ARTS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 13, 2004 - 9A
Nintendo doubles
down with new
portable DS
By Ryan Guerra
For The Daily
In the 15 years since Nintendo's
groundbreaking Gamecube first
introduced the concept of portable
gaming, several competing com-
panies such as Sega and Neo-Geo
have made futile runs at Nintendo
with their own portable devices,
to no avail. But with the looming
release of Sony's Playstation Por-
table threatening their dominance
of the market, Nintendo struck back
last week with the release of its DS
portable videogame system.
Straight out of the box, the first
noticeable thing about the DS is its
namesake: the dual-screens. The
upper functions as a traditional
screen, while the bottom acts as a
touch screen. The DS's backlight-
ing provides the necessary light to
play the system in any condition.
The system comes with a voice-acti-
vated microphone necessary to cer-
tain games and two styluses for the
touch screen. There is also a wrist-
strap/thumb-strap which provides
another way to use the touch screen
as a sort of joystick by moving one's
thumb around. The DS has a Super
Nintendo button layout with the tra-
ditional directional
pad as well as four
face and two shoul-
der buttons.
The DS comes with
a built-in messenger
program called "Pic-
toChat" which allows
DS users to wirelessly
communicate with
other DS users within
100 feet. This is a per-
fect way to communi-
cate in class or to find
someone to play against
in multiplayer games.
Additionally, the DS.
comes packed with a play - <
able demo of "Metroid "
Prime Hunters: First n
Hunt." The demo beauti-
fully shows off the 3-D Q
graphic capabilities of the
DS, which are slightly bet-
ter than those of the origi-
nal Nintendo 64. Controls for
the demo are similar a PC shooter
because of the use of the stylus and
touch screen to look and aim like
a mouse and keyboard setup. The
movement with the touch screen is
awkward at first, although using it
eventually becomes second nature.
courtesy of New Line
Morale was low after "The Matrix's" first casting cut.
Third and final 'Blade'
installment falls short
By Jeffrey Bloomer
Daily Arts Writer
While
Nintendo claims
that the DS is not a next-gen-
eration Gameboy, it is hard to ignore
the similarities. The compatibility of
the DS allows gamers to keep play-
ing their Gameboy Advance library.
The DS is backward-compatible to
all Gameboy Advance games, but
does not play original Gameboy or
Gameboy
Color games.
Nintendo is no stranger
to innovation. The DS is the next
step in what Nintendo hopes will be
a new and inventive form of gaming.
Whether it's using the touch screen
to move through the rich, textured
atmospheres of "Mario 64 DS" or
using the built-in microphone to
blow out a digital candle in "Feel the
Magic XY/XX," the potential for the
Nintendo DS ulitmately rests on the
creativity of videogame devlopers.
Classic game revived for launch of new system
By Ryan Guerra
For The Daily
V EGME R EVIE W ****
Nearly 10 years ago, with the launch
of the Nintendo 64 system, gamers got
their first look at what would become
one of the most
influential vid-
eogames in his-
tory. "Super Mario
64" was the first
game to create a
seamless and free
moving three-
dimensional world,
Super Mario
64 DS
Nintendo DS
Nintendo
a foundation for
to its family, the Nintendo DS, is no
exception.
"Super Mario 64 DS" is a remake of
the original Nintendo 64. Gainers once
again advance through levels by col-
lecting stars inside the various paint-
ings of Princess Peach's castle. The
fast and engaging gameplay works per-
fectly in the portable setting, providing
an opportunity to quickly collect a star,
save, quit and continue later. However,
this remake is not entirely identical.
In the DS title, there are 30 additional
stars to collect, new levels to explore
and four different playable characters.
Players start the game as Yoshi and
rescue Mario, Luigi and Wario. Once
each character is free, gamers can uti-
lize those character's strengths to col-
lect stars and eventually rescue Peach
from the beclawed grip of Bowser.
