DS Most Wanted: 10 games we demand NOW! DS

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DS FEATURE

DS Most Wanted: 10 games we demand NOW!

The good, the would-be-rad, and the unlikely

by Fraser MacInnes

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. Originally controlled using a trackball type device, Marble Madness would make for a lip-smacking slice of retro pie on the DS, were some sort of trackball control substitute to be mapped to the touchscreen.
How high?: Donkey Kong DS With its aesthetic similarity to the first handheld console that championed the Donkey Kong franchise, the DS would be a fitting platform for one of Nintendo's original dual screen game characters to make a triumphant return. We're thinking a limited edition official Nintendo DS bundle, including a DS lite themed on its Donkey Kong Game & Watch forefather (rather like the modded case we covered). As for the actual game, we don't (just) want a branded collection of mini-games, we want something with a bit more platforming meat on its bones (ah, the memories of Donkey Kong Country). A game with the approach to inventive platforming of New Super Mario Bros, but featuring our favourite neck tie-toting primate.
We'd suggest: Anima Wars As this year's IMG awards have made clear, mobiles are a growing proving ground for the innovations that in the past have been left on the development shelf to make way for tried-and-tested console formulas. Some of the more robust original mobile titles could warrant a release on a dedicated gaming platform, such as the turn-based strategy cum hack-and-slasher, Anima Wars. The presence of a second screen to soak up some of the stat and map duties could enable the medieval isometric action of Anima Wars to shine. Chuck in a wi-fi multiplayer mode and some stylus swishing sword controls, and Anima Wars could have the makings of a DS cult classic.
We'd kill for: GoldenEye DS Halo is often lauded for finally bringing multiplayer FPS action over to console from PC. But when the Xbox was still but a twinkle in Mr Gates' eye, the N64 brought high octane multiplayer first-person shooting kicking and screaming onto a home console with GoldenEye 64. With the game came a legion of evangelical fans, who made the N64 a common feature of many a teenage boy's bedroom. Metroid Prime Hunters has already proved the DS can do shooting. Much-loved GoldenEye + Metroid Prime Hunters engine + WiFi = illegal amounts of fun. Mind you, we'd almost settle for a version of Perfect Dark (without Elvis the alien if you don't mind). So there you have it: If you think we've missed an obvious one, tell us below. Otherwise, get reading about our favourite DS games you can play right now over on our DS Buyer's Guide.

	Fraser MacInnes 2/3/2007

Have your say!

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splat | 2 March 2007

haven't we already had GoldenEye (Rogue Agent)!

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Snouty | 2 March 2007

Wash your mouth out! The N64 Goldeneye was in a different league to the EA follow-up, although it superficially looked the same (worse, even). Although I agree it'd have to be updated etc.

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Bigbear | 2 March 2007

Point and click adventures seem a great way forward - I vote for Grim Fandango DS!

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spankbot | 2 March 2007

I had huge hopes for "Hotel Dusk: Room 251", a graphic novel in game for. It is actually a pretty great 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"...

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Caspar | 3 March 2007

Nice list! Pilot Wings DS would be absolutely brilliant - the 'floaty' feel of the control on the original would work really well with the touch screen. And I love the idea of using the mic.

I would think that the DS is plenty powerful enough to draw Rare's GoldenEye. I fired up my N64 last year and my jaw hit the FLOOR when I realised how bad the framerate was, and how simple the 3D was. Technology has come a long, long way in the last 10 years. But! Gameplay-wise, though, it still felt good - there are still things in that game that initially feel confusing simply because even now they're so well designed (if that makes sense - you don't have to compensate for the game's shortcomings as much as you do with others).

LucasArts needs to pull its finger out with the SCUMM games (and Fandango). It's kind of a sign when people start investing countless hours trying to do convert your back-catalogue via homebrew. MAME sent the same signal for arcade games - I don't think we'd have half the number of retro game compilations there are today were it not for MAME.

Not so sure about Donkey Kong Country, tho. Nice face, shame about the legs, methinks...

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LeisureSuitLarry | 3 March 2007

One word: INFOCOM. Remake all the old Infocom text adventures into graphic adventures like Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk. Imagine.....ZORK DS!!

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shutz | 3 March 2007

I think it's time to bring back Mario Bros. (NOT Super). New Super Mario Brothers brought back a few things from that game, but the original gameplay would kick ass with more levels, more enemies, new power-ups, new moves, physics and controls from NewSMB, and so forth.

And imagine how much fun this could become when played online via WiFi, with gigantic levels and up to 16 or 32 players in the same level! (Even just 4 players would be nice).

Also, I want, nay, NEED a 2D Metroid game on the DS. This could be a remake of Metroid II (orginally for Gameboy) in the same vein as Zero Mission (which was great) but using the two screens better.

Oh, and someone wake up Blizzard, and get them to make Starcraft DS already!

------------------------
check out my Game Design blog at:
http://stealmygamedesigns.blogspot.com

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Snouty | 3 March 2007

Caspar: that's an interesting point about MAME and arcade games, hadn't thought of it like that. That said, LucasArts, Infocom (yes to Zork DS!) and at a pinch the better Sierra adventures would be good, but no thanks to the schlock please! Like the article says, the best idea is to bundle loads together, after reworking them to take account of the smaller screen (so the active areas of the screen twinkle more or something?)

There's generations of people who've never played these games... I reckon it'd go down well with the DS' infamous wider market too. Casual-er gamers have always like point-and-click adventures.

Actually, I need to try Hotel Dusk I guess.

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splat | 3 March 2007

ah, INFOCOM, love the smell of txt adventures in the evening

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Braskic | 5 March 2007

"...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. Originally controlled using a trackball type device, Marble Madness would make for a lip-smacking slice of retro pie on the DS, were some sort of trackball control substitute to be mapped to the touchscreen..."

Funny thing is I have been playing a game like that the past few days... maybe you have heard about it. Pac n' Roll is the games name.

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