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Nintendo Businesses Entertainment Games

Ten DS Games That Should Be Made 94

Posted by Zonk from the power-to-the-pokemon dept.
marcellizot writes "Even though the DS is already blessed with a large and varied library of great titles, its hard not to wish for the games that should be, and the games that probably will never be. Nintendo's little white pandora's box of quirky interfaces seems destined to forever remain pregnant with possibility, no matter how creative the developers get. To vent their desires, Pocket Gamer has assembled a canon of forgotten gaming heroes and oddball fancies that would make a good fit for Nintendo's dual-screened play thing."
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Ten DS Games That Should Be Made More

Ten DS Games That Should Be Made

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  • best one wont get made (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mastershake_phd ( 1050150 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @02:38PM (#18209426) Homepage
    GoldenEye DS Theyre refering to the N64 Goldeneye made by rare. Since Microsoft bought rare butchered perfect dark. EA got the 007 contracts. The best we can hope for is a Timesplitters on DS. But it would be almost as good...

  • Just friggin port Starcraft already (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Sciros ( 986030 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @02:40PM (#18209468) Journal
    The stylus and control pad are enough to play Starcraft on it. The second screen might not be all that useful, so they can just use it to track scores or units or research progress or whatever else you don't need to click on. With the DS letting you play anyone in the world via WiFi and the controls to make it work, Starcraft can experience a resurrection as a handheld game.

    I know I'd buy it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Kergareth ( 805411 )
      Construction tab mate

    • Re:Just friggin port Starcraft already (Score:5, Interesting)

      by DivineOmega ( 975982 ) <jordan@hall05.co.uk> on Friday March 02, 2007 @02:55PM (#18209728)
      I agree. Real-time strategy games are more possible on both the DS and Wii due to their controller's being able to so easily emulate the functions of a mouse. The lack of a mouse-like device I think is something that really holds back consoles from the RTS genre.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Fozzyuw ( 950608 )

        I agree. Real-time strategy games are more possible on both the DS and Wii due to their controller's being able to so easily emulate the functions of a mouse. The lack of a mouse-like device I think is something that really holds back consoles from the RTS genre.

        Absolutely. I've been saying that to my friends as part of my Wii critique since I got it. I just got a DS and I can see tons of potential with that as well.

        Cheer,
        Fozzy

    • Re:Just friggin port Starcraft already (Score:4, Insightful)

      by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Friday March 02, 2007 @02:56PM (#18209738) Homepage Journal
      you can't resurrect what isn't dead. i never have trouble finding a bunch of kids on battle net willing to kick my ass.
    • I don't know how well Starcraft would port over, but I'd like to see a civ game.
      The ability to do genral management, and have a view of the entire map all at once, would bwe most excellent.
      • The city management screens were almost dual screen to begin with too. I'm thinking Civ 1, since I played it the most. Civilization would be a perfect game for the DS.
    • I'm just glad they decided to port Warhammer 40k to the Ngage:

      http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchrev iew.asp?reviewid=714357 [gamerankings.com]

      Not because I own an NGage, but because I'm sure it made at least one of the five guys who own one very happy. (I can talk of course, my Tapwave Zodiac has Warfare, Inc, and I'm still only playing the shareware version....)

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by bjourne ( 1034822 )
      That will never ever happen. Why?

      It would be to fun.

      If they released Starcraft for the DS, everyone would buy it. Everyone would play it forever and ever. They would then enjoy that game so much that they would not have to buy new games. Nowadays, studios do not make hard and challenging games because they do not want to keep people occupied. Instead they make games that last for X numer of hours, where X is the smallest number possible while still making the customer believe it got its moneys worth.

      You can

  • Ten Things People Should Give Me (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 02, 2007 @02:46PM (#18209556)
    1. A new car.
    2. A million dollars (a lot of people want this one, so make sure you do this!)
    3. A hotter wife (I hope some good plastic surgeons are reading this and pick it up..)
    4. A smarter boss (the current upgrade packages are too expensive!)
    5. Prehensile tail.
    6. Bat wings.
    7. A flying fortress (it doesn't make sense, but it would be cool, yeah?)
    8. A longer attention span.

