So yeah, I ordered a DSi. Or more accurately I went on ebay and bid for the Pokémon Black DSi complete with game before realising the crazy person selling had...

So yeah, I ordered a DSi. Or more accurately I went on ebay and bid for the Pokémon Black DSi complete with game before realising the crazy person selling had pulled the game out and was just selling the console. SO unfortunately I’m going to have to wait a bit before I can show you all my pokemans and instead get down to some of the other delights from the 6+ years I missed out on Nintendo’s handheld darling.

Before I go into the game’s I’m getting, let me explain why I’m picking up a DSi when the 3DS has just come out. Part of this is why I’m wanting a handheld. My phone, as good as it is, doesn’t have the battery life to last a day if you try playing any of the games on the android marketplace. Additionally, most run like crap on the HTC Hero as its a second gen Android device with a weedy processor not suited for playing game. Therefore, as a handheld I need a device with a long battery life and a decent back catalogue to keep me entertained while I sit on public transport or in between lectures. Also Pokémon. I did originally look at a 3DS but seeing my lack of interest in the launch line-up, the issues with DS compatibility and the short battery life swayed me off the latest and greatest and onto the not so latest but probably better.

After that I had to choose DS type. The choices are between DS Lite, DSi and DSi-XL, a huge (and often brown) monstrosity that seem a little bit too big. The DSi is slightly smaller than its older cousin and has several additional features such as cameras (for….?) and a web browser (also for….?) but its access to DSi-ware seems like a bonus. However, it does lock you out from playing GBA games or using the slot for the guitar hero controller which was not something I wanted to do anyway – there are more than enough games on DS to keep me entertained for a while.

The fact I wanted the Pokémon Black DSi should point that another reason for buying a DS is the release of the latest Pokémon game. As a gamer who never owned a Gameboy of any description, I’ve never had the ability to catch them all. This latest edition sounds pretty damn fun and with the rise of other Pokémon players at uni and a tournament at the next AGE it sounds like a good time to jump in. However, I’m going to have to wait a little bit before buying it (ie until my loan comes in) so instead I have a few cheaper options.

First up are the two Advance Wars games, Dual Strike and Dark Conflict (Days of Ruin for non-PAL readers). As a person who loves strategy games these were a must for me. I’d always loved the Advance Wars style (despite the huge tonal shift between full on war and the “YEAH LETS GET ICE CREAM” mentality of the commanders) so I’m interested in both the main series game and the dark alternative. I managed to grab both of them for a steal thanks to the magic of eBay.

Next, we have something a little different. I’ve also grabbed a copy of The World Ends With You. This was recommended to me by a couple of people on Giant Bomb in this thread and after reading up on it it sounds like a rather unusual game. Not sure how the real time combat will work on the DS but its a great example of a game you can only get on DS. Again thank you eBay.

As well as Pokemon Black, I’m also looking forward to picking up a few other games such as Elite Beat Agents and Animal Crossing. I’m going to wait a while before buying anymore as I think the games above are more than enough to begin with. I’m looking forward to owning my first handheld console ever.