Games add Sizzle to Nintendo DS

By Marc Saltzman

Nintendo estimates it will sell about 1 million Nintendo DS portable game consoles in North America by the end of the year. That's not surprising, because more than 500,000 units sold during its first week on store shelves.

In order to meet demand, Nintendo is rushing more consoles to national retailers who have run out.

As popular as the portable game machine is, the DS wouldn't be nearly as sought after without great games that take advantage of its dual screens, wireless capabilities, voice commands and ability to play older Game Boy titles.

Eight DS games are available. Here's a look at three that new DS owners might enjoy.

'Super Mario 64'

You can now play the classic "Super Mario 64" game of Nintendo 64 fame on the DS. It's largely the same game but includes new characters, puzzles, game modes and support for wireless multiplayer matches.

The single-player story follows characters Mario, Luigi and Wario, who travel to the royal castle to visit Princess Peach but mysteriously disappear shortly after arriving. A petite dinosaur, Yoshi, who was napping on the roof of the castle, realizes something is awry and vows to find out what happened to his friends.

As with the original 1996 adventure, your game character must run, jump, climb, fight and solve puzzles to locate the missing characters and find each of the 150 Power Stars hidden in the castle and surrounding area.

You can now play as more than one character and try your hand at new mini-games that use the DS' touch-screen display.

Best of all, you can play with as many as three friends using the wireless Versus mode. You only need one "Mario" game to involve everyone in the action, which is a plus.

'Feel the Magic: XY/XX'

Blow, tap and yell at your DS in this quirky title from Sonic Team, the Japanese developer behind the "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Phantasy Star Online" games.

More so than any other DS game, "Feel the Magic: XY/XX" lets you take advantage of the DS' touch-screen and voice-recognition features.

The humorous story surrounds an "average Joe" character who solicits the help of the Rub Rabbits, a gang of performers who don plastic rabbit ears, to help capture the attention of a beautiful young woman.

You charm the woman by, among other challenges, flicking scorpions off her back, knocking down raging bulls charging in her direction and blowing a sailboat toward her. However, winning her affection is just the beginning of this peculiar 19-part story.

These mini-games are short, and their graphics are weak, but "Feel the Magic: XY/XX" is a fun and fresh game if you really want to try out some of the DS' interactive features.

As a neat addition, you can use a Sega-based Game Boy Advance cartridge such as "Sonic Pinball Party" or "Chu Chu Rocket" to unlock special items in "Feel the Magic: XY/XX."

'Spider-Man 2'

Coinciding with the DVD release of "Spider-Man 2," the Nintendo DS game more or less follows the events from the film, but adds a few twists. It's not a bad pick, but it's not a terrific one either.

The linear action game pits the New York-based Peter Parker/Spider-Man against Doc Ock, but it also introduces other villains such as Mysterio and Vulture. Unlike the extraordinarily open-ended "Spider-Man 2" console games that let players explore a fully interactive Manhattan, this Nintendo DS version keeps you on a tight leash as you swing, crawl and fight through indoor and outdoor locations.

Missions involve rescuing hostages, defeating baddies and, after unlocking new abilities, taking on tougher "boss characters" to advance to subsequent stages. Attractive cut-scene movies play in between most levels to help tell the story.

Regrettably, while the 3-D "Spider-Man 2" looks great and plays smoothly, the DS' second screen is barely used other than to initiate various offensive attacks.