass, takin' names
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 1st 2009 at 10:30AM }
Today's DS Daily discussion is reserved for only the hardest of games. In all the time you've owned a DS, what's the one game for the system that has repeatedly kicked your ass with its unpunishing difficulty?
Would your choice be a title already renowned for being tricky, such as Contra 4, or did you struggle with a game with a less fearsome reputation? Did you eventually vanquish your foe, or does it still sit in your collection, uncompleted and sneering at you? And if you did emerge victorious, how long did it take you to beat it?
DS Daily: Feet up? Let's chat!
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 25th 2008 at 10:30AM }
For today's DS Daily, we're, like, totally tearing up the rulebook, maaan. That's right: today's daily topic is open for you to chat about ... whatever the hell you want. Just keep it clean, and let us thank you again for being awesome and reading DS Fanboy! Have a fun day, everyone, and enjoy all of your new gifts (but particularly the DS-related stuff)!
DS Daily: Pinching pennies
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 18th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Nintendo announced a ton of new releases for Q1 yesterday. As line-ups go, it's packed full of goodness -- frankly, it blows the Wii selection out of the water. There are at least ten or eleven games in this list that we would typically buy on day one. Alas, our painfully slim blogging wages are going to be stretched if we buy even half of them, so we're going to have to revise where our pennies go. Have your spending plans changed with the release of the Q1 schedule?DS Daily: On preventing piracy
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 11th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Piracy, me hearties, has become a prominent issue for the DS, and one that is probably here to stay -- indeed, illegally downloading games to play on a flashcart has become almost socially acceptable in some places. And here's the biggest problem: it's not very hard at all to indulge in the practice. (Perfectly legal) flashcarts are available widely and cheaply, and ROM sites are a single Google search away.In other words, finding solutions is difficult, to say the least. Chrono Trigger demonstrated that built-in piracy checks don't exactly last long, though Level 5 might have hit upon a semi-solution with Ni no Kuni: The Another World: deny the pirates the awesome spellbook that is required to play. Put yourselves in the shoes of a videogame publisher on the verge of releasing a major title: what anti-piracy measures would you take to try and protect your game?
Gallery: Chrono Trigger
DS Daily: Cover story
by Chris Greenhough { Dec 4th 2008 at 9:00AM }
The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity sounds like our kind of game: cute storyline, fourth wall-busting gags, great platforming mechanics, and fairly unique visuals.But lordy, what is up with that cover? We're pretty shameless people (seriously, you should see what we don't wear while blogging), but even we would probably avoid eye contact with the sales clerk while buying this at our local emporium. It seems odd that a game with so much to offer older players could sport such kid-oriented boxart; if we knew nothing about The Chase, we wouldn't even notice this in a store.
Today's subject, then: to what degree does boxart influence your buying decisions? Ever purchased a game solely because it has an awesome box? Or have you been torn over whether to get a game, only to be put off by a crummy cover?
Gallery: The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity
DS Daily: Your Thanksgiving plans
by Chris Greenhough { Nov 27th 2008 at 10:30AM }
Morning folks, and a happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Today, rather than dedicate this space to talking about some DS-related minutiae, we're leaving it open for discussion about your Thanksgiving plans, and how the DS slots into your Turkey Day schedule. Do you plan to spend a quiet moment getting further through Chrono Trigger? Converting Granny to Brain Age? Playing a spot of wireless Mario Kart DS with cousins?Maybe you don't plan to pick up your beloved handheld at all. To which we say: hey, Thanksgiving is a time for coming together, and that extends to people and their DSes as well! Er, probably. I don't know, I'm British. This is all one big mystery to me.
By the way, we'll still be posting today, so if you do get bored at any point, feel free to poke your head in. Have a grand day, everybody!
DS Daily: What's left to master?
by Chris Greenhough { Nov 20th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Atlus delighted us yesterday by confirming it will release TrackMania DS in North America next March. Some of us around these parts like a good racing game, and that's something the DS has sorely lacked since its launch (Mario Kart DS being the exception).Like every platform, the little handheld excels at certain genres -- we're practically suffocating in brilliant RPGs (of both the "A" and "S" variety), text adventures owe their entire comeback to the DS, and great puzzle games are ten-a-penny on the system -- but what genres does the DS struggle with? Are there any types of game it will never master?
Gallery: TrackMania DS
DS Daily: Your Final choice?
by Chris Greenhough { Nov 13th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time utilizes a specifically designed game engine that allows Wii and DS owners to play online together.Both versions of the title will look, sound, and cost (¥5,040 in Japan) the same, but there are slight benefits to each. Even with its screen-within-a-screen design, the Wii game will still feature a larger viewing area when hooked up to your TV, while the DS edition obviously has the bonus of increased portability. If you are getting Echoes of Time, which platform will you be buying it for, and why?
DS Daily: Buy? Or sell?
by Chris Greenhough { Nov 6th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Yesterday, in the "lolwut?" moment of November so far, we heard that Nintendo is making a game that will teach John Q. Public the ins and outs of the economy. Because Nintendo knows a thing or two about making games, we trust it will be an engaging experience, and the economy is something we'd like to be better informed about.Then again, the subject matter also seems random, and something that wouldn't be overly useful to many DS owners. We can understand stuff like Professor Kageyama's Math Training (most of us use math every day, and increased mental sharpness with numbers is handy) and My Japanese Coach (Japan and its language are fascinating, and many gamers have an interest in the culture), but would you regard an economy-based training game as practical to your needs? Would you purchase it?
DS Daily: On 'i'
by Chris Greenhough { Oct 30th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Only one letter separates the Nintendo DSi from the original Nintendo DS, but what does that letter, an inconspicuous "i," mean, readers? Hm?
Is it DSimproved? DSinnovation? DSinternet? Maybe it's just DS I, as in "this is my DS, a DS for me." Actually, that last argument could be supported by a Miyamoto quote from a recent MTV Multiplayer interview: "With DSi we've really tried to create in a way that makes the system feels much more personal to you."
Alternatively, maybe it means nothing at all, but is an attempt by Nintendo to Apple-ize its handheld. Believe it or not, this kind of stuff keeps us up at night.
