An ode to my DS

I've been thinking about it for a while, but a recent event has pushed me to actually post a rant on what it's like to own a DS. I bought it 5 months ago (almost to the day, actually), and despite the relative lack of quality DS games, I've been quite satisfied with the purchase. I'll admit that up until I bought Meteos, I was using my DS mainly as a GBA. As disappointing as that may be to some, that suits me just fine. I bought my GBA right after it came out (the idea of walking around with a SNES in my pocket was too appealing), and complaints about the dim screen hadn't really built up enough steam yet. Switching from a dim-screen GBA to one with a backlight that can also play DS games was just great.

Incidentally, now that I've owned Meteos for a good amount of time, I wanna stress just how great this game is. Obviously if you're not into "look for patterns and align shit"-type puzzle games, it won't really be fun for you, but if you are, the replay value is just insane. I often find myself playing a quick 3 to 5 minute game when I know I should go to bed, but I just feel like playing something beforehand. Console games can easily trap you for at least a half hour extra when you tell yourself you'll only play for 5-10 minutes.

Anyway something happened on Thursday night that REALLY made me appreciate my DS. I was sleeping over at my brother's house and while I was playing Meteos just before going to bed, the power went out. Knowing that I was the last one awake, I went to wake up my bro and let him know his alarm clock wasn't gonna ring tomorrow. I improvised a flashlight with the DS that was in my hands. That gay-ass health warning and DS splash screen provide a surprising amount of light when combined. Afterwards I set my DS to ring at 5am and praised God that my little gaming gadget had such functionality. I really REALLY had to get to work early yesterday. Portable gaming can save your career! Can PSP owners make the same claim? ;o)