  • RTS with local play (Score:2, Insightful)

    by scarpa ( 105251 )
    I want a simple RTS that I can play with my friends locally.

    One screen a map, the other for unit/building management. Toggle the screens to switch between movement and management.

    Or just port Starcaft as someone already mentioned.
  • This is the one game that would make me buy a DS. Probably based on Civ 2 (my sentimental favorite). Civ 4 is slightly better, but would probably be too complex for the DS.

    • Nothing in the Civ4 ruleset would be too complex to implement on the DS. The Civ4 GRAPHICS engine, however, would be excessive. Civ 3 and Civ 4 were great rulesets grafted onto the most unbelievable graphical bloat ever foisted upon the gameplaying public.

      Alpha Centauri's isometric three-dimensionality had a definite impact on gameplay: sea levels changed, artillery bombardment effectiveness varied with the difference in elevation, moisture & rainfall patterns differed on windward and leeward slope

      • Re:Civ4 is possible, if you remove the bloat (Score:4, Insightful)

        by DeepHurtn! ( 773713 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:12PM (#18210886)
        Although I'm a bit of a Civ addict, I haven't played Civ 4 yet because the system requirements are absolutely insane; beyond my laptop, at any rate. There is no reason *at all* for a turn based strategy game to demand the sort of specs Civ 4 does (I've run across stories of people being able to run WoW, but not Civ 4). That's just crappy engineering.
        • I have a 1Gig AthlonMP 2800+ system with an old Radeon 9800 card and the game is quite playable. You can't use super-high graphic detail, and might have to choose your world size so that it fits in your available RAM, but it can be done!

          I turn the graphics quality way down, but it is cool to zoom into your city and see all the things you built, etc..

          • Hm, interesting. I've been meaning to download the demo just to see if it will run at all on my system, and I definitely *want* to give Civ4 a go -- although I love Civ3, 4 looks like it's got some awesome ideas in it. Thanks for the heads up!

            • good luck! (Score:3, Informative)

              by FatSean ( 18753 )
              Check out civfanatics.com. There is no uber-tuning guide, but there are lots of people making the game work on low-spec machines.
          • I have a 1Gig AthlonMP 2800+ system with an old Radeon 9800 card and the game is quite playable. You can't use super-high graphic detail, and might have to choose your world size so that it fits in your available RAM, but it can be done!

            Athlon XP 2000+, 512MB RAM, GeForce FX 5200: shitty performance even with everything turned right down. Athlon XP 2000+, 512MB RAM, GeForce 7600GS: perfectly good performance with all the graphical toys on, although the huge world grinds to a halt in the modern era. If I p

          • have to choose your world size so that it fits in your available RAM

            This is exactly what I'm talking about. If the graphics engine were not such a resource pig, you would be able to play the game on the map of your choice--as was possible in earlier versions of Civilization.

            Now, however, if you can't hack the graphical requirements, you can't test how the ruleset functions on the larger game maps. And what do you gain from this? The ability to zoom in and look at your individual city improvements?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Biffa ( 174808 )
      I've been considering buying a DS for quite a while now, but haven't found that "killer game" that would push me over the edge to do it. I have a Gameboy SP already, so I just need something to make me buy the DS.

      Any version whatsoever of Civilization would make me buy a DS instantaneously. Even a crappy port of the original Civ would do it. Alpha Centauri would do it. Heck, a port of Colonization might do it. There's even a chance that Call to Power would do it. Nah, only joking on that last one.

      Just giv

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
        You probably don't care for the port of Settlers 2 that's in the works, do you?

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Biffa ( 174808 )
          I've tried Settlers and even though it is very similar to the Civ games, it just didn't do it for me. It didn't have that magical intangible Civ-ness that I was looking for. I know, I'm just a rabid fanboy.

