DS lite now available!

Yesterday, DS lite was made available to everyone in the U.S. Or at least everyone with a pre-order. I was the very first person in line yesterday at my local EB Games, and I arrived about an hour before they opened. About 2 minutes after I got there, another person got in line, and by the time the store finally opened, the line was down the hall of the mall. Some people who had waited were turned away because they didn't reserve it in advance. I, however, walked away happily with my new baby, anxious to open it. EB was giving out free inhalers so that when people with asthma saw how small and sleek the lite was, they didn't have asthma attacks. I managed to pick one up.(I didn't need it, thankfully)

As soon as I got to the car, I carefully opened the box and looked at what was packed inside. Aside from the system, there was just an extra stylus, a charger, and the GBA slot protector. I was immediately amazed at the size of the system because it was so tiny! I was most impressed with the way the buttons loked and felt. Nintendo finally moved away from the clicky buttons that were found on the GBA SP and the original DS. The buttons on the lite are much softer and more comfortable. The only thing that I found strange with the buttons was the start and select buttons. They are extremely tiny and are very clicky, unlike the A, B, X, and Y buttons. Next, I noticed that the bottom screen looks a lot more durable and hopefully it won't be a scratch magnet. The system is surrounded by a thin layer of plastic and that is what goves it it's sleek look and smooth feel. Having brought my old DS with me, I whipped it out and began to make comparisons.

The shape of the lite is different, and more simmilar to that of the SP. The lite is also much lighter, easier to hold, and more comfortable. The fat bottom part of the original DS where the Game Boy slot and the microphone are is completely gone in the lite. Also, on the DS lite the bottom screen is slightly rasied so that when the system is closed, the 2 screens touch, preventing anything from getting caught between them and scratching them to death.

Overall, the system looks fabulous, and it now rivals the PSP, as far as how sleek and beautiful it is.

Now, aside from the way the way it looks, how does the DS lite operate? Just by turning the system on and looking at the screen where you choose DS game, GBA game, Pictochat, etc. the change from the DS to the lite is immediately noticable. Everything is so much brighter and much clearer. There are four levels of brightness for the lite and I think it would have been fine with just three because level four actually hurts my eyes.

The first game I played on it was New Super Mario Bros. and when I reached the menu screen, I was amazed. The colors are absoloutely amazing. Everything looks so much better and clearer on the lite that I don't want to ever look at a normal DS again. The better colors make all of the games look so much better and the screens actually improve the graphics to a certain extent. There is a new level of detail in games, such as Metroid Prime Hunters and New Super Mario Bros. that makes the games even more fun to play. Having played through most of NSMB on the old DS, I am definately going to go through on the lite and see what the levels truly were designed to look like.

The DS lite does everything that it was designed to do. It is much smaller, more comfortable, it looks better, it has amazing colors, the screens are beyond bright, and it is lighter. There are really only two downsides that I have found after playing with it for about 5 hours. What I think is the biggest problem with it is that there seems to be a slight downgrade in the quality of the speakers. It is hardly noticeable and if you are not an audiophile like me, you may not notice it at all. They just seem like they aren't quite as clear as the ones in the original DS. Another problem is that if I want to make the system brighter or dimmer, I have to shut it down and go to the main menu. There should have been a button on the face of the system for that. Aside from these two little things, though, the system is really great and is definately worth the $130. The color and look matches that of the Wii, so when it finally comes out, we can place the two side by side and name them Shiggy and Reggie!! I have also heard that if you buy the system at Best Buy or Circuit City, you get a free copy of Brain Age. Check out all of these pictures that I took of the DS lite so you can get an idea of the size.
My wish came true!