There are also more then two dozen
unlockable mini-games that utilize the
system's stylus and touch screen. The
simple, yet addictive games are ideal
for quick portable gaming or hours of
simple amusment. Another addition is
the incls multiplayer. With the use of a
single game cartridge, four friends can
download the necessary data and battle
in a race to collect stars.
The game uses the DS thumb-strap
and touch screen to create a simulated
analog control stick. Although the lack
of true analog control can cause some
problems, with time it becomes natu-
ral; moreover, players are given the
opportunity to use the traditional direc-
tional-pad to move. However, this is less
responsive and at times frustrating for
the more control-oriented missions.
Technical issues aside, "Super Mario
64 DS" is a fantastic remake of a great
game and is a must buy for any Nin-
1Z3:
David S. Goyer's "Blade: Trinity,"
the third and final entry in the Marvel
comic-based franchise, is a witless and
vacuous indulgence of action film con-
ventions. It breezes by with pervasive
fight sequences and tiresome one-liners,
but by the finale, there is only one cer-
tain thing to take from this 113-minute
fiasco: This series
is dead and buried.
Wesley Snipes Blade: Trinity
reprises the title At Quality 16
role once again, and Showcase
complete with the New line
characteristic sun -_______
glasses and hard-
ass stoicism. He's as angry as ever and
for good reason: In addition to the usual
blood-suckers, this time he must also
ward off the FBI and a newly awoken
Dracula, who until "about six months
ago" had been hibernating in Iraq.
Uh-huh.
But this isn't your everyday Drac-
ula; he looks a lot like Predator, only
with horn-like protrusions in the place
of the dreadlocks. He is a formidable
foe to Blade, continually mocking him-
with pseudo-philosophical dialogue
and effortless extermination of the sup-
porting cast - excluding, of course,
the comic relief and scantily-clad war-
rior babe.
"Trinity's" performances are nearly
as insipid as its plotline. As members
of the dementedly named Nightstalk-
ers gang, Ryan Reynolds (looking
like he hasn't left the gym since "Van
Wilder") and Jessica Biel (TV's "7th
Heaven") are sometimes fun but still
remarkably prosaic in their roles. Even
Snipes is substandard; granted, his
"dialogue" consists mostly of grunts
and snarls, but he plays his role com-
pletely monotonously, sleeping his way
through the bulk of the film. The only
relief comes from Parker Posey ("Best
in Show"), the wonderful cult actress
who plays the vampire leader Danica
with a refreshingly free spirit. Her
performance is classic vampire camp,
and only she seems to be aware of the
inherent silliness of the film in which
she is appearing.
Goyer, who wrote the first two
films, now fills the director's chair in
an unwelcomed debut. He is singu-
larly obsessed with long, slow-motion
shots that border on self-indulgence
and directs his R-rated film to play
only to young teenage boys with short
attention spans. Even the fight scenes,
glossed over with flashy digital effects
and a cacophonous soundtrack, are
void of any wonder or surprise - after
all, what fun is it to see Blade and com-
pany hack up vampires who are scarce-
ly given the opportunity to fight back?
Goyer's incoherent screenplay seals the
deal, strung together on cringe-worthy
dialogue delivered from a series of hol-
low, dead-end characters. As writer,
director and co-producer, Goyer proves
to be the film's one-man demise.
The first and second "Blade" films
were released in mid-August and mid-
March, respectively, times of year notori-
ous for their lack of worthwhile cinema.
By opening "Trinity" in December, a
month ripe with superb films for the
picking, New Line has given audiences
yet another reason to avoid this train
wreck. Not that they needed one.
every platform-adventure game that
has followed. Every Nintendo system
(except Gamecube) has been success-
fully launched with the release of a
"Mario" title, and the newest addition
tendo DS owner.
Furthermore, "Mario 64 DS" was
designed to show off the abilities of
the new system. Graphically, the game
looks slightly better then its predeces-
sor and is a testament to the strides that
have been made in the handheld gam-
ing industry.
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