  • sim games (Score:3, Insightful)

    by stoolpigeon ( 454276 ) * <bittercode@gmail> on Friday March 02, 2007 @03:15PM (#18210044) Homepage Journal
    sim city, sim farm, sim ants -- i'd play any of the old sim games on ds and have fun with it.
     
    sim ants would be really cool as you could have below ground and above ground on each screen. just get rid of that little hole that always runs to the enemy ants colony. it made the game too easy but i just couldn't resist using it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by antifoidulus ( 807088 )
      Yes, but it was always fun to use that to get your queen into the red ants base after you have covered up all the exits with rocks. The queen loses its head then just runs frantically. Good times!

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by SethraLavode ( 910814 )

      You're in luck. SimCity is coming soon [kotaku.com].

      It won't be quite the same (you have to blow out fires, for example), but the core of the game should be there.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by geekster ( 87252 )
        Eeep, that was kinda creepy. Swear I didn't see your post there! :)

        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by XxtraLarGe ( 551297 )

          Eeep, that was kinda creepy. Swear I didn't see your post there! :)
          That's probably because you were starting your post just as they were hitting the submit key. Don't worry though, you'll get modded "Redundant" for your troubles, and I'll get modded "Off Topic". Mods please go easy on the guy!

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by PeelBoy ( 34769 )
            I was gonna mod you both troll but I already typed this out and clicked submit so I can't now.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by geekster ( 87252 )
      You're in luck. Sim City [eurogamer.net] is coming to the DS this summer.

  • Donkey kong country (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Turn-X Alphonse ( 789240 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @03:25PM (#18210194) Journal
    Personally I'd like to know why so few SNES games are getting ports. Donkey Kong Country (1-3) were fantastic games and really could do with a nice port.

    But the thing I REALLY want is Lemmings. I don't care if Sony got it, the DS screams for Lemmings. I honestly can't think of a single game better suited to a touch screen.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
      The Donkey Kong Country games got ports to the GBA already, you can play them on your DS that way.
      • Except they were mediocre ports. The GBA wasn't quite up to SNES standards, mainly because its audio system was much weaker. DKC was as much a music game as a visual game, and the audio certainly suffered under the GBA port.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Cutriss ( 262920 )
          The audio subsystem on the DS isn't much better than the GBA, to be honest. Neither of them hold a candle to the SPC-700.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Ant P. ( 974313 )
            They took a huge step backwards when they went from 44/48kHz procedural sound to what sounds like 11kHz 8-bit samples. What I don't get is, with all this processing power available, why they couldn't have bundled something similar to CSound in the devkits.
    • Have you considered buying homebrew equipment for your DS? Two SNES emulators for the DS run the DKC series quite well. SnezziDS runs only on slot-2 cards with GBA compatibility but runs all three of them incredibly well, though you need to change the background priority settings every so often since different levels require different priorities. If you can mind the scaled graphics, SnezziDS works wonders for the games.

      SNEmulDS runs on nearly all homebrew devices and currently plays DKC and DKC3 fairl

    • Come -on-! (Score:4, Informative)

      by Kamineko ( 851857 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @08:08PM (#18213706)
      I already made Lemmings [mrdictionary.net] for the DS three months ago!


      It was even mentioned on Slashdot [slashdot.org]!

    • You can play the GBA versions on your DS. I've played one of the DKCs (forget which) on my sister's DS.

      But aside from that, what I hope they wind up doing is finding a way to take the old-school games that you download onto your Wii, and put them on your DS. Some attachment to the Wii that loads them onto a cartridge for the DS or something. Then you'd have whatever size library they have for the Wii, available portably. And I'm sure it would inspire a lot of cross-buying, more so than the sad GBA/GC conn

    • Not sure what you mean, so forgive me if you know what I'm trying to clarify.

      When you say "I don't care if Sony got it" are you referring to the fact that if was ported to the PSP, or are you aware of the sad fact that Sony now owns Psygnosis, the company responsible for Lemmings?

      I was truly sad when I realized this. But I found some small solice in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis [mariovsdk.com]. It's described as like Lemmings. This is a lie. However if you are a Lemmings fan, there is gameplay you will p

  • 2 words... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Custer's Revenge.
  • As with the Wii, I believe that the interface offered by the DS would be great for point-and-click games like Myst. The graphics will have to be downgraded a bit for the system (probably retooled completely to make good use of both screens), but it would offer simple, relaxing game play. This would be most interesting to the "non-gamer" crowd Nintendo is trying (apparently successfully) to lure in. No violence, no stress, just exploration, puzzle solving, and some nice visuals.

    I know that games like this wo
  • Can someone recap the list? Site blocked by work filter =/

    • Sure, I'll Karma whore. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Beardo the Bearded ( 321478 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:05PM (#18210796)
      We're a greedy lot here at Pocket Gamer. Even though the DS is already blessed with a large and varied library of great titles, we can't help but wish our lunchbreaks away over the games that should be, and the games that probably will never be.

      To vent our desires, we've assembled a canon of forgotten gaming heroes and oddball fancies that make a good fit for Nintendo's dual-screened play thing. Would it help if we said "Please!"?
      10 games we'd love to play on DS
      We want: A LucasArts adventure game collection

      Before consoles and PCs got all hung up on 3D and LucasArts got all hung up on churning out legions of below average playable adverts for the Star Wars cash cow, LucasFilm Games (as it was known back then) carved out a reputation for quality point-and-click adventure games driven by its S.C.U.M.M. engine (that's Script Creation Utility, fact fans). This scripting tool yielded a plethora of adventure romps that would fit the DS's stylus like a glove. We would love to see an adventure game bumper cart celebrating the genre including Maniac Mansion, LOOM, Sam and Max Hit The Road, Full Throttle and, of course, The Secret of Monkey Island. Yes, you can get them on homebrew, but they really need to be tweaked for the smaller screen.

      We demand: Okami DS

      If there is one thing that the DS handles deftly, it's cell shading. Whilst the PS2 version of Okami's beautiful pastel depth may be out of the DS's reach, the scope its stylus would provide for manipulating the washed out dreamscape of Okami is obvious. A DS version with less emphasis on action and more of a focus on Okami's innovative celestial brush and puzzle sections would tick all of the right boxes for the casual RPG fan.

      Give us: Pilot Wings DS

      The game that helped to launch the N64 (and less famously the SNES) screams First-party Nintendo Smash from every pixel. And so where better to grant Pilot Wings a third flight than on what is arguably Nintendo's most Nintendo-ish console to date? Simulating wind to billow a paraglider's parafoil by blowing into the mic would be a great addition, as would the option to plot custom courses through the stages with the stylus (exchangeable via wi-fi, naturally).

      Still want: Sketch Fighter DS

      We've already made some noise about how much we would like Ambrosia's casual gaming gem to grace the DS, but this list would not be complete without a repeat shout in the hope that the right people might be listening. With its simple blasting action, its signature visual style and the option to draw your own multiplayer battle zones, one could be forgiven for thinking that this game was designed specifically for the DS. Ambrosia, if you are out there...

      How about: A board game compendium for big kids?

      The DS already has a fantastic card and board game collection in 42 All-Time Classics. But on the last day of school term, it was always the kids who brought in Operation and Mouse Trap that drew the most attention, whilst the boffins that tried to encourage a round of chess and checkers were left to sit in the corner discussing The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. We want a big kid's version of 42 All-Time Classics featuring the likes of Operation, Jenga (wi-fi possibilities), Mouse Trap, Kerplunk and any other game where the board is the least important part of the apparatus.

      Please: Mario Paint DS

      Mario Paint was a surprise hit for the SNES during Nintendo's 'Let's brand all of our first-party titles with Mario' phase, and paved the way for the ultra rare 64DD series entitled simply Mario Artist. These games enabled you to create images and 3D models, and even offered the option to share artwork via an online communication kit. We've got a stylus and wi-fi now - come on Nintendo, need we say more? You know it makes sense!

      Be crazy not to do: Marble Madness DS

      This long lost arcade classic was also the first game to appear on the Atari System 1, and set the machine apart from its contemporaries as the apex predator console of its day. Ori

  • Monkey Island! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jackster1 ( 950994 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @03:52PM (#18210624)
    Oh my god, how much would I love Monkey Island on DS. I've got to say, the old Lucas Arts games were amazing. Even one of the newer-ish ones was good (Grim Fandango), although Monkey Island 4 wasn't as good. I really hope LucasArts brings Monkey Island to DS, but they seem to have turned their backs on adventure gaming for now, although maybe something like Monkey Island would appeal to casual gamers, something the DS appeals to aswell.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by grumbel ( 592662 )
      If you want Monkey Island and all the other games on the DS, just buy a DS flashcard and download ScummvmDS.

  • Couldn't agree more (Score:3, Interesting)

    by geekster ( 87252 ) on Friday March 02, 2007 @03:57PM (#18210704) Homepage
    Syndicate and Ports of Call would also be nice on the DS. It seems that some companies has picked up on this. With Settlers, Sim City and Theme Park coming. And why not, I imagine it must be pretty cheap with all of the art already made just needing a bit of tweaking.

    That's also what appeals to me about homebrew on the DS. It's kinda like being back in the early 90's. Only this time I actually know how to program :). The smaller screens makes the low res graphics nicer in my opinion. And having the stylus and touch screen you can have mouse and keyboard (on screen) functionality. It's really like having an instant on, old pc in your pocket.
  • I can't believe nobody mentioned Diablo 2 yet. There are way too many people who still play that game for it to not do awesome on the DS. Battlenet via Nintendo WiFi would pretty much seal the deal. Sure it would need a few UI tweaks, but otherwise it's pretty much a straight port.
  • Transport Tycoon would make an excellent DS port. The graphics of the era translate nicely to the DS screen resolution. Plus, the game just screams for the stylus input. With the various open-source TT project in existence, perhaps we'll see a homebrew version one of these days.
  • Where is this title? With WiFi, this is the perfect title for the DS system. Nobody ever talks about it though, and Nintendo hasn't mde a peep about it. Is this on the slate for Christmas 2009 I hope?
  • The touch screen would be great for controlling a game like this, and the DS's limited 3D capabilities would be plenty for showing 3D aircraft fuselages in flight. (Or hand painting your aircraft livery!) Of course, it would need to be several orders of magnitude more complicated than the SNES one to stand up nowadays. (ie. way more airports, aircraft types, seating config/quality customization, fare customization)

  • Take Hotel Dusk and turn it up a notch. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Mc_Anthony ( 181237 ) * on Friday March 02, 2007 @06:59PM (#18213078)
    I had huge hopes for "Hotel Dusk: Room 251", a graphic novel in game form. It is actually a pretty good game if you enjoy a decent story. The interesting, interactive puzzles mixed in here and there help set off the story.

    But I can't help but wonder how mind blowingly great it could have been had the creators hired a real, honest to God writer, like Stephen King, or Neil Gaiman, etc... Damn that would be cool. Anyhow, thats my "most wanted"...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I had huge hopes for "Hotel Dusk: Room 251", a graphic novel in game form. It is actually a pretty good game if you enjoy a decent story. The interesting, interactive puzzles mixed in here and there help set off the story.

      But I can't help but wonder how mind blowingly great it could have been had the creators hired a real, honest to God writer, like Stephen King, or Neil Gaiman, etc... Damn that would be cool. Anyhow, thats my "most wanted"...

      Yeah, that would be great. Though, I have to admit that Hotel Dus

      • In my opinion, for text driven games like Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk, the translation is just as important, if not more, than the plot itself. The translator for the Phoenix Wright series manages to fit in so much humor and pop culture that the game feels like it was targeted for the North American audience originally.
  • Knight Lore, Ant Attack. These games would all work fine on the DS.
  • Perfect Dark DS
  • Those games would be perfect for the DS, there is one thing, while having lots or rpgs on the DS all of them are lousy linear out of the box jrpgs none of them any good. The machine is heavily in need for a decent rpg, also Star Control 2 would be a match made in heaven.
    • Yeah! Star Control II or a legally permissible version (The Ur-Quan Masters) would make a lot of people very happy! Networking would be a big bonus! Deus Ex.. retold, using the abilities of the DS. Same game, but with different puzzles/etc. to use the dual-screen nature of the DS. Project EDEN. ;-)
  • But for the Wii. The Wii Mote could be the perfect interface for MM:)
  • The original Populous would be perfect for the DS